The Oklahoma City Thunder were fairly active at the NBA Trade Deadline, acquiring Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic and Davis Bertans. The Thunder also included two second round picks in the trade. On paper, the Hayward trade looks like it will help the Thunder with a playoff push. Tre Mann was a popular teammate though especially for Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This weekend, Gilgeous-Alexander reacted to the Thunder trade deadline and the loss of Mann via Rylan Styles of Sports Illustrated’s Fan Nation.
“It’s a lot, it’s pretty disruptive both ways like someone coming out, someone coming in, in the middle of the season, especially when you have families involved. . .it’s part of the business,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
After the Thunder game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also mentioned that he was going to watch Tre Mann’s first game with the Hornets, in a start no less. In his Hornets debut, Mann finished with nine points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals. He shot 4-11 from the field in 27 minutes. Mann played sparingly for the Thunder and will have a bigger opportunity now especially if he continues to start.
The Thunder’s acquisition of Hayward though puts them closer to contention in the Western Conference. They didn’t only acquire Hayward, they also signed Bismack Biyombo on the free agent market to address their frontcourt depth. They have slipped to the fourth seed in the West standings, but they are only one game back of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first seed in the West.
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