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3 players from the last 3 years that Oklahoma City Thunder shouldn't have traded away

Domantas Sabonis headed to the Indiana Pacers in 2017
Domantas Sabonis headed to the Indiana Pacers in 2017

Trades are a big part of the NBA and a team's success on the court is often dependent on how well the organization operates behind the scenes. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the newest team to the NBA, although, in its short 10-year history, the Thunder has experienced its fair share of poor trades.

Most notable was OKC's 2012 trade that sent future MVP James Harden to Houston, in return for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and two first round picks.

The Harden trade is now regarded as among the worst in the history of the league, although, in recent years, the Thunder have managed to improve. Sam Presti (Thunder general manager) has been credited as somewhat of miracle worker due to his ability to keep one of the smallest market teams in the league among the elite, and since the departure of Kevin Durant, the team has consistently managed to attract new stars.

Despite this, not every trade has been a unanimous success, and here we will look at three players from the past few years that the Thunder shouldn't have let go.


#3 D.J. Augustin

Oklahoma City Thunder v Cleveland Cavaliers
Oklahoma City Thunder v Cleveland Cavaliers

D.J. Augustin joined the Thunder from the Utah Jazz in February of 2015, although almost exactly a year later, Augustin was once again on the move after OKC agreed to swap him for Randy Foye. The decision to trade Augustin was strange, as he had proved to be a solid backup to Russell Westbrook, while Foye was nearing the end of his career, with his best days long behind him.

Augustin's mid-season departure also left the Thunder with some serious depth issues at the point guard position, something that is widely viewed as a major factor for the Thunder's inability to capitalize on their 3-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors. Augustin's absence continued to be felt the following season, and it wasn't until 2017 that the Thunder finally managed to replace him thanks to the signing of Raymond Felton.

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