NBA Trade Rumors: Oklahoma City Thunder not firm on rebuild, sending mixed messages

What's the rumor?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been firm on rebuilding their roster from scratch right from the time they gave away Russell Westbrook, the team's long-time star, in a trade to the Houston Rockets. However, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, there have been mixed signals from the team lately.

In case you didn't know...

The Oklahoma City Thunder have no doubt been one of the biggest surprises this season. Nobody expected them to do well this year after the departure of Russ, however, they are 22-16 for the season and sitting in 7th place in the Western Conference.

Chris Paul has been the flag bearer of this squad, which is a mix of youngsters and some experienced players. Though the best player of the side has been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a versatile 21-year old Canadian, who has been exceptional this season. The youngster has shown not only the offensive abilities against experienced men of the NBA but also defensive grit. Other than the above two players - Steven Adams, Danilo Gallinari, and Dennis Schroder have also been in exceptional touch.

Irrespective of having such a breakout season, the OKC's management has been okay with trading most of their assets (except Shai). But the waves might have started lashing in the opposite direction.

The heart of the matter

According to Sam's latest report, the Thunder has been mixed about the things lately- and why they shouldn't be?

The team is gelling along well, and the players are having a great time on the court. Hence, the management is having double-thoughts about trading some of the assets.

With that in mind, it would be interesting to see what the back office does in the upcoming days, but keeping every door open is clearly Thunder's plan right now.

What's next?

The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Western leaders, Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

Edited by S Chowdhury