Insider Names Thunder’s $48 Million Champion Guard as Potential Trade Candidate

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had a quiet offseason after capping off their dominant season last year with a championship.

Of course, the Thunder are set to bring back almost their entire core from last season which is led by their star trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

Oklahoma City did make two selections in the 2025 draft where they added both Thomas Sorber and Brooks Barnhizer and they will also see Nikola Topic return next season after he missed his rookie campaign due to a torn ACL he suffered last summer.

Because of this, the Thunder are set to enter the 2025-26 NBA season as the favorites to win the championship as they look to win back-to-back titles.

Despite this, Oklahoma City could look to make moves on their roster, though that is highly unlikely, as they have enough young players and draft capital to pull off almost any trade they want.

Isaiah Joe named potential trade candidate for Thunder

With this in mind, Hoops Wire’s Sam Amico recently named Isaiah Joe as a potential trade candidate for the Thunder, though he did mention that it is highly unlikely that they would trade him.

“It’s hard to envision the reigning champs doing a single thing. They’re set for the now (loads of talent) and the future (loads of draft picks). But this list requires us to pick someone, so we’re gonna go with Isaiah Joe. Nothing personal, buddy,” Amico wrote.

Amico makes a great point about how it would be hard to see the Thunder making any moves this upcoming season with their core set to help them chase another championship.

Because of this, it is highly unlikely that they will move any of their players this upcoming season, though if they were to do so, Joe may be the odd man out.

The 26-year-old guard is coming off the best season of his career last year where he averaged a career-high 10.2 points per game while shooting 44.0% from the field and 41.2% from three.

With Topic returning and Barnhizer being added to their roster this summer, Joe has some tough competition for minutes next season.

If he ends up finding himself on the wrong side of those minutes, the Thunder could look to trade him as there should be many teams interested in adding the three-point sharpshooter, though that is very unlikely to happen.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.