The Oklahoma City Thunder made a splash on draft night, when they traded Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Victor Oladipo, the rights to Domantas Sabonis, and Ersan Ilyasova. Now, they’re reportedly looking to continue upgrading their roster by targeting elite big man Al Horford. From ESPN’s Brian Windhorst:
As they prepare to make their pitch to Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been making calls around the league looking to clear a massive amount of salary-cap space in a move rival executives believe is an effort to go after free agent Al Horford in addition to Durant, multiple sources told ESPN.
Horford mostly played center in Atlanta, but he’s more of a natural power forward. With Ibaka gone, Horford could be a perfect fit down low next to Steven Adams.
Furthermore, Horford has a connection to the Thunder, in the form of the team’s head coach, Billy Donovan. Horford played under Donovan in college, and the two won two NCAA Championships together.
The Thunder are already exploring ways to clear the cap space that would be needed to sign Horford, says Windhorst:
Over the past several days, the Thunder have sought out teams with open salary-cap space to possibly absorb Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler, sources said. The Thunder have other methods of opening cap space, including waiving Anthony Morrow, whose contract isn’t guaranteed until July 15.
