2-for-1 swap! Trading a championship guard! Goodbye, Thunder!

Here comes another trade.

Breaking news from Shams:The Thunder send championship guard Isaiah Joe to the Pistons in exchange for two second-round picks.

Born on July 2, 1999, Joe is a guard standing 1.93m tall with a 2.01m wingspan, selected as the 19th pick in the second round of the 2020 draft.

This guy played four seasons for the Thunder, consistently a key rotation player. Last regular season, he averaged 21.2 minutes, 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, hitting 2.5 three-pointers at 42.3%. In this year's playoffs, he averaged 11 minutes, 4.8 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists, making 1.2 three-pointers at 34.8%.

Joe's current contract runs through the summer of 2028, with an annual salary of $11.32 million for the next two seasons. Trading him helps the Thunder further relieve salary pressure, saving as much as $76 million in luxury tax, while also bringing next season's total payroll $19 million below the second apron.

Prior to this, the Thunder sent Aaron Wiggins to the Hawks for two second-round picks, reducing the originally massive $213 million luxury tax to $152 million.

This guy, born on January 2, 1999, is a swingman standing 1.96m with a 2.07m wingspan, selected as the 25th pick in the second round of the 2021 draft. He spent five years in Oklahoma City, with stats as follows:

In the regular season, he played 339 games (100 starts), averaging 20.3 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, with shooting splits of 48.7%, 38%, and 78.4%.

In the playoffs, he appeared in 45 games, all off the bench, averaging 11.9 minutes, 4.7 points, and 1.9 rebounds, shooting 41.4%, 32.7%, and 82.1%.

It's worth noting that after these two trades,From this year to 2033, the Thunder hold a total of 12 first-round picks and 17 second-round picks, as a superpower in draft capital, they can continue to feast on rookie-scale contracts in the future. It's a pity they aren't interested in trading for big-name stars; otherwise, few teams could compete with them.

However, as a small-market team, the Thunder indeed need to be frugal and lack the unlimited spending power to do whatever they want.