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

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.

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#3 D.J. Augustin

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.

#2 Doug McDermott

Oklahoma City Thunder v Phoenix Suns

On February 23, 2017, Doug McDermott joined the Thunder as part of a huge trade that also took Taj Gibson to Oklahoma City. McDermott's arrival was widely praised, as Billy Donovan's team had long needed to add three-point shooters, however, the small forward was traded away after just 27 games, joining the New York Knicks alongside Enes Kanter as part of the deal for Carmelo Anthony.

During his brief stint with the team, McDermott did exactly what was asked of him. During 22 regular season games, he shot 36% from beyond the arc, and this figure jumped to 54% during the Thunder's 2017 First-Round Playoff defeat to the Houston Rockets.

Since his departure, the Thunder has continued to struggle shooting from deep, and Paul George is currently the team's only credible long-range threat. Meanwhile, McDermott has found a regular spot in the Pacers rotation this season, shooting 41% from deep.

#1 Domantas Sabonis

Phoenix Suns v Oklahoma City Thunder

Back in 2017, Paul George made clear his desire to be traded away from his longtime Indiana Pacers team. At the time of his request, PG13 had just 12 months remaining on his contract, and while George wanted a move to the Lakers, OKC emerged from nowhere to secure a deal by including Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

At this time, George was already an established All-Star, and evidently, the Thunder were always going need to put a good package together to get a deal done. Nevertheless, with Victor Oladipo already included, the decision to add a talented 20-year-old with little trade value was strange, and in retrospect, Sam Presti should have looked elsewhere.

In the 18 months since being traded, Sabonis has established himself as one of the best young bigs in the league, nearly averaging a double-double despite featuring primarily from the Pacers bench.