OKC Thunder Trades Hamidou Diallo for Svi Mykhailiuk and 2nd Rounder

Two potential players drafted two spots from each other in the 2018 NBA Draft swapped places last Saturday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Hamidou Diallo to the Detroit Pistons for Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round pick. Diallo will be entering restricted free agency this summer. Meanwhile, the Pistons continue to move players under GM Troy Weaver. The Pistons traded veteran Derrick Rose to the Knicks earlier this season and bought out Blake Griffin recently in an effort to get younger and more athletic.

OKC is trading Hamidou Diallo to the Pistons for Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round pick, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/HmCEhR32ui

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 13, 2021

The Pistons have the worst odds to win the Eastern Conference at +100000 at SportsBetting.ag. They have the worst record in the East at 10-28 and have the second-worst record in the league overall. The Thunder meanwhile are 11th in the West and are five games off the playoff pace in their conference.

Still 22 Year Old

Diallo was the 45th pick overall of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets and was traded to the Charlotte Hornets and then to the OKC Thunder. He is the first player from the Thunder franchise to win the Slam Dunk contest, doing so in 2019. Still only 22-years old, Diallo is having a breakout season this year.

Hamidou Diallo’s 8 game stretch from 01-29-2021 to 02-12-2021:

16.4 PPG

6.4 RPG

3.6 APG

1.3 SPG

48% FG

Still only 22 years old. Hopefully he puts it together in Detroit 🙏 pic.twitter.com/wdqtDdUqdu

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) March 13, 2021

The 6-5 guard from the University of Kentucky was averaging 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in 23.8 minutes of playing time per outing. He recently put up an 8-game stretch from the end of January to February 12th where he averaged 16.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

Although he isn’t a good three-point shooter and foul shooter, Diallo has a seven-foot wingspan and is an explosive athlete on the wing. Detroit Pistons Troy Weaver was an executive with the Thunder when they traded for Diallo. Weaver is a fan of long and athletic players, and he is collecting them in Detroit right now.

The Pistons consider Diallo as a core future player and plan to work on signing him to an extension deal during the offseason. Diallo is currently sidelined with right groin soreness and has not played since February 24th.

An Elite Three-Point Shooter

Mykhailiuk was considered one of the best three-point shooters in the class when the Lakers selected him with the 47th pick of the 2018 NBA draft. The 23-year old is a career 36.9% three-point shooter who knocked down 115 three-pointers at a 40.4% clip last season.

Svi Mykhailiuk is an elite 3 point shooter who can light your team up in a number of ways using stepbacks, dribble pull ups, and flying off screens to get himself open pic.twitter.com/AbKTvAfg8y

— CaDetroit (@RedAlternates) April 23, 2020

The former Kansas Jayhawk was traded to the Detroit Pistons halfway through his rookie season for Reggie Bullock. He enjoyed a career-year with the Pistons last season, averaging 9.0 points per game in just 22.6 minutes of action per contest. This season Mykhailiuk is averaging 6.9 points per game but is struggling at just 37.7% from the field and 33.3% from behind the three-point arc.

He is seen as a better positional fit for the Thunder, who rank just 27th in the league in three-point shooting at 34.4%. GM Sam Presti hopes that he can replicate his success last season with the Thunder and make an impression before he hits the unrestricted free agency market this summer.

Like the Pistons, the Thunder are in search of the right core to build their future around. OKC has Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Lugen Dortz, and Darius Bazley as their young cornerstones but none of them have the same knockdown ability at Svi. Mykhailiuk gives the Thunder a legit three-point threat.