2025 NBA Finals: How They Got Here Through Transactions

In lieu of my Game 7 notes (my big ones were that OKC played natural with their style, I feel horrible for Tyrese Haliburton, and the tosses on the jump balls were not good), my final post related to the 2025 NBA Finals is one of my favorite annual posts that I do:  a dive on how the Finals teams constructed their current rosters.  I will give the caveat that I didn’t go quite as far with certain things as some others did with certain trades (for instance, I didn’t go all the way back to the Rashard Lewis trade exception that eventually led to the draft pick where Serge Ibaka was selected, resulting in a series of trades that created OKC’s current core).  Both teams have had several interesting moves, especially including a major trade between the two teams that involved a superstar.

 

Oklahoma City Thunder

• June 7, 2007 – Oklahoma City hired Sam Presti to be their General Manager.  It was an interesting move since they demoted multiple individuals to give Presti full basketball control, he has been the most public-facing front office figure behind the current roster’s construction.
• June 23, 2016 – Oklahoma City traded Serge Ibaka to the Magic in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova, Victor Oladipo, and Domantas Sabonis (the 11^th pick in the 2016 draft).  This trade is only brought up because it was important for a later trade that resulted in a franchise altering move.
• September 23, 2016 – Oklahoma City signed Alex Caruso.  While they waived him and was acquired by their D-League (now G-League) team, it is fun to note that he was coached by Mark Daigneault in the D-League.
• October 31, 2016 – Oklahoma City signed Victor Oladipo to a 4-year, $84M rookie extension.  This move was necessary for the next trade listed to occur.
• July 6, 2017 – Oklahoma City acquired Paul George in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.  At the time, this move was considered a steal for OKC since Oladipo was considered good but not great and Sabonis had a tough rookie year (I never understood why people were so quick to right him off after his rookie year, especially in a class where a lot of rookies struggled that year); I think it is a clear win for both teams now, given how the pieces of this trade was used to set up each team’s current roster.
• September 25, 2017 – Oklahoma City resigned Paul George to a 4-year, $137M contract.  It was largely expected that he was going to leave to sign with the Lakers, but he stayed in OKC since he reportedly liked the situation that they were in (though it has been speculated that OKC agreed to trade George where he wanted to go if he wanted it down the road).  Either way, this set up the franchise altering trade that occurred the following year.
• July 6, 2019 – Oklahoma City signed Lu Dort to a 2-way contract.  Dort went undrafted, but he was considered a guy who might have been a first round pick if he had returned to college for his sophomore year (coincidentally, similar to Benedict Mathurin, who would have gone undrafted during his rookie year but ended up being the 7^th pick after his sophomore year).  Dort has developed into one of the league’s best defenders while also becoming a threat from 3.  He is also now the longest tenured active Thunder player.
• July 10, 2019 – Oklahoma City traded Paul George to the Clippers in exchange for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and 7 first round picks.  SGA has developed into a superstar and is one of the league’s best players, as he is an excellent 2-way star (while there were times he was taken out of games for defensive purposes, it’s because OKC has 5 elite defender better, not because SGA isn’t a great one).  On top of this, one of the picks traded was used to select Jalen Williams, their second best player.
• July 16, 2019 – Oklahoma City traded Russell Westbrook to the Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul and 4 first round picks of varying protections (two were top-4 protected, and one did not convey).  While the only pick that conveyed was used to draft Nikola Topic (who didn’t play this season due to injury), Paul was essential in SGA’s development early.
• September 8, 2020 – Oklahoma City announced that head coach Billy Donovan would not be returning to the team on a mutual agreement.  While he had success in his stint in OKC, they came of 3 straight years of losing in the first round and were looking to start a rebuild.
• November 11, 2020 – Oklahoma City hired Mark Daigneault to be their new head coach.  It was clear that OKC was going to be rebuilding, as Daigneault had no NBA head coaching experience, though he was the coach for their G-League team for 5 seasons while having significant success.  He has developed into one of the league’s most brilliant coaching minds and is a great fit for the team.
• November 16, 2020 – Oklahoma City traded Chris Paul to the Suns.  While almost everybody in this trade was moved somewhere else or are no longer with the team, I noted this because one player who was returned was Kelly Oubre, who was moved in a separate trade that was important for the current roster.
• November 22, 2020 – Oklahoma City traded Kelly Oubre to Golden State for a conditional first round pick (it didn’t convey and became a second-round pick) and a second-round pick, both in the 2021 draft.  While they traded the conditional pick to move up, the latter was the pick used to select Aaron Wiggins.
• November 23, 2020 – A 4-team trade was finalized that sent Steven Adams to the Pelicans.  In general, there was a lot that was moved, but they got back a 2023 first round pick (later used to move up in a draft), several players who were waived, a couple second round picks, and, arguably most importantly, Kenrich Williams.  Williams has been a valuable bench player for OKC as he is a nice shooter who can also move into the center role when playing small due to the versatility their defenders have.  He would be playing a bigger role with most teams, but he has previously expressed a love for OKC.
• July 29, 2021 – The Oklahoma City Thunder made several picks in the 2021 Draft and had some bad luck with trades, including moving Alperen Sengun to acquire more picks and Miles McBride to move up for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, they drafted Josh Giddey with the 6^th pick and Aaron Wiggins with the 55^th pick.  Giddey had success in OKC, but ultimately wasn’t the right fit due to struggles shooting, defensively, and off the ball; he ended up being traded for Alex Caruso.  Wiggins was initially signed to a 2-way contract, but he ended up becoming a key role player due to his shooting, off-ball movement, finishing, cutting, and improved defense.
• June 23, 2022 – Oklahoma City had another busy draft night, as they selected Chet Holmgren with the 2^nd pick, Ousmane Dieng with the 11^th pick (after trading a future first round pick and two conditional picks that didn’t convey for that pick), Jalen Williams with the 12^th pick, and Jaylin Williams with the 34^th pick.  Holmgren has become one of their star players who has been an elite defender with a nice and developing offensive game.  While Dieng hasn’t developed as they hoped, he was valuable during the regular season while the team was struggling with injuries to their bigs.  Jalen Williams is their second-best player and is coming off an All-NBA season where he proved to be an excellent 2-way player.  Lastly, because OKC wanted to confuse everyone, Jaylin Williams has developed into a skilled and solid backup big for OKC.
• July 6, 2022 – Oklahoma City signed Lu Dort to a 5-year, $87.5M contract.  While there were questions about his offense, it was clear he was a great defender at worst.  He has also developed into a better shooter and elite defender, making this contract a steal.
• October 16, 2022 – Oklahoma City signed Isaiah Joe to a multi-year contract.  After not getting much playing time in Philadelphia, Joe has thrived as a bench player in OKC due to his shooting and IQ.
• June 22, 2023 – Oklahoma City traded up to get the 10^th pick in the draft.  They traded the 12^th pick (which was used to select Dereck Lively II) for the Davis Bertans and the 10^th pick, with which they selected Cason Wallace.  While it looked like they might have missed out by trading Lively away after their rookie years, I think Wallace has proven why this trade was right for OKC (at the time, I was higher on Wallace than I was on Lively).  Wallace has developed into an elite perimeter defender and reliable shooter.
• July 19, 2023 – Oklahoma City signed head coach Mark Daigneault to a contract extension.  At that point, he had proven to be one of the league’s best young coaches, especially after finishing second in the Coach of the Year balloting.
• June 21, 2024 – Oklahoma City traded Josh Giddey to Chicago in exchange for Alex Caruso.  While Giddey was a skilled player who had upside, but he was not a good fit as a starter in OKC.  After he reportedly did not want to be a starter, it made sense to trade him.  Caruso was an excellent fit due to his elite defense while also not demanding a lot looks.
• June 26, 2024 – In the 2024 NBA Draft, they drafted Nikola Topic with the 12^th pick (who has been injured all season) and acquired draft rights for Dillon Jones (25) and Ajay Mitchell (38).  While neither healthy player have played a big role in the playoffs, they were helpful to have the additional bodies in the regular season.
• July 6, 2024 – Oklahoma City signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a 3-year, $87M contract.  There were many who found that contract to be too rich at the time, and while it was a lot of money, I thought it made sense.  First, the cap hit isn’t all that much for that value.  Second, he made sense in filling a need as a paint player who defend, rebound, and pass out of the post.  Third, a smaller market usually has to pay a premium to get players to join them.  Lastly, he has a team option in the final year of his contract, so they aren’t required to pay him as soon as the SGA, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren extensions (that I expect to be signed this offseason) kick in.  Ultimately, he was a great fit who was valuable on both ends of the court all season.
• July 7, 2024 – Oklahoma signed Isaiah Joe to a 4-year, $48M contract and Aaron Wiggins to a 5-year, $47M contract.  Joe had been a nice shooter up until that point which made it feel like a bit of a steal, but he had his best year yet this season, as he was more confident with his shot and improved as a team defender.  Wiggins might be even more of a steal at his contract, as he became a key role player who fit in well off the ball and could score in bunches when needed off the bench.  Both of these guys are key role players on bargain contracts for their role while clearly wanting to win.

 

 

Indiana Pacers

June 15, 2015 – Indiana selected Myles Turner with the 11^th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.  While raw, he was a great shot blocker who had some upside as a shooter.  He quickly developed both of these skills and has been an important part of both their mid-late 2010’s 4-5 seed playoff teams and their last two Conference Finals/NBA Finals teams.

May 1, 2017 – Indiana promoted Kevin Pritchard to the role President of Basketball Operations, replacing Larry Bird, who had recently resigned.  While Pritchard had experience with Portland and had made some solid moves there, his tenure is likely most tainted by drafting Greg Oden over Kevin Durant (to Portland and Oden’s credit, Oden was amazing in college and showed glimpses of what he could be when healthy, but unfortunately injuries that started in his NBA career limited him to just 105 games).  That said, he has done an excellent job being one of the main face of the front office during this championship build.

July 6, 2017 – Indiana traded Paul George to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.  At the time, there was the general mindset that Indiana got fleeced, though I think part of that was because people gave up on Sabonis after his rookie year.  Both Oladipo and Sabonis became multiple time All-Stars with Indiana and were helpful with Indiana’s playoff runs.  While Oladipo’s injuries prevented his prime from lasting more than a couple seasons, Sabonis ended up being traded in the trade that netted Tyrese Haliburton.

October 15, 2018 – Indiana extended Myles Turner to a 4-year, $72M deal.  While rookie extensions are always a risk, he easily outplayed the contract despite trade rumors.

July 6, 2019 – Indiana was involved in a 3-team trade where they traded 3 2^nd round picks in exchange for T.J. Warren.  While this isn’t an important move for this season, I think the in-between era where Indiana was finishing 4-5 each year was important in transitioning to this team.

July 6, 2019 – Indiana traded a 1^st round pick and 2 2^nd round picks for Malcolm Brogdon.  Brogdon played well for Indiana, but trading him ended up resulting in an important return.

July 29, 2019 – Indiana signed T.J. McConnell to a 2-year, $7M contract.  McConnell has been an important backup point guard for them given his ability to not only push the pace but also control the pace very well.  By year 2 in Indiana he received Sixth Man of the Year votes.

October 21, 2019 – Indiana signed Domantas Sabonis to a 4-year, $75M extension.  While they traded him, it honestly was a bargain of a contract.

August 26, 2020 – Indiana fired head coach Nate McMillian.  While he was a good coach for them, they made it clear that they weren’t satisfied with losing in the first round.  They ended up hiring Nate Bjorkgren (oops).

January 16, 2021 – Indiana got involved in the James Harden trade by flipping Victor Oladipo for Caris LeVert and a second round pick.  While LeVert had success in Indiana, they ended up doing very well with the return from trading him a year later.

June 9, 2021 – Indiana fired head coach Nate Bjorkgren.  While it wasn’t shocking that they missed the playoffs given their injuries, it was clear that the front office didn’t have faith in him.

June 24, 2021 – Indiana hired Rick Carlisle to be their head coach.  After Bjorkgren didn’t work, they wanted to hire an experienced head coach.  Carlisle has done an amazing job with the team and is the perfect fit with them.

August 6, 2021 – Indiana signed T.J. McConnell to a 4-year, $35M contract.

February 7, 2022 – Indiana traded Caris LeVert and a second-round pick to Cleveland for Ricky Rubio, 1 first-round pick, and 2 second-round picks.  These picks ended up being essential for Indiana’s current roster, as they used the first-round pick to draft Ben Sheppard and one of the second-round picks to draft Andrew Nembhard.

February 8, 2022 – Indiana traded Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, and a second-round pick to Sacramento for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson.  At the time, it felt like a slam dunk trade for Indiana (at the trade deadline, I gave Indiana an A and Sacramento a C+); while Sacramento has benefited more than I expected from Sabonis being there, Haliburton has been an amazing fit as a superstar with the team.  The most interesting part about this trade is that Indiana wanted to trade one of Myles Turner and Sabonis, but I was surprised they got back this return.

June 23, 2022 – During the 2022 Draft, Indiana drafted Benedict Mathurin with the 6^th pick and Andrew Nembhard with the 31^st pick.  Both players have been valuable in this playoff run.  Mathurin can be a streaky scorer, but he is an aggressive scorer who is the perfect player to have off the bench scoring in bunches.  Nembhard has been a great fit as a playmaker, defender, and shooter to be a great supporting cast member with this team.

July 9, 2022 – Indiana traded Malcolm Brogdon to Boston for Aaron Nesmith, Daniel Theis, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan, and a first-round pick.  Let’s focus on the big piece that is still with the team since the pick was traded, which is Nesmith.  At the time of the trade, I liked it for both teams; as a Celtics fan, I was bittersweet about losing Nesmith.  While Nesmith wasn’t playing a ton in Boston, I thought he was developing into an excellent 3-and-D player due to his shooting and athleticism.  He has been a crucial piece during the Finals run due to his shooting and elite defense

September 15, 2022 – Indiana signed James Johnson.  They have signed and waived him multiple times, but veterans are so huge, especially those who are as competitive and feisty as Johnson.  You can see just how important his leadership is to the team

January 1, 2023 – Indiana restructured Myles Turner’s contract and extended him.  They gave Turner a bunch of money for that season to reach the salary floor and extended him for two more years.  I admittedly was happy they did since he went from being a guy who was in trade rumors for years to being the perfect fit for this team, especially alongside Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.

June 22, 2023 – The 2023 NBA Draft occurred, and I think the best way of putting it is that Indiana did a lot.  They ended up with Jarace Walker with the 8^th pick, Ben Sheppard with the 26^th pick, and multiple picks, including some used in the Pascal Siakam trade.  While Walker didn’t play a ton in the playoffs due to injuries and still being a bit raw, he had a good regular season this year as a defender with an improved offensive game; I was high on him in this draft and believe that he will end up being a starting level player.  Sheppard has developed into a versatile wing off the bench, as he is a steady 3-and-D player who is pretty athletic.

July 6, 2023 – Indiana signed Bruce Brown to a 2-year, $45M contract.  This deal was stunning at the time since it didn’t seem like anybody else was going to make an offer like this to sign Brown.  Ultimately, it became clear that they did this since they had the cap space and would be able to use him in a trade (which they did that season).

July 7, 2023 – Indiana acquired Obi Toppin from New York in exchange for 2 second-round picks.  So far, this trade has been a steal for Indiana, as Toppin has been a great fit on offense while also holding his own defensively during the playoffs.  Even after Indiana acquired Pascal Siakam, he has been a great option off the bench due to his athleticism and finishing.

January 17, 2024 – Indiana acquired Pascal Siakam from Toronto in exchange for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis, and 3 first-round picks.  While the storyline was understandably the number of picks they gave up, neither first-rounder was that high, so it wasn’t as big of a price as they could have paid.  While I was bullish on the trade for Indiana (I gave Indiana an A for the trade), Siakam has fit even better than I could have imagined with this team; his athleticism and 2-way skillset slid in seamlessly.

February 8, 2024 – In a 3-team trade, Indiana traded Buddy Hield to Philadelphia and got back Furkan Korkmaz, Doug McDermott, 2 second-round picks, and cash.  This trade seemed like a strange trade for a team that was clearly looking to win after trading for Siakam, the biggest thing is that it allowed Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard to get more playing time, which was important for this season, especially in the playoffs.

June 27, 2024 – While Indiana had multiple second-round picks, the most notable was that they traded up to get Johnny Furphy.  He didn’t play a ton, but he was a nice body to have when needed and got some playing time down the stretch.

July 6, 2024 – Indiana resigned Pascal Siakam to a 4-year, $188.95M contract and Obi Toppin to a 4-year, $58M contract.  I thought that the Siakam contract was a no-brainer since he was the perfect fit.  His scoring aggressiveness allowed Tyrese Haliburton to be in a role where he was able to not necessarily be the top scorer each game, which aligns well with his game.  While there were some questions with Toppin’s contract, he proved all season that he is a great fit due to his frenetic finishing and improved shooting, especially in the playoffs when his defense was much better.

August 30, 2024 – Indiana resigned T. J. McConnell to a 4-year, $45M contract.  While it looked like during the regular season there were times that it might not have been the best contract, he had several performances that easily warranted the contract down the stretch of the season and the playoffs.  Ultimately, it is a pretty good contract for Indiana given the value that McConnell provides.

December 15, 2024 – Indiana acquired Thomas Bryant from Miami in exchange for a 2031 second-round pick swap.  After Indiana’s backup centers were all injured, they took a flyer on Bryant at a low cost, and I think it was a beneficial trade for them.  During the season, he played some key minutes due in large part to his threat as a finisher.

March 2, 2025 – Indiana signed Tony Bradley to a 10-day contract; they later signed him to a contract for the remainder of the season.  He didn’t play a boatload during the season, but he was valuable in matchups during the playoffs when Thomas Bryant or Obi Toppin at the 5 were not the right option.  At that point, that is about all you can ask for from an in-season signing, as most do not end up contributing during the season.

 

What were some moves you found interesting?  Let me know in the comments!