The Oklahoma City Thunder’s cost-cutting measures continue.
Days after they traded veteran Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks in a move that saved them $61 million in luxury tax payments, they’ve agreed to trade Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for two second-round picks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Friday.
Joe, a second-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2020, signed with Oklahoma City in 2022 after struggling to crack Philly's rotation during his first two years in the league. A deadeye shooter, Joe immediately became a part of the Thunder's rotation and signed a four-year, $48-million deal to stay with the team ahead of its title-winning 2024-25 season.
Though he posted a career-high 11.1 points per game this past season, Joe was expected to be a casualty of Oklahoma City's looming luxury tax bill and desire to duck the second apron.
With extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams about to kick in, as well as a massive pay bump for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looming in 2027-28, the Thunder's famed depth was due to be thinned.
Oklahoma City found a taker for Joe in the Pistons, who have sought shooting since Malik Beasley’s exit last summer. They attempted to fill that hole with the acquisition of Kevin Huerter at the trade deadline, and have now hope to have done so more effectively with the move for Joe, who knocked down 42.3 per cent of his triples last season.
