76ers trade Al Horford, picks to Oklahoma City in exchange for Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Wednesday that the Oklahoma City Thunder had traded Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Al Horford, a lightly protected 2025 first-round pick and tonight’s 34th overall pick.

The 76ers are also sending the rights of Serbian point guard Vasilije Micic to the Thunder. The 26-year-old was drafted by Philadelphia 52nd overall in the 2014 draft and has developed into one of Europe’s top point guards.

Last season, Micic averaged 14.5 points per game on elite shooting splits of 46.7%/ 39.7%/ 96.4%, along with 5.8 assists with the Turkish League’s Anadolu Efes S.K.

Anadolu Efes is one of Turkey’s best teams, and Micic has been a critical part of their success in recent years.

General Manager Sam Presti will likely fill the Thunder’s roster with players on rookie contracts for the next few seasons. Oklahoma City could afford to absorb big salaries like Horford, a player who will make $81 million over the next three seasons.

The Thunder acquired Danny Green on Sunday in the Dennis Schroder to Lakers trade. Green will bring spacing, perimeter defense, and playoff experience to a 76ers team that desperately needs all three characteristics.

Terrance Ferguson struggled mightily this past season as he dealt with off-court issues. Ferguson’s struggles seem to be mostly mental. A change of scenery could benefit the Tulsa Native greatly. A chance to get out of Oklahoma may lead to personal and professional growth for Ferguson.

Ferguson will benefit from being paired up with a great facilitator like Ben Simmons. Ferguson’s best seasons in Oklahoma City came with Russell Westbrook dishing the ball to him on catch and shoot threes.

Al Horford was famously linked with the Thunder back in the summer of 2016. Horford was the pitch to keep Durant in Oklahoma City. However, Durant’s decision to join Golden State led Horford to Massachusetts and the Boston Celtics. Horford was coached in Florida by then Thunder head coach Billy Donovan.

With Horford’s acquisition, the chances of Steven Adams being traded increase significantly. Adams’ market should be higher now than in previous offseasons with his expiring $27.5m contract.

Another critical wrinkle in this trade is the reports that the Thunder could renounce the rights of their free agents to take on Horford’s salary. This would mean a potential Danilo Gallinari sign-and-trade would be off the table.

The Hawks have been linked to Gallinari today, and there are rumors that he could sign with Atlanta as soon as free agency begins. The Hawks are a few teams who could outright sign Gallinari without needing OKC to take some salary back to make money work.

But another rumor gaining some momentum surrounding Gallinari is him being sent to the Mavericks in exchange for the 18th pick tonight.

We will have to wait and see what happens with the Gallinari situation.

The Thunder now owns the 25th, 28th, 34th, and 53rd picks for Wednesday’s draft.