Grading big NBA trades: Why did the Thunder send A...

playStephen A. emphatic that Giannis is worth a franchise-altering trade (1:22) The NBA offseason has officially begun, with Aaron Wiggins' trade to the Atlanta Hawks the first move of what should be a frenzied next month. The Oklahoma City Thunder are getting back two second-round picks in the deal for Wiggins, as the trade significantly decreases the Thunder's tax bill. This won't be the last trade, as teams have started wheeling and dealing ahead of the draft (June 23 and 24 on ABC/ESPN/ESPN app). Will Giannis Antetokounmpo finally be traded by the Milwaukee Bucks? Will any other stars be dealt? I'm grading every trade this offseason, breaking down the ramifications for all teams and players involved. To determine each grade, I'm looking at multiple factors, including the on-court impact and ages of involved players, the cost in terms of draft picks and future financial implications, and the context of the team's short- and long-term outlooks. How risky or certain is the move? And how much does it help or hurt the team's chance to win the championship, next season or beyond? Quick links: Latest buzz | FA signing grades | Trade machine Depth charts | Offseason guides | Draft coverage Atlanta Hawks get: G Aaron Wiggins Oklahoma City Thunder get: Two second-round picks (2030, 2032) What this means for the Hawks: Wiggins' acquisition continues a solid start to the offseason for Atlanta, which first extended CJ McCollum on a low-risk deal over the weekend. Wiggins also comes with low risk: He's on a good contract -- $9 million in 2026-27, $8.2 million in 2027-28 and $8.2 million on a team option in 2028-29 -- and the Hawks had to surrender only two far-off second-round picks to land him. In Oklahoma City, Wiggins had fallen to the edges of the NBA's deepest rotation, but he should have a much greater impact in Atlanta. The Hawks have a splendid starting lineup but were frightfully thin by the end of last season; in their six-game playoff loss to New York, Jonathan Kuminga was their only bench player to average more than 5 points per game or make more than eight total shots all series. Wiggins can do better than that: He has averaged 17 points per 36 minutes over the past three seasons while making 39% of his 3-pointers. That scoring ability should make him one of the first players off Quin Snyder's bench -- though it does raise further questions about 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher's place in Atlanta's rotation, if Wiggins earns more minutes on the wing. Download the ESPN app and enable Shams Charania's news alerts to receive push notifications for the latest updates first. Opt in by tapping the alerts bell in the top right corner. For more information, click here. The only factor dropping Atlanta's grade on this deal from an A to a B+ is uncertainty around Wiggins' true level. His numbers declined across the board in 2025-26 compared to the previous two seasons, most notably a true shooting percentage that was well above league average in 2023-24 (66%) and 2024-25 (60%) but fell below in 2025-26 (54%). But even middling production would make Wiggins a relatively valuable contributor in Atlanta, given the inferior options he's replacing. What this means for the Thunder: Wiggins is a solid player, but he'd become a luxury in Oklahoma City, where he was the 12th or 13th man in the rotation. While he helped raise the Thunder's floor in the regular season, serving as an effective fill-in when the players ahead of him were injured, he played just 75 minutes in the 2025-26 postseason. When Wiggins received opportunities to prove he belonged in the Thunder's conference finals clash against San Antonio, the Spurs played him off the floor. Still, Oklahoma City's decision to trade him is almost entirely motivated by finances, rather than his own play. In addition to removing the $9 million he's owed next season from their books, the Thunder will save a projected $61 million in luxury tax penalties with this trade, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. And because Wiggins is on an attractive contract, Thunder GM Sam Presti was able to acquire picks -- even less valuable second-rounders -- while shedding Wiggins' salary, rather than including picks to entice another team to trade for him. Expect additional moves of this nature as the offseason continues and Oklahoma City seeks to further reduce its exorbitant tax bill, which stands at a projected $152 million.

Grading big NBA trades: Why did the Thunder send A...

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