The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired second-year wing Nique Clifford from the Sacramento Kings on Sunday for two second-round picks.
ESPN insider Brian Windhorst praised Oklahoma City’s approach to the deal, even while hedging on how Clifford himself will turn out.
Brian Windhorst Weighs the Kings’ Return Against the Thunder’s Wing Need
Windhorst broke down the trade on his podcast, “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective,” where he summed up Oklahoma City’s motive. “The Thunder need wings,” Windhorst said.
The Kings, meanwhile, came away with two of the 21 future second-round picks Oklahoma City held entering the weekend. The Thunder announced the deal Sunday.
Windhorst further questioned how the Kings landed on the two they took from a team with so many second-rounders to choose from.
“When you’re negotiating with a team that has 21 second-round picks, how much back-and-forth must have gone on for you to choose the two that you ended up getting? By the way, they got the Utah Jazz 2028 second-round pick, no idea how valuable that’ll be, and a 2030 Timberwolves second-rounder.”
Windhorst also pointed to what the Kings gave up. “So they traded a guy in year two of a rookie contract.” That contract pays Clifford $3.2 million this season and $3.4 million next season.
Windhorst paired a hedge on the second-year wing with a broader point about the franchise.
“I don’t know whether Nique Clifford will work out. But this is exactly the type of move the Thunder specialize in.” Part of the need, as he described it, is who has been filling those minutes. “They’re playing rookie two-way guys over 20 minutes on the wing right now,” he added.
The Thunder went looking for wing help after a rash of early-season injuries, and the two biggest came in a single late October home game against the LA Clippers.
Starter Jalen Williams came away with a broken left fibula and a dislocated left ankle, and fellow starter Cason Wallace with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Both could be sidelined for months, possibly the rest of the season.
Clifford arrived in Sacramento through the first trade Scott Perry made as general manager. On draft night in 2025, the Kings sent Oklahoma City a top-16-protected 2027 first-round pick from the San Antonio Spurs to acquire the No. 24 pick and take Clifford.
Clifford was a regular in the Kings’ rotation as a rookie, averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 25.1 minutes per game. This season, he was down to 1.6 points in 6.3 minutes per game.
Clifford had been stuck deep on coach Doug Christie’s bench even with injuries to players ahead of him, which led both the Kings and Clifford’s camp to look for a fresh start. The trade also frees a roster spot for Sacramento, which is 1-9 and 14th in the Western Conference.
Clifford, 24, joins a Thunder team that is 8-2 and second in the West despite the injuries to Williams and Wallace.
Oklahoma City gave Sacramento the No. 24 pick for a protected first-rounder on draft night in 2025, and it has now added the player taken with that pick for two second-rounders. How much of the workload Williams and Wallace left behind ends up with him is the Thunder’s decision.