Overview
- Reports late Sunday say the Thunder sent 27‑year‑old Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Atlanta’s 2030 second‑round pick and the less favorable of the 2032 Hawks/Lakers second‑round picks.
- The deal removes Wiggins’s roughly $9.2 million salary from OKC’s books next season and cuts the team’s projected luxury‑tax penalty from about $213 million to $152 million.
- Wiggins, a 2021 second‑round pick developed by Oklahoma City, has three years left on a five‑year, $45 million extension and averaged 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 65 games last season.
- Atlanta is expected to absorb Wiggins’s contract using an $11 million trade exception created in the Luke Kennard deal and the trade may not be finalized until the NBA moratorium lifts on July 6.
- The move opens a roster spot for the Thunder and preserves their two high 2026 first‑round picks at Nos. 12 and 17, giving GM Sam Presti room to use those picks or pursue further salary‑saving moves.