Smith and Wilkins are not part of OKC's long term plans. They get to nibble on a couple young guys who hustle and bring energy - Powe is a solid backup 4. Walker has nice potential. Tony Allen will at least bring energy and defense. Scal is a throw in with only 1 year left on his deal.
Young locker rooms can benefit greatly by getting players from a title team.
OKC saves 300,000 this season, and also could be given cash to offset the extra 2.5 mill they will be paying Allen/Scal in place of Wilkins next year.
In the end its a swap of fairly mediocre talent both ways.
Nice job explaining your rationale...but I can't say I agree.
Joe Smith, even at his age, is the best player in this trade.
Tony Allen is worthless as a player, and his skill set is redundant in OKC. Scal's veteran presence only goes so far, but I do agree he's of some value in terms of clearing money off the books.
Leon Powe has had half a season of effective play in his career. I don't agree that he's a solid backup 4. He's on the fringe of being one, but that outcome is debatable based on my own observation.
And Walker is nothing but potential at this point. I think he's worth more to us than to OKC. Plus, between Durant and Green, Walker would not see the light of day over there.
Basically, I expect them to get more for Smith, if he's even on the market.