Thunder Trading ‘Best Defender’ Lu Dort to Hawks Stuns Social Media – “Just Got Weaker”

Lu Dort went from an undrafted guard plying his trade in the G League, to becoming one of the most important players for the Thunder.

Thunder Trading ‘Best Defender’ Lu Dort to Hawks Stuns Social Media – “Just Got Weaker”

OKC trade Lu Dort away (Image via FirstSportz)

In the middle of last year, everyone associated with the NBA knew that the Oklahoma City Thunder’s defense was largely one of the reasons for their success. That is why many opposing teams were looking for their version of defensive menace Lu Dort.

He is never called by his full name, Luguentz Dort, as commentators and teammates prefer to refer to him with the shorter version. But what is not short about him is how good he is at slowing down or stopping opposing players.

His effort on that side of the ball is such that head coach Mark Daigneault preferred to keep him on the opposing team’s best scorer for long durations, despite knowing that the Canadian is not a good scorer.

The Thunder may not have been able to return to the NBA Finals this past season, but that was not an indictment of Dort. Rather, it was the team’s lack of scoring with Jalen Williams injured and Chet Holmgren struggling.

This offseason, the team was expected to make some moves, as the roster could not remain the same, especially after the front office gave the Big 3 massive extensions over the past few years.

But no one was ready to accept that the Oklahoma City Thunder were willing to move on from Lu Dort. For someone earning just $17 million a year, his defense outperformed his salary.

But OKC needed to get under the salary cap, which is why they first picked up the guard’s option and then traded him to the Atlanta Hawks for essentially three second-round picks.

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Fans react to Lu Dort trade news

When the news of this trade reached everyone’s notifications, fans were left baffled by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s decision. They felt that the team should have traded away Chet Holmgren after his abomination of a performance against Victor Wembanyama.

Instead, trading away Lu Dort, who is without a doubt their best defender, left fans claiming that the team grew a lot weaker than it was. They touted the offense wins games while defense wins championships mantra on social media, examples of which are below.

In the Thunder’s defense, the NBA’s stringent Second Apron is the reason they had to trade away Lu Dort to create cap space. That hard cap is touted as the reason other teams have traded away some of their better players, as the punishments are severe. That is why the Oklahoma City-based franchise could not be faulted for following that line of thought.

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Thunder without Lu Dort will have to depend on their Big 3

Lu Dort‘s defense was praised in the seven-game Western Conference Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs. He kept their opponents’ young guards in check for the most part.

The Thunder Big 3 will have greater responsibilities next season
The Thunder Big 3 will have greater responsibilities next season (Image via Bleacher Report/X)

If the Oklahoma City Thunder face their rivals next season, they will now have to ask their Big 3 of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren to take over the defensive duties the undrafted guard leaves behind.

The team does not have a problem defending the interior, as was evident in some of those WCF games. But they must keep the perimeter locked up, as teams in the West are loaded in that area.

Since the Spurs reinforced their team over the offseason, the Thunder will likely have to come up with ingenious ways to counter their possible West Championship rivals.

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