There is an enticing team that joined the observations of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s situation in the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, the status of Gilgeous-Alexander in OKC stands as one of the situations that Toronto Raptors are “closely monitoring.” Speculations are in that the promising guard could grow tired of spearheading the club’s ongoing rebuild.

“One of the situations they’re closely monitoring, according to a league source, is in Oklahoma City, where Toronto-born star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may eventually tire of leading a rebuild. The Thunder have gone 46-108 over the past two years and don’t seem close to turning the corner, especially after losing second-overall pick Chet Holmgren to an off-season foot injury.”

After five-straight years of postseason ups and downs, the Thunder tore their core down and handed the keys of their future to Gilgeous-Alexander in 2021. In last year’s offseason, SGA even cemented his commitment to remain in Oklahoma via five-year, $172 million maximum rookie contract extension.

As such, given that lead executive Sam Presti amassed a jaw-breaking amount of draft picks, it appears that the franchise remains leaning to their long-term reconstruction. They are also poised to remain stuck at the lower echelon of the barbaric Western Conference. So far, their desired direction remains uncertain with rebuild still ongoing, which sparked offseason murmurs of Gilgeous-Alexander soon leaving out of frustration from losing.

In Oklahoma City’s media day, Gilgeous-Alexander stated though losing for the past two seasons is frustrating, he still understands what he signed for. He also made it clear that his belief is still there and the team’s losing stretch won’t last for much longer. 

It may seem to add pressure on the side of OKC, but only time can tell what the franchise can fully achieve if they finally completed their rebuild project. For now, SGA seems comfortable with the flow of his ball club. But still, the idea of playing for his hometown team as a Canadian sounds appealing.