NBA trade rumors: OKC and Sacramento may be working to move Casspi

While the Oklahoma City Thunder are currently the leaders of the Northwest Division, they are only holding on to the lead by the skin of their teeth.

At the moment, they have an 8-6 record and only have a half lead over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Russell Westbrook has been playing phenomenal basketball and has carried the Thunder better than what most expected, but it is far from what the franchise and fans desire.

If the playoffs started today, the Thunder would only be sixth in the Western Conference and would have to face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. This is surely a match-up they would not want to have. However, the mentality of the Thunder is still positive and they have a good core to play with.

There are rumors now linking the Thunder to a shooting forward from the Sacramento Kings, Omri Casspi.

Often, the talks between the Thunder and the Kings have revolved around bringing Rudy Gay to the Thunder. However, that would prove to be difficult given the price Gay has on him and how limited the movement Oklahoma City has in terms of budget.

With Casspi, they can have a player who can stretch the floor a bit with his outside shooting and is relatively cheap.

He does not have the numbers that Gay provides, as he only averages 4.3 points per game in the new season. He averages a little better in his career at 8.4 a game, while shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc.

Most importantly, Casspi's deal expires by the end of the season and his contract is only worth $3 million. This is something the Thunder can work around if needed.

There are a lot of things left on the table, but with the transfer window closing soon, this may be a move that the Thunder could look into for momentary help for Westbrook.