Oklahoma City Thunder trade rumors 2016: Eyeing Millsap and Hayward next summer

A few weeks ago, many believed that the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to rebuild their team following the departure of their stars.

Serge Ibaka was traded off to the Orlando Magic for younger players while Kevin Durant moved to the Golden State Warriors. Russell Westbrook was the only superstar left in the Western Conference contender.

Many believed that Westbrook would follow suit, but in a surprising turn of events, the point guard signed a new three-year deal with the Thunder that ensures he would be with the team for at least the coming season.

Now, things have turned around as the Thunder are eyeing some big players that are hopefully going to blend well with Westbrook as they try to climb back to the top of the Western Conference.

According to reports, the Thunder are now looking forward to summer 2017, eyeing Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks and Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz.

It is rumored that the Thunder will do everything to avoid rebuilding its team, and these two stars will definitely help them maintain a good level of performance.

Gordon Hayward, who is 26 years old at the moment, is entering his seventh year in the league. Despite playing for the Jazz, Hayward should have enough experience to play for a contender like the Thunder, and his versatility should be utilized to the fullest.

Last year was Hayward's best in terms of numbers. He averaged a career-high, scoring 19.7 points per game. This was done while shooting around 43 percent from the field.

On the other hand, Millsap, 31, has 10 years in his professional career. However, he is still one of the most reliable power forwards in the game.

He has also been selected as an All-Star player in the last three seasons, and he averaged 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

Adding these two key pieces should easily make the Thunder a very strong team once again.