Three years ago, the Thunder did Utah a favor.
OK, the Jazz helped the Thunder, too, but while the OKC was changed on its edges, Utah was reshaped at its core.
At the February 2015 trade deadline, the Thunder, Jazz and Pistons pulled off a three-way trade. It was a guy who stayed put in Salt Lake City who benefitted the most — a then-22-year-old center a year-and-a-half into his career with only eight starts to his name.
Now, for the first time since that trade, the Thunder gets to see Rudy Gobert in the playoffs — a player who will be the biggest deterrent to OKC's success in its Western Conference first-round series against the Jazz.