Mar. 30, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns center (4) Marcin Gortat against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

According to a report by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix Suns and the Oklahoma City Thunder are in having discussions about a potential trade that would send Marcin Gortat, and P.J Tucker to the Thunder in-exchange for Jeremy Lamb, Kendrick Perkins and a future first-round draft choice.

Paul Coro wrote: “Another source said there was All-Star break talk of Oklahoma City exploring Marcin Gortat and P.J. Tucker for Kendrick Perkins, Jeremy Lamb and a first-round pick.”

This deal isn’t exactly a new proposal as hypothetical deals similar to this one was all over the internet when the Thunder were torn between whether to give Serge Ibaka or James Harden the long-term deal.

What this deal does for the Thunder is that it saves them a bunch of money come the 2014-2015 season. Perkins has two-years remaining on his deal after this season, and he’s set to make roughly $8.5 million next season and $9.2 million the season after.

The Thunder are trying desperately to avoid the luxury tax, as the harsh NBA luxury tax rules under the new collective bargaining agreement would be cancerous to a small market team like the Thunder.

Oklahoma City currently has five players under guaranteed contracts for the 2014-2015 season including Perkins and the Thunder owe $59.4 million dollars to those five players alone, that in it of itself is above the salary cap which is roughly around $58 million. Gortat has only one-year remaining on his contract after this season and he’s set to make about $7.7 million next season. In theory, Gortat would also be a much better fit on the Thunder than Perkins given that the Thunder love to run, push the pace, and Gortat gets up and down the floor much quicker than Perkins. Gortat is also a solid mid-range shooter which can help the Thunder create more spacing offensively.

The Thunder would also receive another quality player in P.J Tucker who’s playing on a minimum contract and on top of that, the Thunder can elect not to pick-up Tucker’s option for next season. Tucker is set to make only $762,195 this season and has a team-option for $884,293 next season; give his production, that’s a steal.

So what the Thunder would accomplish should a trade such as this takes place is that, the Thunder would free up over $9 million dollars for the 2014-2015 season which would give them that much more freedom financially to sign other free-agents.

This deal makes a lot of sense for the Suns as well. The Suns have been trying to move Gortat but his value has been diminishing rapidly. In this deal the Suns would get in return a solid center in Perkins who can anchor the middle of the defense for the next two seasons, a lottery-pick in Jeremy Lamb who has failed to crack the rotation in Oklahoma City with Kevin Martin around, and a future first-round draft choice.

With the addition of Lamb and another future first-rounder, the Suns would have that much more assets heading towards the future. Stick and stay with SunNGun.com for all the latest updates on the Phoenix Suns.

Feb. 10, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket against Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat (4) in the first quarter at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder issued another dominant 97-69 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Four of the Thunder’s five starters scored double figures. Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 24 points, while Thabo Sefolosha followed with 20 points after sinking 5 of his 7 3-pointers. Kevin Durant finished with 18 points and led the Thunder in rebounds with seven.

“We played the same as we did last time,” Westbrook said. “I think we did a good job of that, and maybe even better this time.”

The fourth quarter for the Thunder was once again 12 minutes of rest vs. the Suns. Phoenix perpetually struggled to keep pace with this “thunderous” Thunder team. Phoenix never had a single lead in the entire game, part of which was because of the team’s 22 total turnovers. According to the Suns Twitter feed, this messy outing was a product of committing too many mistakes against an exceptional team.

“When you give a great team every option in their playbook you’re not going to win,” interim head coach Lindsey Hunter said.

Like AC/DC’s classic album and single “Back in Black,” the Suns looked to change the very-recent history from two nights ago with their throwback black uniforms. Well for those superstitious believers out there, the Suns’ attire selection was rendered moot despite their aesthetic appeal.

Oklahoma City consistently demonstrated their absolute and utter superiority in this sequel of back-to-back encounters against the Suns. Phoenix seemed to be playing in the same undead state as the zombies in Sunday’s second-half season three premier of “The Walking Dead.”

In their 27-16 first-quarter lead, the Thunder closed with a commanding 8-0 scoring run with every major statistical category in-hand including field goal and free throw percentages, fast break points, assists and steals.

By the end of the second quarter, Westbrook’s 3-point buzzer beater put the embarrassing dagger in the Suns with a 51-34 lead. Phoenix attempted 13 more baskets, but shot 17 percent lower than Oklahoma City’s 47 percent from the field. Although both teams had trouble in the low post, the Suns were only able to reach the free throw line once. Rebounding, by extension, was another area where the Suns struggled. Of the team’s 14 offensive rebounds, P.J. Tucker accounted for seven.

The Thunder continued to roll in the third quarter with a 74-48 lead. Hunter’s game plan by this time clearly was to involve the younger players on the Suns’ roster. The truest indication was the benching of Jared Dudley in favor of Kendall Marshall. With such a distinguishable point differential, the Thunder certainly had the same mentality entering the fourth quarter.

“The thing about our team we have guys who can come in and do a good job when needed,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “There are some guys who don’t get to play, but it nice for them to get opportunities.”

Until the midway point of the quarter, no Suns player scored double digits until Markieff Morris barely broke through with 12 points. Simply put, Phoenix as a whole mightily failed to put the ball in the hoop. Yet in spite of this horrifying result, the Suns are apparently trying to take this process one game at a time.

“You treat it as one game,” Hunter explained. “It is like having a bad day at work and nothing goes right for you. Look at it and you go on. You know what? I am glad today is over, let’s start over. You do not hang your head and dwell on it, you move on. And that is what we are going to do. That is my job not to let the guys have pity parties.”