Sam Presti faces a pivotal decision: infuse a championship-ready roster with more young talent, trade for future assets, or package picks to aggressive move up the board.
Oklahoma City Thunder fans may be catching a bit of NBA Draft fever that has been going around lately.
While the Thunder qualified for the Western Conference Finals for the second straight season and for the sixth time in the past 16 seasons, this week's NBA Draft Lottery and NBA Combine has OKC fans pulling double duty. Enjoying the team's playoff success and researching the team's potential prospects with their two 1st Round picks.
A few nearly consensus popular choices have emerged for the higher of the picks at #12. Michigan forward/center Yaxel Lendeborg seems to be chief among the names that Oklahoma City fans have gravitated towards. He's joined by his national champion Wolverine teammates Aday Mara, the towering rim protector with a playmaker's touch, and Morez Johnson Jr, a high motor, versatile frontcourt defender.
But OKC does have another draft pick that they acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers at the #17 spot. The pick that Sam Presti attained from the Los Angeles Clippers understandably gets all the attention because it's 5 spots higher and is positioned in the lottery. However, the Thunder front office's decision on how to handle their second first rounder in a deep, talented draft will be a fascinating one.
The Thunder have three realistic options when they are on the clock at #17.
1. Draft a player. Make no mistake, there will still be plenty of talented players on the board at #17. Washington power forward Hannes Steinbach, Houston big man Chris Cenac Jr, New Zealand Breaker small forward Karim Lopez, Kentucky forward Jayden Quaintance and Arizona power forward Koa Peat are just a handful of high upside gems who may still be available for OKC's second pick.
2. Kick the can down the road. The Thunder are going to have a roster crunch on their hands. Every player currently on the team deserves real NBA minutes. There is no fat to trim. One spot will already need to be vacated for pick #12. Opening up another slot means another tough decision. Not to mention, OKC will already need development minutes for Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber and pick #12. Finally, the Thunder's famously rich draft pick treasure trove is starting to look thinner in the upcoming years. Not a bad idea to trade #17 for a future 1st round pick.
3. Package both picks to trade up. If OKC has a target in mind that they don't believe will still be there when they pick at #12, this is a viable option. It's not realistic to think the Thunder could move into the top four, but a small move up (a la Cason Wallace three years ago) is certainly on the table. Could combining #17 with #12 to jump to, say, #8 be a possibility to ensure getting a player such as Aday Mara or Brayden Burries? With Sam Presti at the helm and a bucket full of assets at his disposal, all options are on the table.