2024 NBA draft

Big nick · Post #301 » by **Big nick** » Fri Jun 28, 2024 12:15 am

So maybe Utah drafting Kyle Filipowski means something!

Kizz Fastfists · Post #302 » by **Kizz Fastfists** » Fri Jun 28, 2024 12:46 am

Big nick wrote:So maybe Utah drafting Kyle Filipowski means something!

It means they wanted their backup for Lauri to have the same skill set. That helps create synergy within the roster so they can play the same when they go to the bench.

It is similar to what Presti is doing with adding ball handling wings instead of a real PF. It lets OKC run the same schemes because the only bigs, Chet and Jaylin, can both switch, stretch the floor, etc.

Kizz Fastfists · Post #303 » by **Kizz Fastfists** » Fri Jun 28, 2024 3:56 am

Now that I have gotten over Topic being an insane outlier for Presti I give the draft an A-. He nailed the Topic pick. He landed, arguably, the best player in the draft without giving up assets. Jones has the potential to be Giddey w/ a bit better 3pt shooting, although I don’t like the use of that roster spot on him.

My issue is with the Ajay Mitchell pick. Enrique Freeman was the top rebounding player in college last year and was on the board. He’ll be a combo forward in the NBA with solid ball skills and decent 3pt shooting. He would have been a perfect fit in OKC’s system. The best prospect on the board was Ulrich Chomche, with Ibaka potential. Either would have been a much better selection.

Devilanche · Post #304 » by **Devilanche** » Fri Jun 28, 2024 12:01 pm

I have recovered from the nobody bigger than 6’6” rule until free agency at least.

Still indifferent about topic and #26 was going to be depth anyway.

Kizz Fastfists · Post #305 » by **Kizz Fastfists** » Fri Jun 28, 2024 5:51 pm

Devilanche wrote:I have recovered from the nobody bigger than 6’6” rule until free agency at least.

Embrace the shortness. Chet, Jaylin and Dieng on the block for the best 6'5 wing OKC can bring in. Who can we get to complete the dream of a no big man roster?

WestbrookGOATed · Post #306 » by **WestbrookGOATed** » Fri Jun 28, 2024 7:26 pm

Anybody else kind of excited about Jack Gohlke? Lol

Post #307 » by **Dadouv47** » Fri Jun 28, 2024 8:34 pm

Devilanche wrote:I have recovered from the nobody bigger than 6’6” rule until free agency at least.

Still indifferent about topic and #26 was going to be depth anyway.

Read on Twitter

We will give an opportunity to a 6'9 though.

I like the fact that we keep going super small...one day I will have my shot to play for OKC.

Kizz Fastfists · Post #308 » by **Kizz Fastfists** » Sat Jun 29, 2024 4:15 am

The Thunder are going small, but is the league going back big? There were more 7 footers drafted this year than any draft since 2016. Was Presti chasing a league that was going small only to end up in a league that is going big again now that he is ready to compete? Will he adjust? Will he remain small and see how that works out against a league that is returning to an era of twin towers? Boston just won a title as a small team, but they faced the weakest path to the Finals anyone can remember. Tatum is 6'8 so they are still bigger than OKC.

mr570 · Post #309 » by **mr570** » Sat Jun 29, 2024 4:21 am

WestbrookGOATed wrote:Anybody else kind of excited about Jack Gohlke? Lol

Not in the least.

mr570 · Post #310 » by **mr570** » Sat Jun 29, 2024 4:34 am

The idea of going small is Presti trying to recreate 2015-2018 Golden State. It’s just a very half assed version to me.

It’s like everyone in the Thunder organization believes one of JDub, Chet, Shai can ad lib their way to positive possessions and playoff wins. But when they needed buckets in the playoffs, possessions were very grindy and ate up a lot of the shot clock. Even in the one series that they won! There was none of the free flowing offense that the Thunder seem to think is their birthright or that they are otherwise forcing. And imo it’s because they don’t have bigs who can space or otherwise rebound.

So that’s why I was very disappointed in the draft bc drafting Caruso looked like a win-now move. And then they not only kept their pick but added two guards on top of Topic. Was there no deal to be had with the Nets for Cam Johnson? Wizards with Deni Avdija? The two moves just don’t make sense to me when taking into account what seem like obvious needs.

Post #311 » by **retrobro90** » Sat Jun 29, 2024 7:47 pm

Watch on YouTube

Still a little skeptical on the Jones pick but I like his responses and BBIQ demonstrated in his tape breakdown. His role will be very different with OKC than Weber St but he seems very amenable and excited about that opportunity.

Clav · Post #312 » by **Clav** » Sun Jun 30, 2024 4:43 am

Not that it truly matters at the next level but I watched a lot of film on our picks over the last day.

As Topic was a more household name, I won't relay all the film on him - it's pretty evident he has NBA skills, but a lot is TBD after the ACL injury - which he should heal from but we won't see any of his play for a hot minute.

I'm fairly impressed with Dillon Jones overall - he has a lot of craftiness around the rim and really does make me think of Jdub. He demonstrated some nice shots and distributing of the ball, finding his guys. That being said, he doesn't look insanely explosive at times, and he didn't play at the highest level of competition. He did find ways to get good rebounding numbers and he played a boatload of minutes for Weber St.

My projection for next year is a changing of that high-minutes responsibility first and foremost. He will be definitely given time with the Blue, and if one of our Gs or Wings is injured, he could see upwards of 15 minutes a night in their place with the big club. We paid a decent price for this pick (5 seconds) and I hope he gets some run - but he will not correct the glaring issue our team faces this season. He may well be a solid pick, but is slightly derivative on our roster I think. I look to see how confident he plays as a winger loaded with them, and how he handles the pace of the game.

Ajay Mitchell also has some similar game to Jones, but he's a few inches shorter. Showcased I think better natural scoring for UC Santa Barbara, and was a more natural passer than Jones. He should be a fine bench-plug for offense at times, and I'm pretty high on him to make some noise in the NBA. Again, we're kind of loaded at the spot he plays, so without a trade above, or injury, he should rightly be on our GL squad. I should have a lot more notes for everyone here as I do catch our OKC Blue games if they are available to stream.

Defensively, for both players, I need to watch more of them vs. NBA or related speed before I make a post about it, but as with more rookies, they will struggle with the quickness and savvy of NBA players and their repertoire.

Side note - I'd like to see Keyonte Johnson get some more run with the Thunder, because he is a bigger dude than both of our draft picks, and he played a lot better in the final half of the GL season. He was on a TW contract and I'm not sure we've truly locked in all of those. Olivier Sarr suffered an Achilles injury in the GL finals, so he will be out all of next season. Interesting to see if we offer him a TW contract again, or a 2 year (2nd-ng) type deal.

Kizz Fastfists · Post #313 » by **Kizz Fastfists** » Sun Jun 30, 2024 5:30 am

Clav wrote:Side note - I'd like to see Keyonte Johnson get some more run with the Thunder, because he is a bigger dude than both of our draft picks, and he played a lot better in the final half of the GL season. He was on a TW contract and I'm not sure we've truly locked in all of those. Olivier Sarr suffered an Achilles injury in the GL finals, so he will be out all of next season. Interesting to see if we offer him a TW contract again, or a 2 year (2nd-ng) type deal.

A team gets three two-way contracts. OKC has Adam Flagger and Alex Ducas as two of them and I suspect Ajay Mitchell will be the third. Given that OKC would be at 14 roster spots after re-signing Joe and Wiggins, along with their 2 FRPs I can't see them using the 15th roster spot on an unproven player. They have about $28M to spend on a FA or take on in a trade. This is assuming they don't move Dieng or Kenrich to open more room on the roster and the cap. They might just resign Joe and Wiggins and be done or they could acquire a quality player for the 15th spot either directly into cap space or sending out Dieng and/or Kenrich with picks. If they trade Dort it opens up enough to sign a max FA that has under 10 years in the NBA and if they move Dieng and Kenrich as well they can give PG13 a max.

I don't expect them to go shopping for a max player in FA, but they do have the option by dumping salary or working out a S&T.

Devilanche · Post #314 » by **Devilanche** » Sun Jun 30, 2024 7:05 am

Kizz Fastfists wrote:
Clav wrote:Side note - I'd like to see Keyonte Johnson get some more run with the Thunder, because he is a bigger dude than both of our draft picks, and he played a lot better in the final half of the GL season. He was on a TW contract and I'm not sure we've truly locked in all of those. Olivier Sarr suffered an Achilles injury in the GL finals, so he will be out all of next season. Interesting to see if we offer him a TW contract again, or a 2 year (2nd-ng) type deal.

A team gets three two-way contracts. OKC has Adam Flagger and Alex Ducas as two of them and I suspect Ajay Mitchell will be the third. Given that OKC would be at 14 roster spots after re-signing Joe and Wiggins, along with their 2 FRPs I can't see them using the 15th roster spot on an unproven player. They have about $28M to spend on a FA or take on in a trade. This is assuming they don't move Dieng or Kenrich to open more room on the roster and the cap. They might just resign Joe and Wiggins and be done or they could acquire a quality player for the 15th spot either directly into cap space or sending out Dieng and/or Kenrich with picks. If they trade Dort it opens up enough to sign a max FA that has under 10 years in the NBA and if they move Dieng and Kenrich as well they can give PG13 a max.

I don't expect them to go shopping for a max player in FA, but they do have the option by dumping salary or working out a S&T.

Any chance Adam flagger get released from his two way ?
I was under the impression that Presti routinely like to reward playing the right way in the g league so it might just be a small way of giving him additional money.
I doubt he played much minutes or potentially cracking our roster this upcoming season.

Keyonte still have the better upside.

Clav · Post #315 » by **Clav** » Sun Jun 30, 2024 8:05 am

Devilanche wrote:
Kizz Fastfists wrote:
Clav wrote:Side note - I'd like to see Keyonte Johnson get some more run with the Thunder, because he is a bigger dude than both of our draft picks, and he played a lot better in the final half of the GL season. He was on a TW contract and I'm not sure we've truly locked in all of those. Olivier Sarr suffered an Achilles injury in the GL finals, so he will be out all of next season. Interesting to see if we offer him a TW contract again, or a 2 year (2nd-ng) type deal.

A team gets three two-way contracts. OKC has Adam Flagger and Alex Ducas as two of them and I suspect Ajay Mitchell will be the third. Given that OKC would be at 14 roster spots after re-signing Joe and Wiggins, along with their 2 FRPs I can't see them using the 15th roster spot on an unproven player. They have about $28M to spend on a FA or take on in a trade. This is assuming they don't move Dieng or Kenrich to open more room on the roster and the cap. They might just resign Joe and Wiggins and be done or they could acquire a quality player for the 15th spot either directly into cap space or sending out Dieng and/or Kenrich with picks. If they trade Dort it opens up enough to sign a max FA that has under 10 years in the NBA and if they move Dieng and Kenrich as well they can give PG13 a max.

I don't expect them to go shopping for a max player in FA, but they do have the option by dumping salary or working out a S&T.

Any chance Adam flagger get released from his two way ?
I was under the impression that Presti routinely like to reward playing the right way in the g league so it might just be a small way of giving him additional money.
I doubt he played much minutes or potentially cracking our roster this upcoming season.

Keyonte still have the better upside.

Presti will have to decide who is better to reward because both men have a case for a TW contract.

Flagler was not playing with the Blue for the first half of the season, and he came on to be the backup PG and backup SG. By season's end he was the starter and our GL team we won the Championship because in large part of his services at the G, Lindy going nuclear, and Dieng/Johnson playing admirably. Sarr was a huge component of it too, our GL team was quite balanced in the end.

Keyonte started slow as well, adjusting to the pace, but by season's end he was far more effective than Maldonado and McConnell, our other GL wings. Dieng was plainly average for 80% of the year, and turned it on in the final stretch.

So anyway you slice it, they both kind of played above their stature in the GL. Sarr, our other TW was injured for a while last year, and when in the GL games, was very effective, but then suffered a critical long-term injury (which really sucks cuz I am a fan of his). So I don't expect Sarr to be back, in fact, I think WAS will probably sign him to be with his brother in DC now, in some capacity.

Roster stands as such:

Spoiler:

Balkman32 · Post #316 » by **Balkman32** » Sun Jun 30, 2024 6:11 pm

slick_watts wrote:using these trash picks to throw spaghetti at the wall is fine. even if one out of three times you get an aaron wiggins it's worth it. it's pretty clear what sam presti is looking for.

Got to love that they traded this pick at the deadline for the ‘28 unprotected swap and got it back for 5 seconds. Thunder will struggle to roster non frp’s in the future.

bbms · Post #317 » by **bbms** » Tue Jul 2, 2024 1:55 pm

mr570 wrote:The idea of going small is Presti trying to recreate 2015-2018 Golden State. It’s just a very half assed version to me.

It’s like everyone in the Thunder organization believes one of JDub, Chet, Shai can ad lib their way to positive possessions and playoff wins. But when they needed buckets in the playoffs, possessions were very grindy and ate up a lot of the shot clock. Even in the one series that they won! There was none of the free flowing offense that the Thunder seem to think is their birthright or that they are otherwise forcing. And imo it’s because they don’t have bigs who can space or otherwise rebound.

So that’s why I was very disappointed in the draft bc drafting Caruso looked like a win-now move. And then they not only kept their pick but added two guards on top of Topic. Was there no deal to be had with the Nets for Cam Johnson? Wizards with Deni Avdija? The two moves just don’t make sense to me when taking into account what seem like obvious needs.

do 12th pick ever adress needs for top 3 teams in the nba?

i'm with presti. draft and stash + power fa and trade plays imo.

mr570 · Post #318 » by **mr570** » Tue Jul 2, 2024 5:57 pm

bbms wrote:
mr570 wrote:The idea of going small is Presti trying to recreate 2015-2018 Golden State. It’s just a very half assed version to me.

It’s like everyone in the Thunder organization believes one of JDub, Chet, Shai can ad lib their way to positive possessions and playoff wins. But when they needed buckets in the playoffs, possessions were very grindy and ate up a lot of the shot clock. Even in the one series that they won! There was none of the free flowing offense that the Thunder seem to think is their birthright or that they are otherwise forcing. And imo it’s because they don’t have bigs who can space or otherwise rebound.

So that’s why I was very disappointed in the draft bc drafting Caruso looked like a win-now move. And then they not only kept their pick but added two guards on top of Topic. Was there no deal to be had with the Nets for Cam Johnson? Wizards with Deni Avdija? The two moves just don’t make sense to me when taking into account what seem like obvious needs.

do 12th pick ever adress needs for top 3 teams in the nba?

i'm with presti. draft and stash + power fa and trade plays imo.

No they don’t. So you trade out of a bad draft for a player who helps you win now. I’m also going to dispute the top 3 thing bc there was very clearly a single top team last year, the west very easily could have had any of the top three teams as the number one seed and OKC getting it was a matter of luck over merit, and once the team made the playoffs the offense looked poor for long stretches in both series, even with the sweep. I’ll cede that they got much better with the moves over the summer but what am not a fan of what they did with the 12th pick.

Kizz Fastfists · Post #319 » by **Kizz Fastfists** » Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:30 pm

bbms wrote:do 12th pick ever adress needs for top 3 teams in the nba?

i'm with presti. draft and stash + power fa and trade plays imo.

The problem with your question is sample size. A top 5 team almost never has a lottery pick. Are we talking about top 5 at the time of the pick or the end of the following season? Lively for Dallas would be an example. OKC started with the 12th pick last year and turned it into Cason. GS drafted Kuminga, granted it was 7th not 12th, and won a championship with his contributions as a rookie.

Presti didn't execute a draft and stash. He drafted a player who will eat up a roster spot while recovering from a knee injury. He also added another rookie that will take up a roster spot limiting his ability to trade for players that fill holes and reducing the number of players he could sign. OKC will probably not use their $8M room exception because Presti likes to leave his 15th roster spot open in case he wants to give a g-league level player a NBA contract that will never contribute to the team, like he did Waters.

getrichordie · Post #320 » by **getrichordie** » Wed Jul 3, 2024 3:48 am

Kizz Fastfists wrote:The Thunder are going small, but is the league going back big? There were more 7 footers drafted this year than any draft since 2016. Was Presti chasing a league that was going small only to end up in a league that is going big again now that he is ready to compete? Will he adjust? Will he remain small and see how that works out against a league that is returning to an era of twin towers? Boston just won a title as a small team, but they faced the weakest path to the Finals anyone can remember. Tatum is 6'8 so they are still bigger than OKC.

I don't think it is lost on Presti that size is an issue. He just hasn't found his guy yet. I just know he's itching to add a player Jerami Grant or Pascal Siakam type player to the 4-spot. Someone tall, long, strong, and rangy w'/ ~elite athleticism. It wouldn't surprise me if we hear that he was trying to move up for one of Tijaun Salaun or Cody Williams, for example. Anyways, I do think he addresses that issue sooner than later. A quick fix would be to start Hartenstein.