OKC has two lottery picks in the upcoming draft

[basketballRob]

They should go all in on Alex Sarr. I believe his brother already plays for the Thunder. Trade 3 or 4 picks to get the player they want.

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[Roy T]

Picks are overrated

Every star player in the league was a draft pick once…

[srhcan]

courtesy of Houston and Utah. Let’s say it ends up being the 9th and 10th picks of the draft.

What should they do with them? Stash young talent on cost controlled contracts? Or trade the picks with Giddey for a high impact player? Who would be the trade target?

Spurs also has 2 lottery picks this draft and they are much better picks (top 5 and top 10).

[MoneyTalks41890]

courtesy of Houston and Utah. Let’s say it ends up being the 9th and 10th picks of the draft.

What should they do with them? Stash young talent on cost controlled contracts? Or trade the picks with Giddey for a high impact player? Who would be the trade target?

Spurs also has 2 lottery picks this draft and they are much better picks (top 5 and top 10).

I mean that has nothing to do with the thread. The point is that the team is competing and has two lotto picks. Bad teams with lotto picks isn’t new. And right now Toronto would be keeping their pick, so it’s just their own high 1st.

[Anderson Hunt]

OKC needs to give Minnesota a call about KAT. He's the overpriced "star" with the skillset they need who will be ripe for the picking.

[Wagonband]

Picks are overrated

They really are. It baffles me how teams trade solid NBA starters for a mid 1st round pick... 75% of the time the guy that gets picked is worse than the guy he was traded for. 20% of the time you get the same player, and 5% of the time you improve.

And of course, it takes 3-4 years for that result. If i'm OKC i'm starting trading those picks to fill the gaps on my roster with star and borderline star players. The time is now for them to do something. Their core is hitting their prime.

[lethalizer]

Picks are overrated

Their core is hitting their prime.

OKC's 2nd and 3rd best players are a sophomore and a rookie.

This is a very interesting definition of prime.

[shi-woo]

Thunder are in a fantastic spot. If I was them i'm throwing the kitchen sink at Mikail Bridges over the summer, as it seems he's getting moved based on what all the pods and sources are saying this week.

OKC already has their core 3 at the poa (Shai) wing (Jdub) and paint (Chet). They have shooting for days , and a plethora of role players that can come in and take on higher roles in GI Joe, Wallace, and Wiggins if need be. They still have Dort and Giddy, and I think a package centered around them and some picks can really make sense in certain trade packages with certain teams. Trading for Hayward opened up a lot of doors, as they can really go for any contract in the game if the player is made available.

OKC is really going all in on the pace and space, and this year it's looking great with Williams and Shai going upernova and Jwilliams turning into a mini Paul Pierce on offense. We are going to get a lot of new information with Gordon suits up next week, as he is another ball handler with legit size to play the 4. If he looks good, and the team excels in the coming months, we will know exactly what type of player presti will go for.

Realistic targets:

Kat is the easy answer though IDK what they could give the Wolves to convinse them they will be better than they are this year.

I could see a trade working out with POR as they have the players, the contracts, and would probably want the picks. Grants contract is a little eh, but he fits what they are doing, and even a small trade that brings in a bench big like Rob would help. Grant is another player like Gordon who can play the 3/4 and excel in a pass heavy, spread em out offense. He's made his living off of that and came up in the organization too. Could be a good fit. Grant and Williams for Hayward and/or Giddy/Joe/Pick would be a good place to start.

Honestly though if a trade is made it makes sense it will be with the Nets for Mikail. There really aren't that many teams with the ability to make those type of big trades right now, nor are their many guys who are impact players on bad teams. Mikhail is like 27, Nets are toast with no future, and he's starting to talk and go to the media. Rockets are probably still going to persue him, but I think OKC can offer a better package if they wanted too.

Shai, Bridges, Williams, Chet would be too much to handle. Plug 4 okay role players like Wallace and Joe and you're competing for rings every year if healthy

[Patches Perry]

Picks are overrated for some organizations who are pathetic at drafting, but Presti has added 2 of OKCs 3 best players, Cason Wallace and a couple other decent rotation players just in the last two years through the draft. It's dependent on how adept an organization is at identifying talent.

The push to trade the picks ignores the financial aspect of management. Jdub and Chet will likely demand max or near max deals in a couple years in addition to Shai's deal. Those 1sts allow you to continually infuse cheap rotation level talent into your roster when finances tighten.

They also cleared roster space and salary with the Hayward deal, so I think they're going to keep with the strategy of building organically instead of selling the house to go all in.

[ThunderBolt]

Picks are overrated along with points, lock down defense, cap space, cheap contracts and good coaching, management and ownership. Everything is lie.

[jbsays]

Picks are overrated for some organizations who are pathetic at drafting, but Presti has added 2 of OKCs 3 best players, Cason Wallace and a couple other decent rotation players just in the last two years through the draft. It's dependent on how adept an organization is at identifying talent.

The push to trade the picks ignores the financial aspect of management. Jdub and Chet will likely demand max or near max deals in a couple years in addition to Shai's deal. Those 1sts allow you to continually infuse cheap rotation level talent into your roster when finances tighten.

They also cleared roster space and salary with the Hayward deal, so I think they're going to keep with the strategy of building organically instead of selling the house to go all in.

I agree with you. They are in great shape and don't need to make a big trade for a franchise guy because they already got them baring injuries. There is probably not a team in the league set up better for the future when it comes to players and cap situation.

[Roy T]

Picks are overrated for some organizations who are pathetic at drafting, but Presti has added 2 of OKCs 3 best players, Cason Wallace and a couple other decent rotation players just in the last two years through the draft. It's dependent on how adept an organization is at identifying talent.

I don’t think the OKC are that good at drafting, but they are elite at developing the players.

[LofJ]

They should go all in on Alex Sarr. I believe his brother already plays for the Thunder. Trade 3 or 4 picks to get the player they want.

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I think this is Presti's plan. Sarr can come in and focus on defense and rebounding (which is what OKC needs) while he slowly develops his offensive game. Unless a team like the Wizards are in a position to draft him it's going to be hard to turn down a huge offer from Presti.

[Slimjimzv]

I suspect the overall strategy is to let the rotation players go when their salary increases are due, and keep the rotation stocked with players on rookie scale contracts. That will allow them to keep their key players and extend their competitive window. With that, I wouldn't be surprised to see these picks get used to acquire or improve future year picks. It seems to be Presti's MO to target people he REALLY wants in the draft and go after them, and push back all other picks. And I'm not sure there's anyone he REALLY wants in this draft.

[pace31]

OKC SHOULD be really really good for a long time, but I still think they should've pushed a handful of assets into a deal for another solid player this season. SGA, Chet, and Williams haven't really missed any games at all so been a very healthy and successful season for them, but I think we all agree as they currently stand will be tough to run the gauntlet through the playoffs. They're having a fantastic year, with a truckload of assets, and I hate to see them possibly make a small punt on the season because of a "process".

If they could've gotten someone like Lauri at the deadline obviously that would've been a homerun, but it's a moot point because I just don't think there's any reason for us to trade him as we would be happy to land someone like him with any one of our treasure trove of picks. So no point in us taking on more picks in hopes to land someone like him with those. A more realistic one could've been someone like Klay who probably would've been very attainable and bringing in someone with his pedigree and championship experience could've really tipped the scales for them IMO this season

[Ball4life32]

I think ideally they'd like to move Giddey and those picks for Mitchell or Trae in the offseason. Trae seems doable, Mitchell would be better, but it's hard to see him agreeing to commit to Oklahoma City. Either way, those picks are going to be far more valuable as a trade asset than they are in the form of the players they would select. Their rotation is pretty solidified.

No chance Hawks trade him there and then tank without their own picks.

[BarbaGrizz]

I think they´ll try to move up and I can see Memphis willing to trade down if we end up the #5

[Slimjimzv]

OKC SHOULD be really really good for a long time, but I still think they should've pushed a handful of assets into a deal for another solid player this season. SGA, Chet, and Williams haven't really missed any games at all so been a very healthy and successful season for them, but I think we all agree as they currently stand will be tough to run the gauntlet through the playoffs. They're having a fantastic year, with a truckload of assets, and I hate to see them possibly make a small punt on the season because of a "process".

If they could've gotten someone like Lauri at the deadline obviously that would've been a homerun, but it's a moot point because I just don't think there's any reason for us to trade him as we would be happy to land someone like him with any one of our treasure trove of picks. So no point in us taking on more picks in hopes to land someone like him with those. A more realistic one could've been someone like Klay who probably would've been very attainable and bringing in someone with his pedigree and championship experience could've really tipped the scales for them IMO this season

The problem is, they still need to evaluate. No one projected JDub to progress or Giddey to regress the way they have. Lu Dort is hitting 3's and being more efficient, Isaiah Joe is better defensively than anyone suspected, and Aaron Wiggins is as underrated a role player as they get. If you bring in a big name, it could hamper the development of a team that's showing a ton of progress. Like it or not, Presti is a patient GM. In this case, I agree with his strategy. We don't want to be the Hawks of two years ago who thought they were ready for the title and pushed in bunch of chips, only to see the development of players zig instead of zag.

[Dan Z]

Yup, no guarantee Utah stays in the top 10. Also with the flattened odds, they could just as likely end up with no lotto picks.

If that happens the Utah pick will then move to 2025 with a top 10 protection (and 1-8 protection in 2026).

That also means that OKC would have 4 first round picks in 2025 (Utah, OKC, Philly and Miami). They won't need 4 rookies.

Why doesn't OKC keep their assets and stay in the hunt for a disgruntled superstar, someone like Giannis?

That's okay in theory, but Giannis has to want out and be okay with going to OKC.

Then OKC needs to have enough assets for Milwaukee to agree to it.

Next year OKC might have 3 first round picks. Then 3 in 2025. If a trade for a star doesn't happen (or even for a vet or two) then they'll have too many rookies. The other option is trading those picks for later picks down the road (if a team or teams agree to that).

[davidv2001]

OKC needs to give Minnesota a call about KAT. He's the overpriced "star" with the skillset they need who will be ripe for the picking.

Minnesota is not trading Towns for Josh Giddey and picks when they are at the top of the Western Conference. Unless Presti can make it a three-team deal where Minnesota gets an established star in return, it will not happen.

Mikal Bridges in Brooklyn is far more realistic for a package of Giddey and picks. Brooklyn needs a playmaking point guard, and they aren’t going anywhere with their current roster.