The Thunder did not expect to see Jones III that late in the draft but could not pass up the opportunity to draft a player as talented as Jones III.

Jones III played two seasons at Baylor. He was projected to be a lottery pick after his first season and could have been this year too if this draft wasn’t as deep and if concerns regarding his knee didn’t come up.

Jones III averaged 13.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and shot .549 percent from the floor as a freshman at Baylor. Last season as a sophomore he averaged 13.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and shot .500 percent from the field.

Jones III averaged around 14 points per game in high school as well. His productions has never quite lived up to the talent he possesses. Jones III has been compared to a mix of Rudy Gay and Josh Smith. He is a power forward who is skilled enough to make plays on the perimeter some as well.

Below are a few highlight vides of Jones III. The first is DraftExpress’ official draft video for him, then some highlights while he was at Baylor and the third is from Hoop Mixtape.

Bradley Beal was the player on Oklahoma City’s radar. Thunder GM Sam Presti had expressed interest in trying to move up to take the guard from Florida.

Trading up to pick Beal would have meant trading James Harden to Charlotte.

This took Thunder fans aback leading up to the NBA Draft. Harden was such an important piece to this team, one beloved by the fans.

As the Draft grew nearer, the Thunder dispelled any rumors involved trading Harden.

Leftover draft chatter: OKC officials took steps in recent days to assure James Harden he wouldn’t be dealt for top-3 pick & then proved it

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 29, 2012

The potential trade seemed unlikely in the first place despite it possibly making some sense for both sides. From the Thunder front, it’s good to hear that Harden didn’t have to sit through the Draft wondering if he might suddenly get traded.

Thunder GM Sam Presti on the James Harden rumor: “James Harden is a coveted player. But I don’t think anyone covets him as much as we do.”

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) June 29, 2012

The Thunder may not have traded up into the lottery in the draft but they did still end up drafting a lottery-level talent in Perry Jones III of Baylor.

Jones III fell to OKC at pick No. 28 as the former projected lottery pick slid further than almost anyone expected in the first round.

Things could not have gone better for the Thunder in the Draft. They didn’t expect to make any substantial picks and ended up having a potential gem fall right into their laps.

These are the kind of things that tend to happen to teams right before they start winning championships.