Thunder Draft history – 2016
With the 2017 draft tonight, we finish our series of OKC Thunder draft history with the 2016 draft.
The Thunder entered draft night without a single draft pick. However, when you have a general manager like Sam Presti, this does not mean it was a boring night. Presti made the biggest move of the night when he traded Serge Ibaka to Orlando. In return OKC received Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Domantas Sabonis. Whether he knew what Kevin Durant had in mind or not, Presti did a good job of securing the future of the OKC Thunder.
The part of this trade which relates to the draft is Sabonis, the 11th pick in the 2016 draft for the Orlando Magic. For anyone who does not know the basketball pedigree of the Sabonis family, please look up Arvydas Sabonis. He was arguably the best passing big man ever to play the game, among his plethora of other skills. There is a small sample below.
The Thunder did not get Arvydas though; they got Domantas. I personally could not be happier with the Lithuanian rookie out of Gonzaga. Much has been documented about Sabonis not taking many threes in college. When he arrived in the NBA his game changed to a stretch four, as well as starting on a playoff team in the NBA.
The OKC Thunder went 5-1 in their first six games. This says a lot about the rookie. It talks about his energy, his effort and passion for the game.
Could OKC have done better?
The honest answer to this question is probably. Malcolm Brogden would have been an inspired choice but other teams needed to be interested in a Thunder asset. Ben Simmons would have been wonderful to have but what would have to be sacrificed.
MUST READ: Ten prospects for Thunder fans to look out for
In what I consider to be one of the weaker drafts in a long while, Presti got something back for Ibaka . At the time of the trade Presti would have been thinking about ensuring he could re-sign Durant for 2016-17 which means Ibaka would have been squeezed out at the end of the season through salary cap issues. Unfortunately 12 days later Durant left the OKC Thunder to hop on the Golden State gravy train. The rest, as they say, is history.
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Summary
Last year, Presti had a sows ear on draft day, as in he had no picks. He turned that into silk by acquiring Oladipo, Sabonis and by extension Jerami Grant. This is silk because he has secured the future of the OKC Thunder in the short to mid term. Last year was full of growing pains. The team was pretty much brand new playing against other teams whose cores have played together for years.
There will be organic growth this year within the club from Oladipo, Sabonis, Grant, Steven Adams and the rest of the young core. Add to this the supreme play of Russell Westbrook and there is a huge upside.
If Presti was able to do so well last season when he had no picks, how do you think he will go this year with the 21st pick? We will see tonight.