Once the masters of the NBA Draft, the OKC Thunder and Sam Presti have significantly regressed in their draft selection prowess.
Once upon a time, the OKC Thunder drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and James Harden in three consecutive drafts. Oh, how the times have changed. The last draft Oklahoma City got true impact players, was five years ago in the 2013 NBA Draft.
In 2013, the Thunder selected Steven Adams, Andre Roberson via trade, and Alex Abrines. However, the Thunder could have drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert rather than Adams and Roberson. Deciding which duo would have or could have been more beneficial is splitting hairs. At the time and to this day I believe Adams and Roberson were the right fit for the Thunder.
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Furthermore, in each draft since 2013 the OKC Thunder’s draft decisions are a bit more questionable. In hindsight the picks have not been very good, essentially Oklahoma City has been drafting busts.
In defense of the Thunder and their front office the lower the pick the harder it is to hit on the selection. Yet, other teams front offices are managing to find talent lower in the draft. For example, in last years draft, the Warriors acquired a second-round pick from the Bulls for cash considerations. Golden State basically bought the pick from Chicago and drafted Jordan Bell.
Bell panned out better than anyone expected. Hence why he played meaningful minutes for the Warriors this season. Although, had teams known Bell was going to be as effective as he was he would not have fallen into the second-round.
With that, let’s examine the 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 NBA Draft’s a little closer with a specific view to this seeming slide by Sam Presti and the OKC Thunder.