OKC Thunder: 3 ‘what if’ moments that changed the franchise’s trajectory

The 2015 NBA Draft Candidates

In the 2015 NBA draft, Oklahoma City were caught in a tricky situation. They had a severe need for perimeter shooting but were also looking at acquiring a young player to develop behind Westbrook. While the Thunder ended up taking Cameron Payne with the 14th overall pick, OKC took serious meetings with five other players: Stanley Johnson, Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre, Myles Turner and Devin Booker.

Before we get to Booker, the OKC Thunder were very interested in Johnson and Turner but understood they would likely be selected inside the top 10. The Pistons would select Johnson with the 8th pick while Turner surprisingly fell outside the top 10 and went 11th overall to Indiana.

OKC looked seriously at Rozier but thought of him as a second round prospect. When Boston selected him with the 16th overall pick, the selection was universally criticized. While his tenacity was an attractive quality for many teams, most expected him to go in the second round.

Oubre was a favorite but Oklahoma City had Kevin Durant and just extended Kyle Singler for four more years (enter groans here). Despite his impressive physical tools and reliable outside shot, the Thunder passed (much to many pundits dismay).

Devin Booker

Devin Booker was an intriguing prospect suspected of going in the range of 11-15. Coming off an impressive freshman year at Kentucky, his elite marksmanship from range (41.1 percent) caught the eye of Durant and Westbrook. Since trading Harden in 2013, Oklahoma City severely lacked a legitimate scoring punch off the bench. To further complicate things, OKC had Lamb, Andre Roberson, Anthony Morrow and Dion Waiters on the roster creating a logjam at the shooting guard position.

Interestingly, Durant later revealed that it was he who made the biggest push for Booker’s selection on Bill Simmons Podcast. KD was familiar with the then-19 year old guard from various basketball camps he hosted and was bullish on OKC selecting him.

“We called Devin Booker,” Durant said. “We wanted Devin Booker in OKC. I wanted him.”

Imagine this:

With Booker blossoming into a star and Payne being consequently traded, this is huge “what if” moment. From a fans perspective, I was suspicious of Payne’s college stats since he was playing with Murray State. Were his stats legitimate or empty? As things have played out, it was the latter.

With GM Sam Presti supposedly promising Payne his selection prior to the draft, OKC never appeared to be serious on Booker despite KD’s burning desire to acquire him. Had Presti taken KD seriously, Booker would’ve changed Oklahoma City’s landscape moving forward, even if Durant decided to leave.

Instead, we get to watch performances like the above in a Phoenix Suns uniform.