NBA Draft Winners and Losers: David Griffin is back, Suns not shining, where OKC Thunder land

Okay hear me out, the OKC Thunder did not exactly win the NBA Draft. I know I might be having to dodge tomatoes being hurled at me from the comment section as I say that, but let’s face it this is not at all what OKC Thunder fans or even NBA Draft experts thought would happen.

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

With Grant Williams, Bol Bol, Jontay Porter, Carsen Edwards, Dylan Windler, Kevin Porter Jr., and Keldon Johnson still on the board, to name a few, the OKC Thunder drafted a New Balance Intern. Leave it to Sam Presti.

Now Darius Bazley is not exactly a “intern” it was a title he used to allow him to “work” for New Balance and grab a paycheck from the company while he spent all his time training for the NBA, a luxury players who went to college do not have, as they have to juggle other tasks besides basketball.

But the 21st pick was rumored to take many twists and turns. From Mattise Thybulle to Nic Claxton, to trading the pick for a win-now veteran, and seemingly everything in between. For it to end up being spent on Darius Bazley is anticlimactic, to say the least.

I mean, we have not seen him dominate organized basketball since High School.

Sure, his spicy highlights will get fans excited, and maybe he will participate in summer league (if Nike does not toss an internship his way) and dazzle us with his atheism in Vegas. But I have a hard time believing Bazley will make a year one impact for the OKC Thunder.

That is sad to say, as the OKC Thunder are coming off their third first-round bow out, with limited funds and assets to spend to improve the disappointing team.

OKC needed a pro-ready player in the first round, and it does not seem like they got one.

The NBA Draft was crazy, as always, but now the NBA  and OKC Thunder turn their sights onto free agency.