Top 5 takeaways from NBA Draft, what side OKC Thunder was in terms of trends.

OKC Thunder Draft Prospect Series: Darius Bazley (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKC Thunder Draft Prospect Series: Darius Bazley (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OKC Thunder, NBA Draft
Cameron Johnson poses for a portrait at the 2019 NBA Draft Combine (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Shooters in high demand:

Outside of the top three picks, there was plenty of reason to believe there would be ample shifts on the board. That said, it’s doubtful anyone could’ve predicted some of the massive shifts particularly in the lottery selections. And some of those were especially shocking like the Phoenix Suns vaulted Cameron Johnson (a presumed later 20s pick in the first round moved all the way up to 11th).

Likewise, other players who moved much higher than projected were

  • Rui Hachimura – selected 9th by Washington Wizards
  • Tyler Herro – selected 13th by Miami Heat
  • Romeo Langford – selected 15th by Boston Celtics
  • Ty Jerome – selected 24th by Phoenix Suns

Several other shooters got the nod ahead of their projected seeds. Some like  Dylan Windler, Jordan Poole, Kyle Guy, and Vanja Marinkovic also moved up. This only reinforces how valuable of a commodity shooting (especially from deep) has superseded other factors in the draft.

Of course, everyone was pulling for the OKC Thunder to earmark a 3-point sniper. Instead, they went for youngster Darius Bazley. Until we see more of the youngster we won’t be able to confirm if he has the perimeter acumen.