11 best OKC Thunder acquisitions in franchise 11-year history

OKC Thunder acquires Denver’s 2020 first-round pick, top-10 protected:

Jerami Grant was a great acquisition in himself by the Thunder (which we will get to later). He quickly blossomed into a great defender who played with great energy and athleticism and even developed into a pretty good three-point shooter with the Thunder. For these reasons, it didn’t take long for Grant to become a Thunder fan favorite.

However, despite becoming a fan favorite, he, unfortunately, gained enough interest across the league that he fell victim to the Thunder teardown of 2019. What Presti was able to get in return for him was at least a great value, especially considering what they gave up for him back in 2016 (which again, will be discussed later).

The first-round pick is respectable for Grant and there is virtually zero chance the Nuggets fall into a top-ten draft spot after this season, so it’s pretty safe to assume OKC will get this pick. The one downside to this trade is, again, he was loved in OKC and at the time of the trade was just 24 years old, so he easily could’ve stuck around and been part of the rebuild for OKC.

However, in teardown mode, a first-round pick became more valuable to the Thunder than Grant himself. It was tough to see Grant go but exciting to add another first-round pick to OKC’s arsenal.