OKC Thunder: 2 backcourt players to pair SGA with next season

Backcourt target for OKC Thunder No. 1) Cade Cunningham

All season long, the majority of buzz surrounding the upcoming 2021 NBA Draft has surrounded the likes of Oklahoma State standout, Cade Cunningham.

During his one-and-done season with the Cowboys, the 19-year-old played in 27 regular season outings and, in turn, produced to the tune of 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep.

With his production, the Texas native wound up being bestowed a treasure trove of individual accolades and honors that includes a Consensus first-team All-American selection, First-team All-Big 12, Big 12 All-Freshman Team, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, NABC Freshman of the Year, and USBWA National Freshman of the Year.

At his size of 6-8 coupled with his specific skill set, one could describe Cunningham as a point guard trapped in a wing’s body which, by all accounts, bodes tremendously well for his NBA prospects and should easily make him a top priority for the OKC Thunder, as head coach Mark Daigneault has made it abundantly clear that his desire moving forward is to role out positionless rotations.

Having him run alongside their current combo guard in Gilgeous-Alexander would give Daigneault the luxury of mixing and matching with Theo Maledon and Luguentz Dort also being in the mix.

Though the Thunder currently find themselves slotted in closer to the 10th overall pick than the No. 1 where Cunningham is likely to be taken, if OKC really wants to add him they could easily trade up to nab him with the use of their bevy of future draft picks via trade.

The only question is, how sold is Presti on the man’s potential?