OKC Thunder seen nabbing Jonathan Kuminga in recent mock

The OKC Thunder are in quite an envious position as we begin to ascend on the 2021 NBA offseason.

Though boasting the league’s fifth-worst record, being on a 13 game losing streak, and winning just two games out of their last 17 may not appear to be enviable on paper, when looking at the team’s big picture plans, it appears as though they are exactly where they want to be, for their end goal on the season is to attain as high of a draft pick as possible.

Usually, when it comes to tanking teams, the objective when snagging a top pick is to try and land a franchise player to build around for the future. However, what’s great about Oklahoma City’s situation is that they already have such a player in place in third-year combo guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, thus making to the brunt of the rebuild’s hard work already finished.

With this, the Thunder have a tremendous opportunity to choose many different routes to take with their draft night selections, as they can opt to follow the strategy of nabbing the best player available rather than looking to fill a specific position.

Because of this, in virtually every mock published over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Sam Presti and co. taking on different players at a multitude of different positions.

Most recently, in a Mock Draft done by CBS Sports, writer Gary Parrish has the OKC Thunder landing fifth on the illustrious night, where he believes G League Ignite standout forward, Jonathan Kuminga, could be a quality selection.

Recent Mock Draft has OKC Thunder taking G League standout, Jonathan Kuminga

Though the 18-year-old’s shooting woes may have some concerned about his long-term potential at the next level, Parrish is under the impression that, due to his build and freakish athleticism, taking Kuminga in the top-5 still seems like a border-line no-brainer idea:

"The fact that Kuminga only shot 24.6% from 3-point range with the G League Ignite was disappointing given the importance of perimeter shooting in the NBA. But he’s such an explosive athlete and generally gifted prospect that slipping out of the top five seems like an unlikely outcome."

Currently viewed as one of the best players at his position in this coming draft, Kuminga could be yet another solid prospect to develop alongside this young and talented OKC Thunder squad.

Perhaps overshadowed by fellow Ignite teammate, Jalen Green, was the high-level production put forth by the Congolese-born baller. Using his size, strength, and athleticism to physically dominate opposing players, the forward managed to post impressive per-game averages of 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, one steal, and just shy of a block per game.

Evident by his less than desirable splits of 38.7 percent shooting from the floor and 24.6 percent shooting from deep, Kuminga’s consistency in this aspect of his game must improve if he wishes to actually live up to being a high-end pick in this coming draft.

However, his defensive versatility and overall vigor have intrigued scouts enough to make them look past his shooting woes and list him close to the top of the draft’s leaderboard.

What say you OKC Thunder fans? Would you be up for taking Jonathan Kuminga with the team’s first pick?

Whatever they may be, leave your thoughts in the comments section below!