OKC Thunder: Does Moses Brown impact potential Mobley selection?

The OKC Thunder will have a plethora of routes to embark on during this upcoming offseason, and the first key date that is marked on the front office’s calendar is July 29th, otherwise known as draft day.

Should all things work out perfectly, Sam Presti and co. could find themselves in possession of three total first-round picks.

As things currently stand, with the fact that the Thunder are boasting the fifth-worst record in the entire association, they subsequently find themselves with the fifth-best odds of winning the lottery and landing the No. 1 overall pick. However, as we are all aware, a team’s record is not a fool-proof indicator in determining the exact selection they may fall to.

With this, in recent mocks, we’ve seen Oklahoma City’s draft spot ranging from the No. 2 overall pick all the way to No. 7. Most recently, we saw B/R bestow the second pick to the franchise where they would go on to select USC standout center, Evan Mobley.

Viewed as a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate at the next level, the 19-year-old possesses high upside and, to many, is somewhat of a no-brainer add for this OKC Thunder team should he be available when they find themselves on the board.

However, a question that we at TI find ourselves asking is, with the fact that the ball club recently signed second-year big, Moses Brown, to a long-term contract, might that affect their drive to take the rookie prospect with their first selection of the night?

Is Moses Brown a factor in whether the OKC Thunder draft Evan Mobley?

Don’t get us wrong, we understand that Mobley’s ceiling is viewed as higher than Brown’s, but the modern-day NBA has shifted away from the dominant center and, instead, is geared more towards an emphasis on the wing and guard positions.

Sure, we are aware that his game seems to fit the mold of a modern-day big as well as the fact that some of the best players in the NBA today are residents of the five slot, with guys like Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic finding themselves at the top of the list for this year’s MVP race.

However, this does not take away from the greater importance that the other aforementioned positions have when it comes to sustained success in this league.

When looking back at the last 10 NBA Champions, only two teams seemingly had a dominant big serve as a major catalyst for their team — Dirk Nowitzki in 2010 & Anthony Davis in 2020.

The other eight teams were spearheaded by either a guard or wing.

Now, we’re not saying that Mobley wouldn’t be a solid addition to this rebuilding OKC Thunder squad. Instead, what we are suggesting is that being that the team already has a promising young center in tow with the likes of Brown, based on the various other holes found on their roster, we believe their best option could be to look into stockpiling their backcourt or wing rotation instead — at least, with their first pick.

With the likes of Jalen Suggs and Jalen Green likely to be available by the time Oklahoma City finds itself on the clock, knowing that they already have a rim-protecting, double-double threat down low in Brown could conceivably sway them away from taking Mobley and, instead, have them gear their attention more towards other positions of need.