Ringer’s O’Connor believes size/ length will intrigue OKC Thunder in draft

The month of April hasn’t been prosperous for the OKC Thunder with a single victory through 15 games. That coming via the win versus the Celtics ending the 14-game losing streak. The victory was important for team morale and served as a reminder of the Thunder franchise culture and character.

Yet, as much as ending the losing streak was important, efforts to close out the season on yet another losing streak are equally essential. OKC could end up with a few lottery picks but will have to wait for the draft lottery to find out where the Rockets pick lands (given the 1-4 protection).

That’s why the Thunder needs to focus on what they can control which is their own performance through the final 10 games. Historically the stretch run is dedicated to the playoff push but this season the complete opposite is true.

The Ringer suggests top two prospects would equate to massive OKC Thunder lineups

The ultimate prize would be winning the NBA Draft lottery. It’s a very deep class of prospects in 2021 but the top two projected players are potential generational talents. Specifically, they are Oklahoma State guard  Cade Cunningham and USC forward Evan Mobley.

Aside from being the cream of the college crop, these two have something else in common and that is positional height. Cunningham is 6’8″ while Mobley is 7’0.

Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer pointed to how these two would fit the Thunder roster. O’Connor further went on to suggest their presence would make for a lengthy core group.

"Landing one of them would allow the Thunder to someday utilize lineups in which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (6-foot-6) would be the smallest player on the court.Let’s say Mobley is the pick. SGA plays point. Aleksej Pokusevski (7 feet), Darius Bazley (6-foot-8), and Kenrich Williams (6-foot-7) are the wings. That’d be a lineup loaded with skilled tall dudes, which could create major matchup advantages for Oklahoma City."

These two will fit any team but their presence in OKC would also perfectly fit the new ‘resiliency’ era centered on positionless basketball. Consider the two main factors of the positionaless system. At any given point anyone of the players could bring the ball up court, take the primary role of playmaker, run pick and roll, or spread the court to shoot.

To O’Conor’s point, it’s a given Presti will covet these two, but it goes beyond just the simplicity of adding height to a team possessing plenty of it already.

Rather, it’s the system the club is growing into. Positionless ball works best with five capable two-way players. As noted, offensively, this tandem offers plenty of upside, however, imagine what the effect would be on defense.  It’s hard not to picture the fully extended arm of Aleksej Pokusevski alongside Darius Bazley and Evan Mobley for example. That’s a frontcourt any GM would be drooling over to replicate O’Connor’s suggestion.

Teams were already having issues with the  Thunder length with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander running the point. Consider what a lineup ranging from 6’6″ to 7’0″ could do on the court in terms of the overall capacity, but also the speed.

The Thunder will be hopeful the lottery balls be in their favor. The reality is even if OKC doesn’t get that lucky bounce it’s not like Presti can’t sweeten the pot with draft picks to trade up.

Some might ask why give up more draft picks — why not just wait until the 2022 draft? The answer to that question is two-fold. First, if Presti assessed the talent in 2022 to be as deep then fine. But, generational prospects don’t happen in every draft class.

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And second, for a franchise that prides itself on being competitive how realistic is it that the Thunder will be willing to keep losing at the same level (actually more) as they currently are in order to maximize the draft pick?

That’s not to say the franchise will be jumping right back into the playoff mix. But securing a generational talent(s) this season should be a priority.

With 10 games remaining the OKC Thunder are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers with the fifth-worst record and 10.5%  percent odds.  There is still a shot for OKC to move up, or rather move down, to the 28th seed to maximize their draft odds.

Notably, the bottom three clubs receive an equal 14 percent opportunity to land the top draft pick. For the Thunder to end up in that position they need to make up the two extra losses the Pistons and Magic have and hold off the Cavs. We’ll be looking at those clubs tomorrow in our Weekend Tank Wars.