Seemingly as soon as the league year began, the OKC Thunder and their fanbase have been counting down the days till the end of the 2020-21 regular season, for this team is simply not built for the now but, instead, building for the future.
After five straight postseason appearances and 10 total throughout their 13-year existence, Sam Presti and co. opted to call it quits on contention this past offseason when they traded away the majority of key talents that guided them to the fifth seed in the Western Conference during the 2019-20 campaign.
In turn, Oklahoma City has gone about and stockpiled even more assets best served for the future, for, through the front office’s impressive wheeling and dealing over the last several years, they have managed to acquire a legitimate franchise building block in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a total of 34 draft picks through the year 2027, 17 of which could potentially fall within the first-round.
This year alone, the Thunder will have the opportunity to select the best two first-round picks out of their own, the Miami Heat’s and the Houston Rockets’ (protected 1-4).
With the way things have gone all year long, the most ideal scenario would be the Rockets continuing their putrid season through the finish line, but end up missing out on a top-four selection which, ultimately, would then be scooped up by OKC.
Should this play out like fans are dreaming, and the franchise gets a hold of their own pick along with Houston’s, they’d be in a prime position to hold the rights to two top-5 selections on draft night.
While the OKC Thunder already find themselves with a realistic opportunity to snag one of the top names in this class with their own selection, with the Rockets pick, we believe there are 2 specific players they should strongly consider targeting: