OKC Thunder drop in draft order, still land top-notch talent in latest mock

For some, the OKC Thunder winning the last game of the season was a feel-good story for a team that endured their worst season in franchise history (win-percentage wise).

For the vast majority of fans, however, it was a huge blow to their offseason plans, as the victory over the Los Angeles Clippers wound up hurting their odds of winning the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery.

All season long, the words “fade for Cade” were heard ringing amongst the Oklahoma City fanbase and, leading into the final game of the year, it appeared the franchise had as good of a chance as any to land to top pick in this coming draft to scoop him up.

With this win, however, the Thunder now have to wait on a literal coin flip to determine if they get the fourth or fifth best lottery odds, and could realistically wind up falling to the ninth pick in the draft as well should luck not go their way.

That said, based on their hold of the fourth-worst record in the league at 22-50, NBA Mock Drafts will be forced to give them the fourth selection until the lottery deems this otherwise.

With this hypothetical position, while they may just be missing out on snagging Cunningham, they would still be in a prime position to land a top-notch talent from this incoming class.

In fact, in Bleacher Report’s most recent mock, we see the OKC Thunder going about and selecting Gonzaga standout guard, Jalen Suggs, a talent whom some would argue belongs in the top-3.

Citing his propensity to make plays either on or off-ball while also proving to excel on the defensive side of the game, writer Jonathan Wasserman went on the state that plugging in the one-and-done NCAA standout next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Thunder’s lineup could prove to be the best move to make at this spot in the draft:

"The Oklahoma City Thunder could pair Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with Jalen Suggs, an uptempo playmaker who showed at Gonzaga he can also score alongside other ball-handlers.He quickly became a consensus top-five prospect due to his open-floor burst and passing skills and impressive pull-up and floater games. But he also used his athleticism off the ball for cuts and handoffs.And he was a pesky defender, thanks to his quickness at the point of attack and instincts/anticipation for forcing turnovers. Between Gilgeous-Alexander, Suggs and Luguentz Dort, opponents would have a tough time penetrating against the Thunder."

In the past, we’ve gone about and deemed Jalen Suggs as a guard the Thunder should have high up on their big board heading into the 2021 NBA Draft.

Should the OKC Thunder opt to take the 19-year-old with their first first-round pick, though perhaps one may be upset they didn’t end up landing Cade Cunningham, it could still easily be viewed as a win for the ball club moving forward.