After a grueling 2020-21 campaign that saw the OKC Thunder amass the worst record (win-percentage wise) of their entire 13-year existence, the franchise can now turn to the next chapter of its full-fledged rebuild, which is entitled The 2021 offseason.
For any organization found in the midst of a tank, summer is usually a time on the calendar where a front office can make their biggest impact, be it through clearing cap space, signing young players via free agency, or, in Oklahoma City’s case, making impactful decisions during the NBA Draft.
During this year’s festivities, Sam Presti and co. will be holding the rights to two first-round selections, which means they’ll have as good of an opportunity as anyone to bring on some top-tier young talent to add to their already youthful squad.
Though we’re still a few months away from draft day, we at TI believe it’s never too early to start planning ahead.
Because of this, it’s more than likely that the OKC Thunder are already creating a big board for themselves, keeping tabs on specific players they could be interested in drafting with one of their picks.
In turn, it’s more than likely that the Thunder are already creating some sort of big board for themselves, listing specific players they could be interested in taking with one of their selections.
Recently, we here at the site went about creating our own list of three wings we believe should be high on the team’s radar.
Today, we continue our big board series by discussing 3 bigs the OKC Thunder should be interested in bringing aboard during the upcoming 2021 NBA Draft:
OKC Thunder draft prospect No. 1) Jalen Johnson
Though he may have opted out of his one-and-done season with the Duke Blue Devils midway through the schedule, Jalen Johnson managed to showcase enough skill and potential to warrant consideration of being a high-end lottery pick in this year’s draft.
Through 13 games played, the power forward posted solid per-game averages of 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game on 52 percent shooting from the floor and 44 percent shooting from deep.
His skill set of defensive versatility, impressive ball-handling abilities, and three-level scoring coupled with his 6-9, 220-pound frame makes him an ideal fit in the NBA as a modern-day big, while his positional interchangeability makes him a solid target for the OKC Thunder and their desired positionless scheme.