OKC Thunder: 2 former Kentucky Wildcats to pursue this summer

Former Kentucky Wildcat target for OKC Thunder No. 2) Kevin Knox

Yes, the NBA career of Kevin Knox has gotten off to quite a rough start.

Displaying impressive size (6-9, 7-1/4 wingspan) and a high basketball IQ, the wing came into the 2018 NBA Draft after his one-and-done season at Kentucky viewed as a great 3-and-D talent that could find himself thriving at the next level.

Unfortunately, through three seasons in the big leagues, this has not yet proven to be the case, as he has constantly found himself revolving in and out of the rotation for his respective team, the New York Knicks, and finds himself boasting career averages of 8.5 points and 3.2 boards per game on just 37 percent shooting overall from the field.

Still, at just 21, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he can turn his fortunes around should he land in the right environment.

Perhaps running alongside his former Wildcat teammate, SGA, with the OKC Thunder could be exactly that.

Just recently, we discussed the idea of Kevin Knox coming to the Sooner State this summer and considered him a buy-low trade target Presti and co. should consider, stating that his long-range shooting could come in handy within the team’s frontcourt while his connection with the team’s main building block could wind up benefiting both players in the long run:

"Still just 21-years-old, Kevin Knox is simply far too young for the league to give up on. Despite the lackluster start to his career, he has shown glimpses of potentially being a solid role player, especially as a floor-spacing forward, as he shot 39 percent from deep this past season while converting on about 40 percent of his catch-and-shoot long-range attempts. Perhaps a change of scenery could do the youngster some good, and reuniting him with his Kentucky teammate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be a nice confidence boost for the reeling junior."

Like we stated in our argument for a Monk signing, the Thunder are in a prime opportunity to take chances on young talents that may have underwhelmed thus far into their careers.

Unlike with Monk, however, bringing on a guy like Knox could wind up proving to be beneficial both from a talent perspective (assuming he can develop properly in a new environment) and from a personal one as well.