Detroit open to dealing pick and the OKC Thunder should consider a trade

The OKC Thunder spent the majority of the 2020-21 campaign positioning themselves for the top spot in the 2021 NBA Draft or, at the very least, a top-3 selection on the night.

After enduring their worst season in franchise history (win-percentage wise), finishing things off with a lackluster record of 22-50, coming into Tuesday’s draft lottery they had the fourth-best odds of having the ping pong balls bounce their way and, in turn, nabbing the top selection and had a 52.5 percent chance of landing a top-five pick.

Though hope was rather high coming into the festivities, as of Wednesday morale is quite low for Thunder nation, as they ultimately wound up falling to the sixth pick on the night, thus making some feel as though their tankathon season was all for naught.

However, despite the fact that they’re currently on the outside looking in on the top-5, there is still a realistic possibility that they could work their way towards the No. 1 spot.

Recently it was reported by Rod Beard of the Detroit News that the current holders of the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons, could be open to the idea of trading away their draft rights:

Should these rumblings be true and General Manager, Troy Weaver, begins taking calls, without a doubt Sam Presti and the OKC Thunder should pick up the phone and begin dialing.

Yes, we’re quite aware that the agenda for the front office during this year’s draft has been “pick the best player available”, but this was always with the idea that Oklahoma City would be at least somewhere within the top-5 on the night… not sixth. 

Since day one of this past campaign, the words “fade for Cade”, in reference to presumed top-prospect Cade Cunningham, have been preached across the Sooner State, and many believe the guard would be the ideal fit from this incoming draft class to run alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander moving forward.

During his lone season at Oklahoma State, the 19-year-old played in 27 regular season outings and, in turn, produced to the tune of 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep.

With his production, Cunningham was rewarded with a treasure trove of high honors that include a Consensus first-team All-American selection, First-team All-Big 12, Big 12 All-Freshman Team, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, NABC Freshman of the Year, and USBWA National Freshman of the Year.

Standing at 6-8 coupled with his specific all-around skill set, one could describe Cunningham as a point guard trapped in a wing’s body which, by all accounts, bodes tremendously well for his NBA prospects and should easily make him a top priority for the OKC Thunder, as head coach Mark Daigneault has made it abundantly clear that his desire moving forward is to play positionless basketball.

Unfortunately, as things currently stand Oklahoma City will likely be missing out on the top talent in this year’s draft. That said, with the buzz suggesting that the Pistons could be open to trading their draft rights at first overall, there’s a chance they can find a way to snag Cunningham afterall.

With their 35 total draft picks through 2027, a deal with Detroit could be rather simple to execute should the Thunder be interested in moving up.

In our humble opinion, they should be!