The OKC Thunder are inching closer to the NBA Draft, and there is a ton of smoke around what they will do with the sixth overall selection. Today, the NBA hosted the media for pre-draft interviews with top prospects, and it was James Bouknight‘s turn.
James Bouknight has a workout with OKC Thunder and Dinner with Sam Presti
With all of the NBA Draft fodder regarding the OKC Thunder centered around them taking Bouknight at pick-six, it only felt right to ask the UCONN guard about his contact with the organization. The top minds such as Kevin O’Connor, Jeremy Woo, and others have linked the Huskies bucket getter to the Thunder.
At the NBA combine, the almost 21-year-old was very calculated with the media. He elected to keep his interviews, and future workout schedule private. Heading into the session today, no one expected fireworks, but there was a clear tone change with Bouknight.
“I’ve been talking to OKC a lot” James Bouknight told me “I got to get dinner with Sam and other guys in the front office” has had a workout. Calls OKC great people “I could see myself fitting in with them.” He tells me. #ThunderUp
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) July 26, 2021
Not only has the former Huskie held workouts in Oklahoma City, but the Thunder’s General Manager Sam Presti treated the prospect to dinner in Bricktown. Coupling this information, with the report Sunday that Presti liked Bouknight a year ago before the Brooklyn native pulled his name out of the 2020 NBA Draft, it certainly seems as though the interest is real.
Bouknight went on to reveal his entire workout list along with the OKC Thunder, he worked out for the Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, and New Orleans Pelicans.
A year ago, we knew about the Thunder’s love affair with Aleksej Pokusevski for a month or so before draft night. That made the trade up for Poku less dramatic and more expected. There is precedent for OKC leaking their pick, or target, ahead of time.