OKC Thunder: Giddey drops in B/R 2021 re-draft

This season has offered plenty of excitement already including the OKC Thunder surprising many analysts who predicted the team would be the worst in NBA history. The young roster has already taken care of dispensing of that prediction with five early wins.

To reach that level of futility the OKC Thunder would need to win just three more games in the next 69 contests.

Another pleasant surprise has been the play of the sixth overall draft selection and first by Sam Presti this past summer for Australian point guard Josh Giddey.

Through 13 games the 19-year old is averaging nine points  6.6 rebounds (1.5 on the offensive glass), 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks. Although his shooting efficiency has trailed off after a strong opening week he’ll improve with time in the lab.

Entering the draft most experts believed, Sam Presti was intent on moving upward in an effort to nab one of the three or four players who were cited as generational talents. Each of Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes‘ names were mentioned in articles and Twitter whispers but nothing transpired.

Whether that was because the teams holding the top four positions were unwilling to move or Presti was content with sticking with Giddey isn’t known (and likely never will be).

There were even reports the Warriors and Raptors were interested in Giddey which in hindsight makes much more sense given the reports on Suggs within the franchises were believed to not be as fruitful as some mock draft writers believed. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor spoke on draft night about Presti trying to move up to fourth to select Scottie Barnes and with what we know now that seems feasible.

While Cunningham is finding his rhythm and easing into the pros Barnes and Mobley have separated themselves from the rest of their peers as early favorites to win Rookie of the Year. Giddey, Franz Wagner, and Chris Duarte have consistently been in the next tier on rookie ladders.

Of the players in the top group of the lottery the Jalen’s (Green and Suggs) have struggled the most to transition while Jonathan Kuminga first dealt with an injury and subsequently with an extremely deep Warriors roster with not much playing time to spare.

Alperen Sengun who the narrator will always bemoan Presti trading to Houston (unless the two draft picks turn into something special) is the player in Houston who is performing above preconceived expectations.

As a reminder of how the 2021 draft played out the lottery picks of 1 through 14 were:

1. Cade Cunningham – Pistons
2. Jalen Green – Rockets
3. Evan Mobley – Cavaliers
4. Scottie Barnes – Raptors
5. Jalen Suggs – Magic
6. Josh Giddey – OKC Thunder
7. Jonathan Kuminga – Warriors
8. Franz Wagner – Magic
9. Davion Mitchell – Kings
10. Ziaire Williams – Grizzlies (via Pelicans)
11.  James Bouknight – Hornets
12. Joshua Primo – Spurs
13. Chris Duarte – Pacers
14. Moses Moody – Warriors

B/R re-draft finds OKC Thunder pick shifting and Giddey dropping down

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report decided to re-draft this past summer’s lottery picks and there were some notable shifts.

Of the group who were slotted in the top sixth spots, none of them remain in the same spots they were selected although four of the six do stay in the upper tier. Mobley jumps to the top rung, Cunningham falls one spot to second, Barnes moves to third and Green drops to fourth.

While it’s not surprising Suggs falls to tenth, the shocker is Kuminga moving up to fifth. Wasserman rationalizes why he makes sense for Orlando citing the youngster’s potential coupled with the ascent of Cole Anthony. Plus notes the injury history of Jonathan Isaac and the disappointing season of Chuma Okeke.

The next big surprise is he then has Sam Presti selecting Franz Wagner instead of Josh Giddey with the sixth pick.

"Though the Oklahoma City Thunder must feel good about Josh Giddey, it’s worth questioning whether he has enough burst and shooting skills to score at a high level. Since they already have a star guard in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder could take Franz Wagner in this re-draft to improve their frontcourt."

As for Josh Giddey, he falls a spot to the Golden State Warriors in Wasserman’s re-draft. That’s also not a stretch given the rumored interest of the Dubs in the Australian.

"Josh Giddey falls one spot to the Golden State Warriors, a team that would value his passing and decision-making in a connector role. Averaging 6.2 assists and 6.6 boards, the 6’8″ ball-handler has demonstrated unique vision and instincts for his height.Shooting remains an obvious swing skill given his lack of burst to blow by or finish at the rim. Giddey does have 11 three-point makes in 13 games, although he seems unlikely to provide much scoring in the short term. Until then, facilitating and making teammates better will continue to drive his value. In Golden State, he’d help take pressure off Stephen Curry and play to his strengths as a ball-mover and quick processor."

As Wasserman notes the shooting of Giddey remains an area of his game needing improvement but considering the youngster’s vision and passing skills putting him on a team with shooters would unlock even more potential for the Warriors’ offense.

As for the rest of the lottery picks, Wasserman re-drafts them as follows: James Bouknight jumps from 11th to eighth, Alperen Sengun moves from 16th to ninth, Davion Mitchell drops to 11th from ninth, Chris Duarte moves up one spot to 12th, Nah’Shon (Bones) Hyland jumps from 26th to 13th and Trey Murphy climbs three spots into the lottery.

Ziaire Williams, Joshua Primo, and Moses Moody are the three rookies who fall out of the lottery picks.

These exercises as Wasserman notes are probably far too early to be undertaken particularly when some rookies haven’t been given as much playing time yet either due to deep rosters (Moody) or because their franchise has a plan to bring them along slowly (Primo) or make deals/moves this year that will open more space for them within the roster.

The main takeaway on Giddey isn’t that he fell a spot, rather he’s viewed as a quality rookie that a team with a great shot of winning the title would’ve wanted to draft.

Seven of the top eight rookies essentially remain in that upper tier with only Suggs free-falling down the board proving once again the drafting acumen of Masai Ujiri and his scouting team.

Green only drops two spots, but I’m not convinced the Raptors would’ve been keen to draft him since he doesn’t fit their typical mold of defensive talents. Run through Ujiri’s tenure in Toronto and you’d be hard-pressed to find a player drafted or signed who doesn’t possess above-average defensive skills and lately a player with height at their position evidenced by how seldom Malachi Flynn is getting run in Nurse’s rotation.

The Wagner pick for the OKC Thunder can be rationalized and he’s definitely a quality rookie. The bigger issue is Sengun who OKC traded to Houston and I wonder in hindsight if Presti would make that move a second time.

What are your thoughts on Wasserman’s re-draft? Given Wagner consistently lands on top five rookie ladders he would still be a great addition to the OKC Thunder. But, would you be willing to part with Giddey for him?