Report: OKC Thunder are looking to trade up in the 2023 NBA Draft

The Oklahoma City Thunder control the 12th, 37th, and 50th selections in the 2023 NBA Draft. The OKC Thunder have a war chest of assets, and many believe they might trade up come draft night. On ESPN, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo combined for an intel-based mock draft (paid subscription required) that included snippets of what they are hearing around the league.

While the pair had the Oklahoma City Thunder selecting Nick Smith Jr out of the University of Arkansas with the 12th overall pick, the most intriguing part of this mock draft comes with this snippet from Givony about the Thunder exploring trades.

ACCORDING TO ESPN, the OKC Thunder are looking to trade up in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Jonathan Givony had this to say about the Thunder in his mock draft: “Most NBA executives expect the Thunder to be active in trade discussions looking to potentially package this pick and future first-rounders in an attempt to move up on draft night, which makes sense considering the shortage of roster spots the Thunder could be working with moving forward with all the talent they’ve accumulated.” 

The Oklahoma City Thunder certainly have the assets to make a trade on draft night. They have made a trade during the NBA Draft each year since 2019.

Being at 12, the Thunder are in an interesting spot. At the risk of this sounding like a cop-out, OKC can indeed do anything. Moving up with the abundance of picks at Presti’s disposal makes a lot of sense, but so does staying put at 12. Someone draft fans really like is bound to fall on draft night. There are always surprises. Even trading back from 12 could benefit the Thunder as the tier of prospects gets jumbled in that range.

This is a concrete report, though, that the OKC Thunder will continue to be active on draft night.