Thursday morning, news broke that big man Isaiah Hartenstein would be sidelined for five-to-six weeks as he rehabs from a "small, non-displaced" left-hand fracture, as first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania. Interestingly enough, however, this update isn't even the most noteworthy health-related ailment from the day that directly links to the OKC Thunder.
At about 1:59 PM (CT), Charania dropped an absolute bombshell of an injury report, as he revealed that LA Clippers cornerstone, Kawhi Leonard "is expected to be sidelined for indefinite period of time" as he rehabilitates ongoing inflammation in his right knee.
Outside of the obvious fact that it's simply an egregious shame that their superstar centerpiece is hobbled by yet another lingering injury, with Los Angeles' regular season tip-off less than a week away, the timing of this update is truly devastating.
However, perhaps the biggest downside for the Clippers when it relates to this crushing scenario is the fact that the odds of their 2025 first-round selection landing in the hands of the Thunder have seemingly increased exponentially.
Kawhi Leonard injury news could lead Thunder to enviable draft selection
Oklahoma City holds the right to swap first-round picks with Los Angeles in 2025 as a result of the 2019 blockbuster trade that sent Paul George to the Clippers.
Though the chances of the selection falling into the lottery were already high due to the All-Star's departure for Philadelphia this summer, Thursday's unfortunate Kawhi Leonard update seemingly increased the odds even more.
The 2025 NBA Draft Class is one that's already being viewed as one of the strongest and deepest in years, and the headline talent among all its prospects is Duke combo forward, Cooper Flagg.
Tabbed by many as one of the best two-way prospects in quite some time, the 17-year-old is already seen as an all-time generational talent thanks to his overall abilities to play both ends of the floor and serve as a legitimate three-level scorer.
As a result, the unanimous opinion is that the 6-foot-8 freshman has legitimate superstar potential at the next level and, under a year out from next June's festivities, is currently the unquestioned top prospect.
Coming into the 2024-25 campaign, the Clippers were already predicted to be a fringe play-in team, with some going as far as to project that they'll miss the tournament altogether.
This alone would have given the Thunder a chance to potentially end up with the number one selection in 2025 and, in turn, snatch up Flagg for themselves (let's not forget, the Atlanta Hawks received the No. 1 pick this past draft despite partaking in the play-in with nearly 40 wins).
Now, with Leonard slated to be sidelined for an "indefinite period of time," the likelihood of them receiving such a luxurious gift has only managed to improve.