So far this season, OKC Thunder fans have been keeping one eye on the club's pursuit of becoming the first repeat champion since the 2018 Warriors and the other on the rapidly crumbling LA Clippers.
As things currently stand, Los Angeles boasts the eighth-worst record in the entire league at 12-22, meaning that if the campaign were to end today, Oklahoma City would be gifted the rights to their top-10 selection, as they technically own the pick thanks to the 2019 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deal.
Though recent rumblings may have suggested that the Clippers were looking to make moves in an effort to climb up the Western Conference standings and pursue their seventh playoff berth in eight years, in a piece penned by Bleacher Report this week, writer Andy Bailey made the "bold" prediction that the franchise will, instead, "stand pat" at this year's trade deadline.
Should this wind up becoming a reality, it would all but guarantee that the Thunder will find themselves in possession of a lottery pick this coming June.
Clippers standing pat betters odds of Thunder landing lottery pick
Things have seemingly been working out perfectly for the Thunder over these last several months.
From taking home their first Larry O'Brien Trophy of the Sooner State era last June to, now 36 games into the 2025-26 season, being on track to surpass 70 wins in a single season and embark on their second straight championship run, Oklahoma City has become the envy of every other team in the association.
Now, it appears they are realistically in a position not only to win the 2026 title, but also to add on at least one lottery talent in this year's NBA Draft thanks to the Clippers' ongoing hardships.
What's more exciting is that, along with Los Angeles' draft rights, the Thunder could very easily be on the clock a total of four times in the first round alone, as they hold ownership of the Rockets' (top-four protected), 76ers' (top-four protected), and Jazz's (top-eight protected) picks as well.
What separates the Clippers' pick from the rest of the pack is the fact that it's the only one that is attached to zero restrictions, meaning that, should they remain as is and not aggressively look for outsourced talent upgrades like The Athletic's Sam Amick recently suggested, considering the way things have been going, these rights are destined to fall into lottery territory.
In a nutshell, Bailey's projection would find the Bezos-rich Thunder get even richer, which is the rest of the league's worst fear.