The Oklahoma City Thunder have drafted exceedingly well in recent years, furnishing themselves both with top-shelf talent and complementary players that have made their roster formidable.
In the 2025 Draft, they were able to grab shooting guard Brooks Barnhizer late in the second round after picking up a developmental prospect in Thomas Sorber in the first. With Sorber out for the season, Barnhizer has already cracked the rotation, earning limited minutes on a championship-caliber team.
For a second-round rookie, that is an admirable feat.
Yet there was a better option on the table when Barnhizer was selected: one that Thunder fans should be looking at with envy.
While Barnhizer was selected 44th overall, the Golden State Warriors nabbed an absolute steal of a pick with Will RIchard at 56th overall. Through just 35 NBA games, Richard has proved himself to be a valuable contributor for the Warriors.
What's done is done, and Barnhizer has proved to be a valuable pickup for his draft slot. But wouldn't it be nice of Oklahoma City had someone of Richard's skill-set in their rotation?
Will Richard would have been the Thunder's ideal second-round selection
With the financial limitations they will face over the coming seasons, the Thunder need to inject young, cost-controlled talent into their roster through the draft. In many ways, they have done that successfully with Barnhizer.
He's averaging just 1.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.4 assists while shooting an abysmal 16.7% from beyond the arc. But he's shown flashes of a solid defensive skill-set and can likely be developed into a promising 3-and-D wing.
Richard, however, is already there. He's cut through Golden State's deep backcourt rotation, averaging 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while knocking down 38% of his attempts from beyond the arc. He's started 13 games for the Warriors this season.
To be clear, he still has his flaws. There are times where he essentially does not exist as an offensive option on the court, and he's put up zeros on the box score multiple times in recent games.
Yet the Thunder are 27th in the NBA in 3-point percentage since Christmas, and they need more at the perimeter from their complementary players. Selecting Richard late in the second round would have been the ideal pick-up.
Oklahoma City is still replete with young talent. Nikola Topić, Sorber, and Chris Youngblood have all shown the potential to be contributors to the roster.
But players like Richard are few and far between in the second round, and it's certainly painful to see a rival come away with spoils like that.