Things seemed to play out rather well for the OKC Thunder during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, as they came away with arguably one of the biggest steals from this year's class in Georgetown center, Thomas Sorber.
Consensus opinion seems to be that Oklahoma City deserves an unquestionable A-grade for their draft-day decision making, with some such as Jeremy Woo of ESPN going as far as to call his selection at 15 the best pick of the festivities.
However, recent reports suggest that the way things ultimately played out wasn't necessarily the original game plan mapped out by GM Sam Presti.
In fact, sports reporter Travis Hansen revealed on Thursday afternoon that sources informed him that had it not been for the Brooklyn Nets, things might have unfolded in a completely different manner.
Thunder were high on Egor Demin heading into 2025 NBA Draft
According to Billy Reinhardt, Sam Presti seemed to have his sights set on BYU point guard Egor Demin in the first round of the draft, with him even adding that the executive "had Demin over to his home in the pre-draft process."
Frankly, this report should come as little shock to anyone familiar with the Thunder organization.
Throughout his 17-year tenure, Presti has established a reputation for being high on adding long, lengthy, and highly versatile young prospects who can slot into multiple positions within a rotation. From Aleksej Pokusevski to Josh Giddey, the list of first-round projects who fit this mold runs rather long.
Someone like Demin, who sports a natural floor general's play style trapped inside a traditional forward's body with their 6-foot-9 frame and 7-foot wingspan, seems to match this description to a T.
Ultimately, despite OKC's interest, the Nets wound up selecting him seven slots prior with the eighth overall pick, which, in many ways, seems to have been the most ideal turn of events for the Thunder.
With Demin's removal from the list of possible options at 15, the Thunder decided to go the complete opposite route by taking a defensive-oriented, rim-protecting pivot in Sorber who not only fleshes out a position with shallow depth (at one point last year, 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams served as the primary center on this team as a result of injuries) but adds future financial flexibility as well.
In the end, Oklahoma City went with the safer option in the 19-year-old big man, which, to many, was the perfect decision.
Nevertheless, it's interesting to think how easily things could have changed had Brooklyn passed on the Russian floor general.