This summer, the OKC Thunder addressed their lacking size and frontcourt depth that plagued them during the 2024 postseason with the signing of Isaiah Hartenstein in NBA free agency.
With his addition, Oklahoma City now has a two-headed monster up front consisting of both him and Chet Holmgren, both of whom measure in at 7-feet or taller.
Of course, even with this upgrade, being the tallest full-scale talent coach Mark Daigneault has at his disposal is the 6-foot-9 Jaylin Williams, there's still a strong case to be made that Sam Presti and company may want to add another more traditional big at some point in the not-too-distant future to strengthen their depth behind their tantalizing new tandem and add more size down low.
While there are still several months remaining between now and October's tip-off to bring aboard such a talent, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman is stressing that the Thunder could realistically wait till next summer to address this rotational desire, as he believes there's a realistic chance they could land one of next year's top-billed bigs via the 2025 NBA Draft.
OKC Thunder land Asa Newell in 'way-too-early' NBA Mock Draft
Though it is widely expected that the Thunder will once again be in contention for the Larry O'Brien Trophy this coming season, considering they own the rights to a number of draft picks during next June's festivities, there's a strong possibility that they may find themselves once again landing a top-14 selection.
Noting the fact that they hold the rights to swap picks with the LA Clippers, who just recently lost their second-best player in Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers this July, Wasserman believes Los Angeles could fall on the outside looking in on a playoff berth next season and, in turn, could enter into the lottery.
In his admittedly "way-too-early" 2025 NBA Mock Draft, Wasserman has the Clippers landing the 10 pick on the night, where he suspects the Thunder would go on to claim and snag Georgia commit, Asa Newell.
"At 6'11" with a live motor, Asa Newell should deliver immediate activity around the rim, easy baskets and putbacks to Georgia. He covers a lot of ground and loves to crash the glass and sprint the floor in transition... Newell shot over 41.5 percent from three during 21 Montverde games logged bySynergy Sports. There should be plenty of NBA interest in an athletic 19-year-old energy big who can stretch the floor this early," said Wasserman.
ASA NEWELL IS INSANE 😳 pic.twitter.com/LcRC23iImP
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) December 24, 2023
A five-star recruit coming out of high school and considered one of the top players in the 2024 class, the former Montverde Academy standout finds himself coming off a senior season where he dropped 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 67.6 percent from the floor and 43.0 percent from distance.
Boasting the build and style of play of a true power forward, in the hypothetical scenario that the Thunder ended up landing Newell, a potential game plan could be to have him slot into the starting four spot, thus allowing current primary four Jalen Williams to slide up to his more natural small forward position, and have the rookie play alongside recent first-year phenom, Chet Holmgren, down low.
An uber-athletic prospect with high-end defensive chops, explosive bounce, and, in his own words, improved abilities as a "floor spacer," should he continue his upward trajectory as a player during his upcoming debut season with the Georgia Bulldogs, there's no question that Newell will be a high-end pick during next year's draft should he opt to go one-and-done at the collegiate level.
If the Thunder ended up landing him, it could prove to be yet another savvy check-mate move made by Presti and co.