Offseason Report Card: Thunder get three As, three Bs and two Cs for summer moves

5. Drafted Nikola Topic

Drafted Serbian point guard Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft

How should contending teams use their first-round draft picks?

It's a question that teams have answered differently for years, and there is no obvious right or wrong answer. Trading picks for veteran help or consolidating for another star has helped a number of good teams reach the inner circle. Using the pick on older, more "NBA-ready" players is another strategy, one that occasionally works but more often leads to reaching for a less talented prospect.

The third path is to ignore the team timeline and simply draft the best player available. The thought process is that the best player is the most valuable asset, either to grow into a top-line contributor down the road or to include in a trade. The Thunder took that path to the extreme this year when they drafted Serbian point guard Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Topic is not simply a young player who plays a position the Thunder are deep at, he underwent surgery for a partially torn ACL and will miss the entire 2024-25 season. Oklahoma City is a reasonable championship pick for this season and will be favored to win the West, and they will receive absolutely nothing from their lottery pick this year.

Why that is a move we are grading relatively highly is that Topic was in the mix for the No. 1 pick before this past injury-hampered season, and on tape -- especially his healthy tape -- he looks like that level of player, an on-ball shot creator and playmaker who could help a lot of teams.

How will that development play out on a contending team with an MVP candidate at the same position? It's not the cleanest of picks, but if Topic becomes an obvious future star he will be extremely valuable on the trade market.

Grade: B