Thunder projected to land Obi Toppin-type prospect in 2024 NBA Draft

This offseason, the OKC Thunder need to pursue players who can help bolster their talented, albeit physically limited frontcourt rotation.

While to some, this implies Sam Presti and company should be looking to add more center options to their arsenal, considering the club's desires and proven success rate of running Chet Holmgren as their primary pivot, a logical alternative option could be to target more traditional power forward options to pair alongside him and, in turn, slide Jalen Williams back up to his more traditional three spot.

Should this ultimately prove to be the route the Thunder choose to take, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman believes there could be an incoming rookie prospect who could be worthy of consideration to fill this area of need, as he has the team selecting French forward Tidjane Salaun at 12 overall in his latest 2024 NBA Mock Draft.

Thunder nab Tidjane Salaun with No. 12 pick in latest NBA Mock Draft

Citing his 6-foot-9, 212-pound frame coupled with his eye-catching athleticism, Wasserman suggests that the 18-year-old, who has been receiving significant attention from early-lottery teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, could be a a logical choice for the Thunder assuming he is still available and they stay put at their current draft position.

"Though the Thunder are officially in win-now mode for a title run, Salaun started playoff games in LNB Pro A. He could be ready for a smaller role, but the same one he had with Cholet, playing to his strength as a rim-runner, finisher and spot-up shooter."

- Jonathan Wasserman

Drawing comparisons to the Indiana Pacers' high-flying big man Obi Toppin, while playing for Cholet of the LNB Élite league in France Salaun went on to post solid averages of 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.7 minutes per game this past season.

While his shooting stroke leaves much to be desired (shot a putrid 36.7 percent from the floor), his career 74.7 free-throw percentage indicates that he has the capability of developing his jumper as time moves on and as he begins to work with a training staff at the NBA level.

While there's a strong possibility that the Thunder will be unwilling to take a developmental frontcourt prospect in the lottery for the second time in three years (selected Ousmane Dieng with the 11 overall pick in 2022), should they not end up moving up on the draft board for the likes of a Donovan Clingan or someone else of that ilk, nabbing a player like Salaun who has highly buzzed-about upside could be a savvy move for this team that, considering they already have a bevy of top-notch talents on their roster, can afford to wait for a player to develop.