4 Reasons why the Thunder have already won the 2024 NBA Offseason

3. NBA Draft Night moves

On the outside, the Thunder left fans scratching their heads following their selections during the 2024 NBA draft.

Many thought they would move the 12th overall selection in a deal to bring in an already-established player. This was, however, not the case as they ended up drafting Serbian-born guard Nikola Topić.

Additionally, they traded five second round picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for the 26th pick in the draft. Here, they selected Dillon Jones, a forward out of Weber State.

Topić draws comparisons to Josh Giddey and is a high-upside draft pick. One downside to the selection, however, is that Topić is currently rehabbing from a torn ACL.

As for the move for Jones, OKC doesn’t have the roster space to use the picks they traded to the Knicks and Jones gives them a versatile wing to add to the rotation.

As we established earlier, though, this is a team looking to compete for a championship now. While some rookies can make an immediate impact, it is unlikely either will see much playing time for the Thunder this season.

With both Jones and Topić being selected in the first round, they will sign contracts that can be thrown into a trade to help salaries match and entice teams with their potential. It would be shocking if we saw OKC stay quiet on the trade front for long.

On day two of the draft Oklahoma City traded to acquire the 38th overall pick and selected 6-foot-3 guard out of UC Santa Barbra, Ajay Mitchell. Another project player who has the ability to learn and grow from the team, the jury is still out on Mitchell's future in the NBA.

While fans may have wanted some instant gratification with a move on draft night, Sam Presti has given fans no reason not to trust his judgment. The “In Presti We Trust” movement is prevalent among Thunder fans and it is only a matter of time until we see what he is plotting with his moves during the draft.