Oklahoma City Thunder all-time draft bust starting 5
The Oklahoma CIty Thunder have a track record of making tremendous decisions in the NBA Draft. They currently have a pair of draft picks on the fast-track to becoming All-Stars in Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Their first powerhouse team was built on a collection of drafted players, with Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka the first picks made as the team moved from Seattle and James Harden coming the following year.
Yet in the midst of those home run draft picks, the Thunder have also whiffed on a number of selections. In fact, that team built around Durant and Westbrook struggled to maintain its level of dominance in part because their draft luck dried up at the worst time.
Who have been the worst picks in OKC Thunder history? For the purposes of this exercise we will consider only those players drafted in 2008 and later, since the team landed in Oklahoma City. Let's build an all-time starting 5 of the biggest draft busts in OKC history, starting at the point.
Point Guard: Cameron Payne, 2015
The Oklahoma City Thunder historically struggled when Russell Westbrook was either on the bench or missed time due to injury. They successfully navigated that situation by drafting Reggie Jackson, who filled in for Westbrook for a few years before agitating for a trade and being flipped to the Detroit Pistons.
The Thunder hoped to replicate that by drafting Murray State point guard Cameron Payne with the 14th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. After Devin Booker went off the board one pick ahead of them, the Thunder settled on Payne, who would do essentially nothing for them in his first two seasons, averaging 5.1 points in a fringe role.
The Thunder then shipped him off to the Chicago Bulls late in his second season in a deal that brought back a couple of veteran role players in Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott. Payne has managed to stick around the league as a backup point guard, but he never managed to make more of his career than that.
Given that Terry Rozier, Delon Wright and Tyus Jones were all on the board when the Thunder made their pick, it's easy to say this selection was a bust.
Should have drafted: Tyus Jones