The Oklahoma City Thunder are never afraid to be bold under Sam Presti. They selected Nikola Topic after he fell to 12th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, despite his injury that will likely cause him to miss the entire 2024-25 season.
Presti made a similar bold move in the 2020 NBA Draft when he traded up from 25th overall to 17th to select Aleksej Pokusevski. It cost the Thunder Ricky Rubio and the 28th overall pick to get the seven-footer with an intriguing skill set. Presti thought he could become the next unicorn, but things have not worked out.
This trade looks disastrously bad for Oklahoma City as the 56th overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft completed things. Here is a closer look at the details of the deal and a re-grade of the move four years later.
Thunder regrettably moved up to draft Aleksej Pokusevski
The draft is an inexact science, and things were even crazier in 2020 as the pandemic altered the pre-draft process. Still, that did not stop the Thunder from trading up to get their prospect. Here is a look at the final deal.
Thunder receive
James Johnson
Aleksej Pokusevski
Kevin McCullar Jr.
Timberwolves get
Ricky Rubio
Leandro Bolmaro
Jaden McDaniels
Knicks receive
Immanuel Quickley
Mathias Lessort
James Nnaji
The 2024 draft selection was traded several more times and wound up in the hands of the Knicks. Oklahoma City flipped James Johnson for Trevor Ariza, Justin Jackson, and two second-round picks just days after the first trade. Effectively, they gave up two firsts and Rubio to get three and a half ineffective seasons from Poku.
This deal was disastrous for Oklahoma City, but which franchise won this trade?