Does anyone remember how the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Ajay Mitchell? Yes, he was a second-round pick (No. 38 overall in 2024), but that pick didn't belong to the Thunder at first — it belonged to the Utah Jazz, then the New York Knicks, then the Thunder, who acquired it for cash considerations and the No. 40 pick.
The No. 40 pick that the Thunder traded for Mitchell was used on Oso Ighodaro, who was actually a steal in the second round in his own right. He was traded to the Suns immediately after being drafted, and that's where he remains today. Jaylen Wells was actually the No. 39 pick, which makes this the best three consecutive second-round draft picks in a long time.
With respect to Ighodaro (and quick shoutout to him for playing all 82 games this year), I do believe the Thunder are happy with how this deal shook out a few years down the line. Mitchell has been one of the best stories this year for Thunder, more than doubling his rookie season scoring output and doing much more than just filling in in the backcourt while Jalen Williams missed a large chunk of the year.
Thunder stole Ajay Mitchell in the 2024 NBA Draft
The big question about Mitchell is... Did he break out because the Thunder have such a good developmental program and that turned him into a good prospect? Or, was he always a good prospect and the Thunder's great scouting department saw something in him that other teams didn't?
It's kind of a chicken-or-the-egg situation, but both possibilities are satisfying for Thunder fans. Either the developmental team is elite, the draft scouting department is... Or a little bit of both.
Either way, he's broken out. Mitchell has two more years on his contract after 2025-26, and the Thunder knowing they have potentially the best backup point guard in the NBA for at least two more seasons is just one more thing to be excited about. He could be a starter on most other NBA teams, as I recently wrote, but the Thunder are more than happy to use him as a high-leverage Sixth Man going forward.
Moving up two spots in the NBA Draft doesn't sound like a big deal, but it led to the Thunder snagging a star in the making. Small moves leading to big results has been one of the mottos of this team's success, and this move, when most people had stopped paying attention to the draft, was another perfect example.
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