2020 NBA Draft
As a result of their offseason “garage sale,” the Oklahoma City Thunder were extremely busy on draft night as they seemed to have a part in every single trade that was done. It got to the point that nobody knew what draft picks the Thunder had in this year’s draft, but they ended up with the rights to the 17th, the 34th and the 37th, all of which were used to select international prospects for the future.
The first pick of the night for the Thunder was Aleksej Pokusevski (pronounced: A-lek-say Poke-ooh-sev-ski) from Serbia. The 7-foot big man was one of the best center prospects in this draft class and offers a lot of upside as he continues to grow as a player skill-wise. While he stands at about 7’0”, he plays much smaller than he actually is and kind of looks like a 7-foot point guard on the court. He has the capability to be a “modern-day” big man and can stretch the floor.
He is a bit undersized and needs to add a lot of muscle weight for him to be a reliable player in the paint, but with his abilities to play like a guard/wing, Pokusevski is a very valuable asset for the Thunder to have in their organization moving forward. After spending two seasons overseas, Aleksej Pokusevski will be on the Thunder’s active roster this year and should get a fair amount of playing time as the Thunder rebuild for the future.
In the second-round, the Thunder acquired the rights to guard Theo Maledon (pronounced: Tay-Oh Mall-eh-don) and wing Vit Krejci (Cray-chee). Maledon was a player that was projected to be a late first-round selection and wound up slipping to the second-round where the Thunder were able to trade for him. Not only is he a combo-guard, but is a great pick-and-roll player. His ability to find his open teammates off of screens is something that will be valued highly at the NBA level.
Krejci is likely to be a “draft-and-stash” guy for the Thunder as he is still under contract in Spain and is recovering from a torn ACL from earlier in the year. While he is listed as a point guard overseas, Vit Krejci will likely move to the wing in the NBA because of his shooting abilities. He does not attack the paint often from the wing, but instead uses his first-step and dribble to create space to knock down open shots.
All three prospects for the Thunder have work to do to reach their full potential and given Oklahoma City’s circumstances, they should have plenty of time to work with their three draft picks. Both Maledon and Pokusevski should see some time on the court for the Thunder this upcoming season and new head coach Mark Daigneault will look to see in what aspect of the game each of these guys can contribute to this team moving forward.
