2021 NBA DRAFT
Owned Draft Picks: Own 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #4 – Pending Lottery), BOS 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #16), HOU/MIA 2021 1st Round Pick (Pending Lottery – MIA Pick #18), Own 2021 2nd Round Pick (Pick #35), MIN 2021 2nd Round Pick (Pick #36), DEN 2021 2nd Round Pick (Pick #55)
That is a whole lot of draft picks this year and depending on how the lottery plays out, the Oklahoma City Thunder could end up with two Top-5 picks in this year’s draft! Going down the list: their first-round pick this year has a 52.5% chance of ending up inside the Top-5, they own the rights to the 16th overall pick (via Boston), they own the rights to the 18th overall pick (via Miami), and then they own the rights to the 35th overall pick (own), the 36th overall pick (via Minnesota) and the 55th overall pick (via Denver).
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: Grading the Celtics-Thunder trade featuring Kemba Walker to OKC
Things could get interesting for the Thunder though with this Miami selection 18th overall and the Houston Rockets’ pick this year. The Rockets have a 52.1% chance of their pick falling inside the Top-4 of the draft, but if that 47.9% chance hits and they end up with the 5th pick in the draft, then this pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
There is a chance for Oklahoma City to end up with two Top-5 picks in this year’s draft, as well as have the 16th overall selection, which would be a dream come true scenario for Sam Presti and this front-office. They are going to have a ton of opportunities to add some of the best prospects in this year’s draft class, which is why OKC is going to be extremely busy on draft night.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: This Mavericks-Thunder trade lands Kemba Walker in Dallas
They could end up keeping all of their draft picks this year that they end up with, but chances are that they will look to move a handful of them to not only gain more draft assets for the future, but begin adding key talents around their core that they have in place.
Until the draft lottery plays out and until we know exactly where the Thunder will be picking, it is hard to say exactly what their game plan will be in terms of who they will be targeting in the draft. Even when the order is determined, you never know what moves Sam Presti is going to make, which is why the Thunder will be extremely busy on draft night this year.
NBA FREE AGENCY
Key Free Agents: C Tony Bradley (2020-21 salary – $3.5M), G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($1.6M)
Other Free Agents: C Mike Muscala ($2.2M), F Jaylen Hoard (Two-Way), F Josh Hall (Two-Way)
Depending on what transpires with the draft will determine if the Thunder will make a run at any free agents this offseason. After the Kemba Walker deal, the Oklahoma City Thunder still have just under $50M in cap space that they can elect to play around with if they wanted to.
Guys like DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell, Richaun Holmes, John Collins and Devonte’ Graham are going to be some of the best names available on the market this offseason and the Thunder could pursue one or two of these guys should they choose.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: Grading the Celtics-Thunder trade featuring Kemba Walker to OKC
Having young talents in SGA, Dort, Bazley and Maledon, along with an established star-level player in Kemba Walker gives the Thunder a core similar to what they had two years ago with Chris Paul leading them, but they will still need some more talent on their roster given all of the young talents they will be bringing in via the draft.
Tony Bradley is a pending free agent that they could potentially look to re-sign, as is Svi Mykhailiuk. Both guys came over to the Thunder in midseason deals this past season, so Oklahoma City could have interest in bringing both young players back for at least one more season.
Gebriel Deck, Kenrich Williams and Isaiah Roby are also guys the Thunder could potentially let go since all of their contracts are non-guaranteed. Deck’s $3.7M contract is non-guaranteed for most of the season, Williams’ $2M contract becomes fully-guaranteed on December 15 and then Roby’s $1.8M contract becomes fully-guaranteed on August 3.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: This Mavericks-Thunder trade lands Kemba Walker in Dallas
Unless the Thunder did not view any of these guys being a part of their future, all three of them will likely return to Oklahoma City for the 2021-22 season, especially since they will not be leveraged for cap space since the Thunder have plenty of that.
Pretty much anybody the Thunder want to target in free agency this offseason, they have the freedom to do so. The only question for them and GM Sam Presti though is whether or not it is worth investing in the free agents this offseason or waiting a year for big names like James Harden, Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Bradley Beal to potentially become available.
