Thunder Draft

for them to get KCP with the 12, trade with the Mavs for 13, and trade that pick to the Rockets for Thomas Robinson. Lineup with Westbrook, KCP, Durant, Robinson, and Ibaka would be mean. I’m just not feeling the big men in our range. I’d rather wait and see what the Rockets would want for Asik if they end up getting Dwight.

for them to get KCP with the 12, trade with the Mavs for 13, and trade that pick to the Rockets for Thomas Robinson. Lineup with Westbrook, KCP, Durant, Robinson, and Ibaka would be mean. I’m just not feeling the big men in our range. I’d rather wait and see what the Rockets would want for Asik if they end up getting Dwight.

Olynyk might be the scorer at the 5 spot that they need. I think he could play effectively with Serge Ibaka or Nick Collison. Or even be a good backup for Kendrick Perkins.

They should probably go BPA though since they have 3 guys (Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka) out of a four man core.

If I were the Thunder I would want a big man who can score and give guys like Marc Gasol, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, and Roy Hibbert trouble. That could be Kelly Olynyk. I am not too sure about Steven Adams.

Olynyk might be the scorer at the 5 spot that they need. I think he could play effectively with Serge Ibaka or Nick Collison. Or even be a good backup for Kendrick Perkins.

They should probably go BPA though since they have 3 guys (Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka) out of a four man core.

If I were the Thunder I would want a big man who can score and give guys like Marc Gasol, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, and Roy Hibbert trouble. That could be Kelly Olynyk. I am not too sure about Steven Adams.

Kelly Olynyk seems like a no brainer for OKC!!

Kelly Olynyk seems like a no brainer for OKC!!

The problem with Olynyk is he can’t guard anyone. OKC doesn’t need a C that can score 20 pts, just one that plays good defense, rebounds, and can finish at the rim. with all the chaos Westbrook and Durant create, someone like Steven Adams or Mason Plumlee could average 10+ pts just off of put backs, dump offs, and alley oops.

The problem with Olynyk is he can’t guard anyone. OKC doesn’t need a C that can score 20 pts, just one that plays good defense, rebounds, and can finish at the rim. with all the chaos Westbrook and Durant create, someone like Steven Adams or Mason Plumlee could average 10+ pts just off of put backs, dump offs, and alley oops.

I also believe OKC could use a guy like Olynyk, Ibaka is improving offensively, but he’s a 15 PPG scorer at best. I don’t expect Kelly to be a 20 ppg score, but I believe he can score at 15-18 ppg per 36 minute rate in the NBA, would be like a nice Channing Frye type off the bench for OKC.

Perkins has degressed, and OKC can use an answer at C, a guy who can rebound at a high rate.

Here are some center options for OKC possibly in the 2nd round

-Jeff Withey fares pretty well here, as his 1.07 overall PPP ranks fifth among the centers in this draft. Withey did his best work cutting to the rim where he was the second highest usage player on 2.8 possessions per-game and the top scorer by a wide margin at 1.57 PPP. On the whole, Withey ranks as the best finisher among centers in this draft shooting an outstanding 79.2% around the rim last season.

-Colton Iverson ranks average or above average across the board. His big body was especially effective in the post, where he used a second ranked 6.5 possessions per-game while scoring a third ranked 1.01 PPP. As dominant as Muscala was on the block in the Patriot League, Iverson’s rugged style of player and 24.1% free throw rate made him an even more effective post up scorer in the Mountain West, albeit by a small margin.

-Akron’s Zeke Marshall was the second most efficient scorer in this group at 1.165 PPP. Why? He got to the line on an absurd 30.3% of his possessions used, made 71% of his finishing opportunities, and scored a top ranked 1.13 PPP as a dominant figure in the Mid-American conference.

I just hope Steve Adams isn’t a lottery pick.

For an athletic 7 footer, he goes to the FT line at a low rate.

4.1 Free Throw Attempts per 40 minutes.

Adams also shoots 44% from the FT line, I really think he’s barely anything better than Meyers Leonard.

I also believe OKC could use a guy like Olynyk, Ibaka is improving offensively, but he’s a 15 PPG scorer at best. I don’t expect Kelly to be a 20 ppg score, but I believe he can score at 15-18 ppg per 36 minute rate in the NBA, would be like a nice Channing Frye type off the bench for OKC.

Perkins has degressed, and OKC can use an answer at C, a guy who can rebound at a high rate.

Here are some center options for OKC possibly in the 2nd round

-Jeff Withey fares pretty well here, as his 1.07 overall PPP ranks fifth among the centers in this draft. Withey did his best work cutting to the rim where he was the second highest usage player on 2.8 possessions per-game and the top scorer by a wide margin at 1.57 PPP. On the whole, Withey ranks as the best finisher among centers in this draft shooting an outstanding 79.2% around the rim last season.

-Colton Iverson ranks average or above average across the board. His big body was especially effective in the post, where he used a second ranked 6.5 possessions per-game while scoring a third ranked 1.01 PPP. As dominant as Muscala was on the block in the Patriot League, Iverson’s rugged style of player and 24.1% free throw rate made him an even more effective post up scorer in the Mountain West, albeit by a small margin.

-Akron’s Zeke Marshall was the second most efficient scorer in this group at 1.165 PPP. Why? He got to the line on an absurd 30.3% of his possessions used, made 71% of his finishing opportunities, and scored a top ranked 1.13 PPP as a dominant figure in the Mid-American conference.

I just hope Steve Adams isn’t a lottery pick.

For an athletic 7 footer, he goes to the FT line at a low rate.

4.1 Free Throw Attempts per 40 minutes.

Adams also shoots 44% from the FT line, I really think he’s barely anything better than Meyers Leonard.

Ibaka already gives them a guy that scores 10 points a game off put backs, dump offs, and alley oops. If Olynyk can do some high volume scoring then it would complement the Thunder’s “big three”. He could also complement their other bigs like Perkins, Collison, and even Hasheem Thabeet.

Olynyk might not be quick but neither are Marc Gasol or Roy Hibbert. Those two are just really big and also highly skilled, but they are not athletic freaks which would present problems with someone with average big man athleticism.

If the Thunder want a polished shot blocker who can also defend, rebound some, and score 10 points a night off of garbage baskets, dump offs, and alley oops then they need to look at Jeff Withey. 12 might be too high, but if he is there at 29 then the Thunder should take him. That would give them TWO legit young bigs in Withey and Olynyk who can complement each other well and give OKC a really good four big man rotation of those two plus Ibaka and Collison. Those four would be interchangeable and it would also make Kendrick Perkins expendable. Thabeet would then be a cheap, 7’3 luxury in the 13th man role.

At 32, they should then go with a wing who can shoot. There should be at least one guy there, maybe Reggie Bullock if he falls. Or, no one is there, they can trade with Memphis and trade down to 41 and 55. They can get a guy to stash overseas at 41 if they plan on resigning Kevin Martin (or sign JJ Reddick who would be a PERFECT fit), and then at 55 they can get a legit backup point guard like Peyton Siva or Myck Kabongo if they fall. Or, look at DJ Stephens as a freak athlete who they can use to complement the Big Three as well as use as an energy defender off the bench (picture Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb/Thabo
, DJ Stephens, Kelly Olynyk/Perry Jones, and Jeff Withey).

Other than this, I think JJ Reddick would be a good replacement for Kevin Martin. Reddick is an even better spot up shooter, he’s been to the Finals, and might even come cheaper.

New Lineup:

Starters

PG Russell Westbrook
SG JJ Reddick
SF Kevin Durant
PF Serge Ibaka
C Kelly Olynyk

Bench

PG Reggie Jackson
SG Thabo Sefolosha/Jeremy Lamb
SF Perry Jones/DJ Stephens
PF Nick Collison
C Jeff Withey/Kendrick Perkins/Hasheem Thabeet

Ibaka already gives them a guy that scores 10 points a game off put backs, dump offs, and alley oops. If Olynyk can do some high volume scoring then it would complement the Thunder’s “big three”. He could also complement their other bigs like Perkins, Collison, and even Hasheem Thabeet.

Olynyk might not be quick but neither are Marc Gasol or Roy Hibbert. Those two are just really big and also highly skilled, but they are not athletic freaks which would present problems with someone with average big man athleticism.

If the Thunder want a polished shot blocker who can also defend, rebound some, and score 10 points a night off of garbage baskets, dump offs, and alley oops then they need to look at Jeff Withey. 12 might be too high, but if he is there at 29 then the Thunder should take him. That would give them TWO legit young bigs in Withey and Olynyk who can complement each other well and give OKC a really good four big man rotation of those two plus Ibaka and Collison. Those four would be interchangeable and it would also make Kendrick Perkins expendable. Thabeet would then be a cheap, 7’3 luxury in the 13th man role.

At 32, they should then go with a wing who can shoot. There should be at least one guy there, maybe Reggie Bullock if he falls. Or, no one is there, they can trade with Memphis and trade down to 41 and 55. They can get a guy to stash overseas at 41 if they plan on resigning Kevin Martin (or sign JJ Reddick who would be a PERFECT fit), and then at 55 they can get a legit backup point guard like Peyton Siva or Myck Kabongo if they fall. Or, look at DJ Stephens as a freak athlete who they can use to complement the Big Three as well as use as an energy defender off the bench (picture Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb/Thabo
, DJ Stephens, Kelly Olynyk/Perry Jones, and Jeff Withey).

Other than this, I think JJ Reddick would be a good replacement for Kevin Martin. Reddick is an even better spot up shooter, he’s been to the Finals, and might even come cheaper.

New Lineup:

Starters

PG Russell Westbrook
SG JJ Reddick
SF Kevin Durant
PF Serge Ibaka
C Kelly Olynyk

Bench

PG Reggie Jackson
SG Thabo Sefolosha/Jeremy Lamb
SF Perry Jones/DJ Stephens
PF Nick Collison
C Jeff Withey/Kendrick Perkins/Hasheem Thabeet

A little unconventional, but i like a big PG to play next to a scoring pg. I like MCW here. a 3 guard rotaion if Lamb, MCW and Westbrook. I agree with Olynyk being a good fit, but if MCW is on the board????

A little unconventional, but i like a big PG to play next to a scoring pg. I like MCW here. a 3 guard rotaion if Lamb, MCW and Westbrook. I agree with Olynyk being a good fit, but if MCW is on the board????

in my opinion.

Zeller
Adams
McCollum
KCP
even MCW or Bazz would be ok.

Not sure how many of those guys will still be there at 12 though.

I like Adams because A)His body is ready to guard centers right now. B) He is only 19 and C) I just rewatched the combine and Adams absolutely destroyed it. His jumper was wet. Supposedly he is weak offensively but he looked great at the combine. Ford and Fraschilla were raving about him. Now I know it was in a drills setting, but those other bigs that are supposedly better offensively than Adams sure didn’t look like they were at the combine. He hustled everywhere. Ran the floor and even from station to station, when other players were walking. He looked to be in incredible shape. There is just something about this guy that I love. Playing for Team Asia in the 2011 Adidas Nations, he posted 12 points and 20 rebounds against Team USA, 19 points and 9 boards against Australia and then 37 points and 14 points against Team USA in a second game. I’m not saying he was the greatest offensively at Pitt but neither was Len at Maryland. Both were not exactly featured in their respective offenses. Adams took the 5th most FGA’s on his team at PITT, so it is clear they weren’t feeding him. And he shot 57% on those shots, so it wasn’t like he shot poorly either. Len took the 2nd most shots on his team and shot 53%, Olynyk took 45 more shots than the next closest player at Gonzaga but did shoot a ridiculous 63% on those shots, and Zeller took 17 more shots than Oladipo who was 2nd on the team, and made 56% of those shots.

I just feel like Olynyk has the highest bust potential out of that group. He looked robotic and not very coordinated while running the floor and trying to finish at the combine. Plus with him not being able to guard anybody, it would be a wasted opportunity in my opinion. No thanks. I’ll pass on Olynyk 10 times out of 10.

For 29, I like Reggie Bullock, Ricky Ledo or Nate Wolters if still available and they don’t select a wing with 12.

There are still going to be some nice players to choose from at 32 as well. Lo Brown is an option, but I like the long term upside of a Grant Jerrett or possibly Mike Muscala. Plus they even have the flexibility to gamble on a guy like Archie Goodwin, or draft a stash guy like Jean-Charles or Abrines.

I don’t think they will draft all 3 unless one is a stash guy, so they could definitely be active on the trade front as well. I would be interested to see if Dallas would give up 13 for PJ3 and 29.

The key here is that they are in a great position for a championship contender. The sixers had 26 fewer wins than OKC and draft one spot higher, so they are in a unique position to acquire talent that is hardly ever available for the elite teams.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Presti and Co. are able to pull off on Thursday night.

in my opinion.

Zeller
Adams
McCollum
KCP
even MCW or Bazz would be ok.

Not sure how many of those guys will still be there at 12 though.

I like Adams because A)His body is ready to guard centers right now. B) He is only 19 and C) I just rewatched the combine and Adams absolutely destroyed it. His jumper was wet. Supposedly he is weak offensively but he looked great at the combine. Ford and Fraschilla were raving about him. Now I know it was in a drills setting, but those other bigs that are supposedly better offensively than Adams sure didn’t look like they were at the combine. He hustled everywhere. Ran the floor and even from station to station, when other players were walking. He looked to be in incredible shape. There is just something about this guy that I love. Playing for Team Asia in the 2011 Adidas Nations, he posted 12 points and 20 rebounds against Team USA, 19 points and 9 boards against Australia and then 37 points and 14 points against Team USA in a second game. I’m not saying he was the greatest offensively at Pitt but neither was Len at Maryland. Both were not exactly featured in their respective offenses. Adams took the 5th most FGA’s on his team at PITT, so it is clear they weren’t feeding him. And he shot 57% on those shots, so it wasn’t like he shot poorly either. Len took the 2nd most shots on his team and shot 53%, Olynyk took 45 more shots than the next closest player at Gonzaga but did shoot a ridiculous 63% on those shots, and Zeller took 17 more shots than Oladipo who was 2nd on the team, and made 56% of those shots.

I just feel like Olynyk has the highest bust potential out of that group. He looked robotic and not very coordinated while running the floor and trying to finish at the combine. Plus with him not being able to guard anybody, it would be a wasted opportunity in my opinion. No thanks. I’ll pass on Olynyk 10 times out of 10.

For 29, I like Reggie Bullock, Ricky Ledo or Nate Wolters if still available and they don’t select a wing with 12.

There are still going to be some nice players to choose from at 32 as well. Lo Brown is an option, but I like the long term upside of a Grant Jerrett or possibly Mike Muscala. Plus they even have the flexibility to gamble on a guy like Archie Goodwin, or draft a stash guy like Jean-Charles or Abrines.

I don’t think they will draft all 3 unless one is a stash guy, so they could definitely be active on the trade front as well. I would be interested to see if Dallas would give up 13 for PJ3 and 29.

The key here is that they are in a great position for a championship contender. The sixers had 26 fewer wins than OKC and draft one spot higher, so they are in a unique position to acquire talent that is hardly ever available for the elite teams.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Presti and Co. are able to pull off on Thursday night.

My Thunder Center wishlist is Zeller > Olynyk > Nogueira

Zeller would be ideal, but they will have to do some trading to move up to get him, he will not be there at 12. But the question is who do you get rid of? No one will want Perkins or his contract, so unfortunately they will probably have to give up one of the young guns in Lamb or PJ3, I’d much rather lose PJ3…but I’m not sure anyone would take PJ3 for Zeller straight up so probably have to toss in someone like Liggins or Thabeet.

Olynyk is my second choice, he’s nowhere near as good as Zeller but he’s the next best thing available at 12. He would provide the inside scoring Thunder desperately need.

Lastly I wouldn’t mind Nogueira, not quite the scorer the two above are but pretty agile and athletic for a 7 footer. Add in some good defense and rebounding and high potential.

I know some people think Steven Adams should be the Thunders pick but I don’t see it. He’s essentially just a younger and slightly taller Perkins. Thunder need post scoring, not post defense, they have post defense covered in Ibaka, Perkins, Collison, and even some in Thabeet, to get a 5th defensive big man makes ZERO sense at all. Yes I realize Nogueira is also more defensive than offensive but him & Adams are basically the same except Nogueira is more athletic and less of a project so that’s why I gave him the nod over Adams.

My Thunder Center wishlist is Zeller > Olynyk > Nogueira

Zeller would be ideal, but they will have to do some trading to move up to get him, he will not be there at 12. But the question is who do you get rid of? No one will want Perkins or his contract, so unfortunately they will probably have to give up one of the young guns in Lamb or PJ3, I’d much rather lose PJ3…but I’m not sure anyone would take PJ3 for Zeller straight up so probably have to toss in someone like Liggins or Thabeet.

Olynyk is my second choice, he’s nowhere near as good as Zeller but he’s the next best thing available at 12. He would provide the inside scoring Thunder desperately need.

Lastly I wouldn’t mind Nogueira, not quite the scorer the two above are but pretty agile and athletic for a 7 footer. Add in some good defense and rebounding and high potential.

I know some people think Steven Adams should be the Thunders pick but I don’t see it. He’s essentially just a younger and slightly taller Perkins. Thunder need post scoring, not post defense, they have post defense covered in Ibaka, Perkins, Collison, and even some in Thabeet, to get a 5th defensive big man makes ZERO sense at all. Yes I realize Nogueira is also more defensive than offensive but him & Adams are basically the same except Nogueira is more athletic and less of a project so that’s why I gave him the nod over Adams.

If OKC goes big, which many people would agree would be a smart decision, I think they should go for Adams if he is available. He offers great upside for them at #12. But if he’s not, they may be better off trading down with Atlanta or some other team to try to acquire Gorgui Dieng + extra picks. When you have Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka who can all score the ball, and even Lamb and Sefolosha (maybe Martin if he’s back) can also score. So Dieng looks to be a good fit as he’s an NBA ready defender and he even has range out to 15-18 feet. I think he’s one of the most underrated bigs in the class. You could even argue that Gorgui Dieng is the best center prospect now, though he doesn’t offer the upside of Adams, Len, Gobert, Nogueira, etc.

If OKC goes big, which many people would agree would be a smart decision, I think they should go for Adams if he is available. He offers great upside for them at #12. But if he’s not, they may be better off trading down with Atlanta or some other team to try to acquire Gorgui Dieng + extra picks. When you have Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka who can all score the ball, and even Lamb and Sefolosha (maybe Martin if he’s back) can also score. So Dieng looks to be a good fit as he’s an NBA ready defender and he even has range out to 15-18 feet. I think he’s one of the most underrated bigs in the class. You could even argue that Gorgui Dieng is the best center prospect now, though he doesn’t offer the upside of Adams, Len, Gobert, Nogueira, etc.

if he somehow slips to 29, because I would rather take him late than Withey. This could allow them to take the best wing player available at 12.

if he somehow slips to 29, because I would rather take him late than Withey. This could allow them to take the best wing player available at 12.

I’m a Thunder fan and was really excited the last couple of weeks that Adams might be available. I thought he will rise his stock a lot after the combine and workouts and he did. He has the potential to be the 3rd best player from this draft and I still think this could happen. After I thought about this whole situation for some time I don’t think Adams would be a good fit for the Thunder. He has tremendous upside but his biggest holes are exactly what the Thunder biggest needs are. Ibaka has developed very good offensively but we all know that Perk is not just suck!ng at defense and rebounding but can’t make a play on the offensive end at all. The biggest problem is that both Ibaka and Perk and even Collison who I like a lot are all black holes on offense. If I’m not mistaken all three average like 1 assist per game and that really needs to be fixed now. They not only need a back to the basket player who can score down low but they really need someone who can pass the ball and is not only the last station in the set play. Having KD, Westbrook and Martin on the roster is taylor made for adding someone like Olynyk. But there are a couple of problems who need to be taken into consideration with their picks. K-Mart is a FA and if they want to keep him (what I expect them to do for like 3 years 24/26mil) they won’t need all of their picks this year. Zeller might be an even better fit and I can see Presti trading picks and/or maybe PJ3 to get Zeller if they like him more over Olynyk.

My main problem with all this scenarios is they can have Withey later (or trade their late first and early 2nd rounder) if he isn’t there anymore. They big question is why draft let’s say Olynyk then you don’t need Withey anymore (Pleiss could/will come over next year). Imagine if someone like Bazz or even Oladipo slips to them. Why not add depth at the wing and draft Withey.

Very tough decision for the Thunder this draft since they need to gamble a bit not knowing how the Martin situation will work out.

Right now I go with the Olynyk pick or even better Zeller. If both are gone they need to decide if they want to trade for one of them or they need another plan. I trust Presti enough that he will make the right decisions and think he knows that this is the last time for a while he has a chance to upgrade via high draft pick in a very talented big men draft class!

I’m a Thunder fan and was really excited the last couple of weeks that Adams might be available. I thought he will rise his stock a lot after the combine and workouts and he did. He has the potential to be the 3rd best player from this draft and I still think this could happen. After I thought about this whole situation for some time I don’t think Adams would be a good fit for the Thunder. He has tremendous upside but his biggest holes are exactly what the Thunder biggest needs are. Ibaka has developed very good offensively but we all know that Perk is not just suck!ng at defense and rebounding but can’t make a play on the offensive end at all. The biggest problem is that both Ibaka and Perk and even Collison who I like a lot are all black holes on offense. If I’m not mistaken all three average like 1 assist per game and that really needs to be fixed now. They not only need a back to the basket player who can score down low but they really need someone who can pass the ball and is not only the last station in the set play. Having KD, Westbrook and Martin on the roster is taylor made for adding someone like Olynyk. But there are a couple of problems who need to be taken into consideration with their picks. K-Mart is a FA and if they want to keep him (what I expect them to do for like 3 years 24/26mil) they won’t need all of their picks this year. Zeller might be an even better fit and I can see Presti trading picks and/or maybe PJ3 to get Zeller if they like him more over Olynyk.

My main problem with all this scenarios is they can have Withey later (or trade their late first and early 2nd rounder) if he isn’t there anymore. They big question is why draft let’s say Olynyk then you don’t need Withey anymore (Pleiss could/will come over next year). Imagine if someone like Bazz or even Oladipo slips to them. Why not add depth at the wing and draft Withey.

Very tough decision for the Thunder this draft since they need to gamble a bit not knowing how the Martin situation will work out.

Right now I go with the Olynyk pick or even better Zeller. If both are gone they need to decide if they want to trade for one of them or they need another plan. I trust Presti enough that he will make the right decisions and think he knows that this is the last time for a while he has a chance to upgrade via high draft pick in a very talented big men draft class!

They should try to trade the pick and fillers for Paul Pierce. Maybe the pick, Jeremy Lamb, Thabeet and a filler. They’d be a really good team…

They should try to trade the pick and fillers for Paul Pierce. Maybe the pick, Jeremy Lamb, Thabeet and a filler. They’d be a really good team…

They need a C and a SG…
Steven Adams is a good choice for #12…

They need a C and a SG…
Steven Adams is a good choice for #12…