With the reports out that Oklahoma City is one of the most aggressive teams about moving up in the draft (15 days!), the question starts to become: Who’s ready to play with the Thunder?
Sam Presti has the assets. He has the bevy of picks. But none of this works if Oklahoma City can’t find a partner that is willing to deal.
I would imagine by “move up,” the Thunder would like to get into the lottery. And it’s not going to be easy. Though draft picks – even high ones – don’t always work out, they are extremely valuable assets and are difficult to pry away from teams. They’re cheaper than a veteran and they also give you a fresh player to maybe inject some life into your franchise. So despite what some local sports pundits might say, it will likely take more for OKC to move up than just “packaging” its picks with D.J. White or Kyle Weaver. The trade partner has to get something in return of value. Whether that’s a good player or some breathing room by unloading a contract, a potential trade buddy for the Thunder won’t be easy to reel in. Read more…
Commentary
2010 Draft
In his draft blog (Insider) and again today in his chat, ESPN draft insider Chad Ford said the Thunder is high on local product Daniel Orton and would take him if he was available when Oklahoma City picked.
I wrote today in the draft blog that the Thunder (who have 2 first round picks) are his floor. They’d take him with one of their picks. But they’re drafting in the early 20s. He could go a lot higher than that. Top 10 isn’t out of the question. Crazy for a guy who averaged 3 ppg. But you know how gaga NBA GMs get over size.
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But as we first reported several weeks ago, Orton has caught the attention of a number of NBA GMs, the most prominent of which is the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Sam Presti. According to a source close to the process, the Thunder are sending signals that if Orton is in the draft, they’d take him with one of their two first-round picks. Currently that would put Orton in the early 20s. However, a few other GMs have told ESPN.com that they’d consider taking Orton even higher.
I don’t think anyone should take the Thunder too seriously about “sending signals”. Presti is a master of draft deception (Spanish Law Firm anyone?) But despite looking incredibly similar to Russell Westbrook (as pointed out by one astute reader), Orton would be a nice fit. Especially when you consider that Oklahoma City has moved itself out of the lottery and will be picking in the 20s now. That’s kind of hard to wrap my mind around, but it’s truth. Read more…
Commentary
2010 Draft
(J.G.’s midseason draft look runs a couple days late because of the insanity of All-Star Weekend.)
Ironically this last part of the 2010 Draft Prospectus is the one I think most everyone will agree on. Sure, there may be a few people who dislike what I’m about to suggest but I’m almost positive this is the best course of action and would allow the organization to maintain all of the goals that it wants to going into this summer and into next season.
And sorry to some people, but it’s not bringing Oklahoma homegrown prospect Ekpe Udoh into the fold. It’s much, much more obvious of an option than that. And honestly, it’s probably the authentic #1 option for the Thunder in this draft considering where they’ll be drafting and what they need. Read more…
Commentary
2010 Draft
The X-Factor.
That is what this prospect is because, honestly, I’ve never been able to see him play and all of what I know about him is what other people tell me. But I can say this, those individuals are usually pretty accurate in their scouting reports so that is why this player has to go AT LEAST #4 since he could potentially be one of the answers for the Thunder’s low post need.
#4 – Hassan Whiteside – 6’11, 225 – PF/C – Marshall
ESPN’s Chad Ford lists Hassan White side as a Marcus Camby type of talent if he reaches his potential. A long, athletic forward who is an explosive leaper, is very quick for his size, a terror on the defensive end, a dominating shot-blocker and a very solid rebounder. Read more…
Commentary
2010 Draft
It’s at this point in the prospectus that we’ll start to see some redundancies, both in the prospects themselves but in what these prospects might bring to the Thunder that is already there but maybe just not in the way or package that the Thunder need.
For example, you could argue that the next two prospects to come are more or less Ibaka clones. And if you said that, I would not argue at all. The difference though is in play style and skill-set more than physical stature. And by no means do I want this to come across like these players would replace Ibaka in any way. They would ONLY be taken if the Thunder brass thought they could complement what was already on the team for the future, i.e. Ibaka and Green in the paint (I’d add Collison off the bench but Krstic and Collison have contracts ending soon so I’m not going to presume to say that I know what the Thunder front office will do with them).
But we still come back to the Thunder’s need of a low post scoring threat, a defensive rebounding fiend and a rim protecting shot-blocker (who combined with Ibaka would make for quite a nice “think twice before attacking the rim” tandem, no?). Read more…
Commentary
2010 Draft
Welcome to part two of the 2010 Draft Prospectus, or as I like to call it, the “I really don’t think the Thunder will keep any of these picks if these are the individuals left on the board so they’d probably trade out of these prospects and the draft altogether at this point, which means we both might be wasting our time going over the rest of the prospectus but anyways” continuation of the series.
To put it bluntly, from here on out, none of these guys would be able to contribute to the Thunder in the next two years in any meaningful way regarding all three of their areas of need: a true low-post offensive scoring threat, a defensive rebounding behemoth and, less so, a shot-blocking rim protector.
What you’ll find is that almost all of these individuals could probably shore up one, maybe even two of these off of the bench but when you’re expecting to pick out of the Top 10 in the draft, that’s the reality of the situation. The issue moves then from what you know they can do to what they might also be able to develop further down the line and how they fit with your team. Read more…
Commentary
2010 Draft
(Typically, DT contributor J.G. Marking has the Sunday page, but with the draft coming and OKC holding five picks, it’s time to take a small peek. And that’s what we’ll do over the next few days.)
There is a serious problem with the 2010 Draft, folks. One that most Thunder fans didn’t expect and could have never prepared for coming into the season.
It’s not talent. There’s more than enough talent in this draft to have most scouts and GM’s drooling no matter how many “gurus” claim that there are only “2, 3, 4, well probably 5, maybe even 6 elite talents” (it’ll keep fluctuating until draft day) in this class.
So what gives? What’s the problem with this draft class?
The Thunder are winning too much.
I know, I know. I should probably stop complaining about my diamond forks being too sharp and my gold slippers fitting too tight but when it comes to doing a draft prospectus, you typically want to be looking at players who can make an immediate impact or be potential All-Stars and most of those players are usually in the Top 5, maybe 6 of a draft. Read more…
Commentary
2010 Draft
