Mr. Presti's (Neighborhood) Draft Targets
There are a million mock drafts, big boards, and scouting features on the prospects available to the Thunder and the rest of the league. Here's a rundown of how the commenters in Mr. Presti's Neighborhood feel about the consensus and which players Sam Presti should target next week with Oklahoma City's #12, #17, and #37 picks.
The Favorite: Yaxel Lendeborg
If he's available, Yaxel feels inevitable.
rednuht ✅: “With 10% of the information it is clear to me that Yaxel should be the primary target in the draft. The fit is so clear that even non Thunder fans see it.”
danfauci ✅: “Just 'cause he got bad grades in HS doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. He is ready to contribute now.”
DadJokes 🚫: “I know the team’s strategy has shifted away from super young, hyper athletic guys bad at basketball to include skilled, older players. But I just can’t see Presti drafting a 24 year old in the lottery.”
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! 🚫: “I’ve just never been a fan of SF/PF tweeners like Lendeborg and on top of that he’s old.”
MrRaysian 🥱: “I do like Yaxel, and I think if that’s who we pick at 12 I’ll be fairly happy. I just don’t see the need to keep both 12 and 17, and naturally I’m wondering how best to move up to get an even better prospect.”
DT Darlings: Dailyn Swain and Joshua Jefferson
Sign us up.
OKCJim ✅: “I think we should draft either Dailyn Swain or Karim Lopez mostly to improve our overall roster size. Our guards have a hard time with the Spurs guards’ size and we don’t really have a decent-sized Wemby guy that can even make it kind of hard for him.”
DraftandTrades ✅: “Swain at 17 would be a good pick... SF) J-Dub / Caruso / Swain. PF) Chet / Yaxel / Morez / Kenrich.”
WilliamHurst ⚖️: “Swain can also handle, get to the rim, and create for others a bit, theoretically—but he’s not a sure-thing immediate contributor like Yaxel would be. With Swain, the main concern is if the 3 point shooting will be good enough.”
rednuht ✅: “Jefferson plays like a Thunder player.”
DraftandTrades ✅: “Given the sizeable pending extensions for Cason and Ajay prior to the 2027-2028 season and the high likelihood of having to trade Hartenstein that same offseason, we should be taking advantage of this deep draft to acquire cheaper cost controlled young players to fill their void. 33rd pick: Joshua Jefferson.”
Just Fine: Morez Johnson Jr. and Karim Lopez
As John Prine would say, these guys would make us feel pretty good...not bad...we can't complain.
DraftandTrades ✅: “If Yaxel is not available at 12, then Morez Johnson Jr. should be our pick. He’s killing it at the combine in the athletic testing and measurements which match the tape.”
rednuht 🚫: “Morez lacks the skill set that Presti has targeted in big men. You can often find versions of Morez in the early second round.”
ThunderGuardDogs 🚫: “Haven’t really watched Morez but his lack of playmaking is concerning as well as the three point shooting. Seems like a finisher without any creation abilities.”
WilliamHurst 🥱: “Lopez would be a fine picks at 17, if those other guys are gone by then. I like Morez but more at 17 than 12 in this particular draft."
Against the Consensus: Chris Cenac Jr.
The internet thinks Cenac Jr. is fairly likely to land with OKC, but we haven't discussed him much at all.
WilliamHurst 🥱: “There are other guys that I am not as high on but that I could see being good NBA players—Quaintance, Koa Peat, Stirtz, Cenac Jr., Steinbach, Okorie, and Anderson. I just think that this is a rather deep draft.”
The Rest of the Board
Memo's most mentioned: Caleb Wilson, Darius Acuff Jr.
AJ Dybantsa
chandlerbing 🥱: “If the pick jumps to #1, I actually think Presti should pull an Ainge and trade down to ~3 and collect additional assets on the way. I’m not sure there’s a clear sign of this team needing someone like Dybantsa instead of any of the other three top four guys.”
jooseppi 🥱: “The Thunder’s highest pick occurred in a draft with no Flagg or Edwards or Dybantsa tier 1 prospects, much less a generational one.”
Cameron Boozer
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! ✅: “If I was the Utah Jazz I know this, I would take Boozer 2nd overall even though they don’t need a big. He’s like half a year younger than Peterson and has less red flags.”
Caleb Wilson
namlede ✅: “We need more all around playmakers with elite talent. Which is why we should trade up for Caleb Wilson.”
namlede 🥱: “I love Caleb Wilson, but it will probably cost too much to move up."
MrRaysian ✅: “Cam Boozer would be amazing on this team, but there is no way of getting him.”
Darius Acuff Jr.
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! ✅: “I would try to trade up to 6 for Darius Acuff. Acuff just looks like a star PG.”
dinobroom 🚫: “If we traded up for a raw, dynamic point guard, would you not have questions about the process? More than if it was for a big wing? I would anyway.”
Darryn Peterson
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! 🚫: “ I just think Boozer’s a better prospect than Peterson. He’s like half a year younger and has less red flags.”
Hannes Steinbach
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! ✅: “Hannes Steinbach is a better prospect than Yaxel Lendeborg or am I missing something. Hannes is bigger, stronger, younger—put up similar numbers to senior-year Yaxel but as a freshman... First question of this interview, he says he watches film of Isaiah Hartenstein. He knows who he’s ready to replace.”
Allen Graves
dinobroom 🥱: “I love some of the idea of this Allen Graves guy, but he also looks slow and it feels like in our scheme one guy late on rotations can undermine the brilliance of the rest.”
WilliamHurst ✅: “Graves has an uncanny feel for timing where to be, which helps. I also think he’s faster than J-Will, at least.”
Aday Mara
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! ✅: “I would also take Aday Mara at 12 over Lendeborg."
MrRaysian 🚫: “I just don’t see how we have time to play another big like Aday Mara when Sorber is also trying to get time, unless Chet just becomes a full-time 4, which doesn’t feel like a good idea.”
Keaton Wagler
dinobroom ⚖️: “The guards in the draft are mainly offense-first lead guards. We have Ajay, JMac and Topic all cheap until 2028; Wagler sounds like the exception.”
MrRaysian ⚖️: “Insurance, because right now we are heavily reliant on Ajay for secondary creation and his health record thus far has not been great. I think there’s no reason why one of these guys can’t play with Ajay or Wallace, especially the taller ones like Wagler.”
Cameron Carr
WilliamHurst ✅: “For a smaller wing, who has JDub-like length and athleticism, there’s Cameron Carr: 6’5” with a 7’1” wingspan. I think Carr has real star potential, and he’s already a decent shooter.”
DraftandTrades 🚫: “I don’t think Presti will draft Cameron Carr because he doesn’t process the game fast enough and can’t create at all."
Ebuka Okorie
rednuht ✅: “The outlier prospect I like is Okori.”
WilliamHurst 🥱: “Some people are big believers in Okorie, and likely one of those higher ranked guards will fall into the late lottery too.
Kingston Flemings
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! ✅: “Maybe the team sitting there at 7 doesn’t like Kingston Flemings but we do. It’s how we got Cason Wallace, although that was less steep of a jump to pick 10.”
Brayden Burries
Shootorshootnot ✅: “Brayden Burries has good steal numbers and fits much of what Presti likes in a guard. There’s normally a fast riser that will move into that range over the draft process.”
Jayden Quaintance
jooseppi ✅: “Quaintance is going to go a lot higher than where I’ve typically seen him mocked. NBA people can’t resist a massive dude.”
WilliamHurst ⚖️: “I see quite a few people mocking Quaintance to us at either 12 or 17 because he’s a giant elite athlete who people say could become a DPOY, if Wemby didn’t exist. The main thing is his injuries and lack of offense, other than as a dunker.”
Sergio de Larrea
WilliamHurst ✅: “I have heard good things about Sergio de Larrea. Also, if we just wanted to take a cheap flyer on an absolute behemoth, who has some shooting potential, there’s Luigi Suigo.”
DraftandTrades ✅: “Two-way: Joshua Jefferson, Barnheizer. Draft and stash: Sergio de Larrea.”
Bennett Stirtz
WilliamHurst 🥱: “Stirtz is pretty good too, but he’ll be 23 years old before next season starts.”
DraftandTrades ✅: “Joe and the 37th pick to the Pistons for the 21st pick and draft one of Stirtz, Philon, Okorie.”
Labaron Philon
pshan793 ⚖️: “ESPN has OKC taking Yaxel and Labaron 🤔”
Nate Ament
daReangel_Born_aGain 🚫: “Anyone else thinking N8 Ament oozes Ousmane Dieng potential?”
Christian Anderson
d.f.s. ⚖️: “The Thunder have a historic name drafting opportunity this year: 12-Hannes Steinbach, 17-Christian Anderson. The Hannes Christian Anderson draft.”
Tarris Reed Jr.
WE CHIP!!!!!!!! ✅: “I like C Tarris Reed Jr. if he’s there at 37. He’s 6’11 with a 7’4 wingspan, a 22-year-old senior who had a dominant March Madness, and he’s ready to play right away if need be.”
ThunderGuardDogs 🥱: “Yaxel, Carr and Tarris Reed Jr., our three picks.”
