2022 NBA Draft: Thunder Could Find Value at Pick No. 30

If Sam Presti sticks at No. 30, here are a few options to consider ending the first round with.

Sam Lane | Mar 26, 2022

With nine games left, and the team headed toward a top-four pick, the attention of Thunder GM Sam Presti and the front office will soon shift to a new subject.

He struck gold with his latest class, selecting the likes of Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, Jeremiah-Robinson Earl and Aaron Wiggins — all of whom become key contributors as rookies.

While the Thunder (21-52) will have great odds there in the lottery, there is no guaranteeing what spot the team selects at on draft night. There is some certainty, however, in where else they may select.

The Thunder will have three first-round picks to work with come the draft: its own, the Los Angeles Clippers’ and the Phoenix Suns’. The Clippers are likely to hold as the West’s No. 8 seed, putting the draft pick somewhere around No. 15. The Suns, as of Friday, have secured their spot in the standings — clinching the NBA’s best record. This means the first puzzle piece to Presti’s draft plan is in place at No. 30.

Presti is notorious for wheeling-and-dealing on draft night, but in the event he sticks at No. 30, here are five prospects he could target with the pick:

Christian Koloko

The center class this cycle is top-heavy with Chet Holmgren as a potential No. 1-pick. After that, there are a few candidates for second-best.

Koloko, a 7-foot-1, 21-year-old, would immediately be the Thunder’s largest player — by some margin. OKC has more size at guard than just about every other team in the NBA, but the same can’t be said about the front line.

Koloko would be the defensive, shot-blocking presence inside that the Thunder are currently lacking in Derrick Favors and Mike Muscala. He averaged 2.76 blocks per game this season at Arizona.

Koloko has only been playing basketball full-time since he was 17, so he has quite a bit of room in his game to grow, but if Presti is willing to give him time this could become a steal of a pick at 30.

Oscar Tshiebwe

Tshiebwe is a different prospect than Koloko in every aspect other than position.

Tshiebwe, 22, comes in at 6-foot-9, but makes up for his lack of height with a 7-foot-4 wingspan.

The explosive big is lacking most of the things that make Koloko a great prospect — his athleticism, shot-blocking and his finishing around the rim. But there’s one thing Tshiebwe does better than any player in the class and it’s why he is the Naismith award favorite and could be the choice at 30 — rebounding.

Tshiebwe led college basketball with a whopping 15.1 boards a game for Kentucky. You put that together with an other-worldly motor and you might just have something here. Additionally, he averaged 1.6 blocks, largely due to his wingspan, but given some growth could become a plus defender in the future.

There are few sure-fire players left by pick No. 30, but there are few things more sure-fire than Tshiebwe’s ability to rebound at an elite level.

Hyunjung Lee

What Tshiebwe is to rebounding, Lee might just be to 3-point shooting.

Lee shot 44.2% from deep last season at Davidson, good enough to have his name rumored as a second-round pick. He ultimately went back for his junior season at Davidson and put up 38.1% —albeit on a higher volume.

The Thunder desperately needs shooting. OKC is last in the NBA in 3-point percentage — causing teams to be able to shrink the floor on its playmakers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey.

Lee, 21, would immediately help alleviate that burden. At 6-foot-7 he has the height to shoot over defenders and would give the Thunder’s guard a target when teams pack the paint.

He isn’t the ideal athlete but showed during his junior season that that might not be a deal-breaker — averaging 15.8 points on 47.4% from the field.

Wendell Moore Jr.

Moore, 20, has ascended as of late for Duke. In his last seven games, in the ACC and NCAA tournaments, he is averaging 15.7 points shooting an eye-popping 56.8% from behind the arc.

As Duke has geared up to try and send Mike Krzyzewski out with a championship, Moore has assumed more of a secondary ball-handler role than earlier in the season‚ something similar to what his role for the Thunder would be.

Moore would be a similar pick to what Robinson-Earl was last year. He is a junior who has played deep into March Madness and could fill many different roles.

If He can shoot anything close to what he has over the last few weeks he would be an ideal 3-and-D wing for the Thunder.

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Published Mar 26, 2022

SAM LANE

Sam is an Oklahoma State graduate and life-long Oklahoman, following the NBA in Oklahoma City since the New Orleans Hornets’ brief stint there. Sam is in his first season covering the Thunder, following work at Oklahoma State, Softball America and USA TODAY.