NBA Mock Draft: Thunder Take Risk on Prolific Guard

If there’s one player that’s most difficult to evaluate in the upcoming draft, it’s Shaedon Sharpe.

With the NBA regular season now over, the Oklahoma City Thunder are locked in with the fourth-highest lottery odds. As as result, their pick will land somewhere between No. 1 and No. 8 overall. Oklahoma City also owns the LA Clippers’ first-round pick, which will either land in the top four, or the 12 to 14 range.

We won’t know which picks the Thunder will actually have until the draft lottery next month. At that point, every selection in the 2022 NBA Draft will be solidified.

Where those picks lands for Oklahoma City will dictate the types of players available to select. If either is a top-three pick, they could take one of the highly-coveted forwards that rank in the top of the class. If they’re both outside that range, things certainly get interesting.

Kyle Boone of CBS Sports recently released a mock draft the 2022 class, which gives insight into where some of the top players in the upcoming rookie class could land. His projection has the Thunder selecting two guards with extremely high upside.

Although the draft lottery will ultimately decide the final order of selection for the upcoming draft, the Thunder’s pick has the fourth-highest odds. Additionally, the pick they own from the Clippers has the 12th best lottery odds.

1. Houston Rockets: Chet Holmgren (Center | Gonzaga)

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2. Orlando Magic: Paolo Banchero (Forward | Duke)

[Theo John]

3. Detroit Pistons: Jabari Smith Jr. (Forward | Auburn)

Kevin Jairaj / USA TODAY Sports

4. Oklahoma City Thunder: Shaedon Sharpe (Guard | Kentucky)

Jordan Prather / USA TODAY Sports

5. Indiana Pacers: Jaden Ivey (Guard | Purdue)

Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier-USA TODAY NETWORK

6. Portland Trail Blazers: Keegan Murray (Forward | Iowa)

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7. Sacramento Kings: TyTy Washington (Guard | Kentucky)

Jordan Prather / USA TODAY Sports

8. New Orleans Pelicans: Jeremy Sochan (Forward | Baylor)

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9. San Antonio Spurs: AJ Griffin (Forward | Duke)

Joseph Maiorana / USA TODAY Sports

10. Washington Wizards: Ochai Agbaji (Guard | Kansas)

Jay Biggerstaff / USA TODAY Sports

11. New York Knicks: Johnny Davis (Guard | Wisconsin)

Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier-USA TODAY NETWORK

12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Bennedict Mathurin (Guard | Arizona)

Soobum Im / USA TODAY Sports

13. Charlotte Hornets: Jalen Duren (Center | Memphis)

Joe Rondone / The Commercial Appeal-USA TODAY NETWORK

14. Cleveland Cavaliers: Ousmane Dieng (Forward | International)

Brad Penner / USA TODAY Sports

Sharpe and Mathurin both have star potential at the next level. If the Thunder are able to come away with these two, the rebuild will take another step in the right direction.

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