Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Adds Pressure to Offseason Plan Following First-Round

The Oklahoma City Thunder have added pressure to their offseason plan following their two selections in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Sam Presti speaks to the press in Oklahoma City, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

The Oklahoma City Thunder elected to draft Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft before trading back into the first round for pick No. 26 nabbing Weber State product Dillon Jones. 

Fresh off a 57 win season that netted the Thunder the top seed in the Western Conference and their first playoff series win since 2016, these two sections aren’t exactly the win-now move Bricktown observers expected. 

Topic will be sidelined for the entire 2024-25 campaign with an ACL injury and Jones is a 22-year-old with juice that fits the mold of a Thunder player but doesn’t address what many believe to be Oklahoma City’s biggest flaw - their front court rotation. 

This is a luxury the Thunder can afford - given their roster loaded with talent which was good enough to gardener nearly 60 wins and has already been improved by the earlier Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey swap, Oklahoma City need to rely on any rookie to get them over the hump next season. 

The postseason is rarely defined by rookies, it takes a special circumstance - regardless of recency bias - for a rookie to be ready for that stage. While Oklahoma City didn’t address their few flaws in the first round of the NBA Draft, this was just the first step of the NBA Offseason. 

Now, the Thunder turn their sights to free agency and the trade market, where Oklahoma City needs to make a move to bolster their rotation. 

The decisions on Wednesday is a more than palatable one but the Thunder have now put pressure on themselves to make a high-impact transaction later in the week by not addressing their needs in the first round. 

Still, the belief should be in Oklahoma City upgrading their squad primed for championship contention, but the chatter only grows louder after Wednesday. 

Stiles Points

• Grading the Nikola Topic pick takes more measure and a clear-eyed view.
• While the Dillon Jones pick was shocking at No. 26, the Thunder clearly covet the interesting swingman.
• Presti pushed back on the Topic comparisons to Giddey.
• For everyone who complains about the big news breakers spoiling the NBA Draft, why? It is not an Avengers movie, just mute the accounts, or better yet stay off social media, if you care about the over-dramatic and slowed TV product. I promise, not everything needs to be complained about.

Song of the Day: Young and Beautiful by Elvis Presley.

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