NBA Draft: Thunder Could Add Late-Round Shooters in June

If Oklahoma City wants to develop 3-point shooters through the draft, they have options.

With the NBA playoffs in full swing, fans are always paying attention to what works. Especially fans of teams that didn’t make the playoffs.

There have been games where stars took over, and the direction of the NBA was on display. Those kinds of games leave Thunder fans itching to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey in the playoffs soon. A consistent theme among good teams, minus the superstars, comes from the elite shooters.

Looking around at the teams in the playoffs, most of these elite shooters are homegrown through the NBA draft. Not super high picks, but value picks because every team needs some knockdown shooters. Desmond Bane and Jordan Poole are two late, late-first round draft picks that turned into elite shooters. In the Boston Milwaukee series, the Celtics have witnessed development from draft picks Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard turning into elite 3-point shooters. The Miami Heat develop in-house shooters better than anyone in the NBA with Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, and Gabe Vincent.

Oklahoma City has a potential sixth-man and microwave scorer in Tre Mann, but no true knockdown shooting option from outside. Looking ahead to the NBA draft, OKC might look to use one of their picks in the thirties to make a push for a jump shooter.

Here are some elite 3-point shooting prospects the Thunder could add to the roster in June:

Kellan Grady, Kentucky

Grady played four seasons at Davidson and one season at Kentucky, so he’s more experienced and older than the rest of the pack. He came to Davidson talented enough to play right away, averaging 18 points per game as a freshman.

His production was the same over the next three years as Grady was a true impact player for Davidson. After transferring to Kentucky for his fifth season, he only averaged 11.4 points per night, but his 3-point percentage continued to rise.

Grady shot 41.5% from long distance for the Wildcats and 37.8% in his career. He took nearly six 3-pointers per game in every season but one.

Hyunjung Lee, Davidson

Lee is an unbelievable shooting talent and will be available if Oklahoma City wants to give him a chance.

At Davidson, Lee was a career 39.7% 3-point shooter on 5.2 attempts per game. His most impressive season was 2020-21, where he joined the 50/40/90 club. Lee shot 44.2% from 3-point range while averaging 13.5 points per contest.

At 6-foot-7, Lee has the premier length to turn into a knockdown NBA shooter. Lee is also an upside defender. He has intriguing shot creation skills and room to grow his game despite his older age, too.

Christian Braun, Kansas

Oklahoma City may have to trade up for Braun depending on the direction of the draft, but he should be hanging around in the late 20s.

Braun is a 6-foot-7 wing with all of the accolades. He was 2021-22 All-Big 12, 2022 All-Big 12 Tournament team, and an NCAA Tournament champion.

He played three seasons at Kansas, compiling a 3-point percentage of 37.8%. In his freshman year, he drilled 44% at a smaller clip. Braun was never a volume 3-point shooter game-by-game for the Jayhawks, but his smooth stroke and big games suggest he could turn into an elite shooter. In 2021-22, he exploded for a 6-for-12 performance from deep against West Virginia.

Braun is a strong wing candidate for the Thunder who could turn into an elite shooter next to two ball-dominant guards.

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