OKC Thunder Land Two Talented Freshmen in NBA Mock Draft

Even as OKC continues to win early in the new NBA season, they're still was predicted to pick up two first rounds picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Nov 4, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson (20) gestures after scoring against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

With the NBA season underway, people in the NBA Draft circle have begun pumping out mock drafts. The OKC Thunder have an abundance of draft picks in the 2025 NBA Draft and should get at least two first-round draft picks out of it. Here's who Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman predicted to land with the Thunder in his most recent predictions.

Picking with the No. 7 overall pick, courtesy of the LA Clippers, OKC's first selection was Texas Longhorn guard Tre Johnson. Johnson, the No. 5 player in the class of 2024 according to 247Sports composite rankings, opened up his season on the first night of college basketball posting 29 points, five boards and four assists against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The true freshman guard looked beyond ready for the pace of play and intensity of college basketball, scoring at multiple levels and putting his athleticism on display. Johnson is a 6-foot-6 guard with great length and scoring abilities.

His fit on OKC, however, may be interesting. The Thunder have no shortage of talented guards, both on its bench and in the starting unit. Finding quality minutes for the talented young guard to play consistently would certainly be challenging and may not be the most effective use of his talent. If Johnson was available for OKC at its pick, he may be hard to pass up. Looking in the direction of a forward or big man instead of a wing with its first pick may be a better selection.

OKC opted to look in that direction in this mock draft with its second first-round selection in this mock draft. With the No. 22 overall pick, the Thunder chose Arizona forward Carter Bryant. Bryant also opened up his freshman season campaign, posting six points and a rebound in 16 minutes against Canisius.

Bryant was also a five-star freshman, ranked No. 24 in the same composite rankings. Bryant is everything you would want in a modern NBA forward from a profile standpoint, listed at 6-foot-8, 220-pounds. Bryant can run and space the floor and has legitimate vertical athleticism as well.

The selection of Bryant would make much more sense for the Thunder. He's an athletic forward who can be productive on offense and defense, similar to what current French forward Ousmane Dieng does. He's young and has a long way to go in terms of development and spending time with OKC's developmental team in the G-League could certainly be of help,

OKC made two second-round selections in this mock draft, one with the No. 41 pick on Kentucky forward Brandon Garrison and the other with the No. 51 pick on crafty North Carolina point guard Elliot Cadeau.

Garrison is a second-year forward who just made the move through the transfer portal from Oklahoma State. He posted six points, four rebounds and five assists in Kentucky's opening-night matchup against Wright State and looked comfortable as a rim-running forward. Garrison has defensive upside but needs to be more consistent on both sides of the ball.

Cadeau is another second-year player who excels as a playmaker at the point guard spot. His passing instincts and ability to protect the ball are impressive and give him a real reason to make an NBA squad. He's slightly undersized at 6-foot-1 but displayed clear improvement in his scoring ability in UNC's opening game against Elon, posting 17 points on 57.1% shooting.

Of the four players, Cadeau might be the most intriguing to this current OKC roster. The Thunder have great passers but having one off the bench who can do it at the level Cadeau can would be an excellent addition to an already budding young roster.

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