Anthony Black, Jarace Walker Could be Trade-Up Targets for OKC Thunder

There’s no question the Oklahoma City Thunder have had a draft type in recent years. Lengthy, do-it-all players with a knack for quick processing and feel for the game.

It’s clear OKC general manager Sam Presti wants a majority of the Thunder core to have one thing above all: versatility. And there are plenty of players in the 2023 NBA Draft that offer it. But the two that stand out the most are Houston forward Jarace Walker and Arkansas guard Anthony Black.

Black, at 6-foot-7, is Josh Giddey-adjacent and has said as much. He averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists while having one of the better free throw rates amongst college freshman and providing patented defense, too.

Walker is one of the more versatile players in the draft. At 6-foot-8-ish, he helped to anchor the No. 1 defense in all of college basketball as a freshman, and has underrated passing and playmaking skills that would fit right in on the Thunder squad.

Neither provide much in the ways of spacing — both being sub-35% shooters — but they’re unquestionably of a similar mold to Thunder draftees of year’s past.

The issue is that both Walker and Black are likely to be top-seven-ish selections, meaning they’re well out of OKC’s range.

That’s where the Thunder’s cache of draft picks comes in. Amassing a plethora of first and second round picks over the next several drafts, Presti and co. have primed and readied themselves to be able to move about the draft as they please, within reason. This was apparent in the 2022 draft, where OKC sent three first rounders to New York in order to jump to No. 11 and snag Ousmane Dieng.

This season, Oklahoma City owns the twelfth overall pick, and while Walker and Black could go as high as No. 5, if either slips to seventh or beyond, the team could be ready and waiting to shell out for either.

Regardless, the Thunder are sure to keep their string of draft night trades alive in 2023.

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