2024 NBA Mock Draft: OKC Thunder Makes Surprising Guard Selection With Pick No. 12

In mock drafts during the 2024 NBA Draft cycle, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been projected to make a wide variety of selections. Different names have been linked to the team, with the most popular being Colorado's Cody Williams, younger brother of Thunder star Jalen Williams.

In the Game Theory Podcast's recent mock draft, though, they project the team to go in a surprising direction, selecting Carlton "Bub" Carrington out of Pittsburgh.

Carrington is a 6-foot-4 combo guard out of Pittsburgh. Initially, Carrington claimed he would be returning to college basketball for one more season, but he later rolled back on that announcement to enter the 2024 NBA Draft.

It's hard to argue a first-round draft grade, and that's exactly what Carrington projects to be. In this scenario, the Thunder selects the guard with the No. 12 pick in the draft. The Pitt guard averaged 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, though his efficiency wasn't incredible. He shot 41.2 percent from the field and 32.1 on 3-pointers.

"I think that Oklahoma City needs a creator almost as much as they need a big," Sam Vecenie claimed on the show. "Like they need another ball handler to take some reps from Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. And Bub is going to take a minute to develop. I think he checks almost all of their boxes."

Vecenie claimed Carrington thrives with deceleration and being "slithery," like the Thunder has players capable of right now. He's got the positional size, meaning he fits the bill as a versatile player. Vecenie complimented his "feel" as a basketball player.

Most importantly, though, Carrington has the personality that the Thunder likes and looks for.

"Competitive character, Bub is an awesome competitor and a really, really good character off the court," Vecenie said.

Evidently, this is one of the few mocks that sends Carrington to the Thunder, with most mocks sending him later in the first round. Still, if he fits the bill as a Thunder player and can develop into a real contributor, there's no reason the Thunder shouldn't look into selecting him.

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