Early Mock Draft Slots Two Former 5-star Prospects to OKC Thunder in First Round
Even four years after making a pair of blockbuster trades that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston and Paul George to Los Angeles, Sam Presti and company are still reaping the benefits of their massive returns for the two former All-Stars.
On Friday, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report released his newest mock draft, which had the Oklahoma City Thunder picking twice inside the top 15 despite the team sitting at second place in the Western Conference as of Sunday morning.
If OKC is able to add two top-15 picks to the impressive arsenal of young talented that the team has already stockpiled, it will make a competitive young team even more feisty and give Mark Daigneault and company more insurance if the Thunder have to replace one of the current pieces of the squad.
First, Wasserman slotted former 5-star recruit and McDonald's All-American Cody Williams to Oklahoma City with the No. 9 overall pick. Williams is the younger brother of current Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who has received a wealth of praise from the media after earning First-Team All-Rookie honors in 2023.
The younger of the two brothers is a freshman at Colorado and is averaging 11 points, 4.3 rebounds, two assists and one steal per game while shooting 53.3% from the field in his first four contests with the Buffaloes.
Williams was a consensus 5-star recruit and one of the top seven prospects in the 2023 class according to all four major recruiting services. Wasserman compared the 6-foot-8, 190-pound freshman to former Thunder forward Jerami Grant.
At No. 15, Bleacher Report's Lead NBA Scout and Draft Insider slotted sophomore and former 5-star recruit Kel'el Ware to OKC.
Ware is a 7-footer who currently plays for the Indiana Hoosiers after spending his freshman season at Oregon. Coming out of high school, the North Little Rock (AR) product was a consensus 5-star recruit and top eight player in the country.
While Ware had a slow start to his career with the Ducks, making four starts and averaging 6.6 points in just over 15 minutes per game, the big man seems to have hit his stride in Bloomington.
This season, Ware has started all five of the Hoosiers' games and is averaging 15.6 points, nine rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 56.3% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc.
If the Thunder were able to bring in Williams and Ware in the 2024 NBA Draft, it could be another impressive haul from Presti and company.
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