NBA Mock Draft: OKC Thunder Select Former 5-star Recruit, Two International Prospects
On Tuesday morning, The Athletic NBA Draft Senior Writer Sam Vecenie published a new mock draft that slotted three intriguing players to Oklahoma City.
First, at No. 9 overall, Vecenie paired Duke big man Kyle Filipowski with the Thunder. OKC's first pick comes from a past trade with Houston, giving Sam Presti and company the Rockets pick in the 2024 draft.
Rated the No. 4 player in the country coming out of high school, Filipowski has been slotted to Thunder by a handful of draft experts due to his potential fit in Mark Daigneault's system.
Despite being a big man, Filipowski has the passing ability and perimeter shooting touch that Oklahoma City seems to covet in all of its players. Listed at 7-feet-tall and 248 pounds, the talented sophomore is averaging 17 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.1 steals per game this season.
With Filipowski's size and skill set, he could be a great fit next to Chet Holmgren or as a backup big man to help the Thunder's offense continue running smoothly when Holmgren is off the floor.
Additionally, Filipowski is 40 pounds heavier than Holmgren and is better equipped to handle some of the bigger centers who could give the 208-pounder trouble with their size and strength.
At No. 12, Vecenie slotted 18-year-old French wing Tidjane Salaun to OKC. Presti received this pick as part of a past trade with the Utah Jazz.
Listed at 6-foot-9 and 200 pounds, Salaun is a solid defender with good size at the wing position. In 38 games this season, the Espoirs Cholet standout is averaging 9.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
While Salaun's numbers aren't eye-popping, he also has the traits that Presti and company seem to value in a young draft prospect. In a recent matchup against Strasbourg, Salaun finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, knocking down four shots from 3-point range.
While the 18-year-old prospect still needs to work on his consistency from the perimeter, this performance is a good glimpse of what Salaun can provide if he is in the right situation at the NBA level.
Finally, with the Thunder's own pick, Vecenie slotted Ulrich Chomche to Oklahoma City at No. 26 overall.
Hailing from Cameroon, Chomche is 18-years-old and is listed at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan.
Playing for NBA Africa Academy, Chomche averaged 13 points, nine rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.3 steals in three Basketball Africa League qualifying games.
At 220 pounds, the talented prospect has the size and mobility to become a solid big man in the NBA. Additionally, during three qualifying matches this season, Chomche shot 38.1% from 3-point range.
If the 6-foot-11 18-year-old can continue to hit shots from the perimeter at a decent rate, he will have even more value heading into this summer's NBA Draft.
With size, length, impressive defensive capabilities and the potential to have a solid 3-point shot, Chomche seems like the type of player Presti and Daigneault would covet in the draft process.
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