NBA Mock Draft: OKC Thunder Select Former NCAA Champion in First Round
On Friday, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report released an updated mock draft that had the Oklahoma City Thunder making three selections in the first round.
With General Manager Sam Presti making a number of trades in recent years, OKC owns first-round picks from the Jazz, Rockets and Clippers in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Utah, who sits in 12th place in the Western Conference, would give the Thunder a lottery pick if the remain outside of the postseason picture all year. In Wasserman's mock draft, the Thunder selected Tidjane Salaun at No. 11 with the pick they got from the Jazz.
Salaun is a 6-foot-8, 210-pound wing from France who is only 18-years-old. Playing for Cholet Basket, the high-upside prospect competes in the same French professional league that Victor Wembanyama played in prior to being selected No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
In a game against CB Canaris, a Spanish professional team, on Dec. 19, Salaun finished with 18 points and three rebounds, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Salaun is a good athlete who is starting to develop into a solid shooter from beyond the arc, with plenty of room left to grow his game. According to Wasserman, Salaun's professional comparison is Obi Toppin.
With the No. 15 pick, Wasserman slotted former 4-star recruit and 2023 NCAA champion Donovan Clingan to the Thunder.
Listed at 7-foot-2 and 265 pounds, Clingan would certainly bring an element of sheer size that Oklahoma City does not currently have on its roster.
After coming off of the bench last season as a true freshman, the Bristol, CT, native has started all 12 games for the UConn Huskies in 2023-24 and is averaging 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and two blocks per game while shooting over 63% from the field.
The biggest aspect of Clingan's game that may not make him a fit in OKC is his lack of 3-point shooting. So far this year, the sophomore center is averaging 0.3 attempts from beyond the arc per game.
In his mock draft, Wasserman compares Clingan to Toronto Raptors big man Jakob Poeltl.
With the No. 24 pick Bleacher Report slotted Melvin Ajinca, another young French wing prospect, to the Thunder.
Listed at 6-foot-8, Ajinca is 19-years-old and plays for Saint-Quentin in the same league as Salaun. Averaging 9.3 points per game this season, Ajinca is another wing with good positional size and shotmaking ability.
On Dec. 23, Ajinca went 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc en route to a 17-point, three-rebound performance against ESSM Le Portel, another French professional squad.
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