Report: Mutual Interest Between Shaedon Sharpe and OKC Thunder
The 2022 NBA Draft is less than two weeks away. Teams across the league will get the chance to draft franchise-altering talent. One of the teams most well positioned to do so is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have two selections in the lottery.
While it appears Chet Holmgren is the favorite for the Thunder to take at No. 2 overall, who they select at No. 12 could be equally as important. While there's quite a few guys Thunder GM Sam Presti is ultimately considering, Shaedon Sharpe is perhaps the most intriguing.
Although he was on the team at Kentucky last season but didn't play, the former top player in his high school class still chose to enter the draft. As such, there's little to no good film on Sharpe. He could be the best player in this draft for all we know, or he could be a non-lottery talent.
The upside is clearly there, but Sharpe is still a very unknown prospect. That's why the scenario of him landing in OKC is so fascinating, as he'd have a real chance to grow and develop early in his NBA career.
In a recent report from Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the idea of Sharpe in Oklahoma City become even more real.
Givony reported that Sharpe is scheduled to have a visit with the Thunder front office, although he isn't working out for all that many teams. According to this report, he isn't even working out for all of the teams in the top ten.
With Sharpe being so unknown, ESPN indicated that not every team in his draft range has a good handle on the type of prospect he is. However, Oklahoma City has studied him more than any other team.
On the flip side, Sharpe and his camp view the Thunder as a great landing spot on draft night.
"Sharpe's camp also doesn't sound overly concerned with where he's picked, preferring to take a long-term view in steering him to an advantageous development situation in which he can maximize his significant potential and become an All-Star, with the Thunder being at the top of their list," said Givony.
There's no guarantee that Sharpe ends up being a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the idea isn't crazy at this point.
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