Thunder Draft: Top Prospects Outside Top Five
While the Oklahoma City Thunder have a real chance at landing two top-five picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, there’s also scenarios where they don’t even end up with one. If this were to happen, there’s still quite a few prospects they should consider outside of the top five.
If their pick does land outside of that range, the worst their own pick could technically be is No. 8 overall, but in that scenario they’d get Houston’s pick at No. 5 overall. With that in mind, if OKC doesn’t end up with a top-five pick, they will be selecting at either No. 6 or No. 7 overall.
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Who are some prospects that would be worth a look at sixth or seventh in July’s draft?
Scottie Barnes (Florida State)
When it comes to the best player outside of the top five, look no further than Scottie Barnes. While he doesn’t have the most polished offensive game, he’s the ideal NBA jumbo wing that can legitimately guard all five positions on the floor.
The ultimately do-it-all glue guy, Barnes could be the next Draymond Green in his era. His ceiling will be limited by the evlolution of his jumper, but the 6-foot-9 wing will be ready to contribute at the next level from day one.
Josh Giddey (International)
In the July draft, Josh Giddey could easily be the first international prospect taken off the board. In a league filled with oversized guards, Giddey is a 6-foot-8 playmaking point guard.
Presti loves young prospects and Giddey is just that at 18 years old. Even with how young he is, he’s got plenty of experience playing at a high level overseas where he’s shown flashes of his extremely high basketball IQ.
Jalen Johnson (Duke)
If it weren’t for his off court issues, Jalen Johnson could be a lock at the No. 6 overall pick. However, those issues exist which has somewhat hurt his draft stock since cutting his freshman season at Duke short.
In terms of pure talent, Johnson is one of the best in the entire 2021 NBA Draft. After going through pre-draft interviews, he is a guy who could continue to slide down boards or rise back up towards the top five.
Keon Johnson (Tennessee)
Many of the best talent evaluators around the world are extremely high on Keon Johnson, considering him a lock in the top ten and maybe even the sixth-best prospect. He’s yet another guy who is somewhat raw offensively but has the athleticism to be a problem for opposing teams.
At 6-foot-5, Johnson doesn’t have a ton of size, but will be able to make up for it with his explosiveness. Just 19 years old, he could be a good target for the Thunder if their pick slides as much as it could.
