Who Would the OKC Thunder Keep in an Expansion Draft?

With cities like Las Vegas and Seattle being prime candidates for expansion teams in the NBA, it seems that a new expansion is inevitable in the next five to 10 years.

It's a fun hypothetical for NBA fans to discuss, because expansion draft teams can only protect eight players from being drafted to newer teams.

On The Athletic's Game Theory Podcast with Sam Vecenie and Adam Spinella, they conducted a their own mock expansion draft with the assumptions of two expansion teams participating.

Their selections for the Thunder were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Ousmane Dieng and Jaylin Williams.

While it's a tough decision for any team to make, Vecenie and Spinella's picks are likely the right choices.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey and Jalen Williams have more than proven themselves to be important pieces for the Thunder franchise. The three are undoubtedly safe and should be on the roster for many years to come.

Incoming rookies Holmgren and Wallace should also be completely safe from an expansion draft. Even if they haven't touched an NBA court yet, they were both selected in the top 10 in seperate draft classes and have high potential to be impact players.

The value for Holmgren is especially high as the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and will likely be starting at center for the Thunder's opening game.

Dort is one of the Thunder's most valuable role players due to his lockdown perimeter defense, so he would be the next player to be kept safe. With his salary, Dort could also be an important piece in a larger trade for a start talent, if Oklahoma City decides to speed up the timeline.

Both Dieng and Jaylin Williams are proven sophomores that came off promising rookie seasons, and could play important roles this upcoming season. There is a debate to be had on if players like Kenrich Williams, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe and Vasilije Micic could be chosen over them, they are solid choices to round out the eight players that Oklahoma City would protect.

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.