Potential 2024 NBA Draft Options for the OKC Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder already have themselves a squad — good for No. 2 in the Western Conference — but the organization has also gained quite a reputation regarding its war chest of draft assets.
Most believe the picks will be used to land yet another star in OKC, but ruling out the possibility of using some of them feels wrong after that last few years of success in Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and more.
Here are a few draft options Oklahoma City could consider in June:
Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
Another Kentucky guard? Yes.
After offloading two guards in Vasilije Micic and Tre Mann at this year’s trade deadline, OKC now has the room to add more guard depth to an already-loaded lineup, and grabbing Wildcat wonder Reed Sheppard would be quite the addition.
Sheppard doesn’t possess the length OKC typically looks for at just 6-foot-3, but his defensive acumen and shooting ability has him rated among the top players in the sport right now, all as a freshman.
He’s shooting 51% from three on over four attempts per game, and is nabbing 2.6 steals and 0.8 blocks in the process, making him a potential lottery selection. Even better for the Thunder, he’s dishing 4.1 assists per game, and appears to be an easy connective piece in plenty of lineups.
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
On the opposite end of the Sheppard spectrum stands Duke’s Kyle Filipowski, a seven-footer who’s anchoring the Blue Devils offense this season with 17.0 points per game.
Filipowski would likely be more of a wrinkle than some longstanding mainstay in Thunder lineups. He has the ability to space the floor — hitting on 35% of his 3.4 attempted threes this season. And while he isn’t a defensive savant, he likely wouldn’t need to be alongside Chet Holmgren, OKC’s obvious defensive anchor.
Few big men have the ability to play a face-up game, and Filipowski is one of them, making his fit with the Thunder an interesting one. In the very least, he could help balance two-big lineups in Bricktown.
Tidjane Salaun, Cholet
At 6-foot-9, Tidjane Salaun is another lengthy French prospect OKC could have its eye on.
He’s exceptionally smooth, and is proving himself a solid shooter for Cholet of the LNB Pro A league: 37% on 3.7 attempts per game. He can attack closeouts, and has some dribble juice when necessary. And his size may allow him to be versatile positionally on defense, which is perfect for OKC’s scheme. It's hard not to see some of what Ousmane Dieng brings to the table in Salaun.
His overall splits leave a bit to be desired, and he could be more of a project, but Salaun checks plenty of Thunder boxes.
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