Report: Thunder Could Consider Trading Down in 2023 NBA Draft

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in an interesting spot heading into the 2023 NBA Draft. Owning the No. 12 overall pick is essentially a middle ground between tiers, as there is a potential drop in talent after the first ten prospects, followed by another tier of 8-10 players that are at a similar level.

As such, if a prospect doesn’t fall further than expected that the Thunder like, or they don’t trade up, trading back could make a lot of sense. Why draft a player at No. 12 that you think could also be there several picks later?

On Friday afternoon, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that Oklahoma City could be exploring that possibility, with interest in trading back. More specifically, he pinned the Thunder as one of the teams that may explore trading down with teams that hold multiple picks near or in the twenties such as Utah (No. 16 and No. 28), Brooklyn (No. 21 and No. 22) and Indiana (No. 26 and No. 29).

While Indiana’s package of picks likely wouldn’t get them to No. 12 via the Thunder without more added to it, the Utah and Brooklyn scenarios are both interesting. Of course, Thunder GM Sam Presti would want to be sure that prospects he values as late lottery talents would still be available in those spots. That’s nearly impossible, which is why trading back is risky. There’s always a chance the players you traded back thinking would be there could be gone.

Regardless, there should be plenty of talent available outside of the lottery. Especially at No. 16, there’s always a chance guys like Leonard Miller, Dereck Lively, Sidy Cissoko, Dariq Whitehead, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Kobe Bufkin are still on the board.

It will be fascinating to see what unfolds on draft night, as Oklahoma City could potentially move up or down.

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