Thunder Possess Psychological High Ground in Pre-Draft Rumors

The Thunder's draft patterns make them hard to predict headed into the draft.

Sam Presti is a hard puzzle.

As the NBA Draft nears closer and closer, the league’s rumor mill will begin to churn into overdrive. While speculations of trades, prospect evaluations, and draft promises hit the big board, the public will be pointed in a bevy of directions until Adam Silver reads off his cards. However, through this process, the Oklahoma City Thunder carry a big-time advantage – the psychological game.

It’s no secret, the Oklahoma City Thunder go into lockdown mode when draft day nears. With rumors swaying towards set prospects, the Thunder have had a history of pulling a complete 180.

Last season, the Thunder struck out in the lottery. With the No. 6 Pick, the expected pair of options were G League Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga and UConn guard James Bouknight. One reported dinner meeting later, the expectation was Oklahoma City had interest in Bouknight. They found their guy in Josh Giddey. Bouknight slid to the 11th pick.

Two draft cycles ago, the Thunder’s intentions were in plain sight. With the signs of a full-on rebuild in effect – the cards were laid out for Bricktown – they wanted a grand slam. Due to this, the belief that Aleksej Pokusevski was their guy had been a top conversation going into the draft. Those rumors came into fruition, moving picks 25 and 28 to snag the Serbian at Pick No. 17.

This inconsistent pattern of smokescreens, obvious selections, and crickets in pre-draft interest can cause quite a stir for those predicting Sam Presti’s next move. That even goes for those inside league circles.

With picks 2, 12, 30, and 34 in the upcoming draft, there’s no real parameters to the Thunder’s draft board. 

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