Should OKC Thunder Trade Recent First-Round Picks After 2026 Selections?

The Thunder made some intriguing moves on draft night.

Apr 12, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nikola Topic (44) walks down the court during a game against the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City made some noise on draft night, and it might even lead to some offseason moves no one saw coming.

On Tuesday night, 30 players heard their names called during the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. After weeks and months of anticipation, the wait was finally over for teams that had been preparing for a stacked 2026 class.

Of course, the Thunder were among the many teams salivating over who they could add for next season and beyond. Sam Presti has already established himself as one of the top decision-makers in the NBA, but his picks on Tuesday made for an interesting summer ahead.

Selecting Aday Mara at No. 12 and Bennett Stirtz at No. 16 after trading up a spot, the Thunder have a couple of intriguing young talents to work with moving forward. By using both of their picks in the first round, the Thunder will now have to find one more roster spot after the Aaron Wiggins trade already opened one.

While the opening of a spot could happen easily, with the potential pending free agencies of Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Kenrich Williams, it will still ultimately be Oklahoma City’s call on who it wants to keep around for next season. Given the financial situation and the money saved from the Wiggins deal, it wouldn’t be surprising to see another cost-cutting measure, potentially from trading Isaiah Joe or someone else.

However, the Thunder may also need to consider dealing one or both of Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber. The Thunder’s highest picks in 2024 and 2025, both have been plagued by injuries to begin their careers and have seen virtually no NBA action. 

Considering the playstyles and positions of Mara and Stirtz, they should effectively be looking for the same developmental minutes that had been anticipated to go to Sorber and Topic. If Oklahoma City kept both Sorber and Topic, it would head into next season with four players looking to get developmental minutes for a team looking to win an NBA title.

Considering the roster spot dilemma for the Thunder, keeping all four going into next season would mean that Oklahoma City is letting go of a reliable role player simply to give extra minutes and opportunities to players who are actively competing for minutes against one another. It makes some sense for Oklahoma City to keep one pairing together and let it work itself out, whether down low or in the backcourt. 

However, keeping both Topic and Sorber around when their already-deep positions added more young talent on draft night could be a mistake for the Thunder.