Sam Presti knows that he has a championship-caliber core in the Oklahoma City Thunder already. They have a fairly complete starting five with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge. However, some pieces within the roster need to be changed such that they notch the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy. This is why there may be big moves coming up for the front office in the NBA Draft. It all started with their trade for Alex Caruso and a supposed attempt to acquire Patrick Williams.
The Thunder are looking to trade up in the NBA Draft, per ESPN. Their trade to let go of Josh Giddey in favor of adding Alex Caruso apparently signaled that they are now looking to add more veteran talent to the roster. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great leader, someone who has been close to the mountaintop while also having a significant age gap from the rest of the squad will do them some good. The average age of their squad is 25 years old with Gordon Hayward as their prime veteran at 34 years old.
With the recent acquisition from the Charlotte Hornets not being too happy with his reduced role, the Thunder can look to add older guys to the roster. This is to teach the rest of the squad what it's like to handle the postseason after their early exit. But, this still means that Sam Presti is willing to use their boatload of capital in the NBA Draft. After all, they have a lot of firepower to do so and a lot of teams want what they have.
Who are the Thunder trading up for in the NBA Draft?
Donovan Clingan is slowly rising up mock drafts as of late and is definitely a good addition to the Thunder. But, the problem is that Presti and the SGA-led squad will only get to acquire someone, so far, with the 12th pick which they got from the Houston Rockets. They can likely move up to third or fourth to get the UConn Huskies' star big man if they want to.
Moreover, Tidjane Salaun has been a big name out of France who could very well be wearing blue and orange in the coming season and in the Summer League. A lot of front offices have been impressed with the 18-year-old and his draft stock is also on a continuous ascent. If this happens, a trade to pick early could also be in motion.
But, they are not the only options for the Thunder. If they stick with the 12th overall pick, other guys are in play to get drafted into their squad. TBub Carrington and Johnny Furphy are also names to look out for in the Thunder system. These prospects out of Kansas and Pittsburgh are both very young. They will be considered long-term projects that will need to duke it out for roster spots if ever. Their contracts are likely smaller, giving the front office some leeway to acquire more pieces after the NBA Draft. A second pursuit of Patrick Williams could be in place after their sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls fell through.
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