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On Wednesday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder will prepare to take part in the 2024 NBA Draft, which is set to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Thunder have a treasure trove of first round NBA draft picks in the next few seasons, and this year, their first opportunity to make a selection will come in the lottery portion of the pool at the number 12 spot, a rarity for a team that just won 57 games and was the number one seed in their conference.
One of the most glaring weaknesses for the Thunder throughout this season was the fact that they did not rebound the ball very well, finishing 27th in the league in that department this year, and recently, The Ringer's Bill Simmons had an interesting idea for how the Thunder could shore up that weakness on Wednesday.
“I think Zach Edey is a rotation guy in the NBA, I think he should be a top 15 pick and I think he absolutely will be in a playoff series. I just think like OKC at number 12, would be so much fun if that was the location fro him,” said Simmons, via The Bill Simmons Podcast on YouTube. “Let’s say he’s playing 14 minutes a game but it’s just like he’s just a let’s get weird guy, oh we’re doing this, oh now look at this. You think about the playoffs that we just watched, there’s all these situations where sometimes teams are too small, you know like the Knicks, like they lose Mitchell Robinson, all of a sudden they’re playing Precious at Center, well guess what, you’re not going to be able to do that against Zach Edey.”
Could Zach Edey fit in OKC?
The Thunder could definitely use the size that Zach Edey brings to the table. While Chet Holmgren has wingspan as a shot blocker, he doesn't have the build yet to compete for rebounds at a high level against bigger centers, which is something the Thunder will have to fix if they want to reach championship contention in the coming years.
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Simmons broke down how Edey could work his way into a potential Thunder playoff rotation by season's end.
There’s just a lot to like with the dude he produced at a crazy level,” said Simmons. “I even like the fact that hes a good free throw shooter. I like the fact that at the end of games you can put him in the games and just inbound it to him and he’ll get fouled and he’ll make both free throws. He’s something, if he’s a seventh man, eighth man on a playoff team that’s pretty great in a s—ty draft so I am Pro Zach Edey. I do not think he should go past 15, and honestly if he’s there at 12 I wouldn’t be surprised if OKC took him.”
Indeed, Edey was one of the dominant forces in college basketball this year, leading Purdue all the way to the national championship game and dominating opposing big men in the process.
The Draft is slated for 8:00 PM ET.
