This time last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder had four picks in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. The stash of first-rounders has been strategically manipulated over the past nine months, with the Thunder trading two of their four players away.
Releasing the pair of draft picks in separate trades was an effort to expand the available draft capital by acquiring future picks. Given the possibility that Oklahoma City could not draft four players to free up roster space to acquire them, this is essentially a strategy to trade selections for near-term picks. It was a typical play. Furthermore, the wording of these trades would force the Thunder to trade their worst two picks this summer (likely late in the first round). In other words, there is a good chance that a player acquired in the future will receive a pick. Higher quality.
Given that Oklahoma City owns the best two of the four teams at the moment, what essentially means based on how the season is playing out is that the Thunder will be able to take advantage of the Houston Rockets' selection (the top four are protected). ) and a pick from the Utah Jazz. (Top 10 protected).
With three weeks left in the regular season, it's becoming very clear where these picks fit in. And given the current state of the NBA standings, it looks like the Thunder will only end up with one first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
With the ninth-worst record in the NBA, there's a very good chance that the Jazz's pick won't make it into the top 10 and go to the Thunder this year. For that to happen, he needs one of two unlikely events to happen. Either Utah finishes the season on a high and finishes the regular season with a better record than the Atlanta Hawks (who are currently 2.5 games behind) or the Jazz have some bad luck on draft lottery night and both teams have to jump on it. Raft. He fell to 11th place overall.
As of today, Utah's pick has a nearly 97% chance of being in the top 10 and remaining with the Jazz, while the pick owned by the Thunder will move up to next year's 2025 NBA Draft and be in the top 10 again. will be protected.
Therefore, the Thunder's first-round pick in June's draft will likely be acquired from the Rockets in exchange for Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul. The Rockets are currently on the rise and have established themselves as a team with a shot at making the postseason. If Houston is able to advance to the play-ins and ultimately the real playoffs, there's a chance the pick they conveyed to OKC won't be included in the lottery. However, looking at the odds, the Thunder will not only continue to push towards the play-ins, but will also receive a lottery pick from the Rockets, considering they must win two games to qualify for the playoffs. I'm going to do it.
In nine months, Oklahoma City went from having four potential first-round picks to possibly only one. This should work in the Thunder's favor. Especially since the team is built in such a way that it won't be possible to bring in four rookies next season and long-term draft capital to maintain success is a priority.
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