Is the 2024 NBA Draft Good for OKC Thunder? Is Zach Edey An Option?

Is the 2024 NBA Draft Good for OKC Thunder? Is Zach Edey An Option?

on today’s locked on Thunder podcast we’re joined by Richard staman at mavd draft on Twitter to discuss the Thunder straft is this a good class for Oklahoma City and what should they do at PI 12 you are locked on Thunder your daily Oklahoma City Thunder podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day let’s get it going on the lock down Thunder podcast on the locked on podcast Network your team every day I am your host media member and Si thunderbeat riter Ryland Styles follow me on Twitter at Ryland Styles follow the show on Twitter L thunderpod folks on today’s show brought to you by LinkedIn we’re joined by Mavs draft on Twitter Richard staman host of lockdown NBA Big Board Today’s Show is brought to you by Linkin jobs it helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to you faster or post your drive for free at linkedin.com loock innba that’s linkedin.com lockin NBA to get your job for free and terms and conditions to apply Richard how are you doing today hey I’m doing well I’m excited to be back it’s been I mean I wasn’t even I don’t know the last time I was here maybe the 23 draft it’s been it’s been too long it’s been too long and we love to to ramp things up here it was shocking right because we usually are here weekly with you uh for the last like two months but the Thunder extended their season a little too far which was a good thing for the Thunder a bad thing for our uh for our crossovers but glad to have you back in the fold here as much as possible leading into the draft and recapping the draft Richard this 2024 NBA draft class you’ve been covering it the entire cycle you have your substack you have locked on NBA Big Board you’re on Twitter posting about prospects right up to this minute that we’re talking at MAV draft on Twitter it’s seen a lot of different narratives and a lot of different opinions right like at the start of the cycle it was just this awful draft class get out while you still can and now I think as we get closer naturally uh people are warming up to the draft but what is your overall gut feeling on this draft it’s just an entity yeah I there’s a few things one the star power is just weak compared to most years second it’s it’s a draft that teams need to find the right fit like in vice versa players need the right fit to really hit and I think that’s important to remember where like a bad draft means players have to hit at the right fits right 2011 is a great example of this it was seen as a weak draft but almost every single player probably went to their ideal destination well behold it’s actually one of the stronger drafts of the last 15 years so things like that could happen I don’t think it’s as likely this year and then the last thing really is uh it’s the first year where we finally see the co effects this class four years ago a lot of them were either incoming freshman at college or incoming freshman in high school so their whole development trajectory is vastly different than anything we’ve seen over the last I mean really our lifetime in that regard it’s just completely different so keep that in mind it it might fool some people myself included so I I I think that that’s a good overview of this draft and a lot of those branches we’re GNA you know jump off of as we dig into this conversation but now putting on your your Thunder Hat I think that this is a good draft for Oklahoma City how would you rate this draft for the Thunder specifically yeah I the Thunder have the one pick right it’s just number 12 I think yep it’s a weird spot to be picking I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade back there’s there’s opportunities to fill the needs right like get another big who can play next to Chad I think that’s possible at 12 um I really do think that Zack Ed might actually be in play from what I’ve heard it’s pretty real that that stuff is happening that he’s Lottery bound so we’ll see so let’s let’s just go right to Zach edting because like what you just said is gonna perk up the ears of the entire Thunder fan base and we’ll get back on track um when you look at Zack Edy and just to clarify it’s been real that he’s a lottery Prospect or it’s been real that there’s smoke between him and the Thunder no no Lottery Prospect I didn’t hear anything Team specific this is got from the combin people I talked to I was asking like yo is like the Ed stuff real and every single one of them told me like yeah that’s not that’s not coming out of nowhere like they’re genuinely are teams interested at that Lottery range like back in the lottery so probably the thunder in are implied in that right but but not explicitly which is why we wanted to clear that up because you know how you know how people are going to take that right yeah but uh if it is the thunder like what what does Zack Edy bring to the table because I think that there’s just two distinct aisles that people are on either you don’t think Zaki can play at all in the NBA and he is like this you know bow light uh or the strengthened version of bobon or you believe that he the magic Elixir to the Thunder’s problems and I think that oftentimes the truth is like in the middle of those two things but just from your observation you’ve been tracking this guy through multiple draft Cycles through through his entire you know you lineage of of high school to college like what is Zach Ed and and what makes him you know capable of being a lottery Talent yeah he’s a giant with skill I mean let me just read some of the names that have done what he did this year I don’t know how into advanced stats you are personally Ryland but players who had a 15 or higher box plus minus and by the way um Ed did that there are a handful of players it’s Zack Edy this year Zion Williamson and his freshman year in 2019 Brandon Clark his draft year sindarius thornwell who didn’t end up translating but was a fantastic college player that led South Carolina to the final four Frank Kaminsky kind of the same thing then Anthony Davis and Steph Curry so that list is really promising when you’re that good good in college there’s a reason why you’re being mocked as a lottery pick is saying okay well there’s it’s a whole different game Ed has skilled to shoot I think he’s a lot more mobile than somebody really what outside of Wy how many seven four guys are that mobile and to me that’s that’s kind of what it is right where he’s just the this giant he has a bunch of skill to Soft Touch near the paint not necessarily great touch but it is soft touch jump shot potential the free throw percentage on extremely high volume at 74 his size is really good he wasn’t asked to ever shoot jumpers because why would you and the next tallest player is maybe seven foot in college and that’s kind of pushing it but the concerns that I think a lot of people have are okay he can be easily played off as an isolation like against isos he’s easily shaking off his body hesitation moves really move him off his spot hard like he’s bouncing back and then has to recover that throws him off absolutely the thing is though in the NBA they usually have a second line of defense now obviously when Ed’s out that takes it away a little bit but you have to game plan entirely differently like that’s the big thing is if you have Shay who is a killer getting to the rim and honestly getting anywhere within the three-point line really anywhere on the floor you have that plus a guy who you cannot leave alone that makes everybody else better on the floor so with Zach Ed um I do have questions about this NBA Mobility I think it’s better than what what people assume but I don’t know if it’s it’s good enough at the NBA level uh I do have questions about you know if he can be uh the same score at the NBA level as he was at the college level but you know you’ve done a really good job of of explaining how how he could work out when you’re looking at zachie you were one of the you know few people that we were not having to convince that Chu could play center like we were on board with chat being a center what does that look like if Zach and CH home ground of the same team yeah so I mean every team is allowed one non-shooter I think at most you obviously can’t have some some teams for whatever reason have tried it um not going to name names on which teams but they are in the Western Conference that I’ve seen this year but then it doesn’t work the thing is if Ed is able to in fact shoot mid-range jumpers you really don’t actually have a true like the Mavs for example they have non-shooters all the time gaffer doesn’t shoot mid-range Lively doesn’t shoot mid-range they’re in the finals it it can work with the right infrastructure and also just having even mid-range changes it a lot but with Ed he really absorbs so many of those hits that ched currently taking that takes a toll in the I I think really in the long run we saw it in the playoffs too A lot of the physicality made it I I felt like a lot of that the poor shooting performances came from him just being winded from the amount of physicality so you reduce a little bit of that and that’s not in oet of shape or anything it’s just like he can’t be doing all of those things like eventually you’re human it’s going to take a toll on you so I think having Ed there to absorb a lot of those hits and even like another example the beginning of the season yic and it was his first match up against Chad he bulldozed him every every single box out it was pushed aside and things like that then you have Ed to clean up that that allows Chad to play his best game so uh you know I I I think that Zack Edy would be a backup big man in the NBA just in general uh especially I think with the Thunder and it would it would help them of course put a bow on their rotation because right now your front Court rotation is chat hren and jayw uh and and we are both you know fine with Jay will uh I I like Jay will a lot I think that we saw this year that his best moments came whenever he could play the four at the NBA level whenever he was next to chat he looked a lot better than whenever he was alone out there so I think that that selecting Ed would help even even Jay will get better uh and so then you you’d have this layer of Chets in the game you can play you can play one way then you can put Zack Ed in the game with a second unit um and give you a new Dynamic then you could play them together as as you need to like for example that Dallas series right there was there was a moment in that Series where all the Thunder had to do to win a game was go get a rebound off of a Miss free throw and they and their only course of action was to put a two big lineup in there with chat and jayw will neither one of them could get the rebound you put Zack Ed in there it may be a different story it may not be but it may you give yourself a better chance at that rebound without without question so the question would be is 12 in this draft specifically you know is that a spot where you will reside to taking a a backup big man yeah yeah that’s that’s exactly my not CU I don’t see him as a starter he may play with some of the starters like you said I mean he might play like five to eight minutes with Chad every night that’s fine but like you’re giving this guy Lottery money for four years at least that’s where the idea gets a little bit too rich for me I I just he’s got to be a starter like I get it some of these guys like their 20 minutes is better than a lot of guys’ other 30 minutes but he would have to be extremely good and and I just don’t know how he scales down as easily he was the prim he was probably the highest usage rate of any big in college basketball this year I don’t have that number in front of me but I would be pretty shocked if it wasn’t him he I I just I don’t know if he can start in the NBA like there’s too many risks and that’s my concern of why I wouldn’t take him in the lottery like if you’re the Thunder you’re trying to get that like you’re probably not drafting a starter in the lottery there’s probably only they’re probably the only team that’s comfortable not drafting a starter like that in the lottery but I just I don’t know if you can really give him that much money because eventually down the road I do think that might get you in trouble yeah that that would be a trip up for me as well about the thunder drafting him because of just the Thunder philosophy now things can always change whenever you’re a 57 win team picking the lottery it is way different than than prior years but one thing that that we both know from from watching Sam prey and he’s one of the guys like you know of course locally we’re going to study but even nationally you guys study Sam pry specifically a lot because of his you know just prowess of rebounding teams he’s always seemingly looking to to get the big you know swing the the best value for whatever he’s doing uh which includes taking shots at like higher upside guys in the draft regardless of you know team infrastructure versus maybe uh a sure thing like I think that Zack Ed could help this Thunder team um I I think that there’s other options out there though that might help the Thunder team and also might be like way you know higher of a ceiling how how much will Sam presty um lean into the short thing versus lean into trying to get better as you mentioned the thunder in a position where and it’s a rarity in the in the uh NBA lottery I think Memphis would would be here too of like they don’t need this to be anything more than a than a contributor like they don’t need this pick to be anything more than someone who puts a bow on their rotation which then swings that pendulum back to zachi so it’s like what we don’t really know what OKC will truly do uh but at Pick 12 like there you you do think for b as this draft class is that there’s there’s better value than than what Zak could bring is that right yeah I mean I just feel like if you’re taking a big why not there’s other bigs out there like they eventually could mold themselves into more well-rounded players with higher upside Don Holmes I mean I know he’s not mocked there right now I’m a huge Don Holm fan I’ve in my top 15 like that’s not a reach for me I also think E Mei is somebody else he’s that raw High upside guy he’s only been playing basketball a handful of years why not him like I I get it like you said it’s a almost a floor look but like you he had Don Holmes who has both the floor and ceiling yeah obvious but he does the same things at a smaller height correct yeah I I love I love Holmes and and he’s gotten that promise allegedly so we’ll see um how that factors in you know that every promise they they link back to OKC uh so we’ll see how how that works itself out but coming up let’s continue talking about draft prospects uh and if the Thunder should look to move back as we talked about a little bit before but first one here right now better friends over at LinkedIn check 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again it’s just like this is the draft as a whole there’s just so many different guys in this range once you get to like the top 10 even really top eight it starts to be interchangeable and that’s kind of the big picture with this draft is you won’t find two people with the same top whatever number you want to go to like and it’s very different it’s not like a jumbled order of the same players you won’t see most of the same players in that same range so so you mentioned that there’s other bigs to like help the Thunder because the big man position is what’s going to get most under fans going because they like really Envision this team needing a big uh is that is that a combination of like guys who you could trade up for or is it guys you can trade back for like where is the value of the big man in this draft yeah I mean Oklahoma City kind of kicks that off I think it’s really the 10 to20 range there’s a lot of them I think donon Holmes could be in play although I do I don’t know I think he might fall back in the 20s just because teams will overthink him a little EES Mei like I said uh Zach Ed obviously in that range um there’s even some guys that like I don’t know they’re not that that’s probably the big three Kyle filipowski is kind of in there I’m much lower on him but he’s not a center so I don’t actually think that’s it but he’s a really good rebounder and could take some of those hits away like he is somebody to absorb that in theory Ryan Dunn I think that’s a very rich for me I don’t think I could do that but he is a center on offense and a one through five on defense I just don’t think like I don’t know you guys through the Roberson experience and I I feel like that eventually ran its course I don’t know I think that’s really it those are those three right Ed mey and holes and in a draft that lacks you know consistency consensus whatever uh what what do you view the ability to trade up in this draft we’ve been talking about this for the last three drafts about how far the Thunder could get they have a mountain of assets like what where could it where could this take them well it’s a sellers Market or really it’s just all sellers I don’t even know if it’s actually a sellers Market it’s a buyer Market I think is what that makes it where it’s everybody wants to move out or move back like everybody wants to pick next year they want to punt this till next year but the problem is no buyer is like you know what this is better than something next year unless it’s like the 30th pickup next year that they’d be giving up you’re not getting a good long-term asset because everybody knows how good the next two drafts are and that’s even with the top like you don’t even need to know anything else like AJ deona and cam Booz are two years from now Ace Bailey Cooper flag come on malok Dylan Harper next year there’s so many more too for next year that I think Oklahoma City like if there was one buyer is all it takes right if I don’t know say say the Knicks like this is a long shot maybe not the Knicks that’s not a good example but the Cal say they come to you and like hey we’ll just give you a few future seconds with the limited that they have to move up whatever I like and our 20th pick that there’s really not that competitive of an offer against that like this is not going to be future first to jump several spots because nobody wants to stay where they are maybe Toronto that was a better one than than Cleveland that was a bad example but Toronto could do the same right like maybe it protected first so you know trading back the the drop off of prospect you’re you don’t think would be there but it would also not really net you a ton that that makes it worthwhile yeah what whenever you’re looking at trading up from 12 is there is there a pipeline there to trade up oh 100% yeah going the opposite way yeah this is absolutely a draft where if Oklahoma City wanted like I don’t think they could get up to top two or three it’s a little bit much but I think if they really wanted to get into like four five six seven like they could easily do it it’s not going to be like I don’t even know what’s what’s the best future pick probably the Clippers I can probably answer that on my own I feel like one of those Clippers picks I wouldn’t do it personally but you could do that you could have next year Miami’s pick you have so many different first round picks for next year Philadelphia you could com combine those who both those are going to be good teams you might as like you could throw those two in and you’re probably in the top five I think yeah and and like you said I don’t even think that like the I think that like it’d be more valuable to have the the chance at whatever Philadelphia and Miami and them like y you kind of level off at versus a guy who you trade up for like a Donovan kingan now that is that would be a player that like is big enough to be you know to to sooe the fan base who’s like dying for this big man what what is Donovan kingan at the next level yeah kingan’s really good I I have him as my second best big behind Alex SAR kingan he moves the needle on defense he makes you so much better he controls the paint he did a really good job of in college there’s no defensive three in the key so this is something different from Zack Zack camped the paint and the fact that he only had two and something blocks per game is honestly really disappointing considering he was the biggest guy and he always stayed in the paint so this is where Clingan wins I know people look at like the national title game which I think is kind of an unfair small sample size too um and how many times is he going to get posted up by seven foot4 guys in the NBA it’s extremely rare and the only guy that’s going to do that against him that’s not Ed in the NBA is Wy but he’s not going to do it at all the exact same way and W’s great but to answer the question what does what I really liked with Edie or excuse me kingan was he controlled the paint without ever camping in the paint like that to me in college is a really hard task to do and he arrived at that and on top of that he’s extremely smart very low turnover rate good assist rate he sees the floor like he makes everybody around him better on both ends he’s not ever going to shoot don’t let the combine shooting numbers fool you but he doesn’t need to like he is that good of a paint controller so we’ve kind of uh dished on all the bigs I I I do want to talk one more two more bigs and then we’re going to get into some of my favorite uh targets at 12 and let you tell me how dumb I am in the last segment but stting off with uh just Don Holmes because we both like him a lot uh and and we’ve seen that that Sam prey will be willing to if he likes a player um take him a little prematurely like like take him a little early uh because you might as well just get your guy especially when you’re sitting on this many assets like you can afford to just take your guy if you really believe in them which people should believe in Don Hol what what do you make of his game and how it translates to the NBA yeah it’s funny I’ve had a lot of people be like well the shot doesn’t look good like you know he sometimes can take a little bit to get things going his frame is mediocre he’s only 69ine with the S foot Wings span but he is the most fundamental uh he might be the most fundamental player in the entire draft and that goes a really long way I mean there’s a top player who was literally nicknamed Mr fundamental so like I I feel like that goes such a long way his motor’s really good he’s extremely smart he thrives on NBA sets like pick and Pops pick and rolls the horn sets like those kind of things are where his bread and butter are and that is such a commonly Run play that he’s going to translate and also dayon was one of the slowest teams in the country and if you look at his um his per 100 possession stats I’m pulling this up right now it is insane like for the for reference 30 points per 100 possession is pretty good in his stats he had 38.8 points per 100 possession like again some of these you need the reference points where like five assists per 100 isn’t actually that great but the 16 he has for rebounds is really impressive same thing for blocks four blocks per 100 is really good I bet if we were to pull up Ed his numbers aren’t even that far off so per 100 he’s at 46 and 22 obviously it’s not that not that close as I thought it would be but also only 3.9 blocks per 100 compared to Holmes’s uh 3.9 as well so that says a lot to me is where you look at he was on a slow team and he still made things work work he’ll translate just fine so I I really really like Don Holmes and and we’ll see where he goes he has this draft promise apparently but another big that I like that I I have not um gotten the gauge of like what the national consist is I know locally there’s many that are down on uh Tyler Smith but I like Tyler Smith a lot um what what do you make of him and especially you know this funkiness of trying to project the ignite to the to the NBA yeah he’s a good athlete very good athlete actually he’s about 69 he measur measured a little short you just seemed to be like 610 611 that was always a reach but I think with him like the shot he’s a shooter tall shooter but for me I I have concerns about the consistency at the moment he doesn’t get like the same release or follow through every single time and that kind of worries me the bigger concern for me is he’s one of the worst defenders in the draft like he’s tall but he is extremely pushable off his spot and I don’t think he knows where to be a lot of the times that’s a terrible combination to have so he could easily be played off the four in the playoffs so that that’s that’s a good point I I think that I’ve like I mean you know how near and dear the g- league is to my heart I think that I might view the g- league with uh rose-colored glasses obviously not an option at 12 but if if we talk about moving back um then then you’re looking at a different Outlook but that’s a really really good point about trading back especially for the Thunder um how much does that stuff move you to go back back versus like the the cost benefit of moving back and not really getting a ton of assets like you mentioned um versus hey we have a ton of assets already stored up let’s just make sure we get the guy that we want no matter what even if it’s at 12 even if like even if you get a Bill Simmons whoa reaction like whenever you put that draft card in who cares like you’ve gotten your guy and uh not to sound like a thunder Homer but like if Sam pry gets his draft guy more often than not like he he’s correct in in that assumption uh and in in that Avenue now we discussed all the bigs that I think could be in play uh for the Thunder with only one pick in the draft coming up though I think that like the best course of action for the Thunder might not be a big at all which might shock some Thunder fans but first want to say right now but friends over at eBay Motors check out Ebay motors today eBay Motors is great um and they’re going to have you covered with a Million Parts to choose from uh it’s your number one ride or die keep it alive with passion drive and patience the formula for winning a championship is also what keeps your R die alive eBay Motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance from superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more so no matter if you’re into speed power style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 Million Parts to choose from with your number one rid or die you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for uh with eBay Motors guaranteed fit your guaranteed uh part to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re going to be burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need to choose from check out the uh eBay Motors to make your car the MVP keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible atam only exclusion Supply uh eBay Motors guaranteed fit only available for us customers we’re back on the lockdown Thunder podcast on the lockdown podcast Network your teams every day joining us today is Mavs draft on Twitter Richard staman I’m Ryland Styles Richard we’ve talked about the bigs this this is not GNA go over well with some Thunder fans but guards I think are are what the Thunder can really capitalize on in this draft so I have some absolute draft Darlings that have a g next to their position uh which is not going to be good for the comment section but leading off Jared McCain I am in love with Jared McCain on the court how can you not be how can you not be thank you and and you were you were very intently watching that that Mavericks Thunder series like you saw this Thunder team up close in person they can really stand to have another guard another shot Creator another guy on this team what of what Jared McCain and other guys provide but what is your overall view of Jared McCain yeah I’m gonna start this by saying I will not advocate for the Thunder to take a guard I will simply answer the question I don’t want to get carried away because I do love Jared McCain’s game um now that being said I I’m just going to keep it General with McCain because I saw I think there’s some path for him to eventually be like an Isaiah Joe replacement play plus because he does so much more but for now they could probably coexist I think with McCain one the Duke fit is extremely awkward look at the roster on that team right they had Jared McCain Tyrese Proctor Jeremy roach uh even I mean even some of the other forwards had the ball in their hands a lot like Kyle Philip palski so I think with that you have to keep it in context like he had a lot of strong playmaking flashes but he never was the full point full-time point guard he was the third in line and it is extremely hard there were times I think Proctor was out so he may have gotten some run but it was really hard for him ever to be a fulltime point guard or show those skills and he’s gonna have to in the NBA because he’s short he’s 62 has short arms but the dude is a light out shooter he’s extremely fast I think that was the most underrated thing when I was watching him the his first step is just ridiculous I I think it’s almost it’s a sneaky first step I hate that phrase with a burning passion but like he really does he’ll get you up in the air and he gone like it is very fast in that regard think he tries really hard think he’s extremely smart and he has an elad skill in shooting that sticks if I’m the thunder it’s not my ideal pick if every if the board Falls where you’re like well anything else is just such a reach and we can’t trade back and we have to do something I don’t know I think what’s the problem with taking best player available and going you know what like we can figure this out later we got talent at worst it’s another trade piece because with these when you have so many draft picks and draft Capital the best thing to do is at least maintain or exceed what that original draft Capital could have gotten you in value yeah and I I think jar McCain is just one of the best players that you can get as a team that still needs scoring help still needs um you know some some table setting help as you see that he can still uh develop in that game I think that he also fits this Thunder team just like from everything that you hear about him everything you see about him just like what he puts himself out there is like this very you know comfortable guy in his own skin great teammate willing to um you know take part in like the barking like whatever like like the Thunder’s like image of like they’re they’re this fun loving tight team where they where they’re barking post game they’re making tick talks they’re on social media like they would really Embrace Jared McCain and vice versa to where like that is a seamless transition uh to to a locker room that’s just AA like uh for for all accounts now another player that I am just enthralled by I think that’s the right word to use and and I think that like this is a thundery guy Devin Carter I knew it I knew dein Carter I knew it hey I will I would gladly drive that sales pitch look you want the best defender in the class at the guard it’s most likely him uh all defense upside in this class in all defensive player is a top 10 player in a matter of the fit he also is growing offensively has really good point guard skills needs to get more comfortable going left but he can kill defenses with screens like I I just that combination the jump shots growing I look the work ethic will get him places he needs to to overcome his weaknesses don’t overthink him the work ethic the physicality the rebounding from his from his position uh and I think that people might look at him and be like uh well they just drafted case Wallace you can never have too many case Wallace’s you can never have too many guys that that do this and I think that he’s I think that he’s a little bit more polished on ball I think that kase can tap into that um and I think he’s better than what he he got you know to to display his rookie year because you know his rookie year Cas was kind of pigeon hold into this like off ball world because the Thunder were so good like you couldn’t really give him that that leash to develop uh whereas whereas Devon McCain Devon McCain I like them both just combine them together but as Devin Carter like I think that he walks in as a as a more immediate uh you on ball presence for for the Thunder that would that would do and pay them dividends I think that 12 is is a good spot for both McCain and Carter yeah I agree I don’t think it’s especially Carter I mean I have him as a top 10 player at some point like you’re getting the draft is about value not always necessarily what’s coming right away and I don’t know like no player plays 82 games in the year doesn’t hurt to get insurance that while maintaining that value so that like if they are good when they play you’re still holding it like one prime example is jarus Walker when he played this year he was still pretty good they just didn’t need him and and I think that when you’re looking at this Thunder team number one one they’re not going to have as much injury luck as they had this year that’s like impossible like to have like for I know that like part of it is how great they are at working on their bodies how great they’re at recovery all that stuff another part of it is luck is they’ve been UPF front about like Mark’s been up front about the players been up front about it’s luck and so like you just you just cannot Bank on JD will only miss you know seven games and Shay will miss only a handful of game only three or four games like you cannot Bank on that like you you have to be prepared and continue to improve your roster number one uh number two uh I think that this under team can still go out there and and and find a way to maximize like like you saw in the playoffs they need more scoring help they need more guys who can take some pressure off of um you know Shaye and J up and most importantly number three you know both of our local audiences right you’re in Dallas for the moment uh before you make a huge transition and Oklahoma City like both of the we cannot spend all season going oh my gosh it’s so rare for these rookie big men to have a huge impact and like look at what chess doing in the playoffs it’s so that’s such an anomaly look at what they’re clly doing in the playoffs it’s such an anomaly and then be like well the only way the Thunder can improve their front Court rotation is through the draft like no they they’re gonna have free agency they’re gonna have the tradem market like this is not the only chance that the Thunder get at at helping their front court and you can make a strong argument that like outside of a few guys that we mentioned on the show the the the way you maximize your ability to help yourself in the front Court is not through the draft yeah I mean you can get somebody like here’s the way I see it is you can get the same help you’re looking for like yeah Zach is a lot cheaper than whatever Center you want to throw out there but like in the free agent Market centers take it or really just in the NBA the centers take longer to develop and honestly just players take longer to develop and if you’re a team in that winning position I don’t know like take you can probably get somebody in free agency that’s willing to even take a cut to go to Oklahoma City think it is that desirable of a a team that I do think you might start be entering that territory um I don’t think it really happened 10 years ago on the KD era but I do think this team just has such a different Aura I think Shay is much more like he’s a different kind of likable it’s the same way like how players want to play with Kyrie he may not be the best player in the league but he might be one of the most likable and I think Shay’s entering that territory so you can get free agents if you’re that you’re trying to build through the draft to get yeah in that territory as one of the best players in the league and you know not just that but the the City of Oklahoma City is much different than it was y back in the KD era like you yep you’re not going to be able to compete with like what Dallas and la and these plac New York can offer you but it’s also no longer this docile like why would a millionaire ever want to step foot in Oklahoma City like there are some pros to it whenever you’re only having to spend you know a certain amount of time in Oklahoma City um and you’re still traveling in that time and it is also what’s best for your career in the sense of a winning environment is automatically going to elevate these role players of like Elevate them up to their next contract and their next destination so it is very interesting to to see what could happen there but Richard thank you so much for joining us for talking draft for kicking off uh you know this portion of the off season I hope to have you back uh as much as possible uh we try to do it weekly but I know that you’re very busy with a lot of stuff that’s going on so uh we we’ll see how often we can get this done but hopefully weekly Richard what is on the docket for you what would you like everyone to go check out yeah I do like NBA level scouting reports all those are starting to come in every single day so check those out at my substack M.S substack outcom and then also locked on NBA Big Board locked on NBA Big Board Mavs draft substack make sure you subscribe to both those things uh and until next time thank you so much Richard uh be good and be good to one another

The Oklahoma City Thunder could benefit from the 2024 NBA Draft despite many thinking it is a weak class. What is the value of the OKC Thunder trading up or trading back? Could Purdue big man Zach Edey be an option for the Thunder at pick No. 12 in the 2024 NBA Draft? DaRon Holmes II, Tyler Smith, Jared McCain, Devin Carter, Donovan Clingan, Kyle Filipowski, Yves Missi all discussed as Richard Stayman (@MavsDraft on Twitter) joins Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles on Twitter) to talk draft.

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