Thunder Make SHOCKING Draft Promise…

Thunder Make SHOCKING Draft Promise…

some insane news about the Oklahoma City Thunder regarding the 2024 NBA draft has come out and they supposedly promised a prospect that they are taking him with the 12th overall pick and frankly I’m going to come out and be clean about this I am frustrated by this we are in no position to be offering any spot on the team with the 12th overall pick especially with the kind of talent that we have in this year’s draft and so I’m just going to be honest I don’t think we should have done that but before we get all this though want to take a moment and say if you guys enjoyed the content and you find yourself coming back on a regular basis go ahead hit the Subscribe button it’s the best way to support the channel and it’s the best way to stay up to date when a new video drops on the Channel with that out of the way we can go ahead and get into talking about this guy here who first off I didn’t want to get out of the way he’s not a bad player he he had a solid season very good college season this uh last season this last year my problem is I don’t know why we promised him that we are drafting him with the 12th overall pick if he’s there I don’t know if it was prey that said that some other executive a coach or if it’s just speculation around the league but apparently we promised toon Holmes the second that we are drafting him with the 12th overall pick which in my mind that is just absurd I’m going to be honest about that why we’re offering it like why we’re promising that we’re going to draft him with that 12th overall pick is beyond on me because frankly yes he’s a good player don’t I’m not going to mix it up at all he’s a solid player and this and what I found this from is an article from Sports Illustrated I can’t remember who wrote it but I just don’t understand who and why we would promise him we’re going to take him because his skill set for an eye look at it is very similar to usan Jang and I’m just gonna lay the facts out there straight for you guys I think us is already the better player and they’re the same age they’re the same age and us is better and he’s been in the league for a little bit so he’s been acclimated the problem is he hasn’t had time to prove himself yet so I don’t know why we would go and promise that we’re going to draft donon Holmes when we already have the exact same skill set of that in Usman Jang but we’re going to break down the article you know piece by piece here and just kind of go in and give my general reaction to you know what this article on Sports Illustrated is saying and if we really should draft donon Holmes there and so we’re going to go ahead and get into that here first piece of the article we got on Friday ESPN NBA draft Insider Jonathan gavani reported that Dayton Flyers Center Don Holmes II has cancelled the rest of his pre-draft workouts after receiving a promise after the news broke there is some speculation among Oklahoma City Thunder fans on social media that OKC and Sam press team had made the promise to holes this is where we kind of get into it a little bit I don’t know if it was prey I don’t know if someone actually made a promise to him and I don’t know if it’s just some you know fans speculating and thinking oh this means he’s coming to the Thunder since that was the last team he worked out for or something like that I don’t know who had the news go out there saying that we promis we’re drafting him all I know is with this year’s draft class outside of the top five everyone else is kind of a project or we know what kind of player they already are since they so old that’s where I’m getting at and Holmes is no different he’s a project for two years before you can actually make him a viable starter in the league along with guys like Cody Williams a bunch of other guys there even D Silva who’s on the older end is also a project because he keeps increasing and getting better the older he gets you know he was one of the older players in college last season and he was one of the best players in college basketball so it just goes to show there are a ton of projects in this year’s draft that I feel like you just take whoever’s the best available is whether that’s Cody Williams to Silva or Holmes at the 12th overall pick you just take who the best available Prospect is go ahead and get into the article a little bit more here while there is no evidence support whether or not the Thunder half promised to select The Talented Center if he is available Holmes does seem to fill many the gaps Mark dangal’s team needs to address over the off season measuring just a quarter of an inch under 6’9 without without shoes at the NBA Combine in addition to weighing in at 236 lb and a 7 fo1 wing span Holmes has a good size to play forward or Center at the next level that I’m not doubting that I’m not doubting has size I’m not doubting he couldn’t help us out down low rebounding and defensively since that’s what we really need to improve on however we have Usman Jang who already has that size even a little bit taller he’s 611 and he does everything Holmes does if not better than him and they’re the same age so why are you going to go draft Holmes when we have the exact same skill set in us already it’s like we’ve forgotten he’s in our organization it’s like we’ve completely forgotten we drafted this guy along with jdub Jay will and Chad and he has a ton a ton of prise he was a lottery pick he has a ton of potential and he’s still young he’s 21 years old I don’t understand why it’s looking like we’ve given up on him maybe we haven’t maybe this is just some speculation that’s gone out that’s kind of you know becoming more you know like it’s looking like it’s facts when really it’s just a room it’s just speculation that’s what I’m just I’m frustrated by I’m just frustrated why we’re going after this guy we have the skill set already on our team and a guy that’s been in the organization for two years and has matured and improved a ton I feel like every single time he’s played in the NBA when he’s having the chance to prove himself he does he plays well he’s had games where he scored 15 points in 15 16 minutes of play against other second strings as well and it’s not like he’d be a starter for us it’s not like us or hes would be a starter they’d be coming off the bench and I feel like us fills that hole better already than Holmes because once again like I said majority of these guys in the drafts are projects you work on them for two years as a rebuilding team news flash the Thunder are no longer a rebuilding team I don’t know if you realized that we are contenders and we’re looking to build a championship squad for next season not rebuild it not take on projects and so I don’t know why we would draft Holmes then if he’s not the best available and why we’ve made that promise going a little bit more the article we just got two more pieces here uh these are just his accolades if you want to pause and look through them you can I don’t think it’s really kind of you know translates to the NBA and you know what he is as a player we know defensive selections we knew he was a defensive Powerhouse going in uh if Holmes is still available in the thunder on the clock later this month there is a chance that prey has found another solid piece to bolster OKC’s bench unit or mix up the team’s starting lineup this is where I have a problem he is not an instant starter maybe after a year in the league he could be but going in the starting line of having discussions about that already no while Josh giddy started nearly every game this season uh he started every game in the regular season he missed he only sat the bench one game in the postseason uh so you might want to get that a little bit right next time the third year player was bench in the NBA playoffs in favor of Isaiah Joe if D is looking to move giddy to the bench permanently Holmes could theoretically play next to chat HR in the front Court while sh Alexander Jaylen Williams and Lou Dort occupy the wing and back court so they’re making it seem like at some point e whether that’s 20 games in or whatever that Holmes is going to find his way in the starting lineup if we draft him I disagree I disagree you look at what we have in cap space we can go get another starter like I’ve mentioned before either through trades or signings why are we looking for a starter in the draft that part makes no sense to me I don’t understand why we’re going to try and look for a starter in the draft good you can look for a bench player and they talked about that it can bolster the bench I’m not saying it can’t I think any player we draft this year can bolster the bench it’s just as a matter of the fact they’re making him see like he can be a starter when we have $33 million in cap space to go get another starter at the four that’s the part I don’t understand that’s what I don’t understand at all gon to be honest we might be better off trading the 12th overall pick if we are going to take this guy I’m just going to be honest we don’t need another Usman Jang on the team who’s going to sit the bench for two other two two to three years and not use them at all and make a waste of a lottery pick we are better off trading it if that’s the case just going to be plain and simple about that and he’s not a bad player he’s not just like look at the stats here he’s not a bad player I’m not saying he isn’t Junior season at Dayton he averaged 20 points a game 8.5 rebounds 2.6 assists and two blocks per game while shooting 54% from the field and 38% from behind the arc witha production as a rim protector good rebounding chops a serviceable three-point shot and decent passing ability Hol seems to check all the boxes for OKC and I’m not not saying he doesn’t my point is why take a lottery guy if he’s only going to average 10 minutes a game coming off the bench if he’s barely going to play that’s my point because it just doesn’t look like he’s going to do much like to be honest with majority of these draft picks they don’t look like they’ll do much for us immediately and we are a win now team we are trying to win a championship for the next 3 years it’s okay if you you know take a guy that you’re expecting to replace due to free agency or trade later on Holmes doesn’t seem like that guy I feel like we’re going to have a four lock down for a while when you look at it whether at shol when we sign another guy in free agency feel like we’ll have a four lock down for a while what I’m worried about is a three or a two not having one of those pieces that’s what I’m worried about so I feel like we’re better off drafting a guy like Cody Williams who’s a three or even Jared McCain where’re a project guy that we won’t really play the first year if we’re going to draft this you know with our 12th pick if we’re not going to trade it away take one those guys that can eventually replace one of our two guys either you know a two or three because it’s hard to keep everyone on this team with how large salaries are getting now and then you can just have that guy step in when he has two years left on his rookie contract that’s my thought process getting a guy to instantly become you know step in as a starter that’s a project I don’t get that when we already have a guy that’s a project that’s proven himself and gotten better year in and year out in usan Jang so I don’t get why we’re drafting someone to kind of replace him who does everything us does and just forget about him and throw him away that’s what I don’t get I’m still high on us I think he’s a great player he can be a you know great role player in the league at the four position it’s just it seems like we forgotten about him that’s what I’m getting at with this Holmes not dogging him on on him at all he’s a great player great stats he can help out any team he can there are some teams he would get drafted by and be a starter on and you know even get good bench minutes in like 20 minutes a game OKC is just not one of those teams where he’s going to get the time to actually develop it doesn’t make sense in our long-term plan and our win right now plan to actually draft holes but that’s all I’ve got for this video because I’m just you know spouting the same thing over and over at this point let me know what you guys think about Holmes if you guys think he would be a starter for our team immediately and he has his immediate impact or if there’s someone else that you guys think would step in and be a better pick at number 12 because frankly I don’t see it I don’t know why we would promise him an instant pick at number 12 I feel like there are better players that we can take at the 12 pick but that’s all I got for this video I’ll see you guys in the next one

Reports have come out the the Oklahoma City Thunder promised DaRon Holmes II that he will be drafted by the Thunder. Bryson Akins breaks down why this move could end up being a mistake.

Thunder Digest covers the latest reports, news and rumors regarding the Oklahoma City Thunder. If you want to stay updated with every trade, move and tidbit on players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Josh Giddey, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, Mark Daigneault and Sam Presti.