If Murray State’s Cameron Payne is off the board, the Thunder could consider Duke point guard Tyus Jones.
Due to superstar Kevin Durant’s injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and find themselves back in the lottery. The Thunder have arguably the most stacked roster in the league when healthy, so they have the luxury to select whomever they view as the best player available with this pick.
Early reports indicate the Thunder were very high on Murrary State point guard Cameron Payne. The Thunder have been coveting a true backup to Russell Westbrook for awhile, and Payne oozes potential as an offensive playmaker. However, his stock has really been on the rise of late and some rumors say he could even go as high as sixth to Sacramento. It’s looking less and less likely by the day he’ll be available fourteenth overall.
Even if he isn’t, there could be some more enticing point guard options for the Thunder to take a look at with this selection. Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant and Duke’s Tyus Jones could both very much be in play here.
Grant is an experienced player and a ridiculous athlete. He takes good care of the ball, can finish at the rim and is a good shooter. With this selection Oklahoma City could have their backup point guard role instantly filled as I could see Grant making a considerable impact for a team his rookie season.
Jones is much younger than Grant, but showed some incredible leadership skills during Duke’s National Championship run last season. Throughout the campaign, Jones stepped up and hit big shot after big shot. While he’s not a great athlete, he’s a smart player and knows how to get the job done. In a year or two I could absolutely see him developing into a top-12 point guard in the league. So Jones, like Grant, would also be a strong backup to Russell Westbrook who doesn’t sit much anyways.
The weakest position on Oklahoma City’s roster is shooting guard. Last year the lengthy Andre Roberson started most of the games here for Oklahoma City with Dion Waiters, Anthony Morrow and Jeremy Lamb also seeing minutes here. Roberson is a pretty solid defender, but doesn’t offer much on the other end. Sure, you can make the argument Oklahoma City really doesn’t need much more scoring but maybe they’d like to find themselves a more well rounded shooting guard.
If Devin Booker is available here Oklahoma City could pull the trigger on him. He’s a terrific shooter with the potential to develop into a solid defender, perhaps he could turn into what the Thunder were always hoping Jeremy Lamb would become. Keep an eye on Kelly Oubre, too. He’s super raw but has tons of upside.
Another player who would make a lot of sense here is Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker. Sure, Dekker is never going to turn into a star but he should be able to become a very nice role player at the next level. He’s really versatile on defense so you can switch everything with him. Additionally he can play either small or power forward and hit threes. Think of him as poor man’s Draymond Green.
Again, it’s almost impossible to predict what the Thunder will do here because they’re so good everywhere. Whoever they take is going to have a tough time finding a spot in that rotation next year. So just look for them to take whoever they value the highest. Don’t even count out the possibility of them really reaching for a guy like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. No one is expecting a guy like that to sneak into the lottery, but he plays with a ton of energy and is an excellent defender.
Maybe they have a guy that has one or two traits that they really value and think can help them get closer to a ring. If they have a guy like that they could take him much higher than anyone expects and they really won’t care. They really can’t do any wrong with this pick.
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