2013 NBA Draft

[dankrutka]

The NBA Draft is this Thursday. The Thunder have the 12, 29, and 32nd picks. If we use them all then I expect at least one player to stay overseas as we don't need 3 rookies on the roster. Decent chance we're involved in a trade too.

While most people think we'll take a big guy (e.g., Steven Adams, Cody Zeller, Kelly Olynyk), I am not sold on any of the bigs that will be around at 12. Drafting big guys is a tough business as a lot of them don't pan out (see Cole Aldrich, Byron Mullens). I really like C.J. McCollum of Lehigh if he slips to 12 as a scorer than can help our bench, especially if Thabo or Reggie leave in the next couple years, but this might depend on how the team feels about Jeremy Lamb:



Other opinions? Here's a mock draft for reference.

[BoulderSooner]

i like ray mcullum at either 29 or 32 .. to be the 3rd pg and maybe future #2 pg

[dankrutka]

i like ray mcullum at either 29 or 32 .. to be the 3rd pg and maybe future #2 pg

I really like Dennis Shroeder, but he'll most likely be gone by 29.

[s00nr1]

I, too, would love it if we could get McCollum at 12. I think that provides a nice backup option to Jackson and would be a great fit with Lamb and PJ3 on the second unit. His skillset looks like a combo of Curry (shooting)/Harden (ball skills).

[Bellaboo]

I don't know if anyone knows this on the board, but McCollum played his Jr High ball in Norman, his dad was a Kelvin Sampson assistant.

[dankrutka]

I don't know if anyone knows this on the board, but McCollum played his Jr High ball in Norman, his dad was a Kelvin Sampson assistant.

No, he didn't. You're thinking of Ray McCallum. He's projected to go in the 2nd round. Easy to mix those two up.

[dankrutka]

If we draft a big I think Cody Zeller is the choice. I just hope we're smarter than to draft Steven Adams. He's easily the most overrated player in the draft in my opinion. He's Perk 2.0. Bad hands, no feel for the game, can't score at all. He's obviously a better athlete than Perk, but he lacks the same toughness and leadership. I would be pretty disappointed if we drafted him.

[rlewis]

If we draft a big I think Cody Zeller is the choice. I just hope we're smarter than to draft Steven Adams. He's easily the most overrated player in the draft in my opinion. He's Perk 2.0. Bad hands, no feel for the game, can't score at all. He's obviously a better athlete than Perk, but he lacks the same toughness and leadership. I would be pretty disappointed if we drafted him.

I agree with the Zeller pick; and like the Daily Oklahoman, I also like Gorgui Dieng. Both of those guys are coordinated, while the other two, Adams and Olynyk, look like plodders. Adams gives me the same vibe as Byron Mullens did before the 2009 draft. The scouting report on him is that he is athletically talented but "raw". That was the same description of Mullens years ago, and we all know how that turned out. Olynyk makes think of Cole Aldrich (a good college player but a benchwarmer in the NBA).

If they don't get Zeller or Dieng, I would love to see them go for a guard or a small forward. Reggie Jackson may be gone after this next year because of salary cap restraints, so we need to get prepared for that possibility. McCollum is a very good shooter, but he's not tall enough to be a shooting guard and he didn't play the point guard position at all in college. Of course they said the same thing about Westbrook out of college, but McCollom doesn't have the athletic ability of RW.

I would love to see them take a shot at Shabazz Muhammad, but he's probably too controversial. I really think that the Thunder's environment could get him straightened out though. Michael Carter Williams and Kentavious Caldwell Pope are tempting options as well.

[Jake]

A lot of rumors saying that the Thunder are being proactive to move up in the draft. Let's see what Presti does. It'll be interesting.

[dankrutka]

A lot of rumors saying that the Thunder are being proactive to move up in the draft. Let's see what Presti does. It'll be interesting.

Every scenario I've heard seems very unlikely. May just be the Thunder throwing the fishing line out there to see if anyone bites.

[Jake]

Daily Thunder.com Thunder shopping Perkins along with 12 and 29? | Daily Thunder.com

The deal would probably be more palatable without Perkins.

[s00nr1]

Daily Thunder.com Thunder shopping Perkins along with 12 and 29? | Daily Thunder.com

The deal would probably be more palatable without Perkins.

Top 5 pick?? I would give them Perkins, the 12th, and the 29th for an end-of-the-second round pick haha (or nothing at all) just to get his contract off the payroll and allow us to go get someone like Hickson.

[dankrutka]

Daily Thunder.com Thunder shopping Perkins along with 12 and 29? | Daily Thunder.com

The deal would probably be more palatable without Perkins.

Bingo. No one is biting on a deal with Perk's terrible contract.

If a deal is in the news then it is likely that's it not a real option. The Thunder are tight lipped and it's unlikely that they'd leak real trade possibilities. It's more likely a diversion for something else...

[BoulderSooner]

perkins contract is really not that bad

[dankrutka]

perkins contract is really not that bad

It's not that his contract is that bad, but that he's not very good. No one wants to spend nearly $10 million per year (1/7th of their cap space) on a player like Perk. His contract makes him virtually untradeable unless the Thunder give up a ton.

[s00nr1]

perkins contract is really not that bad

I beg to differ -- yes, it really is.

[Bellaboo]

Everytime Perkins tried to make an offensive move, I cringed. Thinking.... NOOOOOOO!

He needs to go.

[BoulderSooner]

perk makes 8.4 mil this season (2013/2014) and 9.1 next season ...

he is very trade able if you are willing to take back salary ...

and next summer he would be easy to trade as an expiring contract ..

[td25er]

perk makes 8.4 mil this season (2013/2014) and 9.1 next season ...

he is very trade able if you are willing to take back salary ...

and next summer he would be easy to trade as an expiring contract ..

Just stop....

The only way we can trick somebody into taking perkins is if we give them Lamb, Jones, and both 1st round picks.

[rlewis]

Just stop....

The only way we can trick somebody into taking perkins is if we give them Lamb, Jones, and both 1st round picks.

You might be on to something with your suggestion. What if Presti did a deal with his former right-hand man Rob Hannigan in Orlando and landed the 2nd pick in the draft? They could send Lamb, Jones, and the 1st round picks to them, and then we could select shooting guard Ben Mclemore or Victor Oladipo with their pick. Unfortunately, I don't think we can interest them in Perkins. The James Harden trade would come full circle: we end up with a one year rental of Kevin Martin and a younger, cheaper version of Harden.

It's just a thought. ESPN was reporting that the Magic were looking at their possible options if they had a late lottery pick. The Thunder immediately popped into my mind, but it may be Dallas or Utah that are actually talking to Orlando.

[BigD Misey]

Does KMart qualify for a non-bird clause?

[jedicurt]

Does KMart qualify for a non-bird clause?

i believe the answer is no... but as i am not someone who deals day to day with NBA contracts, don't quote me on it

[BoulderSooner]

i believe the answer is no... but as i am not someone who deals day to day with NBA contracts, don't quote me on it

no sure what he means by "non-bird clause" ..

the thunder have kevin martins "bird rights" letting them go over the cap to sign him to a contract

[SoonerBoy18]

Wish we can go back and select Seth Curry smh.

[warreng88]

Wish we can go back and select Seth Curry smh.

Not sure it would have mattered as he is signed to a four year, $44 million contract. Even if we did sign Harden to an extension, we would have had to trade someone a few years later to get below the cap and it probably would have been the SG (Harden or Curry) instead of Ibaka. Ibaka was just willing to take a little less money. Harden wanted to start and be the man on a team which is not going to happen when you have KD and Westbrook.