As draft night approached the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 26, many expected them to select at least one big man to help improve their rebounding and shore up minutes without Chet Holmgren on the court. After all, they finished 27th in rebounds per game and their play took a huge hit in non-Holmgren minutes.Well, because rookies aren't often the needle movers that take a team from playoff contention to championship contention.
Instead, the Thunder turned to free agency to secure their backup big, signing Isaiah Hartenstein to a 3-year, $87 million deal earlier this week. Nikola Topic, Dillon Jones, and Ajay Mitchell are who they selected on draft night and all are drivers who can finish and pass. Topic will redshirt his rookie season with a partially torn ACL. Jones and Mitchell are both drive-and-kick experts who fit OKC's dribble/pass and positional size requirements.
All three draft picks are proof of the Thunder doubling down on their philosophy, as none possess a reliable jumper at this point but excel in everything OKC already loves to do. We obviously won't be able to see Topic's impact until the 2025-26 season, but with both Jones' and Mitchell's productivity at the mid-major levels and their continuity within OKC's offensive identity, at least one of them will provide impact during their rookie years.
The Thunder finished as the No. 1 seed in the West and one win away from the Conference Finals while being the youngest team in the NBA last season. They addressed areas of weakness with Hartenstein and doubled down on their strengths via trade with Alex Caruso and via draft with their three selections. With these new veteran additions and the hope of at least one of Jones or Mitchell providing value during the 2024-25 season, OKC hopes to further improve and hopefully win a title.
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