There is hope for the Oklahoma City Thunder after a disastrous NBA Draft Lottery.
As things stand, OKC will miss out on the big four of Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs or Jalen Green at the top of the NBA Draft. Perhaps Jonathan Kuminga could fall to Oklahoma City at the sixth pick, but it is likely that Sam Presti and the Thunder will have to settle for Florida State standout Scottie Barnes.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicated the road to the NBA Draft may not be so cut and dry.
On Tuesday’s edition of NBA Countdown before the airing of the lottery, Wojnarowski indicated that there may be a few teams who are willing to trade out of the top four.
Wojnarowski identified the Cleveland Cavaliers as a team who could “aggressively” pursue a deal to trade down for an established star in an attempt to accelerate their rebuild.
The Thunder’s recent acquisition of Kemba Walker could pay dividends if Presti attempts to make a deal with the Cavaliers.
Though Walker comes off a stint in Boston where he was often injured, the 31-year-old star was the picture of consistency in Charlotte, helping the Hornets stay in the playoff hunt.
A deal centering around Walker would likely mean the end of the “Sexland” pairing, as Cleveland would likely have to move either Collin Sexton or Darius Garland to make the move happen.
Should the Cavaliers opt to avoid a draft edition of “Let’s Make a Deal”, Wojnarowski indicated that the Houston Rockets could also be a candidate to attempt to speed up their rebuild timeline.
In the end, the Pistons, Rockets, Cavaliers and Raptors could opt to stand pat, but the top four in the NBA Draft doesn’t appear to be as ironclad as once thought, and Presti has proven time and time again that he can slither through the cracks to engineer a trade for the Thunder.
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