2025 Mock Draft Projects Thunder to Select Real Madrid Star, Potential Draft Stash

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Svyato Rovenchuk | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 10:42 PM ET

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one win away from an NBA championship. That is all anyone is talking about. However, assuming they deliver on that title, they will quickly face a whole lot of other questions.

There is a really strong chance they should be expected to bring home that Larry O'Brien Trophy too. On top of having two opportunities to close the Indiana Pacers out, they may not even need to beat the best version of that team.

"Once the Pacers and Haliburton get the results back on this MRI, on that calf strain, they're going to be able to identify the severity and then huddle and map out exactly what the plan will be going into Game 6."@malika_andrews and @ShamsCharania discuss Tyrese Haliburton's… pic.twitter.com/XANI9ehLog
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 17, 2025

Shams Charania reported , "Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is believed to have suffered a strained right calf and will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the strain, sources tell ESPN."

Haliburton will be, at the least, limited for Game 6. There should be a chance the Pacers star point guard does not play at all.

If the 2024-25 NBA season soon ends with the Thunder lifting the trophy, the next pivotal date is the NBA Draft. Oklahoma City will have some tough choices to make leading up to it.

The Thunder possess three picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. If Sam Presti picks up the team options on Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell, the Thunder will have 15 rosters spots filled up for 2025-26.

One of the ways that they can work around this is a potential draft stash option. The latest ESPN mock draft had the Thunder selecting Real Madrid's Hugo Gonzalez at pick 24.

Jonathan Givony wrote, "Gonzalez could fit Oklahoma City's style of play with the impressive physical tools and frenetic energy he brings defensively, which has enabled him to carve out a strong role for Real Madrid in the Spanish Liga ACB playoffs recently."

The ESPN expert continued, "There's also the possibility a team could convince Gonzalez to be stashed for another year in Europe -- something that surely wouldn't be appealing to his camp at this stage -- but might be a necessity if the significant buyout in his contract doesn't get paid this offseason (it's an option Real Madrid would surely be open to, considering his impactful play)."

The Thunder would undoubtedly love a get out of jail free card with this situation. It may be a tough sell, as Givony pointed out, but a necessary one.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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