There is, of course, an obvious connection to the Play-In Tournament and the Oklahoma City Thunder. As the No.1 seed in the Western Conference, the Thunder will face the winner of the second Western Conference play-in game that will take place on Friday, April 17th. One of the Trailblazers, the Suns, the Clippers, or the Warriors will be the first step in the Thunder’s quest to be the first repeat champion in eight seasons. A collection of teams the Thunder went a combined 13-3 against.
But Oklahoma City may have ulterior motives in their viewership of the Play-In Tournament. Depending on how things shake out, OKC has the possibility of netting up to two lottery picks in what is considered by many to be a stacked 2026 NBA Draft. They own an unprotected Clippers’ first round pick from the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deal. Yes, seven years later, that deal is still the gift that keeps on giving. They also own a top-4 protected first round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers. That pick came via the trade that sent Al Horford to Philly at the beginning of the Thunder’s rebuild in 2020. For a team that just finished with the best record in the league and is a championship contender, getting even one lottery pick in a draft like this is a nightmare for the rest of the association.
What’s even scarier, is that something like this already happened to the Thunder a couple of years ago. In the 2022 Play-In Tournament, the Clippers came into that as the 8th seed. In the 7/8 game, they went on the road and played the Minnesota Timberwolves. They ended up losing that game, 109-104, as Patrick Beverly celebrated in front of the Minnesota crowd like he had won the MVP, Finals, Finals MVP, and a billion dollar lottery all in one felled swoop. The loss didn’t eliminate the Clippers, though. In the second play-in game, the Clippers hosted the winners of the 9/10 game, the New Orleans Pelicans. Before the game though, Clippers star Paul George tested positive for Covid-19 and had to sit out that game. The Clippers, now missing both George and Kawhi Leonard, put up a spirited fight, even going up by 10 entering the fourth quarter, but ultimately lost the game down the stretch, 105-101. That loss knocked them out of the playoffs and into the lottery. It was already known that the Thunder would get the Clippers pick regardless of where it landed (remember, the gift that keeps on giving). But now, the Thunder had, not just one, but now two picks in the lottery of the 2022 Draft.
We all know what happened after that. The Thunder luckily jumped up in the lottery and got the 2nd pick. The Clippers’ pick landed at 12. Chet Holmgren was picked by the Thunder with the 2nd pick. And with the Clippers’ pick (WTTP, if you know, you know), the Thunder drafted a draft combine rising star from the University of Santa Clara by the name of Jalen Williams. And the rest, as we know, is history. Williams became an All-Star and All-NBA player by his third season and helped the Thunder win their first championship in Oklahoma City. All because a team lost twice in the Play-In Tournament.
Can it happen again? Maybe. Maybe not. Single game results can be so varied. Things like home-court advantage may not necessarily matter in this type of setting. But to have the opportunity to get, not just one, but two lottery picks in a draft like this is crazy. The Thunder brass will definitely be locked into the Play-In Tournament. Not just for the purposes of scouting their possible first round opponent, but also for the purposes of seeing where their picks are going to land. The way you keep a dynasty rolling is by resupplying with talent from the draft. Rookies are usually cheaper than more established players. With the Thunder definitely going head first into the tax and possibly into the second apron next season, having the ability to draft top-tier (cheaper) talent is tantamount to their ability to continue contending. OKC will need Philadelphia to lose twice and the Clippers to lose once. It’s happened once already. Is it in the cards to happen again? I don’t know, but we’ll definitely be watching.
Current Streaks: PHI: Winners of 4 of their last 5 / OKC: Winners of 11 straight
The Tip-Off
I don’t have a big issue with the ejections or the suspensions, if the play or player warrants it. I just want consistency throughout the punishment process. My objection to Ajay Mitchell’s suspension is “was he just supposed to take the slap to the face?” Since when did the NBA turn into a religious organization that mandates turning the other cheek when struck or being pacifists when the other team is escalating the situation? How can a player (Anthony Gill) be fined after the game, but suffer no consequences in-game? Would the NBA’s behavior czar, James Jones, be so keen on doing nothing if he got slapped in the face? Like, make it make sense, because if it doesn’t make sense, then teams will try to approach the Thunder like this in the playoffs in hopes of getting the right person suspended for a game or more.
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the Thunder and Sixers. OKC won the first meeting by 25 in a game that saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren combine for 56 points on 22/30 shooting from the field. The Thunder were only up by 2 at halftime and completely dominated Philly in the 2nd half.
Welcome Back, Dub – Jalen Williams returns to the lineup after reaggravating his hamstring on February 11th. I know the Thunder would never put any of their players in danger of reinjury, but it’s still scary as OKC navigates the rest of the season in hoping that Dub is truly over his hamstring issues. We’ve seen how hamstring injuries have affected Aaron Gordon and the Denver Nuggets through their series with OKC last postseason and throughout this season. OKC has proven throughout the regular season that they can navigate the choppy waters without Dub. But the postseason is an entirely different monster and having a healthy Dub available is probably the biggest X-factor for OKC.
Jared McCain – It was only 1.5 seasons, but McCain’s impact on Philly was felt when he got traded at the deadline in February. Tyrese Maxey was feeling some sort of way when the trade happened, and Sixers GM Darryl Morey had to explain that he was “selling high” when he shipped McCain off for a 2026 Houston Rockets first and three future second round picks. After struggling with injuries for much of the past season, McCain has assimilated almost seamlessly onto the Thunder and has become a key rotational piece off the bench. His floor spacing and play-making has filled a need the Thunder were vastly seeking in this injury-plagued season. In 19 games since the trade, McCain is averaging 12.3 points on 41% shooting from deep for OKC. Supposedly, there will be a video tribute for McCain tonight, which is high praise, considering he only played 60 games for the franchise and also considering that this is Philadelphia we’re talking about. Philly sports have gone soft.
Big Man superiority – With Joel Embiid being out, the Sixers will need to rely on Adem Bona and Andre Drummond. I fully expect the Thunder’s big man trio of Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams to dominate in all aspects of post play.
Current Streaks: SAS: 3-3 in their last 6 games (alternating W’s and L’s) / OKC: 3-3 in their last 6 games, but have won 2 in a row
The Tip-Off
You know, I used to get pissed off when teams used to sit their stars (or even starters) for nationally televised games. Like, why the hell would I tune in to watch your 12th guy off the bench get starter minutes. But now, I kind of get it. Teams that have deep playoff runs don’t have the same restful offseason as those that don’t make the playoffs or exit early. The Thunder played two more months of basketball than most teams in the Association. And they came into this season with the idea that they would play their same brand of basketball. It worked for the first two months of the season. But their brand of basketball and their insistence to win began to take it’s toll on them. And so, the Thunder are now in a position to try and find respites of rest in the schedule whenever possible, while having it be as legit as possible. Those injuries start to pile on and the best recipe is to find rest. And so now, I get it.
This is the fifth and final meeting of the regular season between these two teams. San Antonio won the first three meetings of the season in December that sent Thunder fandom into a deep, dark depression. The Thunder returned the favor in January, winning 119-98.
Betting Info, presented by FanDuel
Line: OKC +8.5
O/U: 217.5
Injury Report
OKC
Alex Caruso – OUT (adductor)
Ousmane Dieng – OUT (Not With Team)
Lu Dort – OUT (knee)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – OUT (abdominal strain)
Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (eye)
Chet Holmgren – OUT (back)
Ajay Mitchell – OUT (abdominal strain)
Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)
SAS
Stephon Castle – Questionable (thigh)
Dylan Harper – Questionable (ankle)
Kelly Olynyk – Questionable (foot)
Jeremy Sochan – OUT (quad)
Lindy Waters III – OUT (knee)
Three Big Things
Injury Bug – While OKC has been dealing with injuries the entire season, the injury bug finally hit Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who will miss the next five games before the All-Star break and will also miss the All-Star game with an abdominal strain. The defending MVP has carried a heavy load this season, leading the Thunder to the best record in the league, while having to navigate consistent roster changes and injuries on a night to night basis. While it stinks to not have SGA out there, it is a good opportunity to get 2+ weeks of rest while only missing 5 games.
Good Opportunity – Here I thought the Orlando game was going to be the sacrificial game. Turns out, it’s the Spurs game. I get it. Guys need rest, SGA is injured, and you’ve already played the Spurs four times this season. There’s not much to glean from another battle against a potential 2nd or 3rd round playoff opponent. But it is a good opportunity for guys like Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins to expand their games and try new things. Remember when J-Will got all his triple-doubles last season late in the season when most of the starters were resting. Remember when it was almost guaranteed that Wiggins would get 25+ points when the starters sat late last season. Maybe this can be the Chris Youngblood “5 3-pointers made” game. Maybe Brooks Barnhizer will actually take an outside shot. Lots of opportunity for development.
Welcome, Jared McCain – The Thunder didn’t wait until Thursday to strike on a trade. They made a couple moves that netted them Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a 2026 Houston first round pick and three future second round picks. In a lateral move, Ousmane Dieng and a 2029 2nd round pick were moved to Charlotte in exchange for Mason Plumlee, who was subsequently waived to create a roster spot for McCain. Dieng was then moved from Charlotte to Chicago in a separate trade. The idea of Dieng was always more hopeful than the actual production. Every time it seemed like Dieng was starting to carve out a role, an injury usually happened. By the time Dieng looked up, the team was on it’s way to contention and the developmental train had transformed into a hard-charging championship-contending train. But, hey, he got a championship ring out of it and was a Finals MVP for a G-League championship.
Oklahoma City General Manager Sam Presti (left) and Vice President of Basketball Operations Will Dawkins (right) meet with the media after the 2022 NBA Draft. (Credit: Alex Roig)
The Oklahoma City Thunder did something in this past draft that they haven’t done since they started this rebuild in 2019. Instead of acquiring more future first round picks, they consolidated a couple of picks from their asset chest in order to move up to take the prospect they wanted. In this case, the prospect was Ousmane Dieng. And the cost was three future first round picks. All three of the picks the Thunder gave up were heavily protected (lottery or more) for the 2023 NBA Draft, and those protections stretched out for the next 2-5 years. In essence, the Thunder traded the three worst first round assets they had for a player they really wanted.
In all, the Thunder have 13 possible first round picks over the next five drafts (2023-2027). Some of those picks will have value as draft picks and some of them will have value as trade bait. But every first round pick the Thunder have will have some sort of valuation, which is big to Thunder GM Sam Presti. When the Thunder traded the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to the Houston Rockets for two future firsts, many questioned if Presti was getting a little too asset-collection happy. After that draft, Presti was asked about trading what turned out to be Alperen Sengun for two future firsts. “It was just, it was a valuation of the asset and I think over time, we’ll be able to figure out different ways to utilize those. There’s really nothing more to it than that. It was just way above the line for the general value of that pick, and we’re going to probably make that decision most of the time.”
In this article, I wanted to look at the value of the 13 first round picks the Thunder have over the next five drafts. With that said, this is going to be perceived valuation based on the normal cycle teams go through in the NBA. I don’t have a crystal ball and can’t foresee things like injuries and future signings. These valuations are based on the current premise of the teams involved and the general evolution of what happens to teams in these positions. Without further ado, here are the values of the Thunder’s 13 future first round picks from least valuable to most valuable.
No. 13 – OKC’s 2027 first round pick
No. 12 – OKC’s 2026 first round pick
I put these two picks together because I think they hold the least amount of value to teams looking to deal with the Thunder. The Thunder will continue to add young talent to this team over the next few drafts. Also, as OKC gets better, they will likely add valuable veterans to the team via trade or (I can’t believe I’m saying this) free agency. As the collective talent on the team goes up, so will the wins. And as the wins increase, the draft position will also weaken. The Thunder will likely start to be good in 2024. But they will likely start to be great around 2026 or 2027. Hence, their draft picks will not be of much value to other teams.
No. 11 – Houston’s 2026 first round pick (Top-4 protected in ’26. Converts into a ’26 2nd rounder if it isn’t conveyed)
While Golden State, Boston, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles battle for league supremacy, OKC, Houston, Detroit, and Orlando are currently battling for draft position. Houston and OKC started their rebuilds around the same time. As Houston also continues to stack talent via the draft, their trajectory is likely to be very similar to OKC’s. For that reason, their 2026 pick is likely to be later in the first round than early in the first round.
No. 10 – Los Angeles Clippers’ 2024 first round pick (Unprotected)
If you think it’s crazy that an unprotected pick is only No. 10 on this list, I don’t blame you. Hell, I initially had this as the least valuable pick in the Thunder’s asset chest. But the pick being unprotected kind of forced me to move it down a couple spots. The reason I hesitate on giving this pick too much value is because the Clippers (sans injuries) are likely to be awesome over the next season or two. Like, “best record in the NBA” awesome. Like, “pick in the late 20’s or worse” awesome. Even with Kawhi Leonard out for the season and Paul George out for most of the season, the Clippers still found themselves in the midst of the play-in tournament. With those two back in tow and a point guard tandem of Reggie Jackson and Paul Wall, the Clippers could be real good when this pick is ready to convey.
No. 9 – Miami’s 2025 first round pick (Lottery protected for ’25. If not conveyed in ’25, it will be unprotected for ’26)
I really debated on where to put this pick due to the unprotected nature of it in it’s 2nd year. But Miami has three things going for it: two of their stars are young (Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro), they are a well run organization from top to bottom, and Miami is a prime free agent destination. Based on those three things, I don’t think the Heat will bottom out any time soon.
No. 8 – Philadelphia’s 2025 first round pick (Top-6 protected in ’25. Top-4 protected in ’26 & ’27. If not conveyed by ’27, it converts into a ’27 second rounder)
No. 7 – Utah’s 2024 first round pick (Top-10 protected in ’24 & ’25. Top-8 protected in ’26. If it doesn’t convey by ’26, OKC will receive $890K in cash)
I put these two picks together because these two teams a very close to being in turmoil over the next couple of seasons. For as great as Joel Embiid has been in his career, he’s never made it to a conference finals. Add to the mix, James Harden, who isn’t really known as a bastion of team chemistry, and the Sixers are a disappointing season or two away from being in complete flux. In addition, Embiid’s possible shelf life as a large human being who has had foot issues in the past could rear it’s ugly head in the near future.
The Utah Jazz seem to be the basketball version of the guy who peaked in high school. When the Jazz made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs in Donovan Mitchell’s rookie season, everyone thought that was just the beginning. Fast forward four seasons later and the Jazz still haven’t made it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs, their salary sheet is bloated, and their starting center shut down the world for two years (and now resides in Minnesota). Quin Snyder stepped down this offseason and Mitchell said aloud that he doesn’t know where he goes from here. The hope for Thunder fans is that the Jazz go the Portland route and try to use the picks they obtained in the Gobert deal to build around Mitchell for the next couple of seasons.
No. 6 – OKC’s 2025 first round pick
As mentioned in the explanation for OKC’s 2026 and 2027 picks, the Thunder could be well into their upward trajectory in 2025. They are likely to not be as good in 2025 as they are in ’26 and ’27, but they will likely be “playoff” good. This will be Josh Giddey and Tre Mann’s fourth season and Chet Holgrem, Jalen Williams, and Dieng’s third season. If the jump in their games were to happen, it would likely coincide with the 2024-25 season. But why would this pick be so valuable? The Thunder have the option to swap their pick with either the Clippers (unprotected) or the Rockets (Top-10 protected). If the Clippers hit an injury bug or if the Rockets aren’t progressing in their rebuild as quickly as the Thunder, the Thunder could end up with a better pick than their record suggests.
No. 5 – Denver’s 2027 first round pick (Top-5 protected for ’27 – ’29. Converts to a ’29 2nd rounder if it hasn’t conveyed by then)
Great teams usually have a shelf life of 3-5 years. Denver will be heading into Year 3 of their current situation. Injuries to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. completely derailed last season, but Nikola Jokic still found ways to dominate on his way to his 2nd consecutive MVP award. But with their financial flexibility capped out and injury concerns for two of their three stars moving forward, this pick may be conveying around the time this team’s shelf life may be coming to end (if not already there by then).
No. 4 – OKC’s 2024 first round pick
No. 3 – Houston’s 2024 first round pick (Top-4 protected. If it isn’t conveyed, the Thunder would get Houston’s 2nd rounder in ’24 & ’25)
I lumped these two picks together because so much of their value is going to depend on what happens in the 2023 NBA Draft. If either of these teams lucks into Victor Wembanyama, their outlook changes immensely.
No. 2 – Los Angeles Clippers’ 2026 first round pick (Unprotected)
There’s a possibility the Clippers could still be good after the ’25-’26 season. But there’s also a high possibility that four more seasons of wear and tear will have had their effect on Leonard and George, along with the Clippers’ bloated cap sheet and lack of assets, to lead them into a slow decline that culminates in a great pick in this draft.
According to the team, the Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Justin Patton. The oft-injured center has played in just four NBA games in his two year career.
After being drafted with the 16th pick by the Chicago Bulls (and subsequently traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Jimmy Butler deal) in 2017, Patton broke his left foot prior to summer league. That injury sidelined him for most of the first half of the season. Patton rehabbed with the Timberwolves’ G-League affiliate for much of the second half of the season, averaging 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23 minutes per game. He made his NBA debut on April 1st, 2018. After that game, the team decided to sideline Patton for the rest of the season. On April 18th, he had another surgery on his left foot to further promote healing on the broken bone.
Patton suffered another set-back last offseason, breaking his right foot. He had surgery on September 18th, 2018, and was sidelined, once again, for much of the first half of the season. On November 12th, Patton was once again packaged with Jimmy Butler in a trade, this time from Minnesota to Philadelphia. Patton appeared in just three games for the 76ers and was waived on April 3rd, 2019.
At his core, Patton is a 7’0″ athletic, rim-running center with the ability to make good passes out of the post. Defensively, his 7’2″ wingspan can be disruptive, but he can also be undisciplined, which leads to him picking up unnecessary fouls.
It is unknown whether this is a guaranteed deal or whether this is a training camp invite type of deal. But this definitely fits in Presti’s “reclamation project” type of swings that he takes on players from time to time.
Kevin Pelton (ESPN) on how big the fallout could be from Andre Roberson’s injury: “A number of statistics point to Roberson’s value at the defensive end of the court. According to NBA Advanced Metrics, the Thunder have allowed 11.8 more points per 100 possessions this season with Roberson on the bench. And when Roberson missed 10 games earlier this season, mostly with tendinitis in the patellar tendon he injured Saturday, Oklahoma City’s defense wasn’t the same. The Thunder allowed opponents to score 2.8 percent more efficiently than their usual offensive rating in those 10 games, as compared to holding them 3.2 percent below their typical efficiency with Roberson.”
Des Bieler (Washington Post) with a recap of the Thunder/Wizards game: “Later in the game, OKC’s Paul George made a valiant attempt to exact revenge on Westbrook’s behalf — “I was trying to finish that one,” he said after the game — by throwing down a titanic jam. George failed, but he earned a trip to the free throw line and, one would imagine, his teammate’s gratitude.” Continue reading →
With their minds on their fallen comrade and playing their third game in four nights, the Oklahoma City Thunder took to the court on Sunday with heavy legs and heavier hearts. If their previous meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers was any indicator, the Thunder knew this would be a 48 minute (or 63 minute) kind of game.
A lot of the first quarter was focused on the interactions between Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook, who had a little bit of a spat at the end of their first meeting in Philadelphia earlier this season. It didn’t disappoint early on as Embiid had a clean drive to the basket after losing Steven Adams on the perimeter and had only Westbrook in between himself and the basket. Westbrook tried to take a charge, but Embiid went up and created a poster. The rest of the first quarter was back and forth affair with the Thunder taking a two point lead heading into the second. Paul George paced the Thunder in the first frame with 13 points on 4/8 shooting from the field. Continue reading →
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
Line: OKC -4.0 | O/U – 213
Star date: Day 1, post Andre Roberson.
The Injury Reaper was busy on Friday and Saturday. It went on an easterly track, going from New Orleans to Memphis and then, finally, to Detroit. It took out three key players that will have an impact on the rest of the season moving forward. The first victim was New Orleans Pelicans big man DeMarcus Cousins, who was struck down by a torn Achilles tendon on Friday. Then Saturday morning, the Memphis Grizzlies released a statement stating point guard Mike Conley, who had been out since November, would miss the remainder of the season with surgery on his bothersome heel/foot. Continue reading →
On Episode 21 of the NTTB podcast,we discuss the following topics:
Looking back at the 4 games from this past week: vs. Charlotte, @Indy, @Philly, @NY
Looking back at how the Thunder Big 4 did (Russ, PG, Melo, and Adams)
The Good, Bad, and Ugly from this past week
The Thunder’s City jerseys
NBA News
And a surprising 40 minute conversation on Disney/Marvel’s purchase of Fox
Intro/Outro music provided by OSC Productions
Thank you for listening. We will be doing a podcast once a week. If you have any Thunder or NBA related questions, make sure you hit us up on Twitter (@alexroig_NTTB or @Montero_A13).
We are on ITunes under the NTTB Podcast. Make sure you leave us a 5-star review if you can. As always, Thunder Up!
After a nice two day break that allowed some of the injured Thunder players to further collect their bearings, it’s back to the hardwood with one of those players back into the line-up. The Thunder start a home-heavy run that features 9 of their next 11 games in Oklahoma City. With the Thunder clinging to the 8th position by one game over New Orleans, this home-heavy schedule is exactly what the doctor ordered to combat the road heavy schedule that beat the team down in the beginning of the season.
This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams. The Thunder won the first meeting 103-91. That was the first victory of the year where both Westbrook and Durant played, and it happened in early December.
The Opponent
The 76ers currently find themselves with a 13-47 record. They score the least amount of points per game in the league (90.3) and give up over 10 points more (100.8 ppg). They have a roster full of 2nd rounders and undrafted free agents. They traded away last season’s rookie of the year, and the two players they drafted in the first round in the last draft have yet to play a game for them this year (Joel Embiid and Dario Saric). They are the epitome of tanking and the bane of the commissioner to field a completely competitive league. With all that said, the players themselves, play extremely hard. The Sixers are guided by 2nd year point guard Isaiah Canaan, who was acquired from the Houston Rockets at the trade deadline. In the 6 games he’s played for the Sixers, he’s averaged 10.5 points and 2.8 assists. The SG position has been a mix of JaKarr Sampson and the veteran Jason Richardson of late. On the other wing, veteran Luc Mbah a Moute is their veteran perimeter stopper. Up front, Nerlens Noel and Henry Sims are an inexperienced pairing, but can change a game with their different skill sets. Noel is a good rim protector and Sims is crafty offensive player in the post. The Sixers are literally like an elementary school team in that nearly everyone on the team plays. Their highest usage players off the bench are Ish Smith, Jerami Grant, Furkan Aldemir, Thomas Robinson, and Hollis Thompson.
Probable Starting Line-Ups
Philadelphia 76ers
PG – Isaiah Canaan
SG – JaKarr Sampson
SF – Luc Mbah a Moute
PF – Nerlens Noel
C – Henry Sims
Oklahoma City Thunder
PG – Russell Westbrook
SG – Andre Roberson
SF – Kyle Singler
PF – Serge Ibaka
C – Enes Kanter
3 Keys to the Game
1. Effort – Sometimes, its hard to remove the stigma of a team’s record from the players on the floor. But the Sixers are a competitive team. Maybe not as skilled as most teams in the league, but it is not due to lack of effort. If the Thunder don’t come out with the right mindset, the game could be a little bit more competitive than they had hoped for.
2. Serge Ibaka – His ability to play on the perimeter will help in pulling Noel away from the rim. Noel is a lot Ibaka in that his biggest asset defensively is as a rim protector.
3. Russell Westbrook – Welcome back after a brief one game absence. But, really, just a plain clear mask? Boooooo!!!!!!
On Episode 21 of the NTTB podcast,we discuss the following topics:
