2023-07-23 03:53:07
“That draft pick can be exchanged for two future first-round picks. I think it is more valuable than picking other rookies in the same class.” Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti said at the press conference following the draft. “Even if we do it all over once more, we will still choose this way.”
“That draft pick” refers to the 16th pick in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft. Before sending out the list, the Thunder, which owns the pick, reached a deal with the Houston Rockets to obtain two future draft picks. At the 16th pick, they helped the Rockets select Turkish center Alperen Sengun, asked him to wear a Thunder hat and took a photo with Adam Silver, and then sent him to the Rockets.
This selection, from now on, even – or especially – two years later, is still considered by many Thunder fans and columnists as “the biggest draft mistake in Thunder history” and a major mistake in Sam Presti’s rebuilding of the Thunder. This time, “Team Story” revisited the beginning of this draft night transaction, and first sorted out the context of “that draft pick”:
Six months before the 2021 draft night
On December 8, 2020, before the 2020-21 NBA season under the impact of the COVID epidemic was finally regarding to start, the officially rebuilt Thunder made a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers: The Thunder sent Terrance Ferguson, Danny Green (just acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers), Vincent Poirier (just acquired from the Boston Celtics), and a trade exception.
Thunder get: Al Horford, second-round pick Theo Maledon, second-round pick Vasilije Micic (rights to sign), 2025 first-round pick (Top 6 protection).
Horford, who was maladjusted in the Philly system, was not expected to stay with the Thunder from the beginning. It was only a matter of time before Chris Paul rebuilt his worth (and appearance) and then left. For a review of Horford’s short period in the Thunder, you can refer to the old article “Thunder 2020-21 Season Review VOL.2 – Al Horford”.
A month before the 2021 draft night
On June 18, 2021, the Thunder team traded with the Celtics: The Thunder sent Horford, Moses Brown, the 2023 second-round pick (cashed into Amari Bailey), a special transaction, in exchange for Kemba Walker, the 2021 first-round pick (-following sorting is the 16th pick), and the 2025 second-round pick.
The first thing worth noting regarding this transaction is that it happened during the NBA playoffs, and Xiaomei realized for the first time, “Yeah, the end of the regular season is the off-season!”
The next thing to notice is that the Thunder traded Horford for another more difficult veteran regarding Walker, thus obtaining the third first-round pick in the draft (#6, #16, #18). At the moment, I feel that Walker… If he can play the value of a veteran like CP3 and rebuild his worth at the same time, it is the best, otherwise he can buy out the contract. The point is that for rebuilding the team, the more first-round picks the better, of course!
…is the better? A month later, Thunder fans discovered that GM Presti seemed to think the same way, but he didn’t seem to think so either…
2021 draft night night
With the 6th pick in the first round, the Thunder selected Australian guard Josh Giddey unexpectedly. What is even more unexpected is that when the draft will be in the middle of the first round, Sengun, who has received a lot of attention before the draft, is still on the waiting list, and the Thunder, which is weak in the penalty area, selected him! …and then traded him to the Rockets for two heavily protected future picks:
*2022 Pistons first-round pick (Top 16 protection in 2022, if not fulfilled, it will be postponed to become Top 18 protection in 2023, if not fulfilled, it will be postponed to become Top 18 protection in 2024, or if it is not fulfilled, it will become Top 13 protection in 2025, Top 11 protection in 2026, Top 9 protection in 2027, the worst will become 2027, 2027 8 second-round picks)
*2023 Wizards first-round pick (Top 14 protection in 2023, if not fulfilled, it will be postponed to become Top 12 protection in 2024, if not fulfilled, it will be postponed to become Top 10 protection in 2025, or if it is not fulfilled, it will be postponed to become Top 8 protection in 2026, and the worst will become two second-round picks in 2026 and 2027)
Then the Thunder selected Tre Mann with the 18th pick, traded for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl with the 32nd pick, and Aaron Wiggins with the 55th pick.
Biggest Draft Draft Mistake in Thunder History?
Looking at the growth of Giddey, Mann, JRE, and Wiggins two years later, it can be considered that the Thunder will be successful in the 2021 draft, except for the Sengun trade with the 16th pick-this kind of first-round pick that does not know when it will be realized, even if it is two, is it really worth the Thunder’s exchange at the expense of Sengun?
Especially following seeing Sengun’s good performance in the summer league, averaging 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 72 rookie seasons, and 14.8 points and 9 rebounds per game in 75 games in his sophomore season. Although Sengun has no perimeter and slow speed, he has a good offense in the penalty area and rebounds. He also has passing support skills (although there are too many turnovers).
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