Despite the NBA’s suspension of play and uncertainty as to whether the league will be able to crown a 2020 champion, the draft will take place — we just aren’t sure exactly when.
Still, if there’s one thing that front offices and league executives have been able to do since the league suspended play on March 11, it’s been watch film on prospects and do some virtual scouting. The draft will take place once the fate of the season has been determined, and according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, the Oklahoma City Thunder may be all in on Washington’s Jaden McDaniels.
McDaniels has long been considered one of the top prospects in the class, with some believing that he had the potential to be a top-5 pick in 2020. Hollinger, however, is unsure.
The former executive with the Memphis Grizzlies opines that McDaniels’ stock has fallen to the point where he could slide outside of the top 15 and that the Thunder may have made the young wing a draft promise as early as two months ago.
McDaniels has slid further, going from top-5 preseason hype to a place somewhere in the 15-25 range on a lot of online boards. That seems fair. He’s more of a length-tools-potential guy than somebody getting selected on performance, so you can understand why his fairly horrid freshman season hasn’t completely cratered his draft stock.
A small forward with his combination of extreme length and non-existent offensive skill may just be too tempting for the Oklahoma City Thunder to pass up; it’s possible they promised him two months ago.
Although it would have been curious for Sam Presti’s staff to make a promise to McDaniels so early, there’s a lot about the predraft process that we don’t know, including how teams communicate with players and what kinds of ideas may be exchanged.
The other side of the coin that’s worth mentioning — the Thunder own a bevy of draft picks over the next seven years, with the exact number of first round picks that could vest for them reaching as high as 13. In that regard, it could make sense for Presti and his staff to swing for the fences and make an early promise to a prospect that they think has great potential. It is also entirely possible that the Thunder could attempt to package one or two future picks in order to move up, if necessary.
In this year’s draft, the Thunder is likely to select somewhere around 25th. The exact pick isn’t known yet because, technically, the season hasn’t ended, but based on the standings when the league suspended play on March 11, the Thunder would own the Denver Nuggets’ first round pick while its own first round pick would be sent to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Regardless, according to Hollinger’s report, Oklahoma City may have already found their man. And his name just might be Jaden McDaniels.