It feels early for mock drafts, but with the assets the Oklahoma City Thunder have, it’s not too soon to start learning about the college talent.
Bleacher Report put together a mock draft in which the Thunder get a highly touted freshman and a sophomore center with some promise.
With the No. 5 pick, originally belonging to the Houston Rockets, the Thunder took guard Jalen Green.
Green, on the G League Ignite, developed into one of the top high school prospects with his athleticism, shooting and 6-foot-5 height at the guard position.
“He’ll approach the 20-point mark game after game thanks to his improved ball-handling for creation and tough shot-making out to the arc,” Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman wrote.
As a senior at Prolific Prep, Green averaged 31.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. the team went 31-3 and won the Grind Session World Championship.
“Questions about inefficiency, playmaking and defense could cause Green to fall behind (Cade) Cunningham, (Evan) Mobley, (Jonathan) Kuminga and (Jalen) Suggs, but he won’t drop much further. His scoring upside is as high as anyone’s in the draft.”
After taking a guard at No. 5, the Thunder went with a big at No. 10 in this mock draft.
They took Kai Jones, a sophomore center out of Texas.
Jones has been coming off the bench and averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in about 21 minutes per game, but there’s intrigue based on his skill set. He is shooting 62.3% from the floor and 43.8% from 3 this season.
“A prospect doesn’t always need to have stuffed the stat sheet in college if teams buy his trajectory. And in Kai Jones’ case, the flashes of special athleticism and three-pointers for a 6’11” big could point to an enticing stretch-5, explosive finisher and defensive playmaker.
“The improvement he made since last year only helps convince teams he’s capable of getting better.”
The Thunder have shown they’re not afraid of drafting raw players, including Darius Bazley and Aleksej Pokusevski.
Jones would fit into that mold as a versatile player whose height doesn’t define him as a man in the post.
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