As has been the case for the better part of two offseasons, the latest Oklahoma City Thunder involves draft picks complexities.
On Friday morning, the Thunder announced they had traded Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Kemba Walker, a 2025 second-round draft pick and the No. 16 pick in the 2021 draft.
At the time of the deal, Oklahoma City had three 2023 second-round picks, while Boston had two in 2025. Let’s review the exact draft capital and the implications that come with them, starting with the second-rounders.
MORE: Breaking down every future Thunder draft pick
2023 second-round draft pick to Boston
These are the three draft picks that the Thunder owned entering Friday:
- Own second rounder
- Wizards second-round pick (via Pelicans)
- Better second-rounder of Mavericks or Heat (via Mavericks)
They will send the worst of these three to the Celtics.
That’s a wide range involving four teams. It feels safe to assume that the Mavericks’ or Heat’s pick will be in the mid-to-late second-round.
2025 second-round draft pick to Thunder
The Thunder will receive the more favorable of these two second-round draft picks that Boston owned entering Friday:
- Boston Celtics
- Memphis Grizzlies
Both teams hope to still be in playoff contention in four years, so this is likely just another trade chip for Oklahoma City.
No. 16 pick in 2021 draft
This is interesting because the Thunder may have two mid-first-rounders. As a reminder, if the Thunder do not receive the Houston Rockets’ pick in the lottery (top-4 protected), they will receive the Heat’s pick at 18 instead.
Some names to put on your radar in that area of the draft: Ziaire Williams, James Bouknight, Moses Moody, Josh Giddey, Chris Duarte, Tre Mann, Franz Wagner, Cameron Thomas, Sharife Cooper
But this seems more valuable as a trade weapon than for the Thunder to use. If worst-case scenario happens and Oklahoma City A) does not get the Rockets’ pick and B) their own pick does not end up in the top-5, would grouping picks 7 (for example), 16 and 18 together allow them to move up into the top-5 and get one of the players perceived as likely future All-Stars?
They also own three second-round picks: No. 35, 36 and 55. They won’t enter next season with six rookies on the roster, but it’s not off-base to speculate that they could throw everything at a team to move up if needed.
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