With the 2019-20 season on indefinite hiatus, now is as good a time as any to take a look ahead to 2020-21 and the players that could be added to the Oklahoma City roster via the NBA Draft.
As of now, the draft is still scheduled for June 25, although a report from CBS Sports indicates that many believe it will be pushed back.
Uncertainty is the only thing that is certain regarding the NBA right now, something that Sam Vecenie of The Athletic pointed out when putting together in his latest mock NBA Draft.
One of the things that Vecenie said is that he expects more underclassman to return to school than to declare this year given the circumstances, however despite that statement, Vecenie still has the Thunder taking Josh Green, a 6-foot-6 freshman out of Arizona with the No. 25 overall pick.
He averaged 12 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists, and does play very tough, physical on-ball defense. But I’m a little worried about the offensive side of the floor. He hit 36.1 percent of his 3-point attempts, but I’m pretty skeptical of the jump shooting mechanics. He has an exaggerated elbow bend that he’ll need to fix to get a consistent release. The good news is that he hit 78 percent of his free throws, so if he can iron the mechanics out, he does have the requisite touch.
Vecenie also noted that while Green has had some struggles in a halfcourt set, taking on a player who excels defensively while needing a little help on offense is somewhat of an “Oklahoma City special”.
The Thunder tends to love these wings who can’t shoot and do all of the little things while providing a lot of defensive value. Green is also Australian, and tends to play with the same kind of fiery intensity as many players from Down Under, so that would also be appealing to Sam Presti, who tends to value athletic, frame and mentality traits above all.
Green, a 5-star recruit out of IMG Academy, was a 2019 McDonald’s All-American and consensus top 15 prospect out of high school before enrolling at Arizona.
Check out some of his highlights: