After a flurry of moves, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti essentially worked his way down to the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
On Wednesday night, the Thunder executed a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves which saw the club send the 25th and 28th overall picks to Minneapolis in exchange for a package that includes the rights to Aleksej Pokusevski — the 17th overall pick.
To say it’s been a busy week for the Thunder would be an understatement.
Dennis Schroder and Chris Paul were each traded by the club earlier this week, and both players and picks that were acquired for them were then used to acquire the 17th overall pick from Minnesota.
In Pokusevski, the Thunder draft a player that many consider to be a “home run swing,” meaning that his potential could make the assets used to acquire him worth it in long run. Standing 7-foot tall, Pokusevski hails from Serbia, where has rose to prominence on the international basketball scene.
His scouting report available on NBA.com, partially states the following about the newest member of the Thunder:
Aleksej Pokusevski is one of the most unique players of this year’s NBA Draft given his combination of size, feel and perimeter skill set… Pokusevski built a strong resume in FIBA competitions. He never put up fancy statistics because his thin body hasn’t allowed him to be dominant against his peers, but showed how high his upside is if physicality ever catches up to his skill.
At least initially, Pokusevski is expected to be a work-in-progress on the defensive end of the basketball, but he is believed that have the skillset and attributes necessary to excel in today’s NBA, especially as a big man.
Earlier this week, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor correctly predicted that the Thunder had interest in the big man, at the time referring to him as potentially being “the steal of the draft.”
A flurry of moves led Presti to Pokusevski, so he certainly hopes that O’Connor’s words ring true.