The latest NBA mock draft from ESPN has Bronny James going to the Lakers in the second round

Bronny to the Lakers continues to be what mock drafters are picking.

The “Where’s Bronny James going in the NBA Draft?” narrative continues to be a source of so much buzz.

Could the Los Angeles Lakers take him just to keep LeBron James around? Could Bronny end up going in the first round? Or could another team swoop in and grab him in the hopes that LeBron will join him?

In the latest NBA mock draft from our Bryan Kalbrosky, he’s not in the first round. But in the latest two-round mock from ESPN, there he is at pick No. 55 to … the Lakers.

No reason is given, but it just makes too much sense, doesn’t it?

There you have it! Make sure you check out our latest NBA mock draft, the latest “consensus” mock draft showing who all the experts are picking, and the official draft order.

ESPN 2024 NBA mock draft: Thunder selects Providence’s Devin Carter

ESPN 2024 NBA mock draft: Thunder selects Providence’s Devin Carter.

As the calendar flips to June, the 2024 NBA draft is less than a month away. The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter it with the No. 12 selection via the Houston Rockets.

The lottery pick is OKC’s sole selection this year — a far cry from the previous years when it had multiplayer classes. Despite this, Thunder general manager Sam Presti admitted he was a fan of this year’s class, which is viewed as one of the weaker classes in recent history.

In ESPN’s latest 2024 NBA mock draft, experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo had the Thunder selecting Providence guard Devin Carter with the No. 12 spot.

“Carter has earned himself looks in the top 10 from teams, including San Antonio and Memphis, who value his reliability, toughness and all-around readiness to step in and contribute immediately. He brings quite a bit to the table defensively, has made strides as a shooter and plays with a nonstop motor, making him a particularly appealing choice for teams angling to compete sooner rather than later.

The Thunder have quite a bit of depth in the backcourt already, with two excellent defensive guards in Lu Dort and Cason Wallace, but could opt to stack the deck further at this spot and let Carter challenge for minutes right away. “

The 22-year-old spent three college seasons split between South Carolina and Providence. He averaged 19.7 points on 47.3% shooting, 8.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season. He shot 37.7% from 3 on 6.8 attempts.

Despite being just 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Carter could address the Thunder’s rebounding woes. He’s also a high-volume outside shooter, which OKC needs on its roster. The fit makes sense as a role player for the Thunder.

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2024 NBA draft: Who’s most likely to go to OKC Thunder at No. 12 pick?

2024 NBA draft: Who’s most likely to go to OKC Thunder at No. 12 pick?

The 2024 NBA draft is roughly a month away, which means the Oklahoma City Thunder will soon have a chance to add a lottery talent to their young core.

The Thunder are fresh off a second round playoff exit. OKC made history this season by being the youngest top seed and youngest squad (average roster age) to win a playoff series.

Thanks to the Houston Rockets, the Thunder will get to add a free lottery pick to this stacked group. HoopsHype’s draft predictor, a tool that factors mock drafts and predraft workouts, generates the probability of every player’s likely landing spot.

At the No. 12 slot, it lists five players who have the highest odds of landing with the Thunder:

  • Colorado forward Cody Williams has a 32.7% chance
  • France forward Tidjane Salaun has a 20.1% chance
  • Tennessee forward Dalton Knecht has a 18.9% chance
  • G League Ignite forward Ron Holland has a 9.4% chance
  • Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter has a 5.5% chance

This group sounds about right. These five players have been the most frequently mocked to the Thunder at the 12th selection since the lottery ended.

The 2024 NBA draft is set to take place from June 26-27. The No. 12 pick is OKC’s lone selection so far. Of course, it can always make trades to change that if it chooses.

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2024 NBA mock drafts: March first-round projections for OKC Thunder

2024 NBA mock drafts: March first-round projections for OKC Thunder.

While the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-18) continue to fight for the first seed as they’re set to make their first playoff run since 2020, they’ve been frequently mentioned in 2024 NBA mock drafts.

The Thunder are rich with draft assets throughout the rest of the decade due to several trades they made in their rebuild. OKC owns four 2024 first-round picks, but the two worst of the bunch will be rerouted to the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers.

The Thunder had 2024 draft picks to shed due to their surplus of young talent already on the roster. In all likelihood, they’ll have a pair of lottery picks from the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.

The Rockets’ pick is top-four protected and the Jazz’s pick is top-10 protected. Considering where they are in the standings, the Thunder will likely have both picks.

With that said, here’s a look at who draft experts have going to OKC (with the Houston and Utah picks) in the latest wave of mock drafts. The projected pick slot varies based on the date of each mock’s publication.

2024 NBA mock drafts: OKC Thunder December/January picks projections

2024 NBA mock drafts: OKC Thunder December/January picks projections.

As the calendar flips to 2024, the NBA draft is roughly six months away. This also means college basketball is roughly two months away from starting March Madness.

2024 NBA mock drafts are rare during this part of the calendar, since it’s still incredibly early to project where teams land and which prospects rise and fall on boards. However, a handful of mocks have been posted during the last month.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, who have a 23-11 record and are second in the Western Conference standings, are rich with draft assets for this upcoming class.

The Thunder owns their first-round pick, a top-four protected pick from the Houston Rockets, a top-10 protected pick from the Utah Jazz and a first-round pick from the LA Clippers.

The Thunder also own the Rockets’ second-round pick. It’s important to note that the worst of the four first-round picks OKC owns will be conveyed to the Indiana Pacers.

However, it is unlikely the Thunder enter the 2024 NBA draft with this many draft picks. They can’t afford the luxury of adding several rookies to their roster.

This means a consolidation trade is likely whether to improve the roster by the trade deadline or to package picks for a future/better pick.

All these elements lead to a murky picture as to how exactly this year’s draft might go for the Thunder. Nonetheless, let’s look at the latest versions of mock drafts to see who could be added to OKC’s youthful roster.

For transparency, all three of these mocks were published at various times — Bleacher Report’s was published on Jan. 5, Tankathon’s was published on Dec. 28 and NBADraft.net’s was published on Jan. 5.