Tag: Jonathan Givony

Rumor: Thunder could add Nikola Topic if he falls to No. 12 spot of 2024 NBA draft

Rumor: Thunder could add Nikola Topic if he falls to No. 12 spot of 2024 NBA draft.

A shockwave was sent throughout the 2024 NBA draft process when it was reported that projected lottery pick Nikola Topic suffered a partially torn ACL.

The extent of the injury is unknown, but it’s the latest example of a concerning trend. He suffered a knee injury in January that cost him four months. His return in April was shortlived as he suffered an ACL tear on the same knee just three games later.

The 18-year-old could go down the road of redshirting his first year recovering from the knee injury. If that’s the case, it will seriously hurt his draft stock.

In ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony’s prospect rankings, he noted the Oklahoma City Thunder as a possible destination if he falls to the No. 12 spot.

“San Antonio (No. 8), Utah (No. 10), Oklahoma City (No. 12) and Portland (No. 14) are viewed by teams as potential landing spots depending on team doctors’ full assessments of his medicals, which have yet to be distributed. Only teams picking in the top 15 will have access to those, per new CBA rules.”

The strategy behind the risky selection is to trust Topic’s recovery process and take a top-five talent with the 12th pick. The Thunder can afford the luxury of not needing him ready for his rookie year. They can slowplay his rehab in the background of another contending season.

Topic is viewed as a project with a real chance to be a high-end playmaker. The jumper needs to improve but the 6-foot-7 guard has the potential to be a great traditional point guard.

In 12 games last season with the ABA’s Mega MIS, he averaged 18.4 points on 52.3% shooting, 7.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds. He shot 25.9% from 3 on 4.5 attempts. He shot 85.5% from the free-throw line.

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Rumor: Thunder could trade up for Donovan Clingan in 2024 NBA draft

Rumor: Thunder could trade up for Donovan Clingan in 2024 NBA draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder sit at the No. 12 slot of the 2024 NBA draft, but that doesn’t mean they can’t move up. Considering their trade assets and draft capital, OKC has the funds to aggressively move up the board if it chooses to do so.

A possibility is UConn center Donovan Clingan, per ESPN’s draft expert Jonathan Givony. He released his player rankings for the 2024 NBA draft, where he had the 7-foot-2 center at No. 3.

The Thunder are one of several squads who could move up the draft to select the 20-year-old. He’d provide OKC with another rim protector and rebounder.

“Clingan isn’t expected to drop past the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7, whom he just visited for a private workout as well. He is being discussed among teams as a possible target for the likes of Chicago, Memphis, Oklahoma City or Utah, who all might explore trading up for a player in his mold.”

A frontcourt with Clingan and Chet Holmgren suddenly gives OKC serious size. He’d also be a lob threat for the Thunder. He averaged 13 points on 63.9% shooting, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks last season as the Huskies won back-to-back championships.

Clingan is seen as one of the best players of this year’s class and will likely be a top-five selection. This means the Thunder will have to give up some serious assets to move up from the No. 12 spot.

Only time will tell how serious the Thunder’s interests are with Clingan. It’s June, which means the rumors and reports have skyrocketed as smokescreens will be utilized by both franchises and prospects.

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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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WATCH: Michigan State point guard A.J. Hoggard holding his own against NBA competition

A.J. Hoggard has drawn some attention from draft analysts after managing to hang with NBA competition

If there has ever been a case for a player sticking around with a program and giving himself time to develop, it’s A.J. Hoggard. The former No. 101 ranked player in the 2020 recruiting class is finally coming into his own at Michigan State, and looks poised for a huge breakout season for the Spartans.

Recently, Hoggard was playing with some NBA talent at the CP3 elite guard camp, and not only hung with some NBA players, but stood out enough to draw some praise from ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony.

Over the past few years, we have heard a lot about Hoggard and his development. Hoggard has a great feel and plays physical, inspired basketball, but needed to work on his body, shooting and defensive skills, and it looks like it’s finally coming together for the MSU point guard heading into a much-hyped season.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

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ESPN: Thunder expected to try to trade up in 2023 NBA draft

The Thunder could move up in the draft.

The 2023 NBA draft is less than a month away, which means it’s time for mock drafts to ramp up.

In their latest mock draft, ESPN experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo had the Oklahoma City Thunder selecting Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr. at the No. 12 spot.

More interesting though was Givony reporting that the Thunder have been active in trade talks to move up from the No. 12 spot.

“Most NBA executives expect the Thunder to be active in trade discussions looking to potentially package this pick and future first-rounders in an attempt to move up on draft night, which makes sense considering the shortage of roster spots the Thunder could be working with moving forward with all the talent they’ve accumulated.”

This makes sense. The Thunder own up to four first-round picks in the 2024 NBA draft, which will likely be extremely difficult — if not impossible — to keep all four picks and add them to the roster.

Just like the Thunder did last year with Ousmane Dieng, a consolidation trade is a strong possibility. It gives OKC a chance to overpay to move up in the draft without hurting their treasure trove of draft assets.

The draft is scheduled for June 22. A full list of known prospects the Thunder have worked out for in pre-draft visits can be viewed here.

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2024 NBA mock draft: Who ESPN has the OKC Thunder selecting

Let’s take a look at who ESPN has the Thunder selecting in the 2024 NBA draft:

In an extremely early 2024 NBA mock draft, ESPN draft insider Jonathan Givony published a version of how he thinks the draft will go.

The 2024 draft class is headlined by Bronny James, LeBron James’ son. James is expected to go No. 10 in this mock draft to the Orlando Magic.

The top prospects in this class are guard Matas Buzelis, who will be 18 years old and will play for the G League Ignite, and Cody Williams, the younger brother of Jalen Williams.

Buzelis went No. 1 to the San Antonio Spurs and Williams went No. 2 to the Charlotte Hornets.

For this draft class, the Oklahoma City Thunder have four draft picks. That number of picks will likely be lower by the time the 2024 NBA draft actually takes place in 16 months.

The four picks consist of their first-round pick and second-round pick, the LA Clippers’ first-round pick and the Houston Rockets’ second-round pick.

With the Thunder likely a playoff team next season if healthy, they will likely not end up with a high draft pick. This mock draft reflects that: The Thunder’s highest draft pick is No. 13.

Let’s take a look at who the Thunder take in this early 2024 NBA mock draft.

ESPN 2023 NBA mock draft: Thunder take Nick Smith Jr. with top pick

Here’s who the Thunder draft in ESPN’s latest 2023 NBA mock draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s surprising success has caused fans to shift from focusing on the draft to the standings.

Despite that, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony published his latest 2023 mock draft this past Saturday and included a couple of Thunder selections.

As a quick reminder, the Thunder own draft swap rights to the LA Clippers’ first-round pick, which means they get to keep the higher of the two first-round picks (theirs or LA’s).

In this exercise, the Thunder kept their own pick at No. 6 because the Clippers’ pick landed at No. 23.

The Thunder also own their own second-round pick.

Let’s take a look at who Givony has the Thunder taking with their two draft picks in this mock draft.

ESPN 2023 mock draft: Thunder to take Ausar Thompson with No. 5 pick

With the NBA and college season underway, it gives fans four months of being able to watch pro and collegiate basketball.

With the calendar flipped to December, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony released a 2023 NBA mock draft.

The NBA season is well underway and the college season is in its infancy stages. This means for the next four months, they’ll be plenty of basketball to watch at both the pro level and college level.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder, Givony projects them to take two players in the draft: No. 5 pick Ausar Thompson and No. 35 pick Terrance Arceneaux. Thompson is a 19-year-old win playing for Overtime Elite while Arceneaux is a 19-year-old win playing for the University of Houston.

Givony also addressed Thompson’s outside shooting: He’s shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc:

“While most NBA eyes have been planted firmly on the opening weeks of college basketball, scouts are still closely monitoring the progress of non-NCAA prospects. One notable development has been the highly efficient month of November that Ausar Thompson had at Overtime Elite, averaging 18.5 points in 26.5 minutes while shooting 59% for 2, 40% for 3 and 73% from the free throw line, while continuing to display the same defensive versatility (3.5 steals, one block) that has always characterized his game. Thompson’s shooting mechanics look noticeably improved, especially his footwork and balance, even pulling up off the dribble, and continuing to get good results from the perimeter will go a long way in solidifying himself in the mid-lottery, which is currently wide open.”

With the Thunder a surprising 9-13 this season, if they land the No. 5 pick and take Thompson, I’m sure most fans would be elated.

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2023 NBA mock draft: Who ESPN has the OKC Thunder selecting

The Thunder own two draft picks in this mock draft.

The talk of the league on Tuesday night centered around the G League Ignite vs. Metropolitans 92 game.

The game featured a head-to-head matchup of the projected top two picks of the 2023 NBA draft Victor Wembanymama and Scoot Henderson.

Not only did the game match the hype, but it also exceeded it with two dominating performances that had NBA circles abuzz.

Wembanyama finished with 37 points, five blocks and shot 7-of-12 from three. Henderson finished with 28 points and nine assists.

With NBA general managers such as Oklahoma City Thunder’s Sam Presti in attendance, I’m sure their performances left a lasting impression on the league.

Before the game, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony released his 2023 NBA mock draft. In this projection, the Oklahoma City Thunder own two picks —  No. 2 overall and No. 34 overall.

Let’s take a look at who the Thunder take in those spots.

Latest intel on Tari Eason entering 2022 NBA draft

Eason falls just outside the lottery in the latest ESPN mock draft.

We’re less than 48 hours away from the 2022 NBA draft, and there are still a ton of questions surrounding how the first round will break down, even at the very top.

That means a lot of uncertainty for former LSU forward Tari Eason, who hopes to hear his name called relatively early on Thursday night after a tremendous season in Baton Rouge. The former transfer from Cincinnati was one of the best players in the SEC, and he’s largely seen as a first-rounder.

Where exactly in the round he’ll go, though, remains unclear. However, the latest mock from ESPN basketball insider Jonathan Givony has Eason sitting just a few picks outside the lottery as the 17th pick to the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets are early in their rebuilding and will likely be looking to take swings on talent and upside, as they don’t appear to be particularly close to contention. Eason is one of the most explosive and productive players in the draft, putting consistent pressure on opposing defenses with his quick first step, physicality and insatiable intensity — characteristics that allow him to live at the free throw line. These same traits helped make him one of the most versatile defenders in the college game, a magnet for steals, blocks and rebounds who flew all over the floor in LSU’s suffocating press while rotating from guarding point guards to big men.

There may be concerns about Eason’s ability to stay out of trouble and be a full-time starter at the next level, but there’s no denying his talent and upside. He’s a high-ceiling prospect, and for a team like the Rockets that probably won’t be competitive any time soon, a pick like this in the middle of the round could make a lot of sense.

For the Tigers, it would mark the second-straight season in which they’ve had a player go in the first round after [autotag]Cam Thomas[/autotag] was selected with pick No. 27 by the Brooklyn Nets in 2021.

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