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Rookie Wire: Latest 2023 NBA mock draft has Thunder taking Brandon Miller

What would your thoughts be on the addition?

It’s getting closer to draft season, which means mock drafts will soon populate the newsfeeds of most fans.

Rookie Wire’s Cody Taylor decided to take a jab at it by publishing his second mock draft for the 2023 class.

Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder playing their way into the playoff conversation as they sit half a game out of 10th place in the Western Conference, they’re featured in the lottery.

The Thunder own swap rights with the LA Clippers for the better first-round pick among the two. In this mock, the Thunder ended up with the No. 8 pick while the Clippers ended up with the No. 16 pick.

At eight, the Thunder selected Alabama forward Brandon Miller. The 20-year-old freshman is 6 feet, 9 inches and 200 pounds. Here’s what Taylor had to say about the selection:

“Miller was recently named SEC Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season after another great week of play. He is averaging 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists on 44.5% shooting from 3-point range on 6.9 attempts per game this season. He is one of seven Division I players with at least 280 points and 125 rebounds this season.

He leads the SEC in scoring, 3-pointers and 3-point percentage to continue a strong start on offense. He will have no issue with the transition to the NBA 3-point line and is already hitting from well beyond the arc with the Crimson Tide. Given his ability on offense, we could see Miller go even higher than eighth.”

The Thunder adding a wing who can shoot to their roster will boost their core as they continue to add impressive young talent.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Josh Giddey being named on All-Rookie Second Team

The reception was not kind among those in Thunder Twitter, which includes Josh Giddey himself.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team on TNT Wednesday before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks. Giddey, who played just 54 games, had a phenomenal rookie season when healthy as he averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists.

Giddey missing one-third of the season was probably the biggest reason as to why he wasn’t named as a guard on the First Team. Let’s take a look at what NBA Twitter — even Giddey himself — had to say about Giddey making the second team despite winning Rookie of the Month in four of the five months during the regular season.

NBA Power Rankings: Thunder come in at 27th overall for March 28 to April 3 week

The Oklahoma City Thunder are ranked 27th in @RookieWire ‘s latest NBA power rankings.

In the Rookie Wire’s latest NBA power rankings this past Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder jumped up a spot and come in 27th overall. During the week of March 28 to April 3, the Thunder went 2-2 with losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons and wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.

“The tanking efforts of the Thunder hit a bit of a bump in the road after they pulled off a surprising win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Aleksej Pokusevski led the Thunder with 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in the 117-96 victory. He became the seventh different Thunder player to record a triple-double and the 12th-youngest in NBA history to do so at 20 years, 98 days. The win moved OKC up to the fourth-worst record in the league.”

During the week, Theo Maledon led the team in scoring with 19.5 points, Aleksej Pokusevski led the team in playmaking with 10.3 assists and Jaylen Hoard led the team on the boards with 12 rebounds.

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NBA Power Rankings: Thunder finish in 28th place for March 21 to March 27 week

The 22-53 Oklahoma City Thunder were ranked 28th overall in @RookieWire ‘s latest NBA power rankings.

Rookie Wire released its latest NBA power rankings on Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder move up a spot and finish 28th overall. The 22-53 Thunder went 1-2 during the week of March 21 to March 27 with losses to the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets and a win over the Orlando Magic.

“Thunder rookie Josh Giddey was ruled out for the remainder of the season, but another first-year player has stepped up in a big way as of late. Tre Mann scored a rookie team-record 23 points in the second quarter on Tuesday in a loss to the Boston Celtics, which topped his own record set two games prior. He finished with a career-high 35 points in that contest, surpassing the previous OKC rookie record of 34 points by Russell Westbrook.”

During the week, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring and playmaking with 31 points and nine assists while Isaiah Roby led the team on the board with seven rebounds.

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OKC Thunder news: Tre Mann ranked third in rookie power rankings

Tre Mann’s strong week was awarded with finishing third overall in @RookieWire ‘s latest rookie rankings.

In Rookie Wire’s latest rookie power rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Tre Mann came in ranked third overall.

“Tre Mann just can’t help but break records when he steps onto the court. The 18th pick has set multiple Thunder franchise records in two of his last three games, and even hit an NBA milestone, too.

On Friday, Mann erupted for 20 points in the second quarter in a loss to the Miami Heat to set the team record for most points in a period by a rookie. Two games later, he surpassed his own record with 23 points in the second quarter in a loss to the Boston Celtics.

Mann finished with a career-high 35 points in that contest, topping the previous OKC rookie record of 34 points by Russell Westbrook. He went a perfect 7-of-7 from 3-point range in the first half, and became the first rookie in NBA history to make seven consecutive 3s.

The Thunder, who have lost 10 straight, host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. That probably won’t be a fun game to watch, considering their final score when they met on Sunday was 90-85, but maybe tune in to watch the second quarter. Mann may go for 25 at this rate.”

Mann continues to play well recently as the Thunder deal with a high amount of injuries that have forced the rookie to play as a top scoring option. With nine games left in the regular season, the Thunder and Mann look to finish the season strong.

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NBA Power Rankings: Thunder stay at 29 for March 14 to March 20 week

The Thunder stay at 29th overall in @RookieWire ‘s latest NBA power rankings.

Rookie Wire releases its latest NBA power rankings on Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder stay in 29th place for the second consecutive week. The Thunder went winless in its four games during this past week’s slate of games with losses to the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic.

“The Thunder lost their ninth straight game on Sunday after falling to the Orlando Magic. However, the recent skid has kept OKC alive in the race to secure one of the three-worst records in the NBA and the best odds of winning the draft lottery.”

During the week, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring and assists at 30.7 points and 5.7 assists. Aleksej Pokusevski led the team on the boards with 8.3 rebounds.

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NBA Power Rankings: Thunder improve by four spots as 26th ranked team for Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 week

@RookieWire released its latest NBA power rankings on Monday with the Thunder coming in at 26th overall.

Rookie Wire released its latest NBA power rankings this past Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder bump up four spots to 26th overall:

“The Thunder went 3-1 last week and posted some impressive wins during that span. They registered their seventh 15-point comeback of the season in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers and then knocked off the Dallas Mavericks in overtime two nights later without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Tre Mann had a career-high 29 points in that win while Lu Dort continues to step up, as well.”

The Thunder’s three wins came against the Portland Trail Blazers — both at home and on the road — and the Dallas Mavericks. The one loss came against the Sacramento Kings.

During the week, Lu Dort led the team in scoring with 23.7 points; Aleksej Pokusevski led the team in rebounding with nine rebounds; Josh Giddey led the team in assists with 6.3 assists.

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NBA Power Rankings: Thunder stay at 29 during Jan. 17 to Jan. 23 week

@RookieWire released its latest NBA Power Rankings and the Thunder stay at 29th.

Rookie Wire released its weekly power ranking on Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder holds firm to the 29th overall spot:

“The Thunder’s losing streak hit five games after falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The team is now 1-10 during the month of January and has been outscored by 8.5 points per game during that stretch. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to perform well, averaging 27.3 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds over his last seven games.”

The Thunder went 0-4 for the week of Jan. 17 to Jan. 23. This includes a two-point loss against the Dallas Mavericks, a 22-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs, a 23-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets and a seven-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. All four of these games were on the road as the Thunder had its longest road trip of the season so far.

During the week, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring and assists with 26.3 points and six assists while Josh Giddey led the team in rebounds with 7.8 rebounds.

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NBA Power Rankings: Thunder ranked 27th for the week of Jan. 3 to Jan. 9

The Thunder drop a spot in the @RookieWire power rankings this past week as they went 0-3.

Rookie Wire released its weekly power rankings this past Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder fell one spot as they went from 26th overall to 27th overall this week:

“The Thunder nearly pulled off another double-digit come back on Sunday, but ultimately fell short against the Denver Nuggets. Despite the team’s recent shortcomings, Josh Giddey continues to dazzle on the court after he was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December.”

The Thunder went 0-3 during the week of Jan. 3 to Jan. 9 — a 98-90 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, a 135-105 loss to the Timberwolves once again and a 99-95 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

During this week, Lu Dort led the team in scoring with 16 points a game, Josh Giddey led the team in rebounds with nine rebounds a game and in assists with 6.3 assists a game.

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Rumor: Warriors widely expected to shop No. 7 pick, James Wiseman in trade

Golden State Warriors are reportedly expected to shop the No. 7 pick and James Wiseman to acquire players that can help the team win now.
widespread expectation that the Warriors will use No. 7 and Wiseman, in particular, to seek more immediate upgrades to the roster, John Hollinger.
Warriors look to be a team worth monitoring in the coming weeks as rumors and speculation continue to heat up prior to the draft on July 29