With the Oklahoma City Thunder holding so many picks in coming years, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic thinks it makes sense for them to go after a high-risk, high-reward player.
Vecenie has the Thunder drafting Washington forward Jaden McDaniels in his latest mock draft.
They can afford to take a home run swing on a player who fits the tools that they tend to covet in players.
McDaniels entered college as a five-star prospect as a forward listed at 6-foot-9 or 6-foot-10 who could handle the ball and shoot. He was projected to be a lottery pick before the season even began.
But he couldn’t live up to expectations at Washington.
He shot only 40.5% from the field, and his 33.9% 3-point shooting was lacking. His fouling was problematic, as he picked up four in 15 of 31 games and fouled out eight times. He averaged far more turnovers than assists.
Veenie writes that teams are questioning if that’s telling for his future, or if McDaniels can mature and develop into the player his positive skill set would allow of him.
McDaniels has teams trying to get a handle on how to assess his mentality and more. At times, he showcased tremendous defensive effort and versatility. At others, he looked aloof and not interested in defending. Then there were intermittent flashes of immaturity and emotion, resulting in six technical fouls and poor body language on the court.
Vecenie thinks that putting McDaniels in the right environment will dictate his future in the NBA.
Oklahoma City can provide that with the proven development the organization has shown.
This is one of the few situations in the NBA that I would hope McDaniels lands with. The Thunder have a strong developmental track record in the G League and with their NBA team. Where McDaniels lands is going to be much more important than what number pick he’s selected at. Finding a stable, development-driven situation is the biggest key to his future.
McDaniels’ size, athleticism and potential on defense makes him a fitting player compared to those the Thunder tend to prefer.
This isn’t the only outlet projecting McDaniels to pick No. 25. A recent CBS Sports mock draft also listed him going to the Thunder.
[lawrence-related id=434122,434174]