Thunder Journal: 2023 Draft - My Guys
Pour one out for the Victor Wembanyama to Oklahoma City dream.
Okay, it could still happen. There’s still 24 games left in the season and the Thunder have, despite what the strength of schedule may say, a pretty tough closing slate. The Lakers and Blazers are hot on OKC’s tails and most of the play-in level teams are either getting healthier or got better at the deadline. And if the Thunder fall a few spots down the stretch, all it takes is some lottery luck for a Thunder fan fantasy lineup of SGA-Giddey-JDub-Chet-Wemby to come true.
But as of now, OKC is in the #10 play-in spot. That equates to the 13th best lottery odds. That means a 4.8% chance of landing a top 4 pick and exactly a 1% chance of landing the most hyped prospect since LeBron James. Ouch.
Have no fear, OKC fans. After all, we are talking about Sam Presti here. The same front office that drafted Jalen Williams at #12 to the shock and awe of most NBA fans. Now JDub is a core building block and has been a top 5 (top 2?) rookie this season. So not all hope is lost if Oklahoma City wind up around the same draft position in 2023.
Let’s pretend that the Thunder end up drafting in their current spot at #13. There are a handful of players projected around that spot that I would really like to add to this young Thunder core.
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THE JDUB OF THIS DRAFT
Taylor Hendricks
Power Forward ⚡ 6’9", 210 pounds ⚡ University of Central Florida
