Much criticism has been hurled at this year’s draft class over the last calendar year. Many experts believe it’s one of the weaker groups of young talent in recent history.
Don’t tell Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti.
In his exit interview, Presti went against the grain and admitted he liked this year’s draft class, noting every group has its hits, and it’s their job to figure that out.
“I like the draft. I think it’s pretty good. I think every one of these is so different,” Presti said. “One thing we know historically is that there is good players in there, and they never go in order.
“Someone is going to come out of the second round, is going to have a huge impact. Someone is going to be picked in the 20s — there’s a 3% chance or something — you can get a top starter or really good player in the 20s, an all-NBA player in the 20s. That’s really, really hard to do, but it happens.”
The Thunder possess the No. 12 pick thanks to the Houston Rockets. It’ll be a chance for OKC to add another young lottery talent to its core. Soon enough, the Thunder will need to rely on their draft picks to contribute because OKC’s payroll will get very expensive soon.
Presti said it will be up to the Thunder to find hidden gems in this year’s draft class like they’re always supposed to do. Considering OKC’s track record, it has a better shot than most at doing this.
“A big part of that is obviously you observe the players, then you evaluate them to decide, and then you have to onboard them,” Presti said. “Then you have to develop and work with them, try to understand where they’re going and how to get there.”
Even the worst of classes have their hits. The 2013 draft,- which has been linked to this year’s group, had two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert in it.
As Presti said, it’s about getting a squad’s guesses right in what is ultimately a guess-reliant science when boiled down to the core. All the Thunder can do is hope they can give draft prospects the tools to maximize their talents.
