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Thunder rumors: NBA Draft targets with possible trade up into lottery
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- Thunder rumors: NBA Draft targets with possible trade up into lottery
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The post Thunder rumors: NBA Draft targets with possible trade up into lottery appeared first on ClutchPoints .
On Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrated their recent NBA championship victory with a parade through the streets of the city. Less than 48 hours later, general manager Sam Presti and company will be back in the office and deciding who the team should select in the upcoming NBA Draft, where they hold the number 15 overall pick.
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However, according to the latest reports , Presti and the Thunder brass have already been busy potentially looking for ways to move up into the lottery.
"The newly crowned champions in Oklahoma City hold two picks in Wednesday's first round, at No. 15 and 24, but are frequently described as a team looking to package those two picks to possibly move into the lottery," reported Jake Fischer of The Stein Line Substack.
Fischer noted that the Thunder "face a bit of a looming roster crunch given all of the guaranteed contracts already on their books, leading rival teams to project consolidation attempts from OKC to either move up the board or perhaps even trade out of either pick entirely."
Meanwhile, ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel listed Derik Queen , Noa Essengue, and Joan Beringer as potential draft targets for the Thunder should they move up, as the team looks to bring in additional frontcourt depth behind Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein .
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A huge opportunity for the Thunder
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Sam Presti is no doubt well aware that not only have none of the last six NBA champions repeated the following year, but none of them even made it out of the second round in their title defense.
The Thunder are in the unique position of having won a championship and still having several coveted assets at their disposal, including 15 first round draft picks over the next seven years along with a slew of young talent already on their roster.
While it may make sense for a team to want to stand pat the summer after winning a championship, it's likely that Presti and the Thunder will look to make this team even more of a juggernaut than it already is before the rest of the league catches up.
Related: Thunder news: OKC mayor crowns Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook
Related: Isaiah Hartenstein reveals hilarious story of Thunder's free agency recruitment
