Do the Thunder need to draft Karim Lopez to replace Chet Holmgren?
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor talks about why the Oklahoma City Thunder should add Karim Lopez to their roster. Hear the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
The OKC Thunder seems like they're probably gonna try to move from this spot.
There's all the reporting around them trying to trade up.
that's pretty loud out there around the league.
So these leaks are not coming from the Thunder, that's for sure.
Nothing ever leaks from the Thunder.
It seems like it's leaking from everybody else that OKC's trying to move up.
But Kareem Lopez, if they stay here, that's the pick I have for them because I think if they stay at 12, what were they missing in this San Antonio series?
I mean, a couple things.
Chet Holmgren was a total shrinking violet.
The sh- it would've been nice if Chet could've done anything off the dribble.
But also, it felt like sometimes they're a bit too small at the forward spot.
They didn't have another guy.
Like the Knicks in the finals have OG Anunoby, right?
Kareem Lopez, very similar body at 6'8" with a seven-foot wingspan, already a man's body at 19 years old, 222 pounds, very strong, spent the last two years in the NBL.
I think he's somebody that would fit what OKC is missing from a roster construction standpoint, and would come in and be somebody that could potentially even play a little bit early on in his career.
But I could see the Thunder going a lot of different directions here, and ultimately I do think OKC's gonna be a potential trade down team from this spot at number 12.
