Is the 2024 NBA Draft Good for OKC Thunder? Is Zach Edey An Option?

[@Wellingtonfun]

Zach should definitely be priority for us I hope Thunder shifts from midget basketball to Jim Harbaugh style as midget basketball is only good for regular season

[@wakeupjapan1371]

Rylan I think you have the best podcast on the thunder, you are serious from the start and you don’t waste time with juvenile hijinks at the introductions, you also pick very knowledgeable guests, thanks

[@LockedOnThunder]

Thank you for listening and the kind words! It means a lot

[@F1Odyssey]

YES you take Edey at 12 if you have faith in the current roster, precisely BECAUSE he will unlock the best potential of this roster. Picking a very solid backup center will allow the Thunder to spend big on a star level power forward without having to burn cap on a mid tier big man. Edey would also give flexibility with running big lineups with Chet or J-Will at the 4. There is no way that our Coach of the Year would be unable to craft a package to mask Edey on defense and take advantage of his generational offensive traits. Everybody acts like we are married to 5-out lol

[@wolfbane610]

It is good because having the 12th pick in a weak draft is just as good as having a late 1st round pick in a very strong draft. You can add to the fact that Presti can and will isolate talent that nobody else will see, which I think will give him a great advantage in this particular draft.

[@1O1O11]

Players who were drafted at #11... SGA, Domantas Sabonis, Klay Thompson Players who were drafter at #12... Dereck Lively, Jalen Williams, Tyrese Haliburton, PJ Washington, Steven Adams Players who were drafted at #13... Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell Players who were drafter at #15... Giannis, Kawhi Leonard And no, there is no point to me typing this.

[@Haqayam]

WE NEED A ZAC ATTACK ⚡⚡⚡THUNDER UP ⚡⚡⚡

[@rustytv3023]

Mr. Stiles, you are the only Thunder Caster/writer that I find no room to trash talk. Haha lol I love your work and am a big follower even through our off season. Grateful for Locked On NBA

[@LockedOnThunder]

Thank you for listening and the kind words!

[@unap0l0getlc4]

Take advantage of people thinking this is a weak draft. Pick Tidjane Salaun, Zack Edey, and Kel'el Ware. That would guarantee our 4th future star. However, going off my behavior detection and video analyst profession Salaun and Edey are hungry to continue to improve and become more.

[@chancebaker6042]

Zach Edey isn't a backup center he is a future superstar! YES PLEASE TAKE HIM AT 12 AND PAIR WITH SHAI!!!!!

[@charlescohen6140]

Two gifted evaluators. Thanks as there are so much subpar stuff out there.

[@kevinscott9242]

Richard also loves Da'Ron Holmes. Now that's Tyler Metalf, Tyler Rucker, Bryce Simon & Richard all love Holmes & love him to OKC. And Rylan too. 4 months ago I was laughed at for calling Holmes a worthy lottery pick. But apparently a lot of smart Draft analysts have him in that 14-18 Range....(Also love Devin Carter for OKC). Especially if we lose Giddey in off-season he'll get us rebounds from Guard position

[@evantroymusic]

DaRon is the #2 big for me in this class

[@ianconness11]

Is it this Thursday the Flip review is coming out or was it supposed to be last Thursday?

[@charlescohen6140]

Richard hits the target on Edey. And he is a 4 year player not a 19 year-old. Also, someone will roll the dice before the Thunder like Memphis, and he just doesn’t fit Sam’s M.O. at this point. A very interesting off-season. I’d go after Jarrett or Beefstew.

[@rustytv3023]

Stayman looks like off brand Zuckerberg lol

[@rosshuxford6103]

Thanks gentlemen 🎉

[@LockedOnThunder]

Thank you for listening!

[@Jtrekvulcan66]

Okc has the smarts to do the right thing. I would suggest go big at 12 , draft D. Holmes a combo player like Pf J. Williams. FA Center I. Hartenstein or Center N. Claxton. Trade up with another First Round pick from 2025 and the Second Round pick to get another big Z. Edy or PG B. James. This organization will make the right choices

[@clemence8623]

Chet can play the 4 as his natural position & Zach can be like a Steven Adam’s for them not asked to do a lot but get easy buckets inside rebound and if he and Chet have good chemistry can play a 4 & 5 pick and roll but that’s hoping for too much

[@Clarence-bx2dl]

I'm willing to bet we draft that PG from Providence.

[@LeviHall-n3b]

There’s no way the thunder don’t pick knecht if he falls to 12, he’s an nba ready guy that could contribute off the bench immediately, the thunder can address size with trades or free agency

[@Syre_Mesa]

Trades would be the worst way to build this team we saw that with Hayward this team is so young and tight with each other bringing a trade that didn't start with this team will throw-off the chemistry!!

[@Wrestle_Kingdom]

@@Syre_Mesausing Hayward as an example is terrible because we also seen okc trade for bertans and be fine ,also their no way okc will get better without making trades in the next few years the reason the Gordon Hayward trade didn’t work was because it was at the deadline also Gordon could potentially be washed

[@phantxmtv6596]

Carter is my fav player in this draft

[@razkable]

If i am going big cause i won't trade for or sign one over the next year I would take Kyle or the kid from Indy over Zach cause they can play playoff minutes they remind me of Chet style wise so the team doesn't have to fit around them or get used to some other type of big ..

[@Syre_Mesa]

Zach Edey would be a perfect pick for OKC Thunder Please Basketball GODs make this happen!!!!

[@rustytv3023]

perfect fit if you want to slow down our offense and clog the lane. He's perfect for the g-league.

[@nechiebriggs5106]

Omg PLEASE BASKETBALL GODS MAKE THIS HAPPEN

[@nechiebriggs5106]

Chet at the 4…Cuzco eddy really cant move his feet that well..so he so will b a rebounder

[@ibuttayotoast167]

We have The sarr brother he is Eddy size we need to develop him if we want a tree trunk

[@Wellingtonfun]

Amen

[@Wrestle_Kingdom]

Daron Holmes or kel el wade should be the guys okc look at if okc looking for a wing Tristan da Silvia,Cody Williams or bobi klintman We need a backup up big or another big wing player anything but a guard

[@LockedOnThunder]

There’s a reason we didn’t Mention Ware. Some not great intel out there right now.

[@justmythoughts101]

Do tell, do tell

[@peterpetersen7637]

Give me anybody but edey

[@jacewoods411]

Not that I care but Edey G league material if Tshibwe from Kentucky 20/20 dude couldn't break through he definitely won't

[@heavylobster4339]

Edey is a generational traditional big man prospect. His athleticism and mobility scores adjusted for his size are elite, his on-court production is elite, he's decorated like few college basketball players have ever been. Pretty much all of his legitimate comps wound up being stars, had their careers derailed by injuries, or both. All of them are also from more than 15 years ago, and the NBA has naturally changed a lot in that time period, so nobody really has any idea how a player like Edey translates. A lot of lazy analysis resorts to comping him to Boban, who was never a star in Europe and only played more than 20 minutes in one season, or otherwise comp him to players who were either nowhere near as big to him, or nowhere near as productive or decorated as him. Nobody really knows how Edey translates, and that scares some people. Personally I'm in favor of taking the chance on the extreme outlier talent and figuring things out later, because usually the talent finds a way to win out over league trends and conventions, but that can be harder to put into practice, especially with an already established and successful team like the Thunder, who might prefer a more conventional fit.

[@rustytv3023]

Do you even watch the NBA and/or the Thunder? lol

[@F1Odyssey]

@@rustytv3023 Going to just insult him, or explain why they are wrong?

[@rustytv3023]

Edey made 1 3 point shot in his college career. This is a huge problem for many teams, as modern teams primarily look for 3 level scorers. This is true for the Thunder who have one of the highest drive rates in the NBA. He needs to be able to hang out on the perimeter.. but his lack of shooting will only cause teams to go into a 5 on 4 situation much like the Josh Giddey issue. Edey's only success in the lane defensively came because he camped out there. He won't be able to do that because of defensive 3 seconds. He plays at a slow pace requiring high usage and a long shot clock to achieve his offensive stats. He is a huge liability in the PnR, not being able to guard smalls on the switch. As a true center there are only a handful of players he would be able to guard. At that, those true centers have the ability to shoot 3's so he would get drawn out to the perimeter which is not good for him.

[@allanhee]

Will the Thunder still need another big if Dieng earns a 20 min per game role next season?

[@Wrestle_Kingdom]

Yes if jwill can’t be a consistent option also dieng will need to bulk up and start playing like a 4 instead of a 3

[@allanhee]

@@Wrestle_Kingdom But 4s are disappearing from the NBA. There are only three positions: PG, wing, big man.

[@Wrestle_Kingdom]

@@allanhee a 4 is a wing just a wing player that plays physical like an Aaron Gordon Dieng needs to be more physical and stop being afraid of attacking the rim and needs to be a better rebounder

[@allanhee]

@@Wrestle_Kingdom Understand, but the idea behind positionless basketball is not to impose a role on the player, but to instead create a system that allows the player to define their role. In short, they should let Dieng do his thing instead of telling him what he needs to be.

[@Wrestle_Kingdom]

@@allanhee i agree to a certain extent I do think dieng should play his style but on a team that trying to compete he going to need to improve in other areas to able to get consistent playing time and one way is to be a good rebounder and shooter because as of now he doesn’t do anything at a good enough level to warrant him playing his style I think he can still play his style but just being more physical in the process it the same with chet I’m not expecting them to become post up player I just want them to be able to grab rebounds better and be more assertive

[@razkable]

Okc loves to trade after picking...they won't pick Zach because he won't get you much back...teams value other guys more

[@rustytv3023]

Edey has Tyler Hansbrough vibes. Both were NCAA player of the year, yet my prediction is that Edey will be a bust just like Hansbrough. It would be a mistake for a team to take Edey in the first round (hot take). BTW Hansbrough actually won a championship instead of getting rolled. (I wish we could get Clingan ((two time champ)) but not gonna happen at # 12). if only a dream would come true

[@jacewoods411]

#freeAaronWiggins #heaterp

[@RK.Anthony]

#12 #12 #12. Where is it carved in stone the Thunder will get nothing better than the #12 pick. If their is a player in this draft that Presti wants, he has the draft capital to get him.

[@navblue20]

@RKAnthony: The issue is how much is he willing to give up and can he find a willing partner to give up what they have to get what he's offering.

[@RK.Anthony]

@@navblue20 That goes without saying, but it doesn't negate the fact that in a draft considered one full of role players and the Thunder at the point of finding the right role players in this rebuild, this would be the draft to make such a move. I say that because even the players at the top are not viewed as the type that would catapult a weak lottery team into the playoffs.

[@teddyhart2913]

No monday mailbag?

[@jozsva8064]

Okc going to draft another undersized guard whose a good defender but cant shoot (their favorite archetype). But everyone is gonna turn their nose up to the obvious need of a big man

[@Wrestle_Kingdom]

What are you talking about okc never drafted a underside guard who can’t shoot the only undersize guard okc has drafted was Cason and tre Mann

[@jozsva8064]

@Wrestle_Kingdom you must be a new fan, they've done it plenty of times since they've came to okc.

[@Wrestle_Kingdom]

@@jozsva8064 I been a fan since 2010 ever since the rebuild the main draft picks okc selected are josh Giddey,tre Mann,Chet,jwill,jdub,Dieng,Cason,and keyontae So I don’t who you’re referring as a undersize guard who can’t shoot because the only player I name who can’t shoot is giddey and the only undersize guard is tre Mann unless you referring to theo Maledon who we traded for on draft night

[@Haqayam]

Zac E NEEDS TO START FOR ⚡⚡⚡ THUNDER OKC⚡⚡⚡ THUNDER UP

[@lawsnewton]

Sorry Edey's going to the Spurs at pick 8.

[@paullucas6275]

Why would The Spurs pick Edey??