The Oklahoma City Thunder’s exceptional campaign ended in gut-wrenching fashion as they blew a 16-point halftime lead and lost 116-115 in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks. Being a top seed in the regular season, the Thunder could not contain the #5 seed. This has raised several questions and the franchise would look to answer those in the 2024 NBA Draft.
They own the 12th pick in the draft and NBA Insider Kevin O’Connor believes they should use it to land Purdue center Zach Edey . Edey would serve as Chet Holmgren’s backup and allow Jaylin Williams to play primarily at his preferred position, at power forward. The Purdue star would also address OKC’s rebounding issues.
O’Connor said, The Thunder were outrebounded 35-30 on the offensive end in the second round and 14-5 in Games 5 and 6. Edey was an exceptional rebounder in college, averaging 12.2 per game, including 4.
6 on offense. The only issue with drafting the center is his three-point shooting. He attempted only two shots from beyond the arc in four years at Purdue, sinking one.
However, as O’Connor pointed out, “if there’s anyone who can turn his touch into reliable 3-point shooting it’s Chip Engelland.,” Thunder assistant coach. He joined the Thunder in 2022 and in his first season as a coach, he helped improve their three-point shooting percentage from 32.
3 to 35.6 and this year, they shot a league-best 38.9% from beyond the arc.
Another issue to solve.
