The goal for the Thunder in any draft is to identify and secure players who will add value to the organization both on and off the court. With a trove of draft capital heading into the 2021 NBA Draft, Thunder General Manager and Executive Vice President Sam Presti and staff had the flexibility to pursue just that on Thursday night. By the end of the night, after countless hours of scouting and preparation by the Thunder staff over the past year, the organization welcomed four new players to its roster and to Oklahoma City: Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins.
New Orleans Pelicans
Grade: A
Analysis: The Pelicans did everything they could with the picks they had. Desperately in need of some defenders and some shooting, New Orleans got a bit of both with its two picks. Murphy is one of the top 3-and-D prospects in this class and his draft stock skyrocketted following the NBA Combine. He s a knockdown shooter, which will space the floor for Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, but he s also a smart cutter, which bodes well for when the defence focuses too much on those two stars. His long arms, IQ and great anticipation make him a sound defender.
The New York Knicks ended up with guard Quentin Grimes with the No. 25 pick in the NBA draft after dealing two picks that were higher.
The swap of their No. 21 pick for No. 25 left them with Grimes, a third-team All-American from Houston who came with a pick that belonged to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Knicks also acquired a future second-round pick in that deal, with the Clippers getting the draft rights to forward Keon Johnson.
Grimes was the player of the year in the America Athletic Conference after averaging 17.8 points. He shot 40.2% from 3-point range to lead the conference, making 3.3 3-pointers per game.
By: Nate Kotisso
OKLAHOMA CITY -
In an early draft surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Australian guard Josh Giddey with the franchise’s first NBA Draft lottery pick in five years.
Giddey, who is 18 years old and hails from Melbourne, is OKC’s first lottery pick since the Thunder chose Domantas Sabonis with the 11th pick in 2016.
He is also the first graduate of Australia s NBA Academy selected in the NBA Draft.
Giddey played for a mediocre Adelaide 36ers club in 2020-21 (according to Basketball Reference, the 36ers finished 13-23), but he posted some impressive numbers in his age-18 season.
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