The NBA Finals is almost here, which means that NBA Draft Not far behind.
This is the first of a series of lead previews we’ll be posting through the June 22 draft, which will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Each entry in the series will feature a few projected drafts divided into these categories: “Thundery Guys”, The Shooters, The Scorers, Combo Guards, The Wings and The Bigs.
Sure, some possibilities can fall into multiple categories, but we’ll avoid overlaps. By the end, the hope is a comprehensive look at the options Thunder has it with pick #12plus the players – with the exception of the top three of Victor Wimbanyama, Scott Henderson and Brandon Miller – who may be the targets of barter.
Today, let’s tip things over with Thundery Guys.
Here’s what I mean by that: positionless players with size, intelligence, quick decision-making, and creative vision and their games, while raw at times, are hard to define or showcase, resulting in low and ceiling high scores.
Josh Jedi was and still is a thundering young man. Ousmane Dieng and Aleksej Pokusevski perfectly match the description. Jalen Williams got more refined as a three-year college player, but his size and versatility make him a perfect fit for the Thunder — or any system, for that matter.
Here are the five Thundery guys in the 2023 NBA Draft.
more: How Tremendous OKC Thunder and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl approach their third NBA season
Anthony Black
position: Protect
length weight: 6-foot-6, 210 pounds
college: Arkansas
age: 19
Draft scope: top 10
A keeper with a big body, first passes with lots of hair and a questionable jump shot? He looks a lot like Josh Geddy. As Anthony Black describes.
Black, like a Jedi, reads the playing field like a chessboard. He will patiently probe the defense until he finds the right notch where he can pass a pass.
He also excels at using his size and strength to finish off the edge. Black shoots 51% on two-pointers but only 30% on three-pointers on 2.6 attempts per game.
Aswad shot 70% from the free throw line, and as a freshman guard, he ranked in the top ten in the SEC in free throw attempts.
Scouts believe Lions are an over-the-top defender on and off the ball.
Lions have territorial roots. He went to high school in Duncanville, Texas, and joined Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams as fellow Razorbacks on the Thunder.
Black is unlikely to be around in No. 12, but OKC has the commodities to trade.
Jaras Walker
position: straight ahead
length weight: 6-foot-7 and 249 pounds
college: Houston
age: 19
Draft scope: top 10
Not only is Walker a typical Thunder player, but he also fills a need as a solid tackler who can pack a punch alongside Chet Holmgren in the Thunder’s frontcourt.
Walker is built like an edge pusher. Longer if you turn.
Walker is strong enough to hit the pole and quick enough to switch to guards. You could tell he learned a thing or two about defense from playing under Kelvin Sampson as a freshman at Houston.
Walker’s defense is elite, but his passing and playmaking is the reason I consider him “The Thunder Man.”
He has an uncanny knack of seeing the next pass before he receives the ball. It’s easy to see Walker as a passing pivot in the high center.
Walker will be a limited scorer unless his jumping improves. But there is at least hope. Shoot 35% from Houston’s 3-point range on 2.8 attempts per game.
more: Ex Soner Tashun Thomas knows all about Victor Wimpanyama. They are teammates.
Leonard Miller
position: straight ahead
length weight: 6-foot-9, 213 pounds
Previous team: G League Ignite
age: 19
Draft scope: Late lottery
Miller checks a lot of boxes with his combination of height (7-foot-2 wingspan) and guarding skills, thanks in part to his late growth spurt. Oh, and he’s Canadian. He can join Embassy in OKC with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.
Miller has been late climbing the draft boards, and at this point he won’t be easy to get if the Thunder take him to No. 12.
Miller may need time to develop as he grows in his body, but that won’t dissuade the Thunder patient from crafting it.
more: How did Gilgios Alexander tea develop into an OKC Thunder star? See July 11, 2019
Ryan Robert
position: wing
length weight: 6-foot-6, 193 pounds
Previous team: New Zealand breakers
age: 18
Draft scope: Late lottery
The Thunder could make history as the first team to select two Frenchmen over the New Zealand Breakers in consecutive drafts.
Osman Dieng in 2022. Ryan Robert in 2023.
Well, Dieng was technically drafted by the Knicks, but you get the point.
Robert will be the ready thunder. It’s easy to dream about what an 18-year-old with a wingspan of 7-foot-2 could become. Perhaps an embellished choice. Maybe the Grand Slam. Sort of in the Dieng/Pokusevski mold.
Recruiting experts take an interest in Robert’s defense. Offensively, he’s a bad shooter, for now, but he has promising gamemaking skills.
more: Tramel: Why the Thunder U. team of Durant, Harden and Westbrook was ahead of its time
Bobby Klintman
position: straight ahead
length weight: 6-foot-10, 225 pounds
college: Wake Forest
age: 20
Draft scope: Late in the first round
If ever there was a team to recruit a man who ranked sixth in minutes in Wake Forest’s mediocre team…
(insert Sam Presti Laser Eyes meme)
Klintmann, from Malmö, Sweden, has size and skills, and that’s all anyone knows about him. Sounds like thunder man to me.
more: “Being more efficient” is an offseason priority for OKC Thunder’s Lu Dort
NBA Draft
7 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (ESPN)
This article originally appeared on The Oklahoman: OKC Thunder types in the 2023 NBA Draft? Meet Anthony Black and Jarris Walker