Does the Thunder need a big man? Five players to target in 2023 NBA Draft
After the Thunder battled a bruising center in New Orleans’ Jonas Valanciunas in its first play-in game before falling to Minnesota’s giant frontcourt of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert in its second play-in game, a lot of fans came to the same conclusion.
The Thunder needs more size. More strength. More brawn.
But does it really?
“We played very small a lot of times this year, and believe it or not, most of the time the other team played small with us,” general manager Sam Presti said in his exit interview.
By experimenting with small lineups, the Thunder found some unexpected success. For example, lineups with Kenrich Williams at center were lethal. And OKC drafted Jalen Williams as a guard but soon learned that he could also play power forward. Same with Josh Giddey, who’s a point guard on one end and often a power forward on the other.
“I think people still watch basketball like we were taught to watch basketball a long time ago,” Presti said. “Big, small, they must rebound, they must not. The game is not that anymore.”
Chet Holmgren is likely to start at center next season with Giddey, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rounding out the starting five. If you start another big man next to Holmgren, that risks clogging the very space that OKC’s guards love to attack.
It’s fair to question if Holmgren, as slim as he is, can hold up at center. If he can’t, that’s a problem the Thunder will have to address.
In this third edition of our Thunder draft series, we’ll look at the available big men in case the Thunder does indeed go the route, either at No. 12 or with a second-round pick.
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Dereck Lively II
Position: Center
Height/weight: 7-foot-1, 230 pounds
College: Duke
Age: 19
Draft range: Late lottery to end of first roundLively is a rim-running, shot-blocking center whose freshman season at Duke was uninspiring given his billing as a top-five recruit in the 2022 class.
Rim protection is Lively’s best attribute. His 82 blocks ranked second in the ACC. For comparison, Holmgren had 117 blocks in his freshman season at Gonzaga.
Lively averaged 5.2 points on 66% shooting. He’s not a 3-point threat and he averaged just one free throw per game — an alarming number for a player of his size.
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Noah Clowney
Position: Forward/center
Height/weight: 6-foot-10, 210 pounds
College: Alabama
Age: 19
Draft range: Late lottery to end of first round
Clowney has the tools of a modern NBA power forward.
He’s long and athletic, which is particularly evident on defense when he gets switched onto a guard. And offensively he can knock down corner 3-pointers, which would mesh with how OKC wants to play.
At 18, Clowney is one of the youngest players in the draft. He checks a lot of Thunder boxes in youth, upside and versatility. Clowney would be a reach at No. 12, though, based on mock drafts.
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Kris Murray
Position: Forward
Height/weight: 6-foot-8, 213 pounds
College: Iowa
Age: 22
Draft range: Late lottery to end of first round
The left-handed twin brother of Kings forward Keegan Murray.
Keegan was the No. 4 pick a year ago, and while Kris won’t go that high, he possesses a lot of the same traits as his brother. Big surprise, right?
Kris Murray is a smart and effective player on both ends of the floor. He very much stays in his own lane without trying to do too much.
For the Thunder, Murray would provide floor spacing and tough defense. And wisdom. He turns 23 in August, which is awfully old by Thunder standards.
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James Nnaji
Position: Center
Height/weight: 6-foot-11, 250 pounds
Former team: FC Barcelona
Age: 18
Draft range: Late first round to mid second round
Nnaji would make for an intriguing second-round pick.
The 18-year-old from Nigeria has the physical makeup, 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-5 wing span, to be a force on the defensive end. He’s an excellent shot blocker and is as strong as anyone in the draft.
With that said, Nnaji’s skills are more theoretical than concrete. He barely played for Barcelona, not necessarily a red flag given his age and the strength of the Spanish league, but it makes him tougher to evaluate.
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Trayce Jackson-Davis
Position: Center
Height/weight: 6-foot-8, 240 pounds
College: Indiana
Age: 23
Draft range: Late first round to mid second round
There’s a meanness to Jackson-Davis’ game. He’ll posterize you on one end and erase you on the other.
Jackson-Davis was a four-year starter at Indiana. In his All-American senior season, TJD averaged 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.
He holds the Indiana school record in rebounds and blocks, and he’s third on the Hoosiers’ all-time scoring list.
Jackson-Davis is undersized as an NBA center, and at 23 he’s closer to a finished product, but don’t be surprised if TJD carves out a long career.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Does the Thunder need a big man? Five players to target in NBA Draft
