The Oklahoma City Thunder don’t have any glaring offseason needs on their roster, as the newly crowned NBA champions have a young core that will be the biggest threat to becoming a dynasty since the Golden State Warriors.
Even so, general manager Sam Presti has plenty of work to do, as Oklahoma City holds two first-round picks (No. 15 and No. 24 overall) in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. Given the Thunder have a full roster, few expect them to keep both of their first rounders, but with so many future draft picks in their arsenal, they also don’t have a real need to kick the can down the road and trade back for future firsts.
As a result, they are a real threat to try and move up on Wednesday night, with Jonathan Givony reporting on SportsCenter they explored options to trade up using their first rounders and No. 44 overall in the second round — with the Raptors at No. 9 as a team Givony mentions specifically as a potential trade partner.
As for who the Thunder would target, Givony highlights Collin Murray-Boyles, Noa Essengue and Joan Beringer as players that fit OKC’s preferences of highly athletic, versatile defenders. At this point, given Presti’s track record of hitting on draft picks, teams have to have some second thoughts about trading back if Presti has a clear target in mind.
However, there are plenty of teams in the back half of the lottery that could be intrigued by adding a pair of first rounders this year and getting two swings at success. That’s especially the case in a draft class where there are a lot of differing opinions in the middle of the first round. So if a player a team has a higher grade on seems likely to be available at No. 15, the Thunder might be able to find a team willing to drop back to get the 24th pick as well, giving Presti a chance to add more young talent to the already loaded group in OKC.
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