Mock Draft 3.0: NBA Draft comes into focus with lottery set

The Oklahoma City Thunder come into this draft hoping to bolster their frontcourt, and landing second overall guarantees them a chance to do just that. Similarly to Orlando, you could see the Thunder going in a number of different directions here, and Chet Holmgren would certainly give them a rim protector like they currently don’t have in their young core.

Yet they also don’t have shot creation from their frontcourt, and gaining a big man who can attack off the bounce himself or be devastating in a pick-and-roll with either Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Josh Giddey is a fearsome idea. Banchero juices their offense without projecting as a hole on defense, and as the more complete player with fewer unanswerable questions he gets the nod over Holmgren at No. 2.

Chet Holmgren falling to third is both surprising and not a true indictment of him as a prospect at all. He has an impressive handle and perimeter shot given his 7’1″ height, is an outstanding rim protector and overall defender and rebounds well despite his slim frame. That frame, just 195 pounds despite his height, may be a thing of the past in five years; it could also be the variable that simply cannot be overcome in a player this size, whether that is injuries or an inability to gain enough strength to be an adequate rim-protecting 5 in the NBA.

Those are valid concerns given the lack of comps at his build and talent level, but they aren’t overpowering ones. At the end of the day the Houston Rockets could really use a defensive difference-maker, and Holmgren has a great shot to be a perennial All-Defense candidate down the road.