A breakdown of the pile of first-round picks the Thunder have in the next seven years (UPDATED)
So. Many. Firsts.
UPDATE: After the Chris Paul trade to the Suns, we added that Phoenix pick to the list.
The Oklahoma City Thunder just made a whopper of a trade over the weekend, sending MVP candidate Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a ton of first-round picks.
They weren’t done yet. On Monday, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, they dealt forward Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a 2020 first-rounder. And of course the rumblings about the franchise trading Russell Westbrook continue to get louder — dealing him might get the team more first-rounders in the future (which is especially important if the NBA allows high school players back in the draft down the road).
So what picks do the Thunder have after those two deals? Here they are:
2020 draft
1. The Nuggets’ pick.
2021 draft
1. Their own pick, but with the right to swap picks with the Rockets, unprotected
2. The Heat’s pick, unprotected
2022 draft
1. Their own pick (unless it’s outside of 1-14, in which case it goes to the Hawks)
2. The Clippers’ pick, unprotected
3. The Suns’ pick, reportedly protected 1-12
Sources: Suns‘ future first to the Thunder is protected 1-12 in 2022, 1-10 in 2023, 1-8 in 2024 and unprotected in 2025. https://t.co/e4AFUN3OfD
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 16, 2020
2023 draft
1. Their own pick, but with the right to swap picks with the Clippers, unprotected
2. The Heat’s pick, with lottery protection
2024 draft
1. Their own pick
2. The Clippers’ pick, unprotected
3. The Rockets’ pick, protected 1-4.
2025 draft
1. Their own pick, but with the right to swap picks with the Clippers, unprotected. They can also swap with the Rockets, but it’s 1-20 protected per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Sources: Pick protections in Thunder/Rockets, Russell Westbrook/Chris Paul trade:
2024 first round pick, protected 1-4
2026 first round pick, protected 1-4
2025 swap, 1-20 protected
2021 swap, protected 1-4 — OKC can swap Clippers pick or Heat pick.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 12, 2019
2026 draft
1. Their own pick
2. The Clippers’ pick, unprotected
3. The Rockets’ pick, protected 1-4