NBA Mock Draft: Wolves take Minn native, Rockets get lucky

Okay, so, this is just about the worst case scenario for the Oklahoma City Thunder. First, they don’t jump within the top-4 picks, and second, they Houston Rockets pick does not convey to them. So, here they are, with only one top-10 pick after assuming they’d have two top selections for quite some time.

NBA Mock Draft: Thunder take Franz Wagner

In fact, there is a 71-percent chance that either they jump up in the lottery or the Houston Rockets pick conveys. So if neither happens, that’s a pretty tough loss (and something that is largely out of their control, as well).

Anyways, Franz Wagner is a fine selection with this pick. He just isn’t the high-level prospect that they were hoping for. He’s an all-around forward prospect that should be able to impact winning on both sides of the court. He’s an unexciting pick but does have top-50 player potential.

Wagner has an underrated craftiness to the way he goes about scoring, and should be able to match up well against small and power forwards at the NBA level. The Thunder are going to continue to build around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – and maybe they will swing a trade for a known commodity this coming offseason – someone that becomes available via trade that is disgruntled in their current situation (Ben Simmons maybe?).

Franz is unexciting. I get it. He’s not someone that you would think of when ‘lottery selection’ pops in your head. But he’s worth it. He’s a consistent player that is more than deserving.