NBA Draft 2020: What to know about Oklahoma City Thunder before Wednesday’s virtual event

By Sarah Dewberry@Sarah__Dewberry Nov 18, 2020, 4:01pm CST

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The first overall pick belongs to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it’s projected that they’ll take LaMelo Ball. Still, he could also go No. 2 to Golden State Warriors or No. 3 to Charlotte Hornets.

There isn’t a consensus No. 1 pick this year because the coronavirus pandemic upended March Madness. Hence, college basketball players could not make any impression or allow NBA teams to evaluate players.

What Oklahoma City Thunder will do with their three draft picks on Wednesday is still up in the air.

In the first round, Oklahoma City picks 25th overall, which they acquired from the Denver Nuggets when they traded Jerami Grant last year.

They’ll also draft 28th, which they received from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the reported deal involving Dennis Schroder.

In the second round, they’ll pick 53rd overall.

After OKC traded Chris Paul to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a first-round package in 2022, which gave the team 16 first-round picks through 2026.

The Thunder acquired Ricky Rubio as part of the CP3 trade, but he might be harder to deal with because he still has a 2-year contract with $35 million remaining.

According to The Oklahoman, General Manager Sam Presti could trade up and draft Serbian 7-foot forward Aleksej Pokusevski because Pokusevski’s agent, Jason Ranne, used to work for the Thunder as director of strategic planning.

Commissioner Adam Silver, along with Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, will announce the selections live at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

ESPN will have live cameras set to look into 17 team draft rooms, USA Today reported.

Here is a complete list of the draft order for round one:

1. Minnesota

2. Golden State

3. Charlotte

4. Chicago Bulls

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

6. Atlanta Hawks

7. Detroit Pistons

8. New York Knicks

9. Washington Wizards

10. Phoenix Suns