OKC Thunder: What’s the plan in the post-Chris Paul era?

What will the OKC Thunder do with so many picks?

The trade that sent Chris Paul to the Phoenix Suns brought back yet another draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Suns included their 2022 first-round pick in the deal.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the pick is protected for picks 1-12 in 2022, 1-10 in 2023, 1-8 in 2024, and unprotected in 2025.

The Thunder already had a healthy stockpile of pick after the summer before when they traded away Russell Westbrook and Paul George and picked up another with the recent trade sending Dennis Schroder to the LA Lakers.

Here’s where the franchise stands with future picks through 2023:

• 2020: Nuggets’ first-round (No. 25) Lakers’ first-round (No. 28) own second round (No. 53).
• 2021: Own first-round, Heat’s first-round (unprotected), Rockets’ first-round (pick swap with either their own or the Heat’s pick, top-four protected), own second-round.
• 2022: Own first round (top-14 protected), Clippers’ first-round (unprotected), Suns’ first round (protected 1-12 in 2022, 1-10 in 2023, 1-8 in 2024 and unprotected in 2025), own second round.
• 2023: Best first-round pick between Thunder and Clippers, Heat’s first-round (lottery protected), own second-round.

Beyond 2023, the Thunder still have multiple first-round picks from the Rockets and Clippers.

Teams around the league could only dream of having the flexibility that GM Sam Presti has in Oklahoma City with so many picks. Every contract on the team is movable if necessary as Presti has a plethora of picks to attach to any deal as sweeteners.

If he decides to complete the teardown of everything the Thunder has been in the last few seasons, he’ll be looking next to attach one or two of these valuable picks to move off of the Steven Adams contract.

Their longtime center Adams is owed $27.5 million this upcoming season before becoming a free agent in the 2021-22 season. The sizable contract on a one-year deal makes Oklahoma City a captivating landing spot for other teams looking to get off of bad contracts in exchange for young talent or even more draft picks for Presti to hoard.

The best bet will likely be a mixed-use approach by the Thunder.

Because of their overflowing stockpile of resources, the team should be able to both find value in quality draft picks while also sending some of those picks away in return for proven talent that can complete what should be a quick turnaround in Oklahoma City.