The Oklahoma City Thunder had already made a major move ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. They traded Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso, improving their perimeter rotation greatly.
GIddey had proven to be a poor fit for the current version of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not a strong shooter, he found himself on the bench more often than not during the team’s 2024 NBA Playoffs run.
Caruso is an excellent fit for the squad. A strong defender and great spot-up 3-point shooter, he will slide right into Giddey’s spot in the rotation or provide the team with a reliable veteran coming off the bench.
While Caruso helps the team immediately, the Oklahoma City Thunder took a long-range approach with their first pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. They found a Giddey replacement, selecting Nikola Topic with the No. 12 overall pick.
It was a selection lauded by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. He named the Oklahoma City Thunder as one of his big winners in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft because of the Topic selection. Despite a torn ACL that will sideline him for the entire 2024-25 season, Givony was a huge fan of the pick.
“Topic ranked as one of the best pick-and-roll players in European basketball already as an 18-year-old, which is scary considering how much point guards typically continue to improve in this area with age and experience. His ability to make instantaneous reads while mapping out the court and processing the game with surgical precision is a rare and coveted commodity in today’s NBA game,” Givony wrote.
The Oklahoma City Thunder could not have drawn this up better this offseason. They traded away their starting point guard for a big upgrade to their roster and found a long-term replacement for him in a week.
There will be no rush for Topic to return from his ACL injury, as the team has a rotation ready to contend right now. With a treasure trove of assets and an emerging roster, taking a swing on a talented 18-year-old makes a lot of sense.
It is hard not to like what the Oklahoma City Thunder have done thus far in the 2024 NBA offseason. For now, the 2024 NBA Draft has concluded for the team, as they do not have a second-round pick.
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