This draft, the Thunder decided to go for minor moves, not big ones.
Leading into the draft, there was a lot of speculation about the Thunder trading their 21st pick away. They were supposed to be floating it as incentive to shed salary, trying to lower their luxury tax load.
Well, they traded.
They just didn’t drop salary. Much.
Instead of using the 21st pick as incentive, the Thunder decided to move back slightly in the draft and pick up an asset, drafting Darius Bazley at 23 after swapping picks with Memphis. Unlike a lot of the players that were mocked to the Thunder, Bazley is mostly a mystery.