NBA Draft 2021: 5 best potential fits for OK State star Cade Cunningham

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

While the Magic give Cunningham an early chance to produce, no slate is blanker than the one in Oklahoma City right now. Post Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Sam Presti has turned the Thunder into full rebuild mode. The Thunder now owns 36 picks (18 firsts, 18 seconds) in the next seven drafts.

Even with all of these picks, Oklahoma City does have a burgeoning star to build around in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In just his third season, the 6’5 guard averaged over 23 points per game and just under six assists. While there are some similarities between the two, you can’t go wrong in building around two jumbo creators, who can both score at multiple levels and facilitate. The rest of the roster isn’t great, but there is hope that young players like Aleksej Pokusevski, Lugent Dortz, Darius Bazley, Theo Maledon, and Isaiah Roby can pan out into something.

Build around Cunningham and Gilgeous-Alexander, and that’s arguably the best young backcourt in the league. They would need more help down the line, particularly up front, and while Oklahoma City is not an enticing free agent destination, Presti has not been shy about pushing his chips in for a star. In a few years, some of those picks coupled with another young player could be a serious enough package for when a star gets disgruntled.

In the meantime, the Thunder won’t be a serious title contender. But, that pairing would be an awesome league pass watch.