OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder have a new dilemma to tackle in this year's NBA draft.
After stockpiling some of the best young talent in the league on draft night the past three years, the vastly improved Thunder won't have a lottery pick Thursday night unless general manager Sam Presti does some last-minute wheeling and dealing.
It'll be the first time since Presti took over as GM three years ago that the franchise won't have a top five pick.
In that span, Presti picked up the top four scorers for Oklahoma City's run to the playoffs last season, and each player was drafted no lower than fifth.
The challenge this year is finding a way to make the team better with the 21st, 26th, 32nd and 51st picks.
"You must be a good teammate, you must be a guy that we can count on, that's going to be a worker, that's going to be committed to the team, that's going to be committed to practice," said Scott Brooks, the NBA's coach of the year last season. "It's going to take a special player to break in and get minutes because we have a good team and we're going to improve."
Without a big-name free agent signing, the Thunder have been able to complete a massive turnaround mostly through the draft.
First came Kevin Durant, the No. 2 selection in 2007 and Presti's first pick as the team's GM. That same day, he added Jeff Green — the No. 5 pick — in the trade that sent Ray Allen and the pick that would become Glen "Big Baby" Davis to the Boston Celtics.
Starting point guard Russell Westbrook was the No. 4 pick two years ago, and James Harden was the third overall pick last year.
That quartet combined to score more than 72 points per game last season, led by Durant's NBA-best 30.1-point average. Westbrook, Green and Harden ranked second through fourth on the team in scoring as the Thunder won 50 games, a 27-win jump from a season earlier.
"We made a huge improvement with our team by just working and developing our guys that we have, and I will continue to do that," Brooks said. "I really believe that we have a team that needs to get better and should get better for the next five, six, seven years when these guys become mid-20-year-olds.
"Sam has done a great job of finding pieces that will complement the guys that we've had."
Presti, who declined to be interviewed about the draft, has indeed shown that he can find key role players. Serge Ibaka, who proved to be a defensive force against the Lakers in the playoffs, was the No. 24 pick in 2008 before spending one season overseas.
The GM also made an early trade last season to get backup point guard Eric Maynor, who was the 20th overall pick last year by Utah.
There are still holes to be filled, perhaps most notably beyond the 3-point line and right under the basket. Oklahoma City ranked 25th in the league in 3-point shooting last season and could look to upgrade inside, despite leading the NBA in blocks and finishing third in rebounding.
"I think that we are looking for a guy on the wing. I think that would help us out, another guy who can shoot it. And maybe a big," Durant said. "But you never know who's going to be down there at 21 or 26, so you've just got to see where the chips fall.
"Whoever we draft I'm sure will be a great guy first off and really jell with our group."
