Draft Notes: Thunder, Kings, Wolves, Warriors

The Thunder‘s offseason checklist to shore up the team around two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will likely revolve mostly around moves around the margin, but they do have three picks in the 2026 NBA draft: Nos. 12, 17, and 37.

With the 12th pick, it could behoove the Thunder to go after some size. Nate Ament (Tennessee), the Michigan trio of Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Morez Johnson Jr., or Hannes Steinbach (Washington) could all help the team add size and skill in different ways, Justin Martinez writes for The Oklahoman.

At No. 17, Martinez looks at a more wing-heavy group, including Cameron Carr (Baylor), Dailyn Swain (Texas), and Bennett Stirtz (Iowa), alongside versatile defenders Allen Graves (Santa Clara) and Jayden Quaintance (Kentucky).

It’s likely that the team will end up not using all three selections, Martinez writes, but with the 37th pick, Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State), Alex Karaban (UCONN), and Emanuel Sharp (Houston) are three of the names Martinez points to as being interesting players that could fit the Thunder’s ethos.

We have more news and notes related to the 2026 draft:

• The Kings announced a new pre-draft workout group for Monday, according to Sean Cunningham of KCRA News (Twitter link). Baba Miller (Cincinnati) will participate after having to reschedule a previous visit due to illness. He will be joined by Bruce Thornton (Ohio State), B.J. Edwards (SMU), Fletcher Loyer (Purdue), Kobe Knox (South Carolina), and Tucker DeVries (Indiana).
• The Timberwolves worked out Aaron Nkrumah earlier this month, Darren Wolfson of KSTP reports (via Twitter). The 6’6″ forward started out playing Division III basketball before transferring to Tennessee State for his junior and senior seasons. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.8 steals while shooting 35.1% from three and being named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.
• The future of the Warriors depends on hitting on the 11th pick in the draft, ESPN’s Anthony Slater tells Michael Wallace of Grind City Media (YouTube link). Their two starting wings, Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, are expected to miss at least the start of the year with injuries, leaving a large hole in the rotation. The Warriors are unlikely to trade the pick in a deal that doesn’t involve a high-level player returning to Golden State, according to Slater. Golden State does need to get younger, but the team doesn’t need to try to find its next Stephen Curry at No. 11, Slater says, noting that Arizona’s Brayden Burries is an off-ball guard who has drawn interest from the Warriors’ decision-makers and could complement the current core while growing into a player with more offensive responsibility.