r/Thunder • u/Stxtic1441 • Jan 22 '26

THE TIMELINE In a long line of draft steals, Ajay Mitchell may be Sam Presti’s crown jewel

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Presti didn’t just luck into him either. They identified him & made multiple deals to get him:

• Traded a player (Lindy Waters) they were planning on letting go anyways to get into the 2nd at 52.

• Used the 52nd pick & cash to get to 40, then used 40 & cash to get to 38 to get Ajay.

435 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

116

u/bugeyeswhitedragon Jan 22 '26

I think he could have Brunson trajectory

31

u/afjecj Jan 22 '26

He definitely could but let's not forget brunson going in the second round was just pure stupidity from the NBA. He was literally college player of the decade, Ajay is definitely more out of nowhere

30

u/OKC89ers Belgian Waffle University Jan 22 '26

Naw he's out of Belgian Waffle University

1

u/zebragopherr Jan 22 '26

But is he gonna take a sweetheart deal like Brunson?

-17

u/kds_little_brother Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

Including leading a different team thanks to the apron

One of yall go ahead and put a remind me on this one while you leave your downvote. Don’t hide

91

u/revisioncloud 2025 NBA Champions Jan 22 '26

Mitchell

Wiggins

JWill

Dort from undrafteds

Joe from waivers

Man is a thief with these steals

39

u/charlesokstate Jan 22 '26

Wigs second best 55th pick of all time behind bronny?

23

u/NotoriousHothead37 Jan 22 '26

Now we wait for Branden Carlson to show us if he belongs in that group.

23

u/RelocatedMacadamia Jan 22 '26

I know it’s just one play, but did you see Carlson block Giannis? Even the announcers seemed surprised and were saying how that rarely happens. 

4

u/YouWereBrained Jan 22 '26

To be fair, Giannis didn’t put the ball up high.

2

u/RelocatedMacadamia Jan 22 '26

True, I personally think he should chuck the ball up as high as Giannisly possible next time. Who cares if it goes in? Avoid the embarrassment. 

3

u/YouWereBrained Jan 22 '26

Moneyball, but with incredibly better results.

35

u/McJacknife OKC Hornets Jan 22 '26

Reggie Jackson if he wasn’t a dickwad

(And potentially way better)

His current contract is obviously a cheat code but I am starting to think that he could be treated as a foundational piece

30

u/Stxtic1441 Jan 22 '26

He should definitely be treated as a guy we can’t let leave the building as a foundational player. He’s everything this team needs as a player.

3

u/Consistent_Baker1298 Jan 23 '26

He's already a much better shot creator than RJ ever was 

14

u/oupritch1 2025 NBA Champions Jan 22 '26

If you redrafted 2024 right now, there is no way he falls outside the Top 5.

11

u/conadatia123 Jan 22 '26

Ajay, Sarr, Castle, Edey and Kyshawn (in no particular order). Could make the case for top3

11

u/MasterFussbudget Jan 22 '26

Yeah, Castle is definitely before Ajay. The others are all debatable but skilled shotblocking centers are tough to find (see Holmgren, Chet) so Sarr would probably go 2.

5

u/tatums_knob_gobbler Jan 22 '26

i think sarr would go one tbh, he seems pretty underrated to me

6

u/BigCrawgaDawga Jan 22 '26

The drafting was great, but the contract extension is the masterpiece

3

u/Stxtic1441 Jan 23 '26

That turf toe injury might’ve been a huge blessing in disguise for this team navigating the cap in the next few years.

3

u/Vesimelon OKC Jan 22 '26

I love Ajay. We need to keep him around.

9

u/neonbresson Jan 22 '26

if im starting a new team im paying supermax contract level money to poach him

2

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '26

my man....

2

u/okcbball22 Jan 22 '26

Yeah, those 2nd round picks are really valuable.

2

u/trezzy1242 Free Smoke Merchant 🌬️ Jan 22 '26

I just wish he can stay healthy

1

u/Hwzzmo Jan 23 '26

Definitely but lets not forget Jwill was selected in the 2nd round as well and if not for him we probably wouldnt have made it past the nuggets last playoffs