Grading Draft Night For The Oklahoma City Thunder

Despite all the talk swirling around that Oklahoma City was going to move around in the draft Thursday night, the Thunder stayed put and used all three of its draft picks, something few expected them to actually do. The Thunder also picked up Portland's selection at No. 40 overall to bring in four players total. Here are the grades for each individual selection, as well as an overall grade for Oklahoma City's night.

-Steven Adams, Center, Pittsburgh- Grade: B-

Adams has a lot of what you can't teach—size, length and athleticism. However, he's sorely lacking in the areas you can teach, particularly on the offensive end of the floor. Adams moves very well for a 7-footer and has the potential to be a very good center in the future. This was a selection made solely for the future. Adams is nowhere near ready to contribute to the Thunder in his current position, so he'll probably spend most of this season in Tulsa developing his game on both ends of the floor. It's a boom-or-bust pick, but we won't know for a couple of years which one it is. For now, it's a solid pick for a team that has the luxury to make plans for the future with a very secure present.

Related Story: An Inside Look At The Thunder's New Center: Steven Adams

-Andre Roberson, Forward, Colorado- Grade: B

Roberson is a classic tweener at 6-foot-7, 206 pounds. He doesn't have a great jump shot, but does have tremendous athleticism that allowed him to produce a pretty fantastic dunk reel. He also has a 6-foot-11 wingspan that helped him haul down 11.2 rebounds a game for the Buffaloes this past season. Roberson was also named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. For what it's worth, he was one of the top players in the draft when looking at advanced statistics. Roberson needs a lot of development as well—mainly on the offensive end—but he could contribute as a solid role player off the bench in the future. There's a lot of potential here as Roberson could play the two or three for the Thunder.

Related Story: Thunder Trades Picks, Acquires Colorado's Roberson

-Alex Abrines, Guard, FC Barcelona- Grade: B+

This is a draft-and-stash pick for OKC. Abrines played just 10 minutes a game for FC Barcelona this past season, in large part because the squad may be the best team in the world outside of the NBA and Abrines is only 19. Abrines has a lot of talent and because he is so young, the future is especially bright for him. This was a very low-risk pick for the Thunder with the potential for a very big gain in the future.

Related Story: Thunder Take Spain's Alex Abrines With 32nd Pick

-Grant Jerrett, Forward, Arizona- Grade: C

Jerrett comes to the Thunder via a trade with Portland, who selected him 40th overall Thursday night. Jerrett had a very underwhelming freshman season for Arizona despite being a McDonald's All-American and being surrounded by a bunch of talent. If this was any other year, Jerrett would have stayed in school but because this year's draft class was so weak, it wasn't an awful decision to enter. Jerrett has good size at 6-foot-11 and a solid jumper for a man his size. His athleticism and ability to run the floor is a bit questionable, but with the right motivation, those questions could be put to rest. Overall, it's another very low-risk selection for OKC with a potentially solid payoff.

Overall Grade: B

To the casual—or even die-hard—Thunder fan, this draft may look like a complete failure because none of these four players are going to make an impact any time soon. All four have to develop into NBA players before they sniff the floor in Oklahoma City. However, the Thunder has a very secure future with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka all locked up for the next four years. There is urgency to win a championship now, but when your best players aren't going anywhere anytime soon, that urgency is reduced slightly. Without that kind of pressure, Thunder general manager Sam Presti was able to pick up four players that could all have big impacts on the Thunder down the road. Presti may have appeared to ignore the Thunder's current situation Thursday night, but he's done plenty to lock up their future.