Orlando Magic Draft Domantas Sabonis In NBA Draft, Trade Him To Oklahoma City Thunder

Now that the NBA Draft is all said and done, the Oklahoma City Thunder ended up with the son of a legend. According to Sports Illustrated, the franchise traded for Domantas Sabonis, the 11th overall selection in the draft. With the move, the Thunder were able to reload their roster for another run in the playoffs next season.

During the NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic decided to shock the entire sports world. The Thunder sent Serge Ibaka to the Magic in exchange for Victor Oladipo, Ehsan Ilyasova, and Domantas Sabonis. It was a move designed to help both teams out.

For years now, the Orlando Magic have been collecting players through the NBA Draft. They knew that they needed a veteran who can lead the way. Since those are hard to find, many are praising the Magic for being able to land Serge Ibaka, a veteran defender that can become an All Star.

Domantas Sabonis. Official Draft night photo. Welcome to #OKCThunder! #ThunderUP pic.twitter.com/he1vUbY1lq

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 24, 2016

After losing to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted more depth to be able to compete next season. Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Domantas Sabonis all have potential to join the rotation when the next NBA season begins.

Damantas Sabonis has enough skills that he can still make it as a rotation player next season despite not being available for the NBA Summer League. According to CBS Sports, Sabonis is going to be overseas this summer, as he needs to prepare for the Olympics with the Lithuanian national team.

Like most big men coming into the NBA, Domantas Sabonis needs to add some weight. However, he does have an advantage over many of the other rookies, as he showed in college that he is capable of handling bigger players. Sabonis will be seeing quite a few bigger opponents in the National Basketball Association.

Much like his father, Domantas Sabonis is far from being an elite athlete. However, his strong work ethics have impressed executives and coaches in the NBA. Sabonis also understands the fundamentals of basketball very well, so that gives him an advantage over a lot of other players.

Domantas Sabonis is going to need all of the help that he can to convince Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan to give him a steady flow of minutes. Even without Serge Ibaka around, the Thunder have a good amount of depth on the front court.

Thanks to a strong run during the NBA Playoffs, Steven Adams is now considered one of the better centers in the game. He’s going to receive a good amount of playing time from Billy Donovan. The Oklahoma City Thunder view him as a potential building block, along with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

Enes Kanter has his flaws, and that’s going to keep him off the court on some nights. However, his offensive abilities are appealing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, especially when the team is playing against NBA teams without a lot of size on the front court.

Domantas Sabonis is also going to need to work on his outside shooting. The rookie is going to need that skill if he’s going to move past Ersan Ilyasova on the depth chart. According to NBC Sports, the Oklahoma City Thunder plan on having Ilyasova as an important part of the team, as they have guaranteed his contract.

Some members of the media like to state that no professional athletes like to be traded. Domantas Sabonis might be one of those rare exceptions, as he’s going to be able to compete in the NBA right away, alongside two of the best players in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

[Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images]