What will OKC Thunder do in 2026 NBA Draft? Answering your biggest questions

Sam Presti and the rest of the OKC Thunder’s front office have some big decisions to make this offseason.

How will OKC use its three picks (Nos. 12, 17 and 37) in NBA Draft? How will it handle its team options on starters Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort? Will it look to make any trades?

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I’ve gathered 10 of your biggest offseason questions for the latest edition of our Thunder mailbag series. Let's get into it:

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@ThumbsUpOKC: What does offseason rest versus training look like? Do they get to have a couple weeks off after a long season and playoffs before coming back to train full time?

It's all up to the individual player and his personal team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already back in Canada with longtime trainer Nem Ilic, who posted a video Monday of the two working out for the first time this summer. Chet Holmgren is currently doing some offseason training at City of London School in the United Kingdom, where his girlfriend is from. Ajay Mitchell is back in Santa Barbara, presumably to train at his alma mater, UC Santa Barbara. Rest is important, especially after a deep playoff run. But, in general, guys don't take too long before getting back in the gym.

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@Grateful_Lee: What's the deal with Nikola Topić's back?

OKC announced Saturday that Nikola Topić had a successful minimally invasive lumbar microdiscectomy procedure. It's a surgery that relieves nerve pain by removing the portion of a disc compressing a spinal nerve rather than the entire disc. Recovery time is generally measured in weeks, not months, according to Hospital for Special Surgery. It seems like OKC is taking the cautious approach by ruling Topić out for Summer League in July, which is understandable. He'll be ready for the start of NBA training camp in September.

@thevillagerok: What are your thoughts on Chet Holmgren and how we can get him more mentally into games? Or is his future limited because wasting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s prime on him figuring it out isn’t worth it?

I think Chet Holmgren was great all season until the Western Conference Finals. He made the All-Star team, the All-NBA third team and the All-Defensive first team at 24. And he was absolutely dominant during the first two playoff rounds against Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, people will forget about that and focus on his play against San Antonio. It’s a bad matchup, considering he’s mostly a play finisher on offense and Victor Wembanyama is protecting the rim. But like you said, he also didn’t have the right mindset. He was far too passive, even when it came to attempting catch-and-shoot 3-pointers over smaller opponents. OKC can help by getting Holmgren more involved early in games with easy dump-off passes and lobs, but a lot of it falls on him. He’ll have to embrace the challenge and be willing to fail sometimes, like getting his shot swatted or missing open looks. Because that’s better than nothing, which OKC can’t afford to get out of one of its star players.

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@HackNBeans_: Will the narrative about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander foul baiting and our team’s defense being too aggressive change since we got beat out of the playoffs? Also, what are the odds SGA wins a third consecutive MVP?

I don’t expect those narratives to change. Sure, OKC is no longer the reigning champ. But it’s still a title contender, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still one of the most unguardable scorers in the NBA. Neither are going anywhere, so the narratives will also stick around.

To answer your second question, these are the literal MVP odds from FanDuel: Victor Wembanyama (+200), Gilgeous-Alexander (+330), Nikola Jokic (+500), Luka Doncic (+650) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1600). That sounds about right to me. My early prediction would be Wembanyama, who has all of the talent in the world and a storyline to his MVP campaign that’s already taking shape after falling short in the NBA Finals. But Gilgeous-Alexander will surely be in the running again.

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@mg_product82: Where would Thomas Sorber go if he was in this year’s draft? With Sorber in our back pocket, should we really aim to draft Aday Mara?

There’s a good argument for Thomas Sorber being the best center in this draft class. Sure, he’s 6-foot-9 compared to the 7-3 Aday Mara, but they both have a 7-6 wingspan. Both players are strong rim protectors and impressive passers at their size, and both players are still working on becoming better floor spacers. Sorber is one year younger than Mara (20 compared to 21), but he has injury concerns after sustaining a foot injury with Georgetown and a torn ACL with OKC. I’d give a slight edge to Mara because of that, but it’s close enough of a call that you’d think the Thunder wouldn’t need both players on the roster. If it does go with Mara on draft night, it’d be pretty telling. Maybe there are concerns about Sorber’s health or the likelihood of re-signing Isaiah Hartenstein. Or maybe there’s none of that, and OKC will go with someone else on draft night. We’ll see.

@MakeCocktailsNotWar: In your opinion, what is the most likely 2026 Draft scenario for the Thunder?

I think the most likely scenario is that OKC doesn’t use both first-round picks since roster spots are limited. Whether that means packaging both picks to move up or trading one for a future pick just depends on who the Thunder covets. If it’s a player it feels it needs to trade up to select, it has the assets to do that. If it’s a player it can still get while moving down and getting something extra in return, it’ll do that. It’s all about maximizing the value of each pick, as Sam Presti said during his end-of-season availability.

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@TonyGSalsa: Who do you see as a likely free agent OKC signs?

I can give you a much better answer after the draft. I will say that OKC could benefit from adding a big wing. Someone who could put less pressure on guys such as Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Lu Dort to size up defensively. Someone who could also help in the 3-point shooting department. And, ideally, someone who wouldn’t break the bank. Maybe OKC can find that in the draft with someone such as Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, a 6-9 forward who can defend multiple positions and space the floor. But if it can’t, it could try to find that player via free agency or a trade.

@Madler84: Will Lu Dort be on the team next season?

I'm 50-50 on it. You guys don't need me to tell you how much OKC's front office and its players value Lu Dort, but the reality is that the team already has guys such as Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso who could replace his production as a 3-and-D guard. I think the Thunder will decline its $17.7 million team option on Dort and offer him a smaller but longer deal. I'd project it to be in the range of $12-14 million per year. Could he get more somewhere else? Absolutely. Will he prioritize staying with the team over getting paid? That's the question.

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@Zrigsby58: Will we sign Russell Westbrook on a vet minimum? With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Westbrook as Nikola Topić’s mentors, you’re creating a monster.

No. Sam Presti wears many types of frames, but nostalgia goggles aren't one of them. He won't burn a roster spot at a time when the team has a full squad and three picks in the upcoming draft just to let Russell Westbrook sit at the end of the bench, which is what he'd do most nights at 37. Westbrook had his time with OKC, and he'll surely have his number retired by the franchise when he decides to hang it up. But a reunion before then isn't happening.

@YouWereBrained: What does the starting lineup look like for next season, regardless of the draft?

This is also hard to answer right now, and that isn’t because of the draft. It’s because OKC has team options on two of its starters. But even if the Thunder brought both of them back, I think we’d see a lot of this starting lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Lu Dort’s minutes declined this postseason due in part to the strong play of Wallace, who was just as elite definitively and far more impactful on offense. The 22-year-old guard shot 48.4% from deep on 4.1 attempts per game and was more capable as a shot creator and playmaker. Of course, there’d be some situations where Dort would get the starting nod. His strength allows him to size up a bit more than Wallace on defense, and he does go through hot streaks from deep. But Wallace brings a lot to the table while still complementing the rest of OKC’s starters, and he’s only getting better.

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Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What will OKC Thunder do in 2026 NBA Draft? Answering biggest questions