Instant Reaction: 3 ways the shocking NBA draft lottery results impact Nuggets future

#1.) The Thunder add another lottery pick

Should the Nuggets advance to the Western Conference Finals in a week, it very well may be the Thunder there waiting for them. This young OKC team has emerged, perhaps ahead of schedule, as a legitimate contender in the West.

They got the top seed in the West this season while having one of the youngest teams in the entire league. They also have arguably the best collection of draft capital in the whole league to play with. In other words, this team has the means to be very good for a very long time. They need to manage their assets correctly, but they are in a great position to do so and contend for West titles for years to come.

And now, thanks to a previous trade with the Rockets, the Thunder have added another pick to their coffers, the #12 overall pick in this year’s draft. The only way Houston was going to keep this pick would have been if it fell in the top four, which obviously didn’t happen.

Now the Thunder can either add another good young player to their squad or use this pick as a trade chip to bolster their roster in other ways. Either way, it’s a great coup for a Thunder team on the rise. They are going to be a problem for the Nuggets for years to come.

It actually could have even been a much better day for the Thunder as they were one pick away from receiving another lottery pick from the Jazz. But that pick was protected for the top 10 and luckily for Utah, the pick landed at 10th.