There were multiple trades that took place during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, and one of those trades involved the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings. The Kings moved into the first round of by acquiring the No. 24 overall pick from the Thunder. The Kings then used their newly acquired first round pick in the NBA Draft to select Nique Clifford from Colorado State.
From the Thunder’s side of things, they received a 2027 first round NBA Draft pick from the Kings that is top-16 protected, as per Clemente Almanza of OKC Thunder Wire. The Thunder already had a previous first round pick at No. 15 which they used on big man Thomas Sorber from Georgetown.
This trade makes sense for both teams, and here are trade grades for each team beginning with the reigning champion Thunder.
Thunder acquire future draft pick from Kings
For a team looking to defend their title, there’s only so many young players and projects they can take. The Thunder already have a player on their roster in Nikola Topić who was a lottery pick. He was sidelined all of last season due to an ACL injury. Part of the ‘problem’ so to speak with having so many draft picks is what to actually do with them.
The Thunder already took Sorber with their early first round pick, and there isn’t much room on the roster for another first round talent. With the Kings trade, they don’t have to worry about adding another young player and salary for the upcoming season, while still maintaining future draft assets.
Moving forward, the Thunder have multiple first round picks in Topić, Sorber and Dillon Jones to develop, while contending for more championships. Adding another first rounder just wasn’t something they needed to do at the time. They stuck to the plan. The way this team is currently set up, they will be contenders for the near future.
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Final grade: A
Kings select Nique Clifford after Thunder trade
For the Kings, nabbing a first round talent that could potentially contribute immediately is a no-brainer. And that’s exactly what they did with this trade. Nique Clifford was one of the most intriguing players in the NBA Draft, and he could see regular rotation minutes for the Kings this upcoming season.
Clifford might be one of the most NBA ready players from the first round. He’s coming off a career year during his final season of college basketball at Colorado. He appeared in 36 games at a little over 35 minutes per game. He averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 49.6 percent shooting from the field, 37.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Kings came into the draft without a first round pick, and they leave with arguably one of the better players in the draft. The only potential downside to this trade is the Kings gave away future draft capital. But depending on how Clifford turns out, it may not matter much in the long run.
With Jake LaRavia set to hit unrestricted free agency, the Kings potentially have a cheaper replacement in Clifford. There’s a good chance that as the 2025-26 season progresses, Clifford will emerge as the Kings’ primary backup wing. The Kings will be looking to get back in the playoff race after being eliminated in the play-in last year.
Final grade: A