Grizzlies trade of Bennett Stirtz to Thunder raises big questions
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Grizzlies trade of Bennett Stirtz to Thunder raises big questions
Yahoo Sports’ Draft Live crew breaks down the 16th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as the Iowa guard was selected by Memphis before being dealt to Oklahoma City.
Video Transcript
We're seeing here that according to Shams that Memphis is trading number 16 to Bennett Sturtz and the Thunder for two second round picks.
AdvertisementAdvertisementSo maybe not.
He, he had his best workout and they're like, "All right, well, we kinda want second round picks."
You were good and we're gonna send you.
You wasn't so good.
But two seconds.
Two seconds.
Goodness.
Memphis, what are we doing here?
Wow.
Wow, wow.
What's going on, Memphis?
Well, you were waiting on a shock.
What?
Here we go.
Here we go.
Yeah, well, here we go.
We got a shock.
Trading for two second round picks.
We gotta- Two second round picks we gotta find out the details here with what the picks are 'cause Memphis, I'll tell you what, Memphis ha- sorry, OKC has a lot of draft capital here.
Including in this year's draft, OKC has 37.
AdvertisementAdvertisementI would imagine that's in the deal.
There's a lot of guards available- Yeah in the second round, as we'll talk about, when that happens tomorrow.
But I would imagine maybe another high value pick, but this- Wait, but are they gonna take 17?
as far as we know, they're gonna.
So they're gonna go 12, 16, and then they I mean, OKC getting Bennett Sturtz here for two second round picks.
Wow.
What?
I thought it would be the reverse, that the Oklahoma City Thunder had too many bodies and so maybe we parlay our draft pick into picks down the road.
But you're seeing the Memphis Grizzlies punt on this pick, Bennett Sturtz.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWhy does OK- I feel like some- Why does- the other shoe is gonna drop here.
Yeah.
Why- Why, why does OKC want him?
Well, a- also, they already had the 17th pick.
Unless you thought Memphis was gonna take Bennett, why not just take him at 17?
So it feels like there's another shoe that's about to drop here because for OKC, they already were under a roster crunch, tra- trading Aaron Wiggins, to the Atlanta Hawks and feeling like, oh, all right, now that he can fill out this roster and maybe they take two, but three first round picks?
We'll see what they do here at 17.
But even with that, the fit, I, I don't love the fit of Bennett Sturtz in OKC.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen you think of OKC, you think of tough, hard-nosed guards that are willing to defend, that are going to get stops, pressure you, and cause havoc o- on every front for an offensive player.
Bennett Sturtz is a offensive savant.
That is, he lead in the pick and roll, can shoot it off the dribble.
He is an offensive, mastermind, right?
He's not a defensive guy.
He's never been a defensive-first guy.
He doesn't fit into the system of what OKC wants to do.
I will say, Bennett Sturtz played the most minutes in, out of the NCAA, right, on the floor entirely.
And, and that's- Did not foul out many games.
And that's, ooh.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHe is a smart, also, defender on the floor.
But, like, is, y- you're differentiating smart and physical, right?
Yes.
I, I think that you can be a smart defender, but I view OKC as physical defenders.
I view guys who cause havoc and make your life hell for 48 minutes.
May you like
Maybe they felt like they had enough of those guys and they needed to diversify their back court, and maybe that's the I mean, I'm, I'm searching, too.
I mean, I'm-
- Grizzlies trade of Bennett Stirtz to Thunder raises big questionsYahoo Sports’ Draft Live crew breaks down the 16th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as the Iowa guard was selected by Memphis before being dealt to Oklahoma City.2:47Now PlayingPaused
- Post-lottery mock draft: Bennett Stirtz to the Nuggets1:06Now PlayingPaused
- Bennett Stirtz would fit perfectly with the Toronto Raptors2:20Now PlayingPaused
- Thunder reportedly willing to trade 3 picks for top 10 pick in 2026 NBA Draft1:21Now PlayingPaused
- Grizzlies trade back again with Detroit Pistons who grab Ebuka Okorie2:27Now PlayingPaused
- Thunder draft a 'Wemby stopper,' then Spurs counter amid 'arms race' in the West2:15Now PlayingPaused
- Bennett Stirtz explains why a point guard can't be 'the quiet guy in the locker room'2:10Now PlayingPaused
