One of the side effects of the Play-In Tournament was the major impact it had on the 2022 NBA Draft board. This season, multiple teams saw their 2022 draft pick situation change based on the results of the Play-In Tournament.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers loss to the Atlanta Hawks, their pick went from being tied for 16/17 to 14. That pick was lottery-protected, so Cleveland will now keep the pick vs delivering it to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers can receive a first-round selection from the Cavs next season, but it is also lottery-protected. It turns into two second-round picks if not conveyed in 2023.

The New Orleans Pelicans victory over the LA Clippers had an even bigger impact to the draft board. The Pelicans pick went from 11 to 15. That changed who New Orleans conveys that pick to from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Charlotte Hornets. Portland will now receive a top-4 protected Milwaukee Bucks (via New Orleans) in 2025.

The Clippers dropping into the lottery gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a second lottery selection. That pick is also non-protected. It's important to remember that LA once conveyed the first overall selection to Cleveland when they jumped to the top of the draft lottery.

The full pre-lottery first round order is:

1. Houston Rockets
2. Orlando Magic
3. Detroit Pistons
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Portland Trail Blazers
7. Sacramento Kings
8. New Orleans Pelicans (via Los Angeles Lakers)
9. San Antonio Spurs
10. Washington Wizards
11. New York Knicks
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via LA Clippers)
13. Charlotte Hornets
14. Cleveland Cavaliers
15. Charlotte Hornets (via New Orleans Pelicans)
16. Atlanta Hawks
17. Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn Nets)
18. Chicago Bulls/Minnesota Timberwolves
19. Chicago Bulls/Minnesota Timberwolves
20. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto Raptors)
21. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto Raptors)
22. Memphis Grizzlies (via Utah Jazz)
23. Milwaukee Bucks/Philadelphia 76ers (or Brooklyn Nets)/San Antonio Spurs (via Boston Celtics)
24. Milwaukee Bucks/Philadelphia 76ers (or Brooklyn Nets)/San Antonio Spurs (via Boston Celtics)
25. Milwaukee Bucks/Philadelphia 76ers (or Brooklyn Nets)/San Antonio Spurs (via Boston Celtics)
26. Dallas Mavericks
27. Golden State Warriors/Miami Heat
28. Golden State Warriors/Miami Heat
29. Memphis Grizzlies
30. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Phoenix Suns)

Ties will be broken by random drawing on Monday, April 18.

The Brooklyn Nets can receive the Philadelphia 76ers first-round selection, or Brooklyn can defer to receiving that pick at the 2023 draft instead.

Derrick Favors may have only appeared in 39 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but that doesn't mean he's looking to leave town this summer. At his exit interview, Favors indicated he's likely to pick up his $10.2 million player option for next season.

“Yeah, I expect to be back here next year. Yeah, I’ll probably pick it up," Favors said about his option.

It should come as no surprise Favors plans to opt in. The 12-year veteran big man is unlikely to recoup that sort of value as a free agent.

After opting in, it's likely the Thunder will explore trades for Favors. They took a similar approach with veteran big man Al Horford.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a Two-Way contract.

Frazier (6-6, 210) split the 2021-22 season between the G League Iowa Wolves and Oklahoma City Blue, appearing in 50 games (36 starts) and averaging 13.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.46 steals in 30.2 minutes per game.

Oklahoma City waived Olivier Sarr in a related move.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Georgios Kalaitzakis to a 10-day contract.

Kalaitzakis was the 60th pick in the 2021 draft and appeared in nine games for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kalaitzakis has appeared in 21 G League games this season, averaging 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19.6 minutes for the Oklahoma City Blue and Wisconsin Herd.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to sign Zavier Simpson to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception.

Simpson has averaged 14.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 32.4 minutes over 35 games this season for the Oklahoma City Blue. Simpson went undrafted in 2020 out of Michigan.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Jaylen Hoard to a 10-day contract, via the NBA’s Hardship Allowance.
 
Hoard (6-8, 215) has played in 20 games with the Thunder over the 2020-22 seasons and averaged 5.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 16.1 minutes per game. He previously spent the 2019-20 season with the Portland Trail Blazers where he averaged 2.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13 appearances.
 
A native of France, Hoard played in 39 games (25 starts) with the Oklahoma City Blue this year, averaging 10.1 points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23.9 minutes per game.