June 24, 6:23 am: The trade is official, according to press releases from both the Grizzlies and Thunder.
June 23, 10:45 pm: The two future second-rounders being sent to the Grizzlies in the deal are a 2030 selection (the most favorable of Denver’s, Miami’s, and Houston’s picks) and Oklahoma City’s 2033 pick, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
June 23, 8:55 pm: Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz is the 16th overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft and the first to be involved in a draft-night trade. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link), the Grizzlies are sending Stirtz to the Thunder in exchange for the No. 17 pick and two second-rounders.
Stirtz began his college career at D-II Northwest Missouri State in 2022 and transferred to Drake for his junior year in 2024 before following head coach Ben McCollum from the Bulldogs to Iowa for his senior season in 2025. Stirtz led the Hawkeyes in points (19.8), assists (4.4), and steals (1.4) per game last season while shooting 47.7% from the field (35.8% on three-pointers) and 84.8% from the free throw line.
Playing all 40 minutes in each of Iowa’s four NCAA tournament games, Stirtz led the school to a spot in the Elite Eight and scored 24 of the team’s 59 points in a 71-59 loss to Illinois.
Iowa played at a very slow pace, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo points out, so Stirtz will have to adjust to the up-tempo NBA game, and his lack of athleticism may be an issue on the defensive end. But the 22-year-old is a well-rounded offensive player whose shooting and play-making impressed NBA evaluators.
Given their roster crunch, there was a belief that the Thunder might trade one of their two first-rounders in this year’s draft. Instead, Oklahoma City selected big man Aday Mara at No. 12 and then moved up a spot to nab Stirtz, so the team is now poised to add two rookies to one of the NBA’s most talented rosters.
The Thunder’s 2024 lottery pick, Nikola Topic, has barely played in the NBA due to a series of health issues over the past two years, while 2025 first-rounder Thomas Sorber missed all of last season due to an ACL tear. It will be interesting to see whether Oklahoma City carries all four players on next year’s roster, given that three have no NBA experience and Topic has played in just 10 games.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, agreed to a second trade with Detroit and have moved down again from No. 17 to No. 21.
