Free Agency Reports ESCALATING… New Thunder Targets REVEALED l OKC Thunder News

Free Agency Reports ESCALATING… New Thunder Targets REVEALED l OKC Thunder News

with the 2024 free agency class slowly coming upon us here with just about a month out the Oklahoma City Thunder are linked to potentially every single Center in this year’s free agency class cuz they do have the cap room to get them however there are three that are at the top of the list that it’s a Surefire that OKC is going to sign one of these three guys what up it’s Bryson aens here from the Thunder digest video for you guys today before we get all this though I want to take a moment recognize only 13% of you guys coming back and watch in the channel are subscribed the other 86% of you guys you guys haven’t hit that subscribe button yet so if you find if you find yourself coming back you enjoy the content uh just go ahead hit that subscribe button it’s the best way to support the channel and now we can go ahead and get into the video as we’ve already talked about these guys before but it’s becoming more clear each and every single day that the Thunder and Sam presty are going to try and sign one of these guys from a recent tweet here Nick Claxton Isaiah hartenstein and uh yonas funas are potential targets for the OKC Thunder per Mike scato rival executives are monitoring the Thunder as a potential team in the free agent Center Market this summer with several names available such as Nick Claxton who can potentially command over 20 million on the market as noted by Hoops hype Isaiah hartenstein and Jonas valunas who’s not expected to return to New Orleans so there’s an update right there let alone with one of the guys with yonas valunas who’s not expected to return to New Orleans right there he’s expected to try and find a new team and the Thunder could be that team but I have some thoughts about him but before that I just want to talk about the two other guys because I feel like claxon or hartenstein might be better additions to the team than what yonas can bring first talking about Claxton here this is an article that I saw I can’t I want to say it was uh clutch points posted it but they’re talking about three free agent targets for the Thunder uh number one guy we’ll talk about in another video but this is what they had to say about Claxton as stated above rebounding is arguably the Thunder’s biggest need however giving a big contract to someone who cannot play alongside hren doesn’t make sense the 2022 draft uh draft e was second in Rookie of the Year voting this season after missing his would be rookie season to an injury uh he’s talking about uh Chad there claxon is a starting caliber Center too but the two could share the court together hren has experience at the power for position and he shot the three ball incredibly well the Gonzaga product could play stints at the four while Claxton takes on the burden of guarding Center Claxton is one of the best shot blockers in the NBA and with ham help Rim uh helps side Rim protection the duo would be one of the hardest score on in the interior in the league so that alone adding Claxton to this team because we already know he’s a great defender a lot of people consider him be a top 20 defender in the league and potentially even a top 10 uh Center in the league I definitely see him as a top 10 Center in the league he could even be a top five defensive Center if you want to go that far that might be a little bit of a hot take however I do think the addition of him because he has decent size on his body he has a decent frame he boxes out and rebounds well and he is one of the better Rim protectors in the league and he has a very impressive vertical he gets up there high as well and so adding that in with Chad for that backside Rim protection that cat can apply while claxon is holding it down in the paint I think our defense would be set because as you notice in the in the playoffs we were kind of getting killed on the inside with all these alley oops and just getting back down low in the paint just because we didn’t have the size or Rim protection to go up against H guys like Jonas alen chunis or Derek ly Daniel Gafford and those guys but another player that kind of comes out to mind that I think would fit best in our system well Sam presty wants us to be a to pass and shoot the ball and be a bunch of Playmakers is hartenstein especially what they had to say in this article here hartstein is one of the best passing centers in the league on an offense that likes to keep the ball moving hartenstein wouldn’t slow down the Thunder flu uh fluidity on that end like a number of backup centers would think Andre Drummond he also provides traditional Center skills like rebounding and screening hartenstein has earned a bigger role and the Thunder might not be able to provide him with that especially if they are committed to playing hren exclusively at the five the team will have more than enough money to pry him away from New York though and coming off of the bench might be Haren Stein’s long-term home anyways at only 26 years old hartenstein still fits the Thunders timeline I’m glad they brought up brought that up how he’s only 26 years old how he’s still a young guy it’s the same with Claxton Claxton is also a young guy as well and that fits into what we have going on here at OKC guys slowly entering their prime or you know trying to find their way into that role that they can have and be the best player that they can be cuz we’re a very young team we are majority of our team is under the age of 25 and that’s impressive when you have a squad like that and we’re playing at such a high level already with guys already entering their Prime higher you know sooner than they expected such such as SGA 25 years old and already is an MVP candidate Chu hren one of the top centers in the league and what what is his rookie season jdub in his second season one of the best uh second scoring options in the league Lou Dort also young guy one of the best defenders in the league and so it just goes to show you we developed uh young guys at a quick level and adding in another young guy such as clax or hartenstein could develop our offense and defense just a little bit more however I kind of want to look at the stats and the size and also talk about which I think would be the best option for us looking at Claxton first he’s 611 215 lbs so like I said it’s a good frame I that’s a decent frame it would be nice if he has that that 7 foot Mark but you know an inch under that isn’t all that much 25 years old as well averaged 12 points 10 rebounds and two assists this year year on 62% shooting from the field that was fifth in the league he was 13th in rebounds so of course that alone right there is going to help us out with the rebounding and the field goal percentage those two things alone going to help us out big time then you got to look at another guy these are hartenstein stats he is a little bit of a bigger frame at 7 foot and 250 lbs in his Fifth Season he’s 26 years old 7.8 points per game 8.3 rebounds that was 20th in the league and 2.5 assist on 64% shooting from the field so when you look at that better numbers than or I say better numbers better field goal number than Claxton there however I think you also got to keep in mind the reason is points aren’t as high or rebounds or assist is because he was a bench guy majority of the year he would only go into that starting role when Mitchell Robinson was injured because we know he is an injury-prone guy but when goinging into that starting center role he definitely filled it quite well then with this last guy who I don’t think should be the fit or signing is Jonas funes he’s 611 265 lbs and yes he gets boards we saw that clearly in the series against the Thunder um or in the series against the Pelicans I should say with when the Thunder rep playing them 12.2 points 8.8 rebounds 2.1 assists uh 55 uh field goal percentage he’s like I mentioned 67 265 lbs he’s older though 32 but he brings an experience that’s the upside with him however I don’t think he fits in with what we have going on in OKC that’s the problem he is your traditional Center that’s what he is and he’s older there’s no guarantee he’s going to play like he did last season and into this next season there’s no guarantee about that when once you start getting older it’s natural for the decline to happen that’s why I think our focus should be on claxon and hartenstein but keep yonas valunas as the backup option in case those two guys don’t pan out and you can’t sign them to the team I think we have the money to assign both those guys however and so I don’t think Jonas valunas will ever really come on this team even if we you know like I just think it’s going to come down between CLA or hartstein but if I had my choice between the two it’s very tough it is because a I don’t know what prey is thinking I don’t no one knows what prey is thinking he keeps his thoughts and he makes sure when he’s talking to the media he is very well trained when talking in press conferences to not reveal anything cuz we don’t know if he wants a traditional you know rebounder and post score and rim protector in that uh free agency in this free agency signing with all this cap space we have or someone that’s another playmaker that allows us to move the ball around a little bit more so it’s definitely very strange both players provide something to this team that is very valuable hartenstein provides playmaking and uh sets with decent screens that’s what he is he’s kind of like he just he moves the ball around well as as a center as a center he moves it around very well claxon on the other hand he would improve our defense tenfolds just adding in that extra rim protector allowing Chad to kind of back off and play more help defense and not have to kind of clog that paint and leave some wide open mid-range shots that would kill us I think that helps us out a ton there it’s just both players bring a different side to the game that I think we could definitely benefit from is there a chance we could get both I don’t think so I think claxon’s GNA demand somewhere you know anywhere from 20 to $23 million per year I think it’ll probably be a if OKC is smart they would offer him a 2-year $22 million deal so we also have the money to extend Chad and Jay dub after their rookie contracts are up when his also expires there so we have the cap space for him because we also are going to be able to sign SGA to the super max deal which he definitely deserve but then hartenstein he can come off the bench for us and I feel like he could also start in that starting center rle at 7 foot 250 lbs I feel like he could also be a starter for us and just add on that playmaking and rebounding cuz it’s not like he doesn’t rebound well he does he boxes out and he makes sure he grabs boards it’s just both players provide a different kind of skill set of this team and just realistically I wouldn’t be mad with either of those two options I just think Jonas valunas should not be the first option no matter what I’m sure a bunch of Thunder fans could agree I think he should be this the backup option if none of it pans out out there for some reason and also I know a lot of people want to bring up Zack Ed as well why don’t we go draft him with the 12th pick I think that would be a mistake just being honest I can go into video delving on that a little bit more uh the 12 overall pick there but I think the plan should be go after both of them at the same time and just see which one is more budget friendly that’s that’s my thought process you can trade for another guy that’s all I got for this video and I’ll see you guys in the next one

Every free agent is currently linked to the Thunder due to the large cap room they have. However, the top 3 potential signings have become clear. Bryson Akins covers what each of these players could bring to the team, along with what is the best option.

Thunder Digest covers the latest reports, news and rumors regarding the Oklahoma City Thunder. If you want to stay updated with every trade, move and tidbit on players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Josh Giddey, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, Mark Daigneault and Sam Presti.