The Thunder’s NEXT Move Is Here…

The Thunder’s NEXT Move Is Here…

everyone in the NBA right now agrees that the Oklahoma City Thunder are next up they had the second youngest roster in the NBA last season and the other teams that finished around them in that category were teams like San Antonio Charlotte Portland all teams that we can agree are not very good meanwhile the Thunder won a playoff series the youngest team ever to win a playoff series they went six games with a Mavs team that ultimately made the finals and honestly if you look back at that series if Dallas had shot in that Thunder series the way that they did in the finals OKC easily could have made the Western Conference Finals even beyond that this season so we can all agree that Oklahoma City is on their way to being real legitimate Championship contenders and arguably are already there but this offseason they have an opportunity to take things to a completely different level and for years we’ve known that Oklahoma City was going to be able to make all these different moves they’re going to have all these draft picks maybe bring in a star constantly reinforce the roster but the thing that is different about this off season that will not be the case for years for Oklahoma City is they are real players in free agency as well and this is the last time that OKC will have that meaningful cap space to use when you look at their contracts they only have one Max guy on there which is unusual for a team that just got the one seed in a very tough Western Conference and that’s because of that youth that I talked about earlier critical pieces like Chad and Jaylen Williams they’re still on their rookie scale contracts for now which keeps the expenses low and allows for all this cap space that OKC has you’re not supposed to have as much talent as they do and still have cap space and the most efficient thing to do when building a team in the NBA is to use this cap space now on upgrades then go over the cap later to extend not only chat jayen Williams and any other young guys you want to keep but also potentially Lou D and the recently acquired Alex Caruso what OKC is attempting to do this offseason have one Max guy on the books in sgaa have all these rookie scale contracts use up all your cap space then go over the cap later to extend your own guys is the most efficient way possible to build a true young Contender which makes it critical that they use their cap space well this off season which is fantastic for them because this is a team that already has an MVP candidate in SGA they already have a ton of other guys that work really well within their system and this free agency class what it lacks for in Star Talent does have exactly the kind of pieces that Oklahoma City needs and there’s two main things they’re going to be looking at to try and add in free agency the first is of course more size and more specifically more bulk in the front court jet hren for as good as he was in what was basically his rookie season in the NBA cannot be the Thunders long-term full-time five regardless of matchup they’re going to be certain teams in which chat is an awesome option because of his ability to defend the rim and his ability to shoot from three but there are going to be times that Oklahoma City is going to need another option in the front court and that is going to be a huge priority for them this off season and of course the other area of improvement for them was a Josh giddy replacement a fifth starter someone that fits really well at the end of these games which they got by sending him to Chicago for Alex kuso a deal that I absolutely loved for OKC but there is something with that trade that not a lot of people are talking about Caruso as good as he is has never really been a full-time starter he kind of was last year when he set a career-high in minutes and game started but that career high in minutes was almost 29 minutes a game he’s not someone that’s ever been a 34 or 35 minute a game guy and he’s had some injury issues over the course of his career as well and so as helpful as I think he’s going to be maybe not necessarily in a super high volume minute role so for OKC even though they did solve their Josh gidy problem and as good of a Defender as Caruso is they’re still going to want to use the cap space that by the way they still have post Caruso trade to add even more depth on the wing and in the back court to potentially utilize Caruso in more of a sixthman role to keep those minutes down and make him more effective while also of course trying to solve that big man issue we talked about as well and if you look around the league right now there are definitely some rumors swirling about who specifically they might be targeting first and foremost Klay Thompson feels like a legitimate option for OKC as as that fifth starter as someone that provides floor space and can still guard a little bit at this point in his career and I’m of the opinion that if you put clay in a situation that has as much space and as much playmaking as they do in Oklahoma City he can still Thrive and he can still be a starting caliber player on a really good team as good as golden state has been over the last handful of Seasons at times they really struggle with offensive creation they struggle with finding advantages and Clay can now be one of those guys in Oklahoma City they have plenty of guys that can create the advantages and then he can just be the spacer which is exactly what he should be at this point in his career and OKC can go out and get him on a shorter deal two years three years at 30 to $35 million a year and it doesn’t really impact their long-term flexibility despite bringing in someone that is so much older than the rest of their roster in terms of some rumors that we have about guys in the front Court Isaiah Haren Stein’s name continues to come up with Oklahoma City he’s got some good passing Vision he’s one of the better rebounders in the entire Eastern Conference and he’s someone that it would be a little bit of a risk for Oklahoma City to bring in because we don’t have a huge sample size of him being a fantastic starting caliber NBA player but he was really good for the Knicks provides a toughness that it seems like they need and would fit decently well within their offense despite not being able to space the floor at least not being asked to space the floor a ton he is a good passer he would be a connecting piece and a piece I think would work pretty well alongside Chad right now the rumors are saying it’s going to be worth right around 20 $25 million a year to get Isaiah har sign in Oklahoma City the last real name that I’m seeing being connected to Oklahoma City right now is Jonas valunas there’s there’s a little bit of rumors out there about him possibly joining OKC if you just want to go for the ultimate like antithesis to what Chad holgren is as a player that’s Jonas balunis he’s not really going to space the floor for you but he is going to absolutely destroy teams on the offensive glass he will give you the opposite body type of what you currently have in Chad and it seems like that’s the guy that OKC is at least decently interested in and they could potentially get JV and play Thompson I would expect that the big man spot is somewhere that they’re going to try and be a little bit cheaper with and maybe go all out for that that perimeter player or some other guys that aren’t currently being rumored but I think we could certainly speculate would be good additions for Oklahoma City in the top of that list for me a guy that I can’t believe we don’t have rumors or anything out there right now in relation to him potentially leaving and going to OKC is ogn and Obi if you just tried to create a player in a lab that would be perfect for what OKC re needs right now it would be OG an anobi he can guard he can shoot he can create a little bit and he would be perfect within this offense gives them flexibility in terms of being able to play bigger or play smaller they’ve got every single body type covered defensively between him and Lou Dort because OG has uh more length obviously and Dort is stronger those two guys together alongside the offense that they already have in Oklahoma City would be unbelievable the only question would be if the Knicks aren’t willing to step up and give ogan a ton of money and if the $5 million a year in cap space that OKC currently has would be enough to lure him away and get him to OKC but if I was the Thunder again this is all speculation this is the guy at the top of the list for me other speculation options for them include someone like Paul George or Lebron that seems unlikely at this point given the fact that Paul George has been to oklah Oklahoma City Once also they would need more money ideally to offer him and then LeBron seems unlikely because he’s either going to go back to LA or he’s going to go to a more proven winning situation and in my opinion most realistic istically he’s going to go back to the Lakers now the nice thing for OKC they now have the opportunity after that after signing those guys to use all these future draft picks that they have to use all of these assets and and pair that with some other salaries and still go out and get another really critical important piece for them step one is going to be free agency whether it be a big contract like OG and and Obi or a handful of smaller contracts to add to their depth but step two is going to be possibly adding even more depth or a big name with the assets that they have and of course sprinkle a little bit of the draft as well that’s the benefit of how OKC has built this team smart drafting smart contracts all building towards this off season where they could go from a really good young team that got the one seed to a legit top tier contender

The OKC Thunder have already started the offseason by trading Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso, but they still have a ton more moves available to them in NBA trades, the 2024 NBA draft, and NBA free agency.

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