OKC is one of the most interesting teams to follow this summer. Damien Da Silva has just released the odds for the 2025 title and the Thunder find themselves 4th (tied) among the bookmakers. We can imagine that the latter believe that things are likely to change in Oklahoma. I offer you some possible scenarios based on WeAreThunder France (excellent YouTube podcast on this franchise) and my suggestions for imagining OKC’s summer. I invite you to make your own suggestions in the comments.
1 – Some statistics
Salary Cap 2024-2025: 141 million / 101 million roster already under contract
Players who do not have a guaranteed contract and who are at risk of leaving: G.Hayward, O.Sarr, Biyombo, Muscala, K.Jonhson
Team Option: Lindy Watters (2.2 million) / Isaiah Joe (2.15 million) and Aaron Wiggins (2 million) or 6.35 million if all three options are exercised
Cap available: 40 million without options / 33.65 million if OKC activates the 3 options. That of Lindy Watters should be activated, for the other two the situation is more complex.
Salary floor: 127 million (i.e. 20 to 26 million salary to be spent this summer at least)
Mid-Level – 13 millions
Picks available in the next 6 drafts: 14 first rounds / 19 second rounds
Draft 2024: Pick 12 – If the pick is kept OKC should draft a player already ready to bring to the NBA like C.Wallace or J.Williams were.
2 – Les cas I.Joe et A.Wiggins
Option 1: OKC can choose to activate the option on the contracts of these two players, allowing them to benefit at a lower cost next season. With a view to playing for the title next season, this is the most interesting option, allowing us to retain cap space to strengthen ourselves in other positions. But it would be taking the risk of seeing these two rotation players leave without compensation in 1 year.
Option 2: The Thunder can also offer these players a longer extension, but at a higher cost. This is the choice that the staff made with Luguentz Dort for example.
What price will OKC be willing to offer these two players this summer to ensure their presence for several seasons? What price will the teams with caps this summer (Charlotte, Detroit, Utah, San Antonio, Philadelphia) be ready to offer to these players on July 1?
To compare, DiVincenzo took 50 million / 4 years (12.5 M / year) last year. Concerning the Thunder squad, Dort (holder at the time of his signing) took 15/16 M/year and K.Williams 6/7 M/year.
Both players showed limitations and are not destined to become starters. We must therefore not exceed a certain amount above which they risk becoming too expensive if they do not cross a threshold.
For Joe, the maximum rate not to be exceeded could be 12 to 14 million/year. For Wiggins 8 to 10 million/year. Ideally we should keep these two players with a 3-year contract (to be able to align with SGA and C.Wallace).
Option 3: Use these two players in a trade this summer. They have a low contract but OKC has cap space to absorb a “big” contract.
3 – What about Josh Giddey?
Josh may get an extension this summer. He has not managed to find his feet this season in the role given to him and his value has dropped significantly due to the limits displayed, especially in the playoffs. He is a player who needs to have the ball in hand and the complementarity with SGA does not seem ideal (especially since he now finds himself behind J-Dub in the use of the ball). He has a good chance of not getting his extension and being included in a trade, unless OKC thinks they can increase his value before making a trade in January.
4 – Offseason needs
– A high-volume 3-point shooter to provide spacing
– A 3rd ball carrier (capable of being the 2nd when SGA is resting)
– A tall winger capable of rebounding (OKC’s big weak point this year).
– After meeting these needs, if there are still possibilities, a backup pivot behind Chet.
5 – Players potentially available and capable of filling part of the needs
a) Live a trade
– Guards : Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta), Malcom Brogdon (Portland), Collin Sexton (Utah), Alex Carruso (Chicago)
– Ailiers : Corey Kispert (Washington), Cam Johnson (Brooklyn), De’andre Hunter (Atlanta), Dorian Finney-Smith (Brooklyn), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn), Deni Avdija (Washington), Julius Randle (NY)
– Player who can become the back-up pivot (even if not necessarily the base pivot): I.Stewart (Detroit), R.Wiliams (Portland), J.Isaac (Orlando)
b) Via la free agency
– Guards : De’anthony Melton, K.Thompson, E.Fournier
– Ailiers : KCP, Miles Bridges, Naji Marshall, N.Batum, R.Covington, J.Green, C.Osman
– Pivots : Jalen Smith, D.Theis, J.Hayes, M.Bamba, Hartenstein, X.Tillman
6 – Roster proposals for next season (realistic in terms of salary cap)
a) Scenario 1 – We take the same ones and start again
Some (perhaps many) think that the team should be given time to develop. This was Atlanta’s choice after their conference final, for the result we know.
Can the OKC team rely on internal progression? The player, morphologically speaking, capable of meeting the needs of the Thunder would be… Ousmane Dieng. But he has not yet shown the expected development (despite his G-League MVP) for the staff to trust him. C.Wallace is not that far from having the level of a starter, but he does not provide the size we are looking for. In a scenario without big moves Giddey or A.Wiggins would take the place in the 5.
Five: SGA / L.Dort / J.Williams / A.Wiggins / C.Holmgren
The bench: C.Wallace / I.Joe / J.Giddey / C.Williams (going up to the draft) / J.Williams
b) Scenario 2 – Adjustments
Five: SGA / L.Dort / J.Williams / C.Johnson (Nets) / C.Holmgren
Le banc : M.Brogdon (Portland) / C.Wallace / C.Kispert (Washington) / A.Wiggins / T.Smith (en baissant le pick 12)
c) Scenario 3 – A big trade around the most complementary player
OKC could release several picks to look for the most complementary player to the rest of the major five. The problem could arise in 2 years when it will be necessary to extend Chet and/or J-Dub. For WeAreThunder the most suitable player would be D.Avdija. For this scenario we will keep their proposal:
Five: SGA / L.Dort / J.Williams / D.Avdija (Trade Washington) / C.Holmgren
Le banc : C.Wallace / D.Melton* / I.Joe / A.Wiggins / J.Williams
d) Scenario 4 – A big trade with Atlanta (if the Hawks decide to rebuild)
Five: SGA / L.Dort / J.Williams / Hunter (Atlanta) / C.Holmgren
Le banc: C.Wallace / Bogdanovic (Atlanta) / N.Batum* / J.Williams
e) Full free agency
Five: SGA / L.Dort / J.Williams / Miles Bridges* / C.Holmgren
Le banc : C.Wallace / I.Joe / A.Wiggins / J.Green* / J.Smith
f) The exotic proposition of WeAreThunder France (this includes salary)
Five: SGA / L.Dort / J.Williams / D.Avdija (Washington) / C.Holmgren
Le banc : A.Caruso (Bulls) / C.Wallace / C.Kispert (Washington) / N.Marshall* / J.Smith*
g) My exotic proposition (that translates into salary)
Five: SGA / Dort / Mikal Bridges (Nets) / J-Dub / Chet
2nd unit : Caruso (Bulls) /Joe / Wiggins / DF.Smith (Nets) / D.Theis*
Do not hesitate to make your suggestions
2024-06-18 15:18:21
#Oklahoma #City #Thunder #time #action
