The Oklahoma City Thunder look retooled with a new set of talent joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They have made some fairly decent moves in re-acquiring Victor Oladipo and working on getting Chet Holmgren back in shape in time for the season. But, there are still a lot of glaring question marks before the Thunder training camp starts. It all starts with what team they aspire to be and goes from there.
Will Victor Oladipo be ready to be the veteran?
Oladipo is coming back to the team after getting acquired in the NBA offseason. He is now 31 years old and has experienced his fair share of postseason success. Most notably, he got to great lengths with the Miami Heat in their recent runs despite falling short of an NBA title.
The Thunder training camp is going to need his leadership and experience going down the line. He has traveled roughly the same path as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Now, they hope to achieve to replicate the early postseason success that Victor Oladipo had with the Indiana Pacers. He got his well-deserved All-Star nod for that season and even pushed LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games.
A huge hindrance to this would be his injuries. He has only played 83 games in the span of three seasons. His ability to lead on the court and act as their general will be put into question if he does not earn enough playing time. A lot of these young guns will have to bank their success on him if they want a shot at a deep playoff run.
Is Chet Holmgren the Thunder's second scoring option?
There is no question who their number one go-to guy will be. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just earned All-NBA honors and they will hope for it to stay that way this season and onwards. The second option still remains a question in the minds of fans.
Josh Giddey has proven to be a good contributor in scoring buckets for the squad. But, the existing disparity between SGA's 31.4 points per game to Giddey's 15.6 is enormous. They still netted a 115.2 offensive rating for the season which ranked 13th in the league but they will have to fill the gap if they hope to improve.
Chet Holmgren might be the most solid option aside from Oladipo, Giddey, Jalen Williams, and Lu Dort. But, the main concern lies in whether or not the Thunder would trust the big man's efficiency. He will be bound to make rookie mistakes and take questionable shots in his first season. It is just a question of how they can manage to win while expecting inefficiencies throughout the season.
Who starts at the center spot?
The Thunder training camp has an abundance of talent when it comes to their young big men. Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, Jalen Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Usman Garuba, and Aleksej Pokusevski are all in the running for the starting spot, albeit some have higher chances than others.
Nonetheless, they will have to choose which player gets fewer minutes and opportunities to develop during the season. A huge drawback to choosing Holmgren is his injury-prone nature. He may be fully healed but placing him on a minutes restriction could also hinder his development. Both of the Thunder's Willams towers are also solid picks but the glaring concern would be how they manage their fatigue for the season.
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