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The Oklahoma City Thunder blew past expectations during the 2022-23 season. For a team that was projected to win around 20 games, the Thunder almost made the playoffs due in large part to a major breakout campaign from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. And now, it seems like the Thunder are ready to take the next step, especially with the second pick of the 2022 NBA Draft Chet Holmgren making his debut soon.
While this offseason won't exactly be a watershed moment in the Thunder's transformation into playoff contenders, putting their cap space to good use in free agency while the contracts of their core players remain inexpensive could end up being a smart move. Even then, it will be of utmost importance for the Thunder front office not to acquire anyone who would hamper the development of their key youngsters such as Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, and now, Cason Wallace.
At the moment, the Thunder don't exactly have a pressing roster need to fill. But acquiring a player or two to ease the burden on their youngsters to produce should be helpful in allowing them to, perhaps, make the playoffs as soon as next season even in a congested Western Conference playoff picture.
With that in mind, here are three players the Thunder could target in free agency.
Brook Lopez
One major pain point for the Thunder during the 2022-23 season was their thin frontcourt. The likes of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Mike Muscala, and even Aleksej Pokusevski had to play minutes at the five before OKC settled on Jaylin Williams, the 34th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, as their starting center.
At the very least, Williams provided some much-needed spacing for the Thunder at the five spot. He ended up shooting 40.7 percent from deep during his rookie year, which isn't too shabby. However, almost every night, the Thunder found themselves facing a glaring size deficit on the interior, making them vulnerable on the glass. Williams also wasn't the best rim protector, averaging just 0.2 blocks in 49 games played last season.
Thus, Brook Lopez could be a huge help in solving those woes. Lopez, despite being 35 years old already, had one of the most well-rounded seasons of his career last season, putting up a campaign worthy of a Defensive Player of the Year award. The two-way contributions he's sure to provide would be a godsend for the Thunder, a team that'll find it beneficial to give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder's talented young core as much space as possible to work on offense.
The return of Chet Holmgren, however, makes this free agency signing less of an urgent matter to pursue. But it's important to note that Holmgren is coming off a season-long absence due to a foot injury. Holmgren will require rest days, and the Thunder surely won't task him to shoulder a heavy workload as they ease the youngster into the NBA.
Brook Lopez will allow the Thunder to bring Holmgren along slowly — without losing out on the unicorn-esque combination of three-point shooting and shot blocking that either of the two can provide from the center position.
Austin Reaves
There's no way the Los Angeles Lakers let Austin Reaves go — especially not after letting go of Alex Caruso for the cheap contract he ended up signing. Reaves broke out in a huge way during the 2022-23 season, emerging as a dangerous three-level scorer with an annoying penchant for getting to the foul line. At 25 years old, Reaves may very well have more room to grow.
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But could he manage to do so in a Thunder uniform?
At first glance, pursuing Austin Reaves doesn't seem to be the most worthwhile allocation of resources. The Thunder have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and now Cason Wallace as their lead ballhandlers after all. But in the NBA, a versatile perimeter scorer who can hold his own defensively is a valuable player archetype — and Reaves fits that bill.
Reaves could slot alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey in flexible, difficult to stop scoring lineups, and he could commandeer the second unit to ease the playmaking burden on Cason Wallace.
Austin Reaves shouldn't command a contract that won't be tradeable as well, giving the Thunder flexibility should the OKC backcourt prove to be more crowded than initially anticipated.
Matisse Thybulle
Matisse Thybulle's stock dipped during the 2022-23 season, and the Philadelphia 76ers, a team with contending aspirations, ended up dealing him away to the Portland Trail Blazers, a team that finished outside the playoff picture. Make no mistake about it, however; at his best, Thybulle can still be a positive contributor for a team with aspirations of winning, as much of a zero as he can be on the offensive end.
Given how versatile the Thunder's players are on offense, Thybulle's presence on the court shouldn't be too much of a deterrent to the team's ability to score. And if Thybulle manages to at least be a slight positive on that end of the court, he should be a major defensive presence, especially when playing alongside Luguentz Dort. The 26-year old wing is one of the best in playing the passing lanes, and his length and timing allows him to recover as a shot-blocker when beat.
The problem is that Matisse Thybulle is a restricted free agent, and it's certainly in the Blazers' best interest to keep him for cheap. But the Thunder should at least make him think about his free agency decision.
