The word “rebuild” is something NBA fans never want to hear associated with their team. For the Oklahoma City Thunder and their fans, it is something that they have learned to embrace to the max, ushering in a new era of talent and soon, many championship contending rosters.
Long known as the Seattle SuperSonics, the roots of the Thunder franchise runs deep. They have assembled some great teams through the years, most notably the 2011-12 team that made it to the NBA Finals with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Over the last decade, much has changed for this organization, as a point of emphasis has been put on youth and development.
General manager Sam Presti and Oklahoma City's front office have sustained success longer than any other team in the NBA, even though they have finished with a losing record each of the last three years. That truly doesn't matter because looking back at when they went 22-50 during the 2020-21 season, the Thunder still found a way to win through development and the draft.
The Thunder have been stockpiling draft picks through the years via trades and as a result, they have quietly been adding some of the best prospects entering the league. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey are some of the high-potential youth this team highlighted during the 2022-23 season. Oklahoma City now heads into the 2023-24 season with even more potential, as Chet Holmgren is preparing to make his debut.
Sitting out all of last year with Lisfranc injury in his right foot, Holmgren got to observe the game and receive a lot of one-on-one instruction from the sidelines. Basically having a full season to prepare for his rookie year, the 2022 second overall pick enters the new season as a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award.
What makes Holmgren such a unique talent for this team is obviously his size. Listed at 7'1″ with a 7'6″ wingspan, he is exactly what the Thunder have been lacking in their frontcourt.
Gilgeous-Alexander's rise to an All-Star, and possibly a real MVP candidate this upcoming year, has caused a massive growth within this organization. Surrounding him with more dynamic and versatile talents has been Presti's goal over the last couple of seasons, which is why Holmgren was their selection in the 2022 NBA Draft. The young big man understands what lies ahead and he utilized his injury this past year as a means to improve while not actually playing.
“Obviously there is no substitution for playing and you wish you get to play 82 games, but I felt like I did a really good job of living in my reality,” Holmgren said at Media Day. “Just trying to make the most of my situation. I had a great opportunity to be really close up to the game. You see a lot of things courtside that you don't see on the TV when you're watching. I was also in all those pre-game film sessions, halftime talks, postgame talks, practices, things like that.
“I just tried to make the most of the situation and learn as much as I could knowing it would pay dividends moving forward.”
He will technically be considered a rookie, but Holmgren begins the new season with the Thunder as a player who has already experienced what it's like being in the NBA from a mental approach. This is a big advantage for him to have, especially with the way the center position is always changing.
The Thunder put together a 40-42 record last season, their best since the 2019-20 COVID-19 shutdown year. Mark Daigneault has done a fantastic job as a young coach on the sideline and perhaps the one thing getting overlooked about Oklahoma City is that their entire core continues to grow together. While they have made trades, the Thunder are a homegrown team whose youthful leaders have spent their first few years in the league together.
This is why they're a dangerous team and why we should expect even more growth from the Thunder heading into the new season. At 25 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander is the leader of a squad looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Thunder offseason additions and departures
Additions: F Davis Bertans (trade – DAL), G Vasilije Micic (EuroLeague), G Victor Oladipo (trade – MIA), G Cason Wallace (draft), F Jack White (free agency – DEN), F Keyontae Johnson (draft)
Departures: F/C Dario Saric (free agency – GSW)
Once again, the Thunder spent the offseason looking for ways to improve their long-term future. Given the success they found last season, it is plausible to believe that this team is ready to win right now. But at the same time, Oklahoma City's approach has always been to build success over the course of multiple years. This is what Presti and the front office intend on doing, and the moves they made reflect this notion.
As they seem to do every summer, the Thunder were involved in a couple of salary dump trades, as other teams gave them draft picks to take on unwanted contracts. This involved both three-point specialist Davis Bertans from the Dallas Mavericks and veteran guard Victor Oladipo from the Miami Heat.
Bertans, who was traded to the Thunder during a draft night trade, struggled to find minutes with the Mavs through the years. Set to make $17 million this upcoming season and owning a $16 million player option for next season, the Latvian forward was a player Dallas wanted to move by any means necessary this summer.
Seeing an opportunity to grab their guy in the draft by jumping down a few spots, the Mavs came to an agreement with the Thunder on a deal that sent Bertans and the 10th overall pick to Oklahoma City in exchange for the 12th overall selection. Dallas grabbed Dereck Lively II and the Thunder added Cason Wallace, a rookie we will touch on shortly.
Through seven seasons in the league, Bertans has averaged 39.8 percent from three-point range. Despite averaging just 12.9 minutes per game the last two seasons, the Latvian sharpshooter can absolutely be a factor offensively, especially if his role is to come off screens and be a catch-and-shoot option for Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey to pass to. For a team who ranked 17th in the league in three-point shooting percentage a season ago, Bertans has a chance to make a real impact.
For Oladipo, he returns to the Thunder after spending the 2016-17 season with the organization. The Heat, who were cutting costs this offseason, looked to move Oladipo. The Thunder, who were open to taking on cap space for the right incentives, were able to add second-round picks in 2029 and 2030 from the Heat.
The only problem with Oladipo is that he has had a lot of trouble remaining healthy and on the court. He seems like the right veteran player for this team to have, but the former All-Star guard suffered a torn left patellar tendon in April and his status for the 2023-24 season is in doubt. Set to make $9.45 million this season before hitting free agency, Oladipo is a candidate to be waived by the Thunder.
Going back to the draft, Wallace was one of the higher rated guards in this class and the best draftee coming out of Kentucky this year. He is by no means the most athletic player and he is not like Tyrese Maxey and Gilgeous-Alexander, two skilled offensive-minded guards to come out of Kentucky over the years. However, Wallace has the size and stature of a modern-day guard who has all the tools to become an impactful perimeter defender.
The Thunder already have one of the better perimeter defenders in the league in Luguentz Dort and overall, this team took a massive step in the right direction on defense a season ago. As this group continues to grow, they are going to get better offensive. By finding ways to improve defensively, mainly by adding another backcourt presence in Wallace, the Thunder may become one of the only teams to rank inside the Top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency for the 2023-24 season.
By the time free agency rolled around, Oklahoma City remained quiet for the most part. They did not pursue any of the big, star-like players who were available, instead maintaining their cap flexibility moving forward. Jack White, who spent last season on a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets, signed a two-year contract with the Thunder, and the team also brought in EuroLeague star Vasilije Micic.
There had been a lot of chatter in the months leading up to the offseason that the Thunder were going to make a strong push to bring Micic to the NBA and he finally joins the league after being drafted in 2014. The 29-year-old won the EuroLeague championship in 2021 and 2022 with Anadolu Efes in Turkey and was named the 2021 EuroLeague MVP. Micic has a great feel for the game as a pass-first guard, which should make him a very intriguing option for the Thunder in their bench unit.
It is also worth noting that the Thunder signed head coach Mark Daigneault to a multi-year extension, once again letting everyone know that they are not having any doubts about their progression. This offseason was all about remaining consistent for the Thunder, which is why they are still in a favorable position to pull off a huge move in the near future.
Sam Presti to make more moves?
At some point, the Thunder are going to make a big trade. It just seems like their destiny, especially since GM Sam Presti is always a step ahead of every other organization when it comes to roster construction.
Oklahoma City has been hoarding draft picks for the last several years and as of right now, they own the rights to 16 first-round picks through 2031, not including a couple of first-round swaps. They also own an abundance of second-round draft capital as well.
If you are not aware of the amount of draft picks this organization owns, just know that they could assemble a whole new expansion team over the next few years just from the NBA Draft!
Who knows, maybe Presti will keep all of these picks and build a superteam through the draft, but it is very likely to believe that the Thunder have a long-term plan in mind. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already a star and with a few others on this roster following in his footsteps, Oklahoma City may be one outside All-Star away from becoming a true title threat.
Who this franchise will ultimately pursue remains the million-dollar question.
They did not pursue Damian Lillard when he requested a trade this offseason and they didn't look to grab Donovan Mitchell last offseason either. The Thunder could have pursued other All-Star talents in free agency through the years, yet they have laid low and have continued to build for the future.
Looking ahead, stars like Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic are the obvious choices for a team like the Thunder to keep tabs on. Antetokounmpo seems like the most unlikely of the three stars to be on the move, especially after the Milwaukee Bucks just traded for Lillard, but the futures of Embiid and Doncic are very much in question given their organization's lack of success.
Should either of them request a trade in the coming years and the Thunder prove to be a team that can compete at the highest level, Oklahoma City will very quickly turn into a prime destination for one of these top players.
Who knows, maybe Presti will get very aggressive and just look to add another future star through the draft by utilizing three or four first-round picks to move up and grab the first overall selection.
The fact of the matter is that the Thunder have plenty of options on how they want to build their team moving forward. They already have their cornerstone in Gilgeous-Alexander and it is apparent that the secondary talent around him is strong enough to win for many years to come.
2023-24 season outlook
What should we expect to see from the 2023-24 Oklahoma City Thunder?
One thing that we know is that Gilgeous-Alexander is only going to get better and that his supporting cast is going to continue to grow as well. The Thunder are a young, hungry team that seems to feed off the narrative of people doubting them. This was one of the main reasons why they went on a run late last season and barely came up short of making the playoffs.
During the 2023-24 season, this team is going to be tough to beat on their home court and it should not come as a shock if they wind up claiming the 7-seed or 8-seed via the play-in tournament. The Thunder check off all the boxes for being one of the most balanced teams in the league, but a lot of their success hinders on whether they can receive production from their frontcourt.
This has been one of their main areas of weakness through the years and Holmgren's arrival should open up a whole new set of improvements for them on both ends of the court. Then again, Holmgren will not be able to hold down the frontcourt on his own and will need help from secondary guys such as Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Maybe even Ousmane Dieng will step up and become a contributor in his second season.
The Thunder have quickly become a team many find themselves cheering for simply because they are so likeable. They're young, they play with energy, and the Thunder are just one of those feel-good type of stories that resonates with NBA fans.
Embracing that label of the “little team that could,” Oklahoma City is well on the path to long-term success.
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