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The Oklahoma City Thunder once again had a busy summer filled with no shortage of moves. While they did stay relatively quiet in free agency as expected, the Thunder had a total of four picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, including three in the first round where they took Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren with their second overall selection.
Here are full grades for the Thunder's offseason.
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Offseason Grades For Thunder
Draft
Sam Presti has done a tremendous job of piling up the picks. It's frankly astounding how many first rounders the Thunder still have in the coming years. As the rebuild continues, OKC nabbed a number of intriguing players in June, headlined by Holmgren. The ex-Zags star averaged 14 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.8 blocks in the Summer League. While he wasn't playing against elite NBA competition, Holmgren certainly showed glimpses of why he was the second overall pick. The 7'1 center-forward formed a fantastic partnership with second-year guard Josh Giddey and that's definitely going to be a duo to watch this season for the Thunder. Although Holmgren needs to put on weight in order to bang with NBA bodies, his length, athleticism, and versatile skill set should prove to be an immediate hit for OKC. He might not be a Rookie of the Year, but Holmgren will certainly be a centerpiece for this franchise for years to come with growth and development.
At 11th overall, the Thunder selected Ousmane Dieng after they traded up to take the Knicks' pick. Dieng is an intriguing talent at 6 foot 10, possessing impressive ball-handling and shooting abilities. He's also a stout defender for his size and moves around very well in all directions. This is probably more of a project for the Thunder than anything because Dieng isn't very polished at the moment plus he struggled in the NBL Down Under. But, with growth and maturity, Dieng could be a solid two-way piece for Oklahoma City.
Right after taking Dieng, the Thunder were also on the clock at No. 12, drafting Santa Clara guard Jalen Williams. He averaged 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and two assists in the Summer League. Williams did a nice job of getting inside and finishing in both Salt Lake City and Vegas, despite being mostly a shooter in college. Williams showed he's capable of scoring at all three levels and could be a promising backcourt depth piece behind shooting guard Josh Giddey.
Lastly, the Thunder nabbed Jaylin Williams at 34th overall. The former Arkansas standout averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in two seasons with the Razorbacks. He's a quality rim-runner and makes his presence felt down low on both ends of the court. He's another defensive-minded big who is also a special defender.
Presti brought in three very promising frontcourt players and a shifty guard who can provide backup for Giddey. All in all, this was a fantastic draft for the Thunder.
Grade: B+
Free Agency
The Thunder only made two moves in free agency thus far and both of them were in-house. OKC re-signed Canadian Lu Dort to a five-year, $87.5 million extension, keeping him with the organization for the distant future alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Dort locked up James Harden as a rookie in the playoffs and is one of the better perimeter defenders in the Association. Last season, the former Arizona State Sun Devil averaged a career-high 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per contest, essentially serving as the Thunder's second-best player behind SGA. Dort is a gritty, hard-working guy who is certainly an important piece to the puzzle in Oklahoma City.
Muscala ran it back with the Thunder on a $1.8 million deal and he'll become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The 31-year-old averaged eight points and three rebounds in 2021-22 in 43 games off the bench. Muscala is more of a sharpshooter than anything, draining 42.9% of his triples last season for OKC. That was a career-best. Finding his spots and benefiting from the playmakers around him will be the focus once again in 2022-23 as one of the team's better snipers.
Dort is an important player to retain and Muscala makes the Thunder better from a shooting standpoint. Decent moves for this team.
Grade: B
Recap
As a whole, the Thunder should consider this offseason a success. They got better through the draft and added players who will play an integral part in making this organization a playoff group not too far down the road. Holmgren has the chance to be very special and OKC already has a star in SGA and a budding star in Josh Giddey, who is just scratching the surface heading into Year 2.
Thunder fans have every reason to be pleased with Sam Presti and the front office.
Overall Grade: B+