When it comes to the 2024 NBA offseason, few fans can argue that the Oklahoma City Thunder weren't one of the true winners of free agency and the draft.
From selecting Nikola Topic, Dillon Jones, and Ajay Mitchell in the 2024 NBA draft, to trading Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso and then signing three new contracts in free agency, headlined by the addition of Isaiah Hartenstein from the New York Knicks, Sam Presti put in some serious work after his team exited the playoffs in the second round, and he has been handed his flowers as a result.
And yet, because the Thunder entered the offseason loaded up with draft picks and cash, fans had to wonder if they truly did enough to bolster their roster heading into a very important season, especially since they have an $8 million room exception burning a hole in their pocket.
You see, in 2023-24, if there was one area the Thunder could have improved on, it was rebounding, with the team ranking 27th in rebounds per game behind, well, every team in the NBA besides Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets. While the addition of Hartenstein should make life easier on the boards for Chet Holmgren and company, as the Rookie of the Year runner-up was the only player on the team who averaged more than 6.5 rebounds per game, if Presti really wanted to shore things up and get a few more offensive possessions for his team, there were players on the market who could have been viable options like Saddiq Bey, who signed with the Washington Wizards for $20 million over three years.
Now, for fans out of the know, Bey tore his ACL this year back in March and is expected to miss much of the 2024-25 season as a result. For the Wizards, this doesn't particularly matter, as they aren't expected to be very good and could theoretically trade the veteran forwards in the spring to a team that could benefit from his defense, shooting, and, yes, rebounding, but for a team like the Thunder, who don't have to worry about the regular season much either since they will almost certainly earn a top-4 spot based on their current roster, his addition could have been like a trade deadline addition already built into the roster, or a moveable contract who could facilitate another deal.
Would Bey have been a good addition to the Thunder? Sure, they could have added Bey to the roster, still played their young guys, and then added him to the rotation in time for the playoffs, but there are still a few interesting options on the open market who could add rebounding at the four spot next to Holmgren, including Precious Achiuwa, who finished out last season playing with Hartenstein in New York. If the Thunder want to play Holmgren at the five but still have a speedy rim protector on the court, Achiuwa could fill that role and do it on a value-priced contract the likes of which Gary Trent has been forced to settle for due to the market.
One way or another, the Thunder need just a little more rebounding to truly take a step forward in 2024-25; Hartenstein will certainly help, but that doesn't mean a player like Bey couldn't have been a valuable addition, too.
Isaiah Hartenstein wants to expand his game for the Thunder
While the Thunder could have been a tad more proactive in building out their roster with veteran talent, specifically in the front court where rebounding has been a notorious problem for the team, in the opinion of Presti, they have added an ideal player in Hartenstein, who should thrive next to Holmgren at the five.
“Well, I mean, just following his trajectory and his career over the time he's been in the NBA, his units play well together,” Presti told reporters at Hartenstein's introductory press conference. “He's got a great mentality for the team. I think his game also makes a difference in that way because he's a connecting player. People want to play with players like that. And he's worked extremely hard to get to this point in his career, and he's still very young. So that's one of the things that we're also really excited about is he's a young player that is still developing, exploring his game, and we're excited to do that with him.”
Asked about his own game and fit next to the Rookie of the Year runner-up, Hartenstein noted that, after being tasked with playing a traditional five-man spot in New York, he would like to stretch the field more as a true stretch five.
“I think you're an NBA player; you have to adapt to certain roles, and that's what I had to do in New York. I think my passing only came out probably last year, so my first year I had to adapt to a certain role,” Hartenstein said. “That was something that I felt like I can really bring, expand my game as I was talking about before, just getting back to the shooting aspect because before I was shooting it, so it's really just getting back to that and being more versatile because that's kind of what the team needs.”
On paper, if Hartenstein shoots more 3s in a five-out offense, either playing in place of Holmgren or alongside him, it wouldn't help the team's rebounding much at all, unless he immediately charges the basket after putting up a shot, but then again, basketball isn't a vacuum and no offense sticks to perfect schematic purity. Adding a 7-foot, 250-pound center who can rotate on defense and switch onto forwards defensively, all the while coming off a career-high 8.3 rebounds per game season, should benefit the Thunder this fall and hopefully next spring too, when it actually matters.
Follow Us
Subscribe
