Five possible rotations with the Enes Kanter injury
By Tony Heim
1. Joffrey Lauvergne enters the starting lineup
You may be asking how I can justify starting a player who has had three DNP-Coach’s Decision this month. Well if we can justify Sabonis starting every game this season than we can justify starting Joffrey Lauvergne.
Lauvergne actually averages more points, rebounds and assists than Sabonis per/36 minutes while playing more efficiently according to PER. We’ve gone over why this move would help the rookie, but it would also be beneficial for King Joffrey.
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If we include Grant as a big, OKC currently has five who deserve nightly minutes (sorry Nick Collison). That’s one too many in this day and age. Because Sabonis and Lauvergne essentially play the same style/have the same body-type it only makes sense to keep one of them around for the foreseeable future. We all know who is going to last in that one.
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By giving Lauvergne consistent minutes with the starters it gives Sam Presti the ability to showcase that in a potential trade. As of now Joffrey may net a second round pick in a trade. But if he plays well for a couple weeks Presti may be able to work his magic for something.
At this point the Thunder aren’t going to make any big time moves. But a little adjustment like this could be the make or break point for OKC to get an extra pick/higher selection for King Joffrey. He’s a free agent at the end of the season and the Thunder are unlikely to resign him unless it’s for the low-low; Russ and Co. aren’t close enough to a championship for that to happen.
As I said earlier, I expect some of these to happen regardless whether or not Billy follows the five-step plan. But my plan is an interesting experiment, one that would give the Thunder the ability to play with a wide variety of lineups. Versatility is key in basketball, and the THunder still have that even without Enes Kanter.