The 2017-18 iteration of the OKC Thunder possibly deepest ever
2016-17 Thunder
Durant’s departure left the Thunder in a terrible situation. But Durant wasn’t the only one whose absence was missed. Ibaka was traded during the draft for Oladipo, and Ersan Ilyasova (who was eventually traded for Grant). Oladipo had an inconsistent first year alongside Westbrook, while Sabonis hit a hard rookie slump that lasted half the season. In addition, the Thunder let Waiters walk before the season when they renounced his rights and eventually signed with Miami. He was replaced by Abrines, who while showing promising signs, was still a rookie who was still learning along the way, especially on defense.
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As previously stated, the biggest hole this team had was at the backup point guard position. 2015 first round draft pick Cameron Payne broke his foot and missed the first two months of the season. This forced the Thunder to rely heavily on Christon, who was one of the worst backup point guards in the league. When Payne came back, he was incredibly inconsistent and eventually traded to the Chicago Bulls along with Anthony Morrow and Joffrey Lauvergne for Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott.
While this trade was helpful in that the Thunder acquired two rotation players for none, the backup point position was left unfilled. The team hoped bringing in veteran Norris Cole would be the answer, but he was just as bad as Christon. This was encapsulated in the playoff series against the Rockets, when the two combined to go -54 in 46 total minutes.
The current team’s bench would have been better already just because players like Abrines, Grant and McDermott would have continued to develop. But now with a quality backup point guard in Felton, the bench has gotten a much-needed upgrade.