How the OKC Thunder can get better this offseason

Draft an offensively versatile big

Likelihood Index: 6.5/10

Sam Presti’s always had a thing for strangely versatile big men and this draft seems full of them. It also has Matisse Thybulle who seems like everything Presti wants in a wing so I don’t know exactly how likely this is but keep an eye out for Grant Williams/Nic Claxton OKC workouts.

Fun Index: 8/10

Just thinking about Williams or Claxton in a Thunder uniform makes me giddy.

Aside from, you know, shooting, the Thunder’s biggest problem for the last few years has quietly been a lack of imagination offensively. It’s not super clear at first because it does seem like a more-or-less normal offense, but when you watch them on a more regular basis, the quasi-malaise in which their offense seems to be stuck really starts to shine through.

Whereas other offenses try to initiate their offenses from different positions and with different ball-handlers, the entirety of OKC’s actions seem to stem from one of Russ, George, or Schroder running the same few sets at the top of the key. And when you get to the playoffs, defenses can – and have – key in on those actions and shut down what the Thunder want to do, at which point they have no other option but to devolve into iso-ball and simple one-five pick-and-rolls.

Adding someone like Grant Williams or Nic Claxton who can act as more of a point forward and introduce a new dimension to their offense, though, might open things up. Both Williams and Claxton are capable of initiating the offense from the perimeter and the post and both are guys who can at least add some level of diversity and randomness to an otherwise bland Thunder offense.