OKC Thunder: B/R tabs Zach Collins as ‘need to chase’ free agent

The OKC Thunder are postseason-less for the first time in five seasons & for the second time in the last 13, and it appears as though the majority of fans couldn’t be happier about it.

After years of looking to contend for a championship, last offseason Sam Presti and co. went about and hit the reset button on the franchise, opting, instead, to contend for the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft rather than a league title.

Ultimately, the goal for Oklahoma City is to cultivate as many young talents as possible as they build for a brighter future and, though the hard part is seemingly over with, as they already seem to have their franchise building block in tow in third-year guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s evident that, based on their 22-50 record, there is still plenty of work to be done.

This offseason is where the fun part of their rebuild will begin, as they currently find themselves looking at the fourth-best odds of landing the top selection in July’s draft and could wind up being in possession of upwards of $55 million in cap space, thus giving them the opportunity to add on players by means of free agency if they so choose.

Though the OKC Thunder are rarely a “top-flight” destination for the bigger names on the open market, there are still likely to be several quality talents available that Presti should consider pursuing with his ample salary space.

One player Bleacher Report writer, Grant Hughes, believes to be someone Oklahoma City ‘needs to chase’ is fourth-year center for the Portland Trail Blazers, Zach Collins.

Citing his age and specific skill set, Hughes is under the impression that the big could be a solid pickup for this rebuilding squad:

"When healthy, the 6’11” big man has shown flashes of long-range shooting, rim protection, intriguing perimeter agility and even some irrational confidence. Those are all compliments, even the last one.The Thunder love their projects, and they’ve historically favored good athletes they hope can learn key skills. The list of raw run-and-jump wings they’ve tried to mold into three-and-D starters is long, and Darius Bazley is another such example up front.Collins has some of that same physical promise, with the added bonus of evidence his shot isn’t a “start from scratch” proposition. He hit 33.1 percent of his threes in 2018-19 and 36.8 in an abbreviated 2019-20."

Personally, the idea of pursuing Zach Collins doesn’t really do it for me, as we believe there are several other players, both restricted and unrestricted, that would be more worth splurging on — which is something the OKC Thunder will likely have to do in order to pry him away from Portland.

That said, by all means, the 23-year-old is a realistic target for this team and could provide some much-needed floor-spacing and size for Oklahoma City.