The Oklahoma City Thunder have been hit hard by the injury bug over the last few weeks. The already small OKC Thunder roster lost their only two true bigs in short order throughout December with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl being out weeks due to an ankle injury, and last week seeing Aleksej Pokusevski go down due to a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture in his left leg which will not even be re-evaluated until approximately six to eight weeks from now. These two injuries are on top of the Thunder already missing prized center and 2nd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Chet Holmgren for the entire season.
On January 5th, the NBA will begin to allow teams to ink ten-day contracts with players who will mostly be coming from the NBA G-League, but there are a few exceptions to that. Should the Oklahoma City Thunder partake in these ten-day pacts to help bridge the gap down low until a big man returns to health?
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been bitten by the injury bug, leaving the OKC Thunder with no paint protection and one true center. Should they search for a big man on a ten-day contract?
I know what you are thinking, “well, actually, the Thunder have a full roster and why would they cut anyone for a ten-day G-League big man just due to injuries?” While you are right, the roster is full, and they would not cut someone for a ten-day trial contract, the Oklahoma City Thunder have four players who are currently out that have missed at least three games.
This provides the OKC Thunder a hardship exception to add a roster spot and can ink a ten-day deal to help get the roster to the other side of these injuries. However, once one of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aleksej Pokusevski, or Ousmane Dieng (with Chet Holmgren already being ruled out for the season), returns, the Thunder would need to get back into compliance by terminating the ten-day deal early if the timing does not align perfectly.
So, who are some options for the OKC Thunder to go out and add on a ten-day deal that can fill the gap down low?
D.J. Wilson, 6’10, OKC Blue
The Oklahoma City Blue has benefited by having D.J. Wilson on the roster the past two seasons, the former first-round pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2017 NBA Draft has played in 146 NBA games, never playing in 50 games in a single season.
His most recent NBA experience was under this same scenario inking a ten-day deal with the Toronto Raptors after the team up north was ravaged by injuries. Wilson played in four games for Toronto while averaging a career-high seven points, four rebounds, an assist, and a steal per game.
Wilson earned a lot of praise from the Raptors organization and fanbase during his time in Toronto but his NBA stint was cut short due to injury despite playing extremely well.
D.J. Wilson averaged 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a block in his 18-game stint during the Winter Showcase portion of the G-League schedule.
So far during the three-game regular reason, he is up to 17 points and nine rebounds per game with four assists and a block.
However, just like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the OKC Blue only carry one true center on their active roster with Sacha Killeya-Jones also on the shelf due to an injury.
The OKC Thunder could look outside of the Oklahoma City Blue for a flyer on a big man filler until they gain a healthy roster again, but who is dominating the NBA G-Leauge?
Jontay Porter
The most flash name available is former Missouri Tigers star, and brother of Denver Nuggets wing, Jontay Porter.
The 23-year-old big man stands 6’11 coming in at 240 pounds, with 11 NBA games under his belt all coming with Memphis during the 2020-21 season. At the NBA level, Porter averaged just two points, one rebound, and a tenth of a block per game while shooting 53 percent from the floor on an extremely small sample size.
In the G-League regular season, Jontay Porter is leading the league in rebounds with 16 per game, as well as blocks at four a game, and scoring 15 points per tilt though on 15 shots per contest with these averages thrown off given the regular season is only two games old.
In the Winter Showcase, Jontay Porter averaged almost two blocks per game, with eight rebounds, two assists, and 13 points a night. He shot 44 percent from the floor and a jaw-dropping 41 percent from distance on six attempts per game during the 15-game showcase stretch for the Wisconsin Herd.
Jay Huff
Jay Huff stands 7’1 and 240 pounds, and dominated the OKC Blue during the Showcase stretch of the season, as he did to every team going for 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocks per game.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Huff’s game is his ability to shoot 36 percent from three-point land on a tick over two attempts per game, and 61 percent from the floor.
Ultimately, will the Oklahoma City Thunder elect to use this roster loophole and bring in a ten-day flyer? Maybe not, but there are some options out there to help get the squad to the other side of these injuries.