Over the years, the OKC Thunder have had a surprising number of Summer League standouts grace their rotation.
From Lu Dort's electrifying defensive efforts after going undrafted back in 2019 to Ajay Mitchell wowing with his scoring versatility in 2024, the list of under-the-radar players shining in the annual offseason festivities is rather extensive.
It appears this successful trend has extended into 2025, as Oklahoma City finds itself boasting a talent pool headlined by some of the Summer League's best contributors.
Ironically, the most noteworthy names seem to be the players who were most overlooked in their respective classes, as Brooks Barnhizer, the 44 pick in last month's draft, and Branden Carlson, who went unselected in 2024, have taken up the lion's share of attention with their on-court production.
Now, under normal circumstances, the obvious next steps for either one of these players would be for the front office to look to extend standard contracts in their direction to lock down their services on a full-time basis.
However, the defending NBA Champions are not in the position to do so -- for both good and bad reasons.
Thunder have no room to add any of their Summer League breakouts
Over the last several seasons, the Thunder have found themselves boasting arguably the deepest roster in the entire league. Such a luxury proved to be a primary reason for their success last postseason.
On a consistent basis, coach Mark Daigneault saw himself going 10 to 12 men deep with his in-game rotations in 2024-25, and regularly dipped into the double-digits during their playoff run.
Now, heading into 2025-26, the ball club has all 15 roster spots filled, meaning there's literally no room to make any new additions by way of standard deals.
On the one hand, the idea of running things back with essentially the same team that just won the Thunder their first Larry O'Brien Trophy is certainly exciting. However, on the other hand, it prevents the franchise from seamlessly adding talent upgrades, even ones as cost-efficient as Barnhizer and Carlson.
While the concept of having someone of Branden Carlson's talents attached to a mere two-way deal could be argued as an absolute steal of a value for Oklahoma City, securing him on a multi-year agreement and guaranteeing his long-term rights may be more desirable.
Though the Thunder may have lucked out with the fact that no team scooped up the big man in restricted free agency this summer, they shouldn't be banking on these kinds of good fortunes moving forward.
The main roadblock to locking in these types of talents any time soon is, ironically, OKC's enviably deep talent pool. Should they wish to bring on any one of their non-guaranteed players to the varsity team full-time this coming season, they'll have to make the tough decision to part ways with someone who's already locked in.
While these may be seen as good problems to have, they're still problems nonetheless.