If there's one thing the Oklahoma City Thunder have accomplished this offseason in terms of their rotation, it's been solidifying their depth at the center position.
Not only were they able to bring back Isaiah Hartenstein on a three-year, $75 million deal, but they also added Aday Mara in the first round of the Draft to play alongside second-year center Thomas Sorber. Toss in some small-ball minutes from Jaylin Williams, and you have a solid mixture of skill sets there.
Of couse, both Mara and Sorber are unknown quantities. Sorber missed the entirety of his rookie season with a torn ACL, and Mara likely still has a lot of work to do with his conditioning before he's ready for extensive minutes at the NBA level. But for now, it seems as though Oklahoma City is fine with rolling out all four of those centers at different intervals until a decision ultimately needs to be made on the future of the position.
But we can't forget about Chet Holmgren as well. Holmgren has been maximized over the past couple of seasons by his ability to play the four alongside Hartenstein in the starting lineup. But his greatest weapon is his versatility, and his sheer abilities as a rim-protector mean that Oklahoma City can't afford to simply sacrifice the opportunity to play him at the five-spot.
Even if it means less minutes for Sorber and Mara over the next couple of seasons, Holmgren has to get his opportunities at both positions.
Chet Holmgren should still be a primary option for the Thunder at center even as Aday Mara and Thomas Sorber continue to develop
The Thunder are still certainly in the hunt for a championship, and Mark Daigneault hasn't been known to sacrifice anything for young depth pieces since Oklahoma City entered that fray. But the team is in a bit of a strange position when it comes to their center depth.
They need to get a clear picture of what they have in Sorber and Mara as soon as possible. They both likely can't stay on the roster long-term, and the organization will be facing another roster crunch next offseason as new financial pressures and a fresh crop of draft picks come in.
They'll both need to play, therefore, at some point this season. Even if you kick Williams out to help stretch the floor as a power forward off the bench, minutes will still be tight at center no matter how you want to distribute them.
Last season, Holmgren played 28 games as the team's starting center (mostly in the absence of Hartenstein) and 41 as the team's starting power forward. The Thunder were 11.2 points better per 100 possessions with Holmgren on the floor.
There's not really a question of starting either Mara or Sorber when Hartenstein inevitably needs to miss time during the regular season. But there is a question of how Daigneault handles Oklahoma City's rotation on a night-to-night basis.
As Sorber and Mara continue to develop and command more minutes, the temptation could be there to wean Holmgren off of his opportunities at the five-spot to make room for the two young pieces to develop off the bench. But Holmgren is too valuable as a center to sacrifice any of his opportunities there, and keeping him stretched out and well-practiced in his duties at the position will be absolutely vital to the Thunder's playoff success.
Developing Sorber and Mara should be a priority. But it can't come at the cost of any of the versatility that Holmgren provides in the frontcourt.
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