The OKC Thunder are both visibly and statistically the best two-way team currently in the association, and their league-leading net rating of 12.6 only strengthens this notion.
Despite this, however, even they still find themselves being hampered by certain on-court limitations, with offensive production without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander easily being their biggest hardship.
When in the lineup, Oklahoma City is clearly on another level, boasting an elite 121.7 offensive rating and scoring 123.2 points per 100 possessions. Remove him from the equation, however, and they become completely disoriented, dropping to a dismal offensive rating of 106.8 (the third-worst in the NBA) and 110.9 points per 100 possessions.
Because of these struggles, many have suggested that Sam Presti and company must strongly consider pursuing outsourced aid to address this area of concern, especially with the postseason just under two months away.
Over the last several weeks, one of the most popular names linked as a potential buyout option worth targeting is Chris Paul. Of course, considering he's still on the San Antonio Spurs' roster past March 1, even if he were eventually sent to the free agency market, he would be ineligible for playoff action.
While this may disappoint some, given his still highly effective offensive production and established familiarity with the franchise, it by no means suggests OKC now won't add some offensive help to their arsenal for this final stretch of the season.
In fact, in a few weeks' time, they very well could wind up reintroducing someone who could provide a major spark to their non-SGA offensive punch.
Return of Ajay Mitchell could be a major boon for Thunder offense
Before going down with a great toe injury back in early January, Ajay Mitchell managed to establish himself as a key contributor within coach Mark Daigneault's rotation.
Among his 2024-25 rookie classmates, the 22-year-old finds himself ranked first in three-point percentage (43.1), defensive rating (100.0), and net rating (9.1) out of those who have played in 30 games while dropping impressive per-game averages of 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 16.5 minutes a night.
His ability to successfully drive the lane (ranks fourth on the team in drives and shoots 53.6 percent within nine feet) thanks to his nifty handles and underrated strength, and excellence off the ball in catch-and-shoot sets (boasts a 68.1 effective field goal percentage on such attempts) proved to be a great compliment to this Thunder core throughout his first few months of his debut campaign.
Now, with coach Daigneault recently revealing that he is "on schedule" with his recovery, there's reason for optimism that their standout rookie guard could realistically return to the hardwood in mid to late March.
Should he be able to contribute at similar rates that he was pre-injury, Thunder fans will be more than fine with Ajay Mitchell filling the role on offense that many believed Chris Paul could.