For months now, a popular talking point when it relates to the OKC Thunder and their potential trade prospects this season has been how they could look to swing for the fences and pursue highly coveted Brooklyn Nets wing Cameron Johnson ahead of next month's deadline.
Considering they could use for a reliable tertiary scoring option and, as a collective, have produced as a pedestrian long-range shooting unit (rank 17 in long-range shooting), the concept of adding on the 28-year-old and his averages of 19.4 points on 41.9 percent shooting from deep seems rather logical.
However, as the campaign has progressed, it's evident that there are several other limitations to this Oklahoma City squad's on-court production outside of these and, following Thursday's loss to the Mavericks, arguably their biggest weakness was put on full display.
Thunder must add more size to frontcourt ahead of trade deadline
All of last season, a major concern for this Thunder team revolved around their lack of size and overall physicality. Though they had 7-foot-1 rookie phenom Chet Holmgren manning the pivot, outside of him there were only two regularly used players in coach Mark Daigneault's rotation that measured in at above 6-foot-7.
This limited supply of vertical aid played a major role in their ill-fated two-round playoff run where the bigger and stronger Mavericks bullied them en route to a six-game semifinal send-off.
In an effort to address this depth chart desideratum, Sam Presti and company quickly snatched up 7-foot big Isaiah Hartenstein via a three-year, $87 million deal in free agency.
Without question, such a move has proven to be a true blessing for the ball club, as the 26-year-old has been a vital part of OKC's rotation and has been dropping career-best averages of 11.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game along the way while simultaneously serving as an all-out difference-maker on the glass and in the rim-protecting department.
Unfortunately, injuries have taken their toll on this Thunder team all throughout the year and has primarily impacted their frontcourt headliners in Holmgren (missed 34 games and counting) and Hartenstein (missed 20 games and counting).
Without either one available this season, the team boasts a rather middling record of 6-4.
In turn, this has shown that, even with their offseason efforts to address their lackluster size, Oklahoma City still could use a few more big-man reinforcements to have waiting in the reserves just in case of emergencies. At the moment, they roster just two players who measure in at above 6-foot-8, one of which is merely attached to a 10-day contract.
If Thursday night's downfall to Dallas taught us anything, it's that this team will very likely succumb to the same fate as last year if their injury woes persist and their roster remains the same heading into the playoffs. Losing the rebound battle 43-33 while allowing the Mavs to shoot 61 percent inside the painted area during the 121-115 loss was a grave reminder of this.
The Thunder have also lost all three games they've played against the Mavericks this season without any reliable bigs by a point differential of -16.
So while it may be exciting to think about the complimentary contributions a guy like Cam Johnson could bring to OKC if acquired ahead of February 6, it still won't help the club address arguably their biggest (pun not intended) weakness which is size and physicality behind guys like Holmgren and Hartenstein on the depth chart.
With the deadline roughly two weeks away, perhaps Presti and co. may want to rethink their priorities.