The OKC Thunder proved to be one of the most active teams in the entire league this summer.
Even though they wrapped up 2023-24 with the top seed in the Western Conference standings and claimed their third-best record (57-25) since migrating to Oklahoma City, Mark Daigneault's rotation still proved to have numerous sore spots within it that, ultimately, played a role in their semifinal demise against the Dallas Mavericks.
Because of this, Sam Presti and company stepped into action this offseason and addressed many of the team's most glaring weaknesses, with notable examples being lacking size and elite long-range shooting from the backcourt accompanied by solutions of signing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and trading for Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls back in late June.
With these advancements to their talent pool, the Thunder have simultaneously found their odds of winning the 2024-25 NBA Championship on the rise, and it should come as no surprise considering just how loaded this team is with star talent and quality role players galore.
However, despite filling several holes within their arsenal this summer and, in turn, becoming arguably the most complete team the league has to offer, OKC is still not void of any imperfections, and Bleacher Report's Dan Favale believes their lack of a secondary play-maker could wind up holding them back from accomplishing their ultimate goals.
Lack of secondary creators could 'haunt' OKC Thunder in 2024-25
"Secondary creation could be a little prickly. We saw that haunt Oklahoma City during the playoffs, where Jalen Williams couldn't really get going. Neither Caruso nor Hartenstein fills that void," Favale said.
Heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Thunder ranked as the third-best offensive unit and top-ranked three-point shooting team in the entire association and saw their tremendous production translate flawlessly into the first round against the Pelicans, specifically when it came to their long-range game as they converted on a league-leading 38.7 percent of their attempts.
Unfortunately for them, however, the upward trajectory came to a screeching halt after the quarterfinals, as they were simply outmatched by the tenacious defensive efforts of the Mavericks, who focused on pressing up against and getting the ball out of two of OKC's top-scoring weapons in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren -- the latter of whom had a rather quiet series with 15.8 points on a lackluster 22.2 percent shooting from deep.
Jalen Williams with the jelly-and-1 🔥#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/fCDx0JDjRd
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 13, 2023
While Favale noted that Jalen Williams wasn't able to "get going" in the series, in actuality he was regularly a handful for the Mavericks to go up against, especially during their thriller of a Game 6 where, though they lost 117-116, he stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and a block while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and 60.0 percent from distance
Ironically, this may actually make their need for secondary playmakers even more severe, for not even a combined total of 81 points on 55.3 percent shooting collectively could help Oklahoma City stave off elimination when they needed it most.
Perhaps others on the roster such as Alex Caruso can find a way to step up in the creation department or maybe they go out and trade for a spark-plug, microwave offensive talent before the season starts.
Regardless of how they find such a contributor, Favale believes their void of any substantial secondary creators could lead to some problems for the Thunder in 2024-25, just as it did during their latest playoff run.