This summer, the OKC Thunder went about and bolstered their backcourt rotation to the point where it could be argued as being the deepest in the entire association.
From their superstar sovereign Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to elite 3-and-D newcomer Alex Caruso, head coach Mark Daigneault is slated to have his hands full when it comes to allocating minutes properly.
And even with this puzzling predicament at hand, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale still believes that they should consider adding more heads to the team's guard talent pool, as he recently suggested the idea of the Thunder adding eighth-year veteran, Markelle Fultz, ahead of next month's training camp.
OKC Thunder urged to pursue current free agent, Markelle Fultz
As things currently stand, the Thunder find themselves with 14 players attached to their roster, equating to the league's minimum quota.
Because of this, the club could opt to stand pat and enter the 2024-25 NBA season as is, though, when examining the state of the team, it's evident that they consist of few, albeit obvious sore spots within their rotation that could be addressed, with one, in particular, being in the secondary play-maker department.
In turn, Oklahoma City could still benefit from bringing on a new baller to address their persisting issues, and, for the aforementioned area of concern, Favale believes Fultz to be an intriguing option.
With the departure of Josh Giddey this summer via the Caruso deal with the Chicago Bulls, the Thunder now lack any reliable creator and offensive distributor outside of SGA.
Sure, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein have shown flashes of being quality passers (with the latter going as far as to label himself "one of the best passers in the NBA") but they aren't enough to make up for the former lottery pick's departure.
To Favale, Fultz has proven capable of providing such attributes within a club's rotation, as he dishes out 8.9 dimes per 100 possessions for his career and boasts an assist percentage of 28.6, less than one percentage point separated from Giddey's 29.5 career rate.
Sneaky pass, @MarkelleF 👀 pic.twitter.com/eKdexd7pHj
— Bally Sports Florida: Magic (@BallyMagic) February 4, 2024
From an on-court perspective, there are quite a number of reasons to like Fultz's fit within this Thunder rotation, as he's proven capable of showcasing floor general-esque capabilities while boasting an enviable and rotationally switchable 6-foot-4 frame.
However, being found on-court has proven to be quite difficult for the 26-year-old throughout his professional tenure, as he's seen action in over 60 games just once since being selected number one overall back in 2017 and has logged shy of 20 contests four separate times.
Even last season, he struggled mightily with injuries, as he missed nearly 40 games due to nagging left knee issues. On top of this, his already uninspiring scoring efficiency became even more prevalent in 2023-24, as he logged a mediocre 106 offensive rating while shooting a putrid 22.2 percent from distance (Fultz registers in with a career 27.4 percent clip from deep).
Because of these ailments and incredibly underwhelming shooting abilities, the former top pick finds himself still available on the free agent market three months after July 1's starting day.
It's evident that the vast majority of teams across the association have been weary of extending him a deal for his services because of these listed shortcomings, and the Thunder, who already have more than enough guard talents than they can handle, should be one of them.