Predicting the Thunder's perfect starting lineup after ideal offseason

Power forward: Lauri Markkanen

The other frontcourt spot is one Oklahoma City could stand to improve, and especially when there are such good options available around the league. The Thunder had Jalen Williams playing at power forward for much of the year, and certainly he thrived in that role. But if OKC is interested in upping their roster's talent level, they would gain some flexibility.

Moving J-Dub within the starting lineup would allow the Thunder to go after high-level targets like the Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen. The Finnish big man has taken tremendous leaps as a player over the course of the last couple seasons and he would have the potential to be a massive ceiling-raiser for this group.

When he was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021, he was essentially cast away as a role player that had already reached his peak. Lauri would prove everyone wrong and win the 2023 Most Improved Player award in his first season with the Jazz in 2023. Since then, he has become one of the most highly-valued commodities around the NBA, with plenty of contenders keeping their eyes on him.

Markkanen is still under contract for one more season in Utah, so if the Thunder were to acquire him, they would likely want to do so with the reassurance that he would be re-signing after the 2024-25 season. If they could get that guarantee, this would be an absolute slam dunk move for OKC.