The Oklahoma City Thunder have brought the vast bulk of their offseason business to a close.
They settled their immanent roster crunch by moving on from Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe in separate trades, and they'll count upon their young contributors to step into the holes in the rotation that those moves have created. For the most part, this involves players that were already on the roster.
Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace will both be asked to take on elevated responsibilities within the team's backcourt, and Jared McCain will be asked to do the same on the wing.
But there's also a number of questions to ask about the team's new additions. How steep is the path to minutes for both Bennett Stirtz and Aday Mara? You can toss Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic in there as well, as limited as they've been to this point in their careers with injuries.
There's another storyline to follow as Oklahoma City enters training camp, though. Their 15th roster spot still remains open, and it appears as though the Thunder are willing to have some level of competition after bringing in Summer League standout Christoph Tilly on an Exhibit-10 contract.
It's almost certain that only three of these players will start the season with the team, and it doesn't seem like the Thunder will be in any rush to fill that final roster spot. They may look to play the buy-out market or maintain their flexibility for an in-season trade.
But for the sake of argument, let's assume all four of these players could somehow stick on the roster. Who would have the best shot at being converted into that final guaranteed spot by the end of the season?
Ranking the Thunder's two-way options ahead of training camp
1. Otega Oweh, SG
Oweh, at least for me, is the clearest fit for the Thunder's scheme among these pieces. At 6'4" and possessing a 6'8" wingspan, Oweh has the prototypical height for a smaller, more offensively active wing. He showcased the requisite degree of defensive intensity during his time with Kentucky last season, and although he was held out of the majority of the Summer League matchups with an ankle injury, he certainly has the athleticism to impress almost as soon as he takes the court for Oklahoma City.
He still needs to polish his perimeter shot and tighten his handle before he's a rotational player at the NBA level. But there's a path to early-season minutes for Oweh with the departures of Wiggins and Joe, and he likely has the best chance to convert those into a guaranteed roster spot by the end of the season.
2. Brooks Barnhizer, SF
Barnhizer should theoretically be first on this list, considering he's the longest-tenured member of Oklahoma City's roster. But his faults are too numerous to give him the edge over Oweh.
He still leans too heavily on his inefficient mid-range shot, and the perimeter shooting simply isn't there at a high enough level. If Oklahoma City needs someone to take on minutes right away, they'll likely turn to Barnhizer. He certainly looked like the most experienced player on the court during his time in Las Vegas, averaging 11.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 41.1% from the field across his seven Summer League appearances.
But in terms of upside, Barnhizer's runway with Oklahoma City may be coming to an end.
3. Josh Dix, SG
Dix and Oweh profile somewhat similarly as prospects, and it's exciting that the Thunder were ultimately able to land both, adding Dix as a post-draft free agent. Dix struggled after transferring to Creighton for his final college season, averaging just 13.2 points and knocking down just 33.8% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
But he was above the 40% mark in his college career before that season, and he has some of the offensive polish that Oweh does not—at least on the perimeter. While he measures in around 6'6", though, he doesn't have the same baseline of strength or lateral agility that Oweh possesses on the defensive end of the court.
If Dix can consistently hit his 3-point shots, that might make a difference here. But based on pure projections, I have him behind both Oweh and Barnhizer in terms of NBA readiness.
4. Christoph Tilly, C
Tilly is an interesting addition to the fold. My reference to him as a standout earlier may have been a bit hyperbolic, but given how the Thunder's Summer League squad performed as a whole, Tilly was one of the few who showed flashes of upside. He averaged six points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while knocking down 53.1% of his attempts from the field during his stint in Las Vegas.
For a seven-footer, though, he looked extremely mobile and agile in the pick-and-roll game on the offensive end of the court, and he seemed relatively staunch when trusted with drop defensive duties. Would Oklahoma City be willing to swap him into one of their two-way spots, or is his Exhibit-10 contract simply a tryout for the G-League squad?
I'm leaning towards the latter, but it will be interesting to see what he can do with the team during the preseason.
Add us as a preferred source on Google