Are the Oklahoma City Thunder Ready to Compete in the West?

Chet Holmgren (center), Josh Giddey (right), and some of the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s young core in a pre-season game.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the teams that many NBA experts are expecting to be in the playoff mix this season. Returning young stars such as All-NBA 1st teamer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Rookie 1st teamer Jalen Williams, and combo guard Josh Giddey are all proven talents. In addition, the debut of Chet Holmgren (2022 #2 overall pick) will add much-needed rim protection as well as a 7-footer who can stretch the floor on offense. That being said, the 2023/24 FanDuel win total for the team is 44.5 (a +4.5 win increase from last year). In an absolutely loaded Western Conference, it will be up to Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti what the ceiling of the team will be.

The future is extremely bright for the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is a team that has 35 future draft picks over the next 7 years including 15 first-round picks. The Thunder already has a roster full of young talent but have the assets to turn it into a championship contender at any moment if they decide to move some of their picks in this upcoming season. Something to certainly keep an eye on is the Oklahoma City Thunder adding a center to play alongside Chet Holmgren in the front court. Chet is a lanky player with good shot-blocking skills but may lack the physicality to successfully guard and rebound against some of the West’s best big men such as Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, or Domantas Sabonis.

The Thunder’s big man depth is highlighted by Chet Holmgren but thins out pretty quickly after that with 21-year-old Jaylin Williams and 20-year-old Ousman Dieng being the team’s only other depth at the 5 spot. Some players I believe the Thunder should target before the trade deadline in February include Jarrett Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Clint Capela of the Atlanta Hawks, and Robert Williams III of the Portland Trail Blazers. All these players have the capability to add much-needed rebounding and physicality to the center position and allow the Thunder the option to move Chet to the power-forward position where he would fit more naturally at this point in his career. To acquire any of these three players, the Thunder would probably not need to give up more than a player and a couple picks, yet such a move could definitely put the team in a position to be a playoff team in the West.

Lastly, a long-shot move for the Oklahoma City Thunder would be to look into the status of Joel Embiid of the 76ers who is the current reigning MVP of the league. The Thunder are one of the few teams with the assets to trade for him, and all signs seem to be pointing to him looking for a change of scenery in the near future because of all the James Harden chaos and the lack of playoff success in Philadelphia. Joel Embiid is now almost 30 years old and might be looking for the opportunity to team up with another top 10 NBA talent such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This is certainly a situation to monitor for the 2023/24 NBA season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a solid young core, but their ability to truly compete in the West is up to Sam Presti and what moves he is willing to make before the deadline this year. The Thunder have the assets to make themselves a real championship competitor at any time, but a patient approach by management is also a strong possibility.