NBA Rumors: 3 reasons OKC Thunder won't miss Kevin Durant

NBA Rumors: 3 reasons OKC Thunder won’t miss Kevin Durant

Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook (0) with coach Billy Donovan on sidelines during game vs Golden State Warriors at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Game 6.Oklahoma City, OK 5/28/2016CREDIT: Greg Nelson (Photo by Greg Nelson /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)(Set Number: SI408 TK1 ) /

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Oct 10, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Anthony Morrow (2) drives to the basket past Dallas Mavericks forward Eric Griffin (21) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Thunder defeated the Mavericks 118-109. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

1. An above average small forward

This is the biggest hole in the offense right now. Honestly, there’s firepower throughout the starting five, but the small forward position looks pretty desolate. Forget about a player coming off the bench, OKC needs a starting small forward.

This has been a pretty empty position, especially during this last season. Since Kevin was so productive at the small forward spot, the Thunder decided to provide depth in other positions instead of there, depending on Durant returning. Well, that didn’t happen so now they are in a bit of a pickle. There are only two small forwards from last year’s team and they are Kyle Singler and Anthony Morrow.

I’m not sure how productive these two are going to be, but if I had to bet on one it’d be Morrow. Combined, they only average 3.9 points per game. In Morrow’s defense, he hasn’t gotten much playing time at all so there’s still some optimism there, but Singler doesn’t look like the guy that will produce any significant amount to this Thunder team next season.

The safe move for Billy Donovan would be to move starting shooting guard Andre Roberson, who’s a defensive-minded player to the small forward position. Russell and Victor will occupy the starting point guard and shooting guard position, so they should probably move the 6’7 Roberson over to the three. He played power forward in college at the University of Colorado, so this shouldn’t be too significant of a transition for him.

In the event that Donovan doesn’t go Roberson’s direction for the position, could Ersan Ilyasova be the guy? Maybe. Foreign to the team’s chemistry and offense, he could be a hit or miss. All anybody can do is bet on what he’s done on previous teams and he’s been productive. Averaging between 8 and 14 points per game throughout his career, along with 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 2015-2016. Could he be the answer? Looking at the stats, he is.

There are talks about the Thunder filling the void at small forward by trading to get Rudy Gay from the Sacramento Kings. Gay averages 17.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. His career is on the decline, but he’s still a player that can pop up and score 30 points on any given night. Especially in an offense like Oklahoma City’s.

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