The Oklahoma City Thunder were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. Now that free agency is here, let’s take a look at five offseason targets.
Imagine the year that the Oklahoma City Thunder have had. At this time in 2016, the Oklahoma City Thunder were just ousted from the Western Conference Finals after holding a 3-1 lead. They still had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and were looking to return to that point. A few weeks later, Durant took his talents to the Bay Area and a new era in Oklahoma City began.
The Thunder re-shaped their franchise around Russell Westbrook and their two big men. Westbrook had one heck of season, averaging a triple-double and potentially winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. Yet, they got bounced in the first round by the Houston Rockets, winning only one game in the series.
It’s a bleak outlook for the Thunder, with the Warriors and Spurs dominating the Western Conference. Westbrook is under contract for another two years, but who can GM Sam Presti and Thunder put around him?
Let’s start by taking a look at the pieces that the Thunder currently have. Victor Oladipo, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter are the only parts worth keeping. All the other role players on the roster can be traded in order to create a better bench in Oklahoma City.
The major needs for the Thunder all revolve around Russell Westbrook. With such a ball-dominant point guard with a high usage rate, the most important things for him are shooters around him and a backup point guard that can spell him. Oklahoma City also needs to find a second consistent scoring option. Victor Oladipo hasn’t developed into that and Enes Kanter lacks the defensive presence to stay on the court for key minutes.
Oklahoma City was missing both of these key aspects in a major way during the 2016-17 season. There are some salary cap issues that could impede what the Thunder want to do. They are currently $12 million over the cap, but still under the luxury tax line. Ownership in Oklahoma City has been cheap before, but if they want to build a winner and appease Westbrook, it’s time they open their pockets. Let’s take a look at five players that Sam Presti should look to sign to improve his roster moving forward.
5. J.J. Redick, SG, Los Angeles Clippers
Let’s address the needs one by one. The first thing that the Thunder need around Russell Westbrook is an array of shooters. Think about what LeBron James has with him in Cleveland or what James Harden had this year in Houston. That’s what Presti needs to create around Westbrook in order for him to thrive.
As a team, the Thunder made only 8.4 3-pointers per game and shot at 32.7 percent. In the entire NBA, that ranks 26th and 30th, respectively. With the pacing and spacing of today’s NBA, it’s extremely important to have solid 3-point shooters. Look at the NBA Finals, it featured two of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league.
The Thunder didn’t have a single player in their rotation that shot at least 40 percent from long-range. That’s where J.J. Redick comes into the picture. Yes there are some concerns with Redick. He’s 32, coming off of a poor shooting year and doesn’t provide much on the defensive end of the floor.
But, but, but, here’s where it gets better. The former Clippers’ star shot 43 percent from 3-point range this past season and 48 percent two years ago — which was his career-best. Imagine if the Thunder were able to add this professional marksman. It would provide immediate improvement to their deep-ball shooting and give Russell Westbrook more room to operate.
This might be the last meaningful contract that Redick receives as a free agent, so the Thunder might have to dish out some cash, but it’ll be worth it when he’s burying 3-pointers off Westbrook assists.
It could also be redundant, with Westbrook and Oladipo locked into the two guard positions. But with small-ball in the NBA at full force, the Thunder may have to roll out three guards or bring Oladipo off the bench if they want to incorporate more shooting in their lineup.
4. PJ Tucker, SF, Toronto Raptors
The next major need is at the small forward position. Say what you want about Andre Roberson as a defender. He’s got the size, length and athletic ability to check most perimeter players in the NBA. But his game on the offensive end is so pathetic that he’s basically given the Tony Allen treatment.
Defenders give him loads of space and dare him to shoot from the perimeter. He’s also given the Hack-A-Roberson treatment, which takes the ball out of Westbrook’s hands and slows the pace down. The Thunder small forward is a restricted free agent this summer and they would be best served letting him walk, or at least finding a way to reduce their reliance on him.
Now, let’s go find a “3-and-D” that can give you something similar on the defensive end, but waaaaay more on the other side of the court. In comes in PJ Tucker, who was recruited to Toronto for the exact same reason — check LeBron in the playoffs and hit wide-open shots off of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan drives.
Tucker averaged 5.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game with the Toronto Raptors in 24 appearances. He was able to alleviate pressure off of Lowry and DeRozan on the defensive end. At 6-foot-6, Tucker has the size and skill to be able to cover most wings in the NBA.
His 3-point shooting was at 40 percent with Toronto during his 24-game stretch. I’m sure it’ll only improve when he gets wide-open looks in Oklahoma City thanks to Russell Westbrook. More two-way players for the Thunder is exactly what they need. Look for them to kick the ries on Tucker this summer.
3. Patty Mills, PG, San Antonio Spurs
Patty Mills is in an awkward situation with the San Antonio Spurs. Tony Parker was hurt during the playoffs, but will likely return to San Antonio. There are rumors that Chris Paul is also interested in joining San Antonio as a free agent. Dejounte Murray got valuable playing time in the playoffs and will likely become the future backup in San Antonio.
That likely leaves Mills as the odd man out in San Antonio. That’s okay, just leave Texas and come to Oklahoma to join the Thunder and become Russell Westbrook’s backup. The Thunder superstar had an insane usage rate, 41.7 percent, this past season and that needs to come down for the longevity of his career.
Mills can come in and be more than just a normal backup in Oklahoma City. This past season with the Spurs, Mills scored 9.5 points and dished 3.5 assists per game. The Australian also shot well from distance, connecting on 41 percent of his 3-point attempts. That’ll bode well for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mills is also a gritty, tough-nosed defender that the Thunder could use off the bench. Currently, the Thunder will hand the backup point guard job to Semaj Christon. That’s probably not going to be work out well for Oklahoma City. It’s a position that they have to address during the offseason and there may not be a better option than Patty Mills.
2. Andre Iguodala, SF, Golden State Warriors
What a devious, little plan! The Warriors stole Kevin Durant, so the Thunder should go get Andre Iguodala as revenge. Nah, that’s not it at all. Yes, the likelihood of Iguodala leaving Golden State is slim, but he’s also going to have a shot at far more money with Oklahoma City.
The Thunder are a young ball-club, that lacks veteran leadership, especially off the bench. Iguodala has been aging like a fine wine. He’s a two-time NBA Champion and also Finals’ MVP. He’s been playing the sixth-man role with the Warriors to perfection. Iguodala’s been an excellent perimeter defender and checks all the top wings in the NBA, including LeBron James.
Heading into next season, the primary wing players for the Thunder will be Jerami Grant, Doug McDermott and Kyle Singler. All of whom are younger players, and only Grant can be considered even an average defender. The Thunder can definitely use a defensive-oriented veteran coming off the bench like Iguodala.
With championship savvy, Iguodala could show Westbrook and the rest of the guys how to be a professional, winning franchise. No, he’s not like what James Jones is to LeBron James. He can actually play meaningful minutes in a game too.
This past season with the Warriors, Iguodala averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. Although he’ll be 34-years old next year, Iguodala still looks spry and energetic. An underrated part of his game is his ability to play point forward and run the offense. He could be another playmaker for Russell Westbrook, especially for a poor second unit in Oklahoma City.
1. Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers
“I’m coming home, tell the world I’m coming home!” That could be exactly what Griffin sings as he leaves La-La land for the greener pastures of Oklahoma City. Blake Griffin was born and raised in Oklahoma. He even played his college basketball there, before getting drafted No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Now he has a chance to return to his home state and play for the Thunder, alongside Russell Westbrook. With Chris Paul and J.J. Redick becoming free agents, along with the arrival of Jerry West, there seems to be a lot of flux in Los Angeles. Griffin likely wants a max contract from Los Angeles and my gut feeling tells me that West wouldn’t allow that to happen.
For as much talent as they had, the Clippers never seem to put it all together. Here’s Griffin’s first chance to leave and I think he should head to Oklahoma City. The Thunder are desperate for a secondary scorer. As aforementioned, Oladipo and Kanter never developed into that role for Oklahoma City. Blake Griffin could be exactly that alongside Westbrook.
Griffin averaged 21.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game this past year with the Clippers. He’s developed a consistent outside jump shot to go along with his post game and rim-rattling dunks.
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Griffin and Westbrook could be a tandem that can challenge the top-four in the Western Conference. It’s a call that Sam Presti and Oklahoma City has to make and should definitely consider. As it is, the salary cap won’t allow for such a free-agent signing to happen, but the Thunder can create space for Griffin.
Oklahoma City has a long way to go to be a contender again in the Western Conference. They finished in the No. 6 slot, with Westbrook playing at a super-human level. They’ll need to add pieces in free agency to be able to improve moving forward. Here are five options that Sam Presti has to consider.