After a historic 68-win campaign, culminating in the franchise's first NBA championship, the offseason has finally arrived for the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is a young, deep roster with a long competitive window ahead of them. But, if Sam Presti wants to shake things up a bit and tweak the margins of this roster, some players will end up on the chopping block.
OKC has the advantage of a clean cap sheet, a deep reservoir of future picks and a rock-solid supporting cast. Sam Presti doesn't need to change anything. The best front offices are always looking for upgrades, however, even on the margins. Now that OKC is firmly in win-now mode, we should expect Sam Presti to explore avenues toward improvement.
Here are a few names to monitor as trade candidates as OKC looks to build upon this season's tremendous success and repeat as NBA champs in 2026.
3. Ousmane Dieng, small forward
The 11th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Ousmane Dieng has found playing time difficult to come by across three seasons in OKC. It's too early to call him one of Sam Presti's rare draft whiffs, but it's starting to feel like Dieng might be waiting on his second contract — and a new team — to make an impact.
Dieng's rookie contract includes a fourth-year club option for $6.7 million next season. That's not a huge price tag, but virtually all of OKC's roster (two-way contracts notwithstanding) is under contract for 2025-26 already. Someone will need to get cut if the Thunder want to clear up roster space for a free agent swing or a trade. Dieng feels like he's at the greatest risk right now.
Even if OKC picks up the option, Dieng feels like a prime trade chip — young and athletic enough to pique the interest of another franchise, but not too important for OKC to hold out of conversations for a veteran upgrade.
2. Jaylin Williams, center
Again, all of OKC's roster is effectively under contract next season, so we are throwing darts in the dark right now. Jaylin Williams' minutes expectedly declined with Isaiah Hartenstein in the mix, but he's still an impactful backup center with a unique (and useful) skill set. He is also a major positive force in the locker room. Breaking up J-Will and J-Dub feels almost wrong.
But, with Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren dominating the minutes at the five, OKC could run into a logjam this offseason, whether it's selecting a center in the first round of next week's NBA Draft — there's a lot of chatter around prospects like Thomas Sorber, Danny Wolf or Collin Murray-Boyles — or adding a more defensive-minded veteran in free agency.
Williams can probably net some fringe value on the trade market. If OKC wants to solidify the frontcourt long term or just create more roster flexibility, plenty of contenders and rebuilding teams alike would love to take on Williams' miniscule contract and see what he can do in a more robust role. Should OKC shuffle the deck, don't be shocked if J-Will ends up in new threads.
1. Kenrich Williams, small forward
Another Williams bites the dust?
Kenrich Williams is far better than his usage in OKC would suggest. This is a deep roster, chock full of quality young talent. Williams would play a lot more almost anywhere else. When he does get on the floor, he consistently mucks up the game defensively and hit timely spot-up 3s.
Under contract for $7.1 million next season (with a club option for the same amount in 2026-27), Williams is the sort of value contract every high-rolling contender is looking for nowadays. With two first-round picks in the upcoming draft and a potential desire to explore trade or free agency options, it feels like Williams may get pushed out the door. If the going rate is a few second-round picks and added cap flexibility (or a slightly cheaper vet in return), that may be enough for Sam Presti to pull the plug.
Again, very little is guaranteed here, as Williams is a quality player and a beloved presence in the locker room. But we also can't really expect OKC to run back the exact same 15-man group in 2026. Williams, 30, is on a slightly different timeline than OKC's core and he's bound to have suitors should the Thunder explore the market.