Thunder Summer: Breaking Down the Back Court
Oklahoma City’s roster crunch has been an interesting topic of conversation among Thunder fans.
Sam Presti has acquired so many young, talented prospects that space is starting to get tight. If OKC wants the flexibility to bring in veterans, and an abundance of minutes for their young building blocks, the bottom half of the roster will need a switch up.
In yesterday’s article, I detailed the front court, and how for the first time in some time, Oklahoma City has options. In the past few developmental seasons, the Thunder have had an abundance of options in the backcourt, but now it seems time to figure out a plan moving forward.
In past seasons, the Thunder have thrown out lineups strictly for experimentation and dished heavy minutes to an assortment of guards. After selecting Jalen Williams at No. 12 in the NBA Draft, another talented guard is now in the mix.
Oklahoma City will enter the 2022-23 season with the backcourt as its strong suit, featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. In addition, it looks like Lu Dort will ink a deal locking him down long-term in OKC. Outside of those initial three players, the Thunder have two really exciting prospects in both Tre Mann and Williams off the bench. Mann displayed impressive scoring abilities last season, and fans are more than excited about his potential as the sixth man of the future. With four guards taking up the bulk of playing time, it gets dicey for the rest of the backcourt reserves.
Theo Maledon and Ty Jerome are two guards that have been counted on to play heavy minutes at times over the past few seasons. While Maledon is still developing and Jerome brings 3-point shooting, Oklahoma City simply doesn’t have enough minutes to go around. Maledon has shown enough potential to get a deal elsewhere and is young enough that he could still flourish. Even Vit Krejci, who had some nice outings down the stretch, will be affected by the abundance of talented guards.
If the Thunder value Jerome’s veteran presence and leadership, he may still have a spot on the roster, too. Whichever way you spin it, though, the upcoming season will look very different for players like Jerome and Maledon. The Thunder have to start figuring out which lineups work and develop chemistry among the team's best players.
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