Could the Thunder Benefit from Bringing in a Backup Point Guard?

The Oklahoma City Thunder made noise across the NBA this past season. They finished the season with a 40-42 record, good for the tenth seed in the Western Conference and made their first postseason play since 2020.

All of this came ahead of schedule. The Thunder had yet to see Chet Holmgren take action in an NBA game, the squad dealt with plenty of injuries and the season felt like an uphill climb. Yet, they made postseason play ahead of schedule.

Later in the season, as the Thunder had hit stride, Kenrich Williams went down with an injury that sidelined him for the season. He was the team’s small-ball center and veteran presence on the court. The Thunder continued to succeed, though it was obvious the team could have used Williams’ veteran presence.

As the Thunder continue and build off their recent season, they’ll have to address certain holes in the roster. They played this season without a backup point guard. It makes sense, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey often stagger their minutes, and Jalen Williams can take on ball handling roles if needed. This won’t have to always be the case, though, as a backup point guard can allow the starters to be able to play more minutes together and rest at the same time.

There’s a few options for the Thunder. Vasilije Micic is a one, as OKC has his draft rights when he decides to stop playing overseas and join the NBA. There’s been a holdout with him coming over, though, as he’s wanted to be traded to a contending team.

Now that the Thunder are making their way towards being competitive, Micic could play a legit role in the second unit and play competitive basketball without needing a trade.

Also, if the Thunder want to trade back a few years with another one of their 2024 first-round picks, they can potentially take on a salary dump in a backup point guard with a veteran presence.

Though not a necessity, it wouldn’t hurt the Thunder to bring in a backup point guard to bolster the second team and allow the bench to play more time together. It would add another layer of versatility to the roster, and Mark Daigneuault would be able to get creative and stay loose with his rotation.

Of course, this would go away from the Thunder’s positionless basketball theory they’ve been creating, but it wouldn’t be set in stone and whoever they would potentially bring in would have to be able to defend multiple positions to make the pairing work.

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