Thunder Mailbag: Just the Beginning

It's an interesting time for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are currently down 2-1 in a second-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, but also have a lottery pick to use in less than two months. As such, the Thunder front office is splitting time focused on the present, but also the future.

On Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma City officially landed the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (via the Houston Rockets) as the lottery happened around the same time that the team was practicing in Dallas ahead of Game 4.

With so much going on around the franchise, it's certainly an interesting time to be following the Thunder. Oklahoma City has one of the brightest futures in the league, but also has the chance to do something special now.

Let’s answer the five best questions that were submitted for this week’s mailbag:

Will Oklahoma City win another blowout game in this series against the Mavericks?

Dallas has so much firepower on the offensive end that it's hard to picture a blowout loss. For that to happen, the Thunder would likely have to hold this team under 100 points, which is no easy task the way that PJ Washington is playing right now. Even if he were to have a down game in this series, one of Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving has the upside to ignite the offense. It feels like every game in this series the rest of the way will be a close one.

What one adjustment could change this series with the Thunder down 2-1?

Again, PJ Washington continues to be the difference-maker in this series. He plays with tremendous strength and physicality, which means to combat his success OKC needs to match that. One player who hasn't gotten any significant minutes in the playoffs to this point is Kenrich Williams. He has the tools to make life difficult for Washington and match his style of play. If there's one major tweak I'd like to see moving forward, it would be to insert Williams into the regular rotation and match him with Washington for 10 to 12 minutes a night.

Should Oklahoma City use the No. 12 pick or trade it?

At this point, it's an impossible question to answer. I'll say this — Oklahoma City has proven to extract tremendous value out of the No. 12 pick in the past, which is promising. It feels like a scenario in which the Thunder can't lose. If GM Sam Presti wants to stay put to use it or trade up and get his guy, he can. If he wants to trade back or out, there's a case to be made that OKC doesn't need another young prospect. Whether that pick is traded for a future pick or even a player who can help win now, Presti will explore all options. I'm personally a fan of waiting until the night of the draft to see what prospects could land in your lap, especially with how much uncertainty surrounds this class. It wouldn't be surprising for a very good player to fall to the Thunder at No. 12 overall.

Does the Thunder really need a player with the skillset of Cody Williams?

At this point, he's a skinny combo forward who will need some time to fill out his frame. Even then, he has an intriguing skillset and could be used as an off-ball reserve shooter as a rookie given he shot nearly 42% from deep in his lone college season at Colorado. Drafting him would be worth the storyline alone given his brother is Jalen Williams of the Thunder, but irrespective of that he would be a fantastic pick at No. 12 overall. Even if he has some overlap in skillset and position as some others on this roster, Oklahoma City doesn't necessarily need to worry about those thiings. A year ago, the Thunder took Cason Wallace, who joined a crowded guard rotation and still rose to the top.

Would losing this series against Dallas still be a "successful" season?

Absolutely. This Thunder team was projected to be a fringe playoff team who could start to showcase some of its young upside. Instead, Oklahoma City earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and swept its first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Thunder is way ahead of schedule, so the team is essentially playing with Monopoly money right now. With that in mind, this team is good enough to make the Western Conference Finals with a real shot of going to the NBA Finals. Would a loss in this series against the Mavs be heartbreaking for the fanbase? Sure — this has been a magical run for a franchise that has been craving a contending team again. But regardless of what happens the rest of the way, this season has long been considered successful.

Note: Questions may be paraphrased in order to group or aggregate similar submissions.

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