Injuries decimate the Thunder roster, forcing a desperate scramble for solutions before the playoffs.
The Thunder’s injury report has been a revolving door this season. Every time someone returns from an extended absence, another person takes his place on the list.
Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein are two of the Thunder’s four most important players, and they have missed a combined 42 games. This figure will only increase. Williams is sidelined for the foreseeable future with a hamstring strain, and it’s unclear when Hartenstein will return from his soleus strain.
Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams have also each been out for at least 10 games. They currently combine for a total of 72 games missed!
It doesn’t help that two precious roster spots are dedicated to rookies who will not suit up anytime soon. Thomas Sorber suffered a season-ending torn ACL last offseason, while Nikola Topić has yet to make his debut because he’s recovering from testicular cancer.
Oklahoma City is weathering the storm mainly due to stellar play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell. However, the two-way players also deserve a ton of credit for stepping up despite facing inconsistent minutes.
Branden Carlson, in particular, is playing quality basketball for the Thunder. He’s averaging 5.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 stocks in 11.1 minutes per game while shooting 52.8% from the field and 35.1% from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City has won its minutes with Carlson on the court, which is a testament to his ability to not be a massive liability.
It should be peaches and cream for the Thunder once the team gets healthy for the playoffs, but it has a major problem until the injury report clears. Two-way players are limited to a maximum of 50 regular season games and cannot participate in the postseason. Therefore, Carlson can only appear in 19 more regular season games, and Oklahoma City still must get through 37 games before the playoffs. Chris Youngblood (21 games remaining) and Brooks Barnhizer (28) are gradually approaching the threshold, too.
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5, so Sam Presti has two weeks to acquire a player who can soak up minutes while the team mends. Swapping Ousmane Dieng and draft capital for an impactful veteran is the most logical framework. Ayo Dosunmu of the Chicago Bulls immediately comes to mind. He provides ball handling, playmaking, shooting and self-created scoring, which are needs for the Thunder’s bench.
Another option is salary dumping Dieng and subsequently utilizing the open roster spot to convert Carlson to a standard contract. This maneuver removes the 50-game threshold for Carlson, thus allowing him to play the entire regular season and playoffs. Oklahoma City can fill Carlson’s previous two-way spot with a new player who receives a fresh 50 games.
Overall, preventing Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Mitchell from wearing down before the playoffs is a must. The trade deadline will be a key ingredient for the Thunder in terms of weathering its abundance of injuries.