The Oklahoma City Thunder have not had a productive off-season. They have lost most of their bench depth and have not done much to make up for it.
Derek Fisher, Thabo Sefolosha, and Caron Butler, who were all rotational players, have left the Thunder. In their place, Oklahoma City has signed sharp shooter, Anthony Morrow.
Morrow is actually a really great addition to their bench. He shoots the three-ball at an incredibly high clip. Last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, he averaged 8.4 points on 45.1 percent shooting from downtown off the bench. He figures to play the same role for the Thunder and has been the only real good acquisition for them this summer.
The Thunder have made a couple of minor moves, such as signing Sebastian Telfair and Grant Jerrett, but those moves will not make up for the depth they have lost this off-season.
However, Oklahoma City’s off-season may not be finished yet. They traded Hasheem Thabeet a few weeks ago to the Philadelphia 76ers in order to create cap room for another costless agent or two. They now have the money to restore the bench unit. The only downside is that most of the quality costless agents have been taken off the board. The player that would make most sense for the Thunder would be Ray Allen.
We will see what the Oklahoma City Thunder do before the start of training camp. However, at this moment, their off-season has not been very fruitful. The Thunder could still be a top team in the Western Conference since they still have superstars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant but with a thin bench, those two may have to carry a heavier load this season.
Grade: C-
Depth Chart:
PG: Russell Westbrook/Reggie Jackson/Sebastian Telfair
SG: Jeremy Lamb/Andre Roberson
SF: Kevin Durant/Anthony Morrow/Perry Jones
PF: Serge Ibaka/Nick Collison/Grant Jerrett/Mitch McGary
C: Kendrick Perkins/Steven Adams
Coach: Scott Brooks