Oklahoma City Thunder 2022-23 Season

[okatty]

This is SI’s take on Thunder’s offseason (sorta long):

2022-23 record: 40-42

Draft picks in June: Nos. 11/12, 37/38 (via WAS), 48/49/50 (via MIA)

Note: There is a tie with Chicago that will be broken after the play-in.

Odds for the No. 1 pick: 1.8%

Free agents: Dario Saric, Lindy Waters III (T), Jared Butler (R) and Olivier Sarr (R)

State of the roster: Before the start of training camp, general manager Sam Presti gave his viewpoint on the upcoming season.

"We just want long-term overall improvement," he said. "That doesn't mean every season is going to be the same way. There's going to be a lag or where sometimes things go faster. Progress is dictated by where you start and where you finish."

The Thunder started as the second-youngest team in NBA history and one that was projected to win no more than 27 games. They finished with 14 more wins than 2021-22 and saw significant growth within their roster. The offseason presents another opportunity for this team to take that next step internally. It starts with the draft, where the Thunder have another lottery pick. Oklahoma City showed an aggressiveness last June to package assets to improve the roster. The Thunder traded three protected first-round picks to New York for the 11th pick in the draft (the rights to Ousmane Dieng). The roster returns 14 players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort and last year's No. 2 pick, Chet Holmgren, who missed the entire 2022-23 season with a foot injury. Out of the group of 14 players under contract, seven are on rookie first-round contracts, and no player outside of Gilgeous-Alexander is set to earn more than $20 million. As a result, Oklahoma City could enter the offseason with close to $30 million in cap space.

Offseason finances: The Thunder have two paths to choose from this offseason. The first is to play the cap space game. Including their first-round pick and $7.6 million in non-guaranteed salary (Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, Lindy Waters III and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl), the Thunder are projected to have $30.5 million in room. Oklahoma City also could choose the option to remain over the cap. Staying over would see the Thunder retain their four trade exceptions ($4.3 million, $4.2 million, $3.5 million and $943,000), along with their $12.3 million midlevel and $4.5 million biannual exception. The Thunder took the over-the-cap approach in 2021-22 despite having just $78.8 million in guaranteed salary ($33.5 million below the cap) before free agency began. The difference, however, is that Oklahoma City had two large trade exceptions of $12.1 million and $9.5 million to take up the cap space.

Top front-office priority: Patience. Like any young team that tastes success, the question always turns to what is next. The answer in Oklahoma City is to stick with the principles that have led to building a sustainable roster. The Thunder could have around $30 million in cap space, and there is always the temptation to add outside of their own players. They also have a treasure chest of draft assets and young players to target an All-Star who might be made available. However, the timeline is different from 2017 when they acquired All-Star Paul George in a blockbuster trade. The Thunder are still very much in the middle stages of development and analyzing their own roster. Until there is a more body of work to see who fits, Oklahoma City should be in a holding pattern..

Extension candidate to watch: The Thunder have three players -- Saric, Aleksej Pokusevski and Robinson-Earl -- eligible to sign an extension. Before injuring his left leg in December, Pokusevski was averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.6 minutes.

Team needs: Besides another year of development and a healthy Holmgren, shooting is needed. The Thunder are at their best when Gilgeous-Alexander is driving to the basket. The guard is one of two players averaging five-plus assists opportunities on kickout passes leading to a 3. Despite Joe ranking in the top 10 in catch-and-shoot 3s, Oklahoma City still managed to shoot only 36%.

Future draft assets: The Thunder have 27 future draft picks at their disposal -- 14 firsts and 13 seconds.

Below is the first-round breakdown:

All six of their own

Two unprotected from LA Clippers (2024 and 2026)

Two top-four protected from Houston (2024 and 2026)

Top-10 protected from Utah (2024, top-10 protected in 2025, top-eight in 2026)

Top-14 protected from Miami (2025, unprotected in 2026)

Top-six protected from Philadelphia (2025, top-four protected in 2026 and 2027)

Top-five protected from Denver (2027, 2028 and 2029)

Swap rights: Clippers (2023 and 2025)

Swap rights: Houston (2025, top-10 protected)

[Laramie]

NBA breaks 6 ties to sort out pre-lottery 2023 draft order: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...23-draft-order

12. Oklahoma City Thunder 1.7% - Williams was selected with the 12th overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2022 NBA draft. On March 5, 2022

[Laramie]

Presti: Thunder ‘definitely ahead’ of beat in 2023

“Sometimes you’re going to be ahead of the beat and sometimes you’re going to be behind the beat, and the key being that at the end, you just want to be better

than you were,” said Presti, explaining things through music as he often does.

Link to Oklahoman's full story: https://oklahoman-ok.newsmemory.com/...EUfOaZjUw9yzQE

[Laramie]

[Laramie]

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OKC Thunder 2023 Salt Lake City Summer League Schedule: https://thunderousintentions.com/202...mmer-schedule/

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[Mountaingoat]

Thunder trade up to Mavs for Carson Wallace.

[Bill Robertson]

I really didn't follow the NBA before we got a team so I'm far from an expert. But what I think I've seen is the Thunder building a Finals team. But it dissolved by players wanting out for this or that reason. Then the management "blew up" the team to start over. So here we are in year 3 or 4 of the rebuild. With, by most on air "experts" 1 or 2 years left to put together the right roster to compete. 2 years from now will be 2025. SGA, Holmgren and J-Dub all have expiring contracts in 2027. They will command big bucks if they meet their potential. Will the Thunder be willing to go into the luxury tax to keep those 3 and enough solid role players to be a Championship contender?

[Laramie]

IMO much will depend on how these players a playing together, the coaches success with them and their overall success--won lost record
and will we be one of those markets that can attract free agents.

[Bill Robertson]

IMO much will depend on how these players a playing together, the coaches success with them and their overall success--won lost record
and will we be one of those markets that can attract free agents.

But all of those things will rotate around $. Players want to get paid. I can't think of many pros that stick with one team to be loyal to the system when someone else offers more money.

[April in the Plaza]

I really didn't follow the NBA before we got a team so I'm far from an expert. But what I think I've seen is the Thunder building a Finals team. But it dissolved by players wanting out for this or that reason. Then the management "blew up" the team to start over. So here we are in year 3 or 4 of the rebuild. With, by most on air "experts" 1 or 2 years left to put together the right roster to compete. 2 years from now will be 2025. SGA, Holmgren and J-Dub all have expiring contracts in 2027. They will command big bucks if they meet their potential. Will the Thunder be willing to go into the luxury tax to keep those 3 and enough solid role players to be a Championship contender?

The new CBA is effectively more of a hard cap, which was enacted to prevent another GSW situation (where a team has like 4 max level players). The old CBA was mostly enforced via fines. But the new one actually imposes substantive penalties which will make it more difficult for teams to field a roster. See: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2023/04/...tax-apron.html

I’m sure Presti will manage to negotiate it, but the days of simply buying championships, by spending deep into the 2nd tax apron, is mostly over.