Oklahoma City Thunder Depth Chart 2023 Thunder Depth Chart
1-1, 3rd in West Northwest
OKC 95 @ MIN 120 Final
Final
No one could have predicted what happened this offseason to the Oklahoma City Thunder. After managing to convince Paul George to sign a max contract so remain in OKC last summer, they appeared to have their core of George and Russell Westbrook for the next several years. But wow did things change quickly. Paul George asked to be traded to the Clippers when he was told that he would be pairing up with Kawhi Leonard, and while the trade that eventually transpired sent a treasure chest’s worth of future assets, it officially declared the team to be in rebuilding mode. That being the case, it didn’t make sense for Westbrook to remain with the team, and the Thunder granted his wish to be traded to the Rockets to pair up with former Thunder player James Harden in exchange for Chris Paul and more draft picks.
Depth Chart
| Position POS |
|---|
| Point Guard PG |
| Shooting Guard SG |
| Small Forward SF |
| Power Forward PF |
| Center C |
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point Guard PG | |||
| Shooting Guard SG | |||
| Small Forward SF | |||
| Power Forward PF | | ||
| Center C |
While the Thunder now clearly have their eyes set on the future, a closer look reveals that their current rosters isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be. It’s certainly true that Chris Paul is on a bad contract and is getting up there in terms of age, but he can still play and definitely remains one of the top point guard options in the league. It will be interesting to see how he responds now that he will be the one running the show again and no longer has to defer to Harden. Paul and center Steven Adams should be a force in the pick-and-roll, as the duo has the potential to replicate or perhaps even improve on the production that Adams and Westbrook have had for the past several years.
In addition to all of the draft picks that OKC got in exchange for Paul George, it is easy to forget that they also received Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari in the deal as well. Gilgeous-Alexander had a very impressive rookie campaign as the starting point guard for the Clippers last year, and now he will look to learn from Chris Paul in an effort to develop into potentially the point guard of the future for the Thunder. Gallinari has battled injuries throughout his career, as he actually hasn’t played in more 70 games in a season since 2010. However, the Italian had a resurgent season last year in Los Angeles averaging a career high 19.8 points per game and in the process reminding everyone of the scoring potential he has in his arsenal.
In terms of the rest of the
