Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 goals for the 2018 offseason

3. Get bigger

After the Oklahoma City Thunder traded away Enes Kanter for Carmelo Anthony, they seemed to have a glaring hole at the reserve center position. Head coach Billy Donovan tried a number of players there, but was unable to fix the issue.

Steven Adams battled all year. He tied for first in the NBA with 5.1 offensive rebounds per game. Unfortunately, no man is an island and the support he got in the frontcourt was just not good enough.

Dakari Johnson played well in a few games, but did not show enough. Patrick Patterson is a good defender, but prefers to stay on the perimeter rather than banging bodies in the post and he had a really disappointing year.

Donovan also tried Jerami Grant as the backup pivot with varying success. Grant is only 6’8″ and not as powerful as most players who play in the middle. However, what he does have is athleticism and a leap that allows him to defend the rim like a player who is 3-4 inches taller.

If the Thunder re-sign both Anthony and George, then they will have little cap flexibility. Players such as Kyle O’Quinn or Nerlens Noel could solve the Thunder’s size issues at a low cost.