Oklahoma City’s preseason has already started to sketch out a bigger picture, and Kenrich Williams is one of the clearest beneficiaries.
The Thunder are 0-3 through three preseason games, but the record has not been the story in Oklahoma City. The more important takeaway has been the way certain roles are beginning to come into focus, especially after the offseason departures of Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. With three wings out the door and a guard and a big coming in to replace them, there’s naturally more space opening up on the perimeter for one of the team’s returning forwards.
That’s where Williams enters the picture. As he heads into his seventh season with the franchise, preseason play has made it easier to see how Oklahoma City intends to use him. He was already expected to see more time at the three with Aday Mara and Thomas Sorber set to join the mix, and his play has only strengthened that expectation.
Williams has spent his Thunder career wearing a lot of different hats. He’s handled the ball, filled in as a small-ball big and generally given Mark Daigneault a flexible piece who can fit wherever needed. That kind of versatility has made him one of the more valuable players in the rotation, and it’s still going to matter this season.
The difference now is where that versatility is likely to show up. With the current roster construction, Williams should spend much more time on the wing, and that could bring added responsibilities with it.
That doesn’t automatically mean a bigger workload in minutes, though. Daigneault has shown he’s comfortable playing multiple guards next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the backcourt picture may have gotten even more crowded if Bennett Stirtz’s preseason play carries over into the regular season.
Even with Oklahoma City short-handed in the frontcourt during preseason, Williams has still logged some interior time, so those duties are not disappearing altogether. But the direction is pretty clear: when the games start counting, the Thunder will likely lean on him more heavily on the perimeter and use him wherever he best helps them win.
And that’s nothing new for Williams. He’s adapted to every ask the Thunder have put in front of him, and this season should be no different. Oklahoma City brought him back for a reason, and he could wind up playing a major role in the team’s push for another NBA title.
In Other News...
Thunder Rookies Are Giving OKC Fans Something Real To Debate
The Thunders preseason trip to Atlanta gave Oklahoma City another reminder that the young talent is already part of the conversation, even if the results are still coming up short. In a 113-110 loss to the Hawks, the Thunder fell to 0-3 in the preseason, but the bigger takeaway for fans was how much the rookies kept showing up in the box score. Bennett Stirtz and Aday Mara were among the young players driving the offense and filling up other categories, giving the night a different feel than a routine October loss.
For a team with plenty of eyes on its developmental pipeline, performances like this can turn a preseason game into an early debate about who is ready now and who is still a little further away. Oklahoma City will get another chance to sort through those impressions in its next preseason game, a home matchup against Indiana, where the rookies should have another opportunity to make the case that they belong in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Fans Just Got A Clearer Look At Daigneaults Roster Role
Mark Daigneaults place in the Thunders front office puzzle got a little clearer this week, and it helps explain how Oklahoma City has managed to keep so much continuity while still making aggressive roster moves. The head coach said his input matters in the conversation, but the final calls on personnel still belong to Sam Presti, which is the kind of arrangement that makes sense for a franchise trying to balance coaching perspective with a long-view roster plan.
Daigneaults comments arrive at a time when the league keeps offering reminders of how much the human side of roster building matters, from locker-room fit to players choosing stability over a fresh start. For the Thunder, the bigger takeaway is not just who gets brought in or moved out, but how the organization sorts through those decisions with a coach who is clearly part of the discussion without being the one holding the pen. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder's Unexpected Skid Is Testing Patience Even Before Opening Night
The Thunder have spent the months since their playoff run doing something they never wanted to carry into October: losing, and losing often. The skid has stretched across the end of the postseason, Summer League and preseason, with Oklahoma City dropped into an awkward run of results even as the roster has mostly been without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
Mark Daigneault has leaned into the teaching side of it, because the minutes have gone to younger and less experienced players who are trying to learn on the fly. The latest preseason loss fit that mold, and while the record has been ugly, the staff is treating these games less as a referendum on the Thunders ceiling and more as a chance to sort through the edges before opening night arrives. [Read more 🡒]