The Thunder’s center logjam may be creating a tricky reality for Thomas Sorber, and rookie Aday Mara’s preseason surge only makes it tougher.
Mara, the Michigan product taken 14th overall in June, has opened preseason with three strong outings for OKC. He’s averaging 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and a league-best 2.7 blocks per game among players with at least two games played.
For Thunder fans, that kind of production is easy to get excited about. For Sorber, it may be bad timing.
Sorber missed his entire first season because of a torn ACL, so the path to minutes was already narrow. Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams were all ahead of him before the preseason even began. Now Mara’s play has pushed Sorber even farther down the ladder, and as things stand he appears likely to enter the 2026-27 season fifth on the team’s center depth chart.
That kind of role is hard to sell for a player drafted 15th overall last year. The Thunder saw Sorber as a potential answer to a thin center rotation when they picked him, and Georgetown’s lone season gave him a reputation as one of the draft class’s best rim protectors and top big men. He’s still just 20 years old, too, with a strong mix of size at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, two-way ability and athleticism.
But development requires minutes, and minutes may be the one thing Oklahoma City can’t promise him. That’s why a trade could make sense for both sides. Sorber might get a clearer path to real playing time somewhere else, while the Thunder could add more future assets to their stockpile or bring back a ready-made piece at another position, such as the wing.
It may not be an easy move to make, but given Oklahoma City’s depth at center, dealing Sorber could end up helping everyone involved.
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 🡒]