With training camp less than a month away, the Thunder are squeezing every last bit of value out of the offseason - and doing it together.
A growing group of Oklahoma City players has made its own summer circuit, first showing up at Oklahoma’s win over UTEP last Friday before the frontcourt room headed to Dallas for a team-organized workout on Sunday. On Tuesday, the group expanded again, with several Thunder players gathering at TCU in Fort Worth for another round of work.
The list is a long one: Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Jared McCain, Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams, Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, Thomas Sorber and Brooks Barnhizer all made the trip. They worked both at the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena and at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Kenrich Williams, of course, has a built-in edge at TCU. He played there for three collegiate seasons from 2014-18, earned Horned Frogs legend status and had his college basketball jersey retired.
The bigger takeaway is how much of the roster is already moving as a unit. Ten of Oklahoma City’s 17 players were part of this player-run workout, a pretty strong sign of how seriously the group is using these last weeks before camp.
Holmgren and Wallace are locked-in starters. McCain, Caruso, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams are rotation pieces.
The remaining four - Mara, Stirtz, Sorber and Barnhizer - are younger players still trying to carve out roles at the back end of the bench.
That kind of offseason coordination is exactly what teams hope to get when the calendar turns to September. For the Thunder, it looks like the work is already underway as they head toward the 2026-27 season as a co-title favorite with the San Antonio Spurs.
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For Oklahoma City, the contrast is a pretty comfortable one. Sam Presti already has extensions in place for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, the two 2022 draft picks who helped power the Thunder to the 2025 championship, which means one of the league's more important young cores is secured while another contender is still waiting for clarity. [Read more 🡒]
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Thunder May Soon Face A Tough Jared McCain Decision
After making trades designed to stay clear of luxury tax penalties, the Thunder are now staring at a familiar kind of roster problem: too many promising young guards and not enough easy answers. Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain are all expected to matter in Oklahoma Citys next phase, giving the team real depth and long-term upside in the backcourt.
The tricky part is that not every piece can be treated the same when extension season arrives. McCain is still a valuable player, but the Thunder are likely to view Wallace and Mitchell as the bigger financial priorities, which puts the front office in a familiar balancing act between talent and cost. Keeping all three around as they develop may force some tougher planning down the road. [Read more 🡒]