Oklahoma City has spent the offseason making real changes, but the one area that stands out is the one it still hasn’t solved: wing depth.
The Thunder did get some movement done over the summer. Extending Isaiah Hartenstein and adding Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz gave the roster a different look and created some buzz. But those additions came alongside a wave of departures that hit the same part of the floor.
Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe have all been traded over the past several weeks, and that matters because all three were primarily wings. Their exits leave Oklahoma City with a rotation that will have to look different in 2026-27, whether the team wants it to or not.
One obvious result is that some of the Thunder’s guards will need to handle bigger roles than usual. Mark Daigneault’s double-big lineups are still expected to be part of the mix, so Oklahoma City seems comfortable leaning into that formula. Even so, it’s also the kind of offseason that could end up looking like a miss if the last roster spot never gets addressed in a meaningful way.
The biggest issue is the depth that once helped cover for Jalen Williams when he missed time. That cushion is gone now, and if Williams has any more lengthy absences, the Thunder won’t have the same margin for error.
Spencer Jones looked like a possible answer when Oklahoma City signed him to a two-year offer sheet, but the Nuggets matched it and took that option off the board. So the Thunder are back where they started, with the schedule release possibly just a few days away and one open roster spot still waiting for a plan.
It would be a mistake for Oklahoma City to spend that spot on someone who doesn’t fit. But the Thunder do need a clear direction, and the cleanest path points toward adding more forward depth. That would give them more options beyond Jalen Williams, Kenrich Williams and the two-way players already in place for next season.
Oklahoma City has the assets to keep working and still has room below the second apron, so there’s no shortage of ways to improve the roster. But if the Thunder finish the offseason without filling that spot and without really replacing what they lost in Dort, Wiggins and Joe, it will count as a small failure.
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