The Oklahoma City Thunder recently received some surprising injury news: Kenrich Williams underwent surgery on his right knee.
As he continues to rehab, the 29-year-old will miss the preseason and potentially a good chunk of the regular season.
Although the news is a bummer for the Thunder, whose championship window is wide open, it opens the door for another transaction in the near future.
Injury changes OKC's plans
The Thunder have a final roster spot open, which could lead to a free-agent player signing off the open market.
While the team isn't in a pressing need to fill the spot and doesn't have a particular hole on the roster, especially after acquiring Alex Caruso and signing Isaiah Hartenstein this offseason, now may be the perfect opportunity for the front office to explore some options and see who they can bring in.
In a recent article by HoopRumors, writer Luke Adams examined the rosters of all four Northwest Division teams and listed multiple players who could fit the Thunder's system and be a viable rotational replacement for the injured Williams.
"The Thunder are one of the few NBA teams well positioned to bring in another veteran free agent who could make the 15-man standard roster," Adams wrote. "While Jaylin Williams will make the team, that still leaves the 15th spot open, and Oklahoma City is more than $11MM away from the luxury tax line, so another minimum-salary signing wouldn't be a problem financially. With Topic out for the season and Kenrich Williams seemingly unlikely to be ready for opening night, the club could also use another depth piece. It's unclear whether the Thunder are perusing the free agent market with an eye toward adding a 15th man, but one more wing would make sense to me, with Oshae Brissett, Nassir Little, Justin Holiday, and Reggie Bullock among the available players who could fit."
Preseason injury after injury-free season
While Kenrich isn't a significant production loss, the NBA injury bug continues to be wildly unpredictable and impactful on teams' plans. The Thunder miraculously escaped any significant injuries to their roster last season, from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the last guy off the bench.
However, there is no guarantee the dominoes will fall the same way in the 2024-25 campaign, which makes an additional signing before the season a wise move.
Of the players Adams mentioned, the ideal fit would be Holiday, a veteran point guard with decent playmaking skills and someone who could potentially slide into the Thunder's vacant backup facilitator role. He played sparingly for the Denver Nuggets last season, contributing 4.0 points and 40.4% from the 3-point line in 58 appearances.
If Oklahoma City chooses to stand pat and not make any more transactions, it'll likely be left to Jaylin Williams, OKC's 22-year-old power forward, to step up and deliver substantial production. He played just 13.0 minutes last season. If he consistently fills the stat sheet, he will likely see his minutes average spike.
Related: OKC's backup forward underwent surgery; timetable for return unclear