2016 Oklahoma City Thunder

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: [email protected]




Oklahoma City Thunder (Last Year: 55-27)

2016-17 Projected Depth Chart:


C: Steven Adams/Enes Kanter

PF: Serge Ibaka/Nick Collison/Mitch McGary

SF: Kyle Singler/Josh Huestis

SG: Andre Roberson/Dion Waiters/Anthony Morrow

PG: Russell Westbrook/Cameron Payne





NBA Free Agents:


SF-Kevin Durant (UFA)

SG-Randy Foye (UFA)

C-Nazr Mohammed (UFA)

SG-Dion Waiters (RFA)




2016-17 Team Salary: Approximately $65.9 million





NBA Offseason Team Needs:


1. Re-sign Durant: I really don’t need to expand much here. Durant is the most-sought-after free agent on the market and teams will be throwing the house at him. Oklahoma City can offer him a longer and more lucrative deal than any other bidder. The Thunder need to do everything they can to lock him up. If some other team lures him away, the hunt is on to find a new starting small forward.

2. Shooting Guard: Andre Roberson knows his role as a defensive-minded, energy two guard who doesn’t need to do much on the offensive end. However, Oklahoma City could still use a scoring threat at the two guard spot, especially with Dion Waiters being a restricted free agent and the Thunder unlikely to extend him to the long-term deal that he will be seeking.

3. Plan Ahead for Next Summer’s Free Agency: General Manager Sam Presti has some serious budgeting to figure out with the Thunder’s salary cap situation. If Durant ends up re-signing, next summer doesn’t slow down as Russell Westbrook enters free agency and Steven Adams will be a restricted free agent. Similarly to what the Thunder experienced when they traded James Harden since they couldn’t afford to pay everyone on their roster, the franchise might go through a similar situation and have some extremely difficult decisions in the very near future.









NFL Picks - Dec. 13


2025 NFL Mock Draft - Dec. 11


NFL Power Rankings - Dec. 9


2026 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 29


Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4