Starting Center:
Kendrick Perkins has played terrible ever since he got to OKC. It is not like he was that great in the first place, but he has regressed. He had a negative PER in the playoffs, yes you read that correctly, a negative! I did not even know that was possible. Luckily for the Thunder, they are in an ideal position position to take a center in the draft because they own the 12th overall pick via the James Harden trade. There will be a couple of centers that may be available around their pick, but it is almost a sure thing that the 76ers, a pick ahead of them, also take a center so they might be left with the scraps. As I see it, they can get one of three centers that are likely to fall to them, Cody Zeller, Rudy Gobert or Kelly Olynyk. Zeller has a more refined game, but Gobert has a lot more potential because of his size. Olynyk proved himself worthy of a lottery pick because of his showing at the combine. All three of these guys would be great picks, but I think Olynyk is the most likely player to fall to them. He would probably start right away because he is skilled enough to do so and Kendrick Perkins is not fit to start.
Shooting Guard:
Kevin Martin is going to be a free agent and I do not know if OKC wants him back. He played well during the season, providing some scoring off of the bench, but he was terrible in the playoffs. At this point in his career, he is mostly a three point shooter. He had trouble creating his own shot in OKC, which could hurt the chances that he is brought back next season. They traded for Jeremy Lamb last season and they may think it is time to give him some run. Even if they do, they could still use some competition. They have a second first round pick, late in the first round. They could use that pick to snag a guard/forward type. Jamaal Franklin should be available with their pick, he is not a shooter like Martin, but he can do much more than him in other areas. Ricky Ledo should also be available when they pick. He has loads of potential, but I think the Thunder take a pass on him due to another forward they have with loads of potential, in Perry Jones.
Small Forward Depth:
Kevin Durant is the second best player in basketball, but he cannot be playing 44 minutes per game, even if it is the playoffs. You could tell he was very fatigued at the end of the Memphis series. They drafted Perry Jones last season, but he did not play unless it was garbage time. I dont know if he will ever reach his potential, but the Thunder might want to draft some insurance just in case he does not. Ledo can play small forward, but he is in the same situation as Jones. If Sergey Keresev fall this far, which is a possibility, considering he is European, but he is a very good scorer and could get minutes right away.
First and foremost, the Thunder need to replace Kendrick Perkins. He is not a starting quality center and if the Thunder want to win a championship, they need a starting quality center. If they are able to grab Olynyk, they will have a nice offensive option inside to go along with Serge Ibaka. They need to let Kevin Martin go in free agency and develop Jeremy Lamb. If they don't think he is good enough to get consistent minutes, they need to draft someone else. If they do, they need to make sure that player can play a little bit of small forward in order to backup Durant. The Thunder will likely be the number one pr number two seed in the western conference again. They are simply too good for the rest of the conference, but they need to take care of their business in the playoffs.
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