Thunder Have Glaring Hole to Replace After Summer Trade

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a glaring hole to replace after the summer trade that sent Josh Giddey to Chicago.

Apr 12, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talks to guard Josh Giddey (3) during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

One of the best assets for the Oklahoma City Thunder a year ago was their ability to create buckets on sideline out-of-bounds plays - this was in large part to Josh Giddey, affectionately known as the SLOB Wizard.

A year ago, Oklahoma City was in the 80th percentile in all sideline out-of-bounds plays but that mark increased to the 97th percentile during after timeout settings, which created the Thunder 0.981 and 1.078 points per possession, respectively.

For a large chunk of those chances, it was Giddey dazzling as the trigger man with pinpoint passes that allows Daigneault to get creative with his play calls.

"Coach is really smart with ATO's, Sideline, Baseline plays," Giddey told SI Thunder last year "He puts me in a position to be able to get guys shots. We have guys who can cut...[Mark Daigneault] is very, very smart when drawling up plays like that."

This will be the first time since his first year on the sidelines in the NBA that Daigneault does not have Giddey to lean on, that season the Thunder mustered 0.8 points per game on sideline plays - with a roster that is obviously not as talented as the 2024-25 edition.

Still, no one can discredit the reigning coach of the year as a savant in the play call department, a year ago, the Thunder made a living zagging off NBA stereotypes such as utilizing the first cut to the basketball instead of letting that be the typical window dressing.

With Giddey in the Windy City, the Thunder will need to search for someone to take the mantle as the sideline out-of-bounds initiator and they have no shortage of options. Perhaps a guy like Jalen Williams who has the height, length and passing ability to get the ball where it needs to go blended with the scoring ability to catch team's napping on a quick give and go after getting the ball in.

Though, the play that seems the most likely to step up in this setting is Alex Caruso, who Giddey was traded for this summer and has a history with Daigneault.

The Thunder are going to be able to trust Caruso to make the right decisions with the ball in his hands, specifically as an initiator on out-of-bounds plays. This allows Oklahoma City to keep their best scores on the floor while still forcing defenses to respect the trigger man. Losing track of Caruso after his pass with his ability to find open hardwood would gift the Thunder easy buckets in that scenario.

While some are factoring in a step back from the Thunder in the out-of-timeout or sideline out-of-bounds department, Oklahoma City is still in great hands with plenty of options.

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