Thunder Searching for Center Depth After Williams' Injury

After another injury in the frontcourt, OKC may be forced to put a new big man in its rotation.

Jaylin Williams left Wednesday's outing against the Orlando Magic with an ankle injury, and while Oklahoma City has yet to update fans on the rookie's status, it doesn't appear that the Arkansas product will see the court in the near future.

This marks the fourth injured big man for OKC this season, as Darius Bazley, who is active once again, saw time on the injury report earlier in the year. With "J-Will" seemingly out of the lineup, at least for a few games, the Thunder are currently down three of their post players. 

Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are still sidelined with their own ailments, leaving Mike Muscala and Darius Bazley as the only true big men on the team. Two-way player Eugene Omoruyi has also earned minutes and starts as Oklahoma City's center. 

With only three active big men left, none of which have consistently seen significant playing time this season, OKC could resort to pulling another center up from the Blue, with 6-foot-10 DJ Wilson likely being the one to receive the call. 

On Thursday night against the Mexico City Capitanes, Wilson went 8-of-15 from the field, finishing the matchup with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal. 

The 230-pound big man was the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and is currently averaging 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and a career-best 4.3 assists per game while shooting over 50% from the field in the G League. Originally drafted by the Milwaukee, Wilson spent three seasons with the Bucks before being traded to Houston and spending last year in Toronto. 

The former Michigan Wolverine has played 146 career games in the NBA, totaling career averages of 4.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest. Wilson made a career-high 48 appearances with the Bucks during the 2018-19 season, averaging 5.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in over 18 minutes per game. 

At Michigan, the Blue's starting big man recorded solid statistics, notching 11 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 53.8% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc as a junior. In high school, Wilson was a four-star recruit, ranked one of the top 15 players in California.  

Due to his size and the lack of big man depth on OKC's roster at the moment, it may be more valuable for Oklahoma City to slot Wilson as a two-way contract over Lindy Waters III. 

With the emergence of Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Jalen Williams, among others, the Thunder have plenty of functioning wing players with similar skills to Waters III. Filling this spot with another big man could prove to be more beneficial to the team while three of their post players recover from injury, as Wilson would give OKC another option to turn to in the paint.

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