Where Does Isaiah Joe Fit with the Thunder?

How can Isaiah Joe carve out a role with the Thunder?

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed Isaiah Joe to a multi-year deal, which implies that the Thunder will likely waive each of the four players that they acquired in the eight-player trade with the Houston Rockets.

The point guard brings the Thunder solid shooting and solid upside as a 23-year-old guard. He’s got the potential and he’s most definitely an NBA roster player, he was unfortunate to have been with the Philadelphia 76ers, who have plenty of depth.

In Oklahoma City, Joe will face similar issues. This last season, the Thunder faced issues with a logjam at the guard position. They've since traded Theo Maledon and Ty Jerome, who both required playing time and reps for evaluation, while also exploring the potential of Tre Mann.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey both seem to have locked in their roles as the starting duo at the guard positions.

Tre Mann is going to require a bunch of burn as the backup guard if he’s going to fill into his potential that all Thunder fans have seen from him. Jalen Williams, while he’s more versatile, will take some guard minutes, same for Ousmane Dieng who plays like a 6-foot-10 guard.

The deal was a multi-year deal, meaning the Thunder think they found themselves a player for the long term that could benefit them deeper into the rebuild. Who knows, maybe a potential bench lineup of Joe, Mann, Williams, Dieng and any big man is a real possibility.

Of course, this young into a rebuild, there are many active players that will be moving on in a few years time, as we’ve seen plenty of roster turnover in just two full years of the rebuild.

As a floor spacer, Joe could also easily act as a plug-and-play player in a variety of lineups, and it helps Mark Daigneault experiment with lineups since he can add a floor spacing guard.

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