With two weeks until training camp is set to start, the Thunder roster is likely set. Following a season that was difficult to watch, both literally and figuratively, fans may have hoped to see wholesale changes. Alas, the guys heading in to training camp are essentially the same guys who executed the 22-50 record of 2020-21.
Of the players that were on the team for the season finale against the Clippers, only Moses Brown, Tony Bradley, Jaylen Hoard, Svi Mykhailiuk and Al Horford have moved on. They have been replaced by five draft picks (Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, Aaron Wiggins, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Vit Krejci) and a trade acquisition that came with a draft pick (Derrick Favors). One could, and probably should, argue that this roster is actually worse.
That said, the goal today is to analyze the roster and rank the players by their value to the franchise. To do that, I devised a system of rating each player from 1 to 10 in ten categories. Those categories are:
Name Recognition: A score of ten would mean that the player is so well known that even soccer fans are aware of him. A one would suggest his mother might be able to place him if given two guesses.
Potential: How much capability the player has to improve. A perfect score would be a player with superstar capability that has a long way to reach that status. A low score would mean that the player is well past their prime or is unlikely to improve.
Scoring: How much of a threat is this player to score? A player rated ten would be a player teams game plan to contain because stopping them is hopeless. A player rated one would be a guy who defenses ignore and still only gets on the scoreboard by accident.