The way I have always interpreted the construction of the roster was that the Thunder would draft, develop young players to then replace the current starters on a periodic basis.
Cason is an excellent example, I believe he could be an All-Star level talent with more playing time and careful player development. If OKC win this year, I think there's an argument to trade Lu Dort for draft picks and move Cason into the starting five full time.
The same goes for Nikola Topic who hasn't even played a minute due to injury. The coaching staff will likely take next season to evaluate and give him a diet of spot minutes in the NBA/regular G league minutes. The hope being is that he eventually replaces Isaiah Joe in the reserves.
In terms of outgoings, I could see Ousmane Dieng and Dort moving on if the Thunder win this year
The way I have always interpreted the construction of the roster was that the Thunder would draft, develop young players to then replace the current starters on a periodic basis.
Cason is an excellent example, I believe he could be an All-Star level talent with more playing time and careful player development. If OKC win this year, I think there's an argument to trade Lu Dort for draft picks and move Cason into the starting five full time.
The same goes for Nikola Topic who hasn't even played a minute due to injury. The coaching staff will likely take next season to evaluate and give him a diet of spot minutes in the NBA/regular G league minutes. The hope being is that he eventually replaces Isaiah Joe in the reserves.
In terms of outgoings, I could see Ousmane Dieng and Dort moving on if the Thunder win this year