After one of the darkest days in franchise history, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have three months to process any grief and move forward in their next basketball moves. In a single night, they went from a co-title favorite to a team left scrambling, trying to rediscover a new identity and meaning.
The Thunder will be without Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace for the foreseeable. And perhaps, for the remainder of the 2026-27 season. Both sustained serious injuries in OKC's win over the LA Clippers this past Sunday. Now, they're without two of their four best players for months.
Williams sustained a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle. He has surgery to repair both. The Thunder will re-evaluate him before the 2026-27 regular season ends. Wallace
sustained a torn labrum on his shoulder. He will also have surgery to address it.
This is a doomsday scenario that has completely shaken OKC to its core. Now, it must continue to chug along in the 2026-27 regular season. The next three months will determine what it does at the 2027 NBA trade deadline — stand pat, make an outside addition or sell off pieces?
If it's the middle choice, ESPN's Brian Windhorst recently hinted on 'The Hoop Collective' NBA podcast that it'll be a safe addition. Somebody who has already been in the building before. Preferably, with a rapport with Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
"This is one thing that I've talked to executives about, and I don't mean to be cryptic, but I'm being cryptic," Windhorst said. "If you're going to, if they're going to acquire a player, it would not be a surprise if they acquire a player they've already had."
That's interesting. I guess it remains to be seen who. Some names that pop into mind are Ty Jerome and Ousmane Dieng. If you're thinking of bringing back one of the three guys that let go over the summer for cost-cutting measures — Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins — I'm sad to say they legally can't. You're not allowed to reacquire a player until a year from the initial trade.
What about an outside-the-box candidate? No, not Russell Westbrook — but the other starting guard from that 2016-17 squad. Victor Oladipo has tried to make an NBA comeback for a while now. He played last for the Miami Heat in 2023. He spent last season in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd. Maybe the 34-year-old can pitch in.
I don't know. Just spitballing. But it's a fun thought exercise. Especially since the Thunder must keep an open mind in terms of how they can salvage the 2026-27 season after a disastrous event happened before Halloween even arrived.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Rumor: OKC Thunder could trade for familiar face to help 2026-27 season
