Will OKC Thunder's Two-Way Players Have Opportunity to Land on 15-Man Roster?

The Oklahoma City Thunder are effectively running back their NBA championship squad, but that might not be ideal for everyone.

Entering next season, the Thunder have established themselves as the best team in the world and are looking to defend that title. It won’t be easy to repeat as NBA champions, considering it’s been nearly a decade since it last happened.

However, the Thunder’s youth and depth give them the best chance of almost any team over the past few years. Of the 15 players on the standard roster, 13 at least occasionally played a significant role last season, with Ousmane Dieng and incoming rookie Thomas Sorber being the odd men out.

With Sorber expected to be a key piece for Oklahoma City moving forward and Dieng seemingly getting one last chance to stand out in the final year of his rookie deal, Mark Daigneault could have 15 guys to incorporate, at least in the early stages of the season. Now, that won’t be as much of a problem if Oklahoma City deals with injury issues like it did last season.

However, a healthy Thunder team could actually be a detriment as far as ensuring everyone gets their fair share of playing time. More than anything, it especially leaves the Thunder’s two-way players on the outside looking in.

Over the past few years, there has seemingly been a tradition of two-players earning standard contracts. From Lu Dort to Aaron Wiggins to Ajay Mitchell last season, the Thunder have been willing to reward their players for performing at the NBA level.

Of course, without a standard roster spot currently available, that is somewhat tricky to begin with. Beyond that, it will simply be difficult to give Brooks Barnhizer, Branden Carlson or the third two-way player a chance to showcase their skills at the NBA level.

Perhaps the saving grace for them will be that the Thunder could again be blowing teams out at a historic level, lending plenty of garbage time for those guys to work their way into the rotation occasionally. In past years, Carlson or Barnhizer might have been in a great spot to work their way onto the 15-man roster, especially after their Summer League performances.

However, with the Thunder so deep and defending a title, that opportunity, unfortunately, might not appear next season.