Oklahoma City, for better or worse, has seen its fair share of polarizing NBA players pass through.
Nate Robinson, Kevin Durant, Kyle Singler, Raymond Felton and a slew of other stars and role players have all been apart of the Thunder legacy at one point or another.
The current team is ripe with fresh faces and young talent, many of which could use a veteran presence.
InsideTheThunder.com’s staff took a theoretical shot at what former Thunder would be the most fun to add to the current team for the upcoming season:
Ryan’s Pick: Serge Ibaka
Prime Serge Ibaka would be must-see TV on this year’s Thunder team.
Oklahoma City is already short on dominant bigs, so Ibaka would fill a position need, and he’d also bring some much needed rim protection on the back end. Once the Thunder get out in transition, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would have an easy target to find the rim-running Ibaka for some easy fast break points. And once the offense is forced into the half court, not only could Ibaka step out and stretch the floor, he and Gilgeous-Alexander would be able to combine in a lethal pick-and-roll game.
Ibaka would have been able to thrive in the modern NBA and would a matchup nightmare as a small-ball center, the perfect player to slot into this Thunder team to both help get results on the floor but also put together a highlight reel at the end of every night.
Nick’s Pick: Dion Waiters
If there was one former Thunder player who could be added to the current roster to make the upcoming season more fun, it would definitely be Dion Waiters.
For a guy that has absolutely no shame in shooting his shot, he would get plenty of opportunity on this rebuilding Oklahoma City team. While his career fizzled out pretty quickly, he was one of the most entertaining Thunder players of all time.
Waiters attempted over 12 shots per game in his career, which is a lot considering it only lasted eight years. Thunder GM Sam Presti loves former lottery picks, hence why he originally acquired Waiters, so it makes sense here too.
He wouldn’t contribute much to winning, but that’s okay in the current state of Thunder basketball. It’s all about entertainment value, which Dion Waiters brings more than you could ask for.
Derek’s Pick: Domantas Sabonis
Personally, my idea of fun includes winning, and there’s few former Thunder’s that would add more wins to the teams’s current configurations than Domantas Sabonis.
An overlooked star due to being traded for Paul George, Sabonis has become a force to be reckoned with in the league since his rookie days in OKC.
The Thunder lack all of his most valuable attributes: size, scoring and rebounding. Sabonis averaged a measly 20.3 points and 12.0 rebounds last season, while tacking on those 6.7 assists per game that general manager Sam Presti would be looking for.
The two-time All-Star would provide a boost to the half court offense, and be a major player in the pick-and-roll with budding star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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