Why Oklahoma City Thunder Should Explore Trade for Anthony Bennett

The Oklahoma City Thunder should take a chance on salvaging the career of Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Bennett. While the former No. 1 overall pick has failed to meet expectations thus far, he's still only 22 years old and would be a low-risk addition who could potentially turn into an offensive weapon off the bench.

After playing on two different teams in as many years, Bennett could be changing zip codes again in the near future. League sources informed ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the T'Wolves made Bennett available for trade prior to using this year's No. 1 overall pick on fellow Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns. 

Bennett was essentially a throw-in from the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of last year's Kevin Love trade and he contributed just 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 57 games for Minnesota this past season. With Towns joining Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng, Kevin Garnett, Andrew Wiggins and Adreian Payne in the frontcourt, not to mention the potential arrival of Euro MVP Nemaja Bjelica, Bennett becomes even more expendable.  

Meanwhile, the Thunder opted to ignore the small forward position in this year's NBA draft. With Kevin Durant undergoing three surgeries on his right foot in one season, and no reliable backup in place, there's a need for depth on the wing in Oklahoma City. 

Bennett's stock is at an all-time low, and it's unlikely Minnesota would ask for much in return to unload him. This would be a good opportunity for Thunder general manager Sam Presti to buy low on a young talent, much like he did when he added Dion Waiters in January. 

At 6'8" and 245 pounds, Bennett is a bit of a tweener, but he has the size, speed and athleticism to be passable as an NBA small forward. If he can regain the shooting touch he displayed in college, he could help fill the void behind KD and become a sneaky scoring option on the second unit. 

If he flounders, he would merely be a low-risk gamble who the team didn't have to sacrifice much to acquire.

David Sherman/Getty Images

Granted, Bennett comes equipped with plenty of red flags. Injuries have limited the Toronto native to just 109 of 164 games in his first two NBA seasons. In other words, he's been healthy for just 66.4 percent of his career. That lack of durability has also led to poor conditioning, which was something Bennett admitted to struggling with during his rookie year, per Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. 

"

The conditioning. I've been working on it, I'm trying to play longer periods of time in games. Whenever Coach puts me out there I want to go out and play hard, but I'm still trying to improve on that. I'm just taking it day by day.

"

When Bennett has made it onto the court, the results have been underwhelming. Despite shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three during his lone season at UNLV, those numbers have yet to translate to the next level. He's shooting just 39.3 percent from the field as a pro, including a woeful 26.3 percent from three. That being said, his 30.4 percent from behind the arc in 2014-15 was still better than the likes of Jae Crowder, Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo.  

Lastly, Bennett's pedestrian defense has been an issue dating back to college. Here's a clip of the big man giving less than optimal effort both in getting down the court and defending the post in a game against the University of Portland. 

That area of his game hasn't improved much in the NBA either. As a rookie with Cleveland, he allowed 107 points per 100 possessions. He followed that up by posting a defensive rating of 111 with the T'Wolves, per Basketball-Reference. However, it's worth noting that the 2013-14 Cavs struggled to get stops as a collective unit, while last year's Wolves finished last in defensive efficiency. 

Still, while it's easy to point out everything Bennett does wrong, there's a counterargument to his flaws. 

Whether due to poor conditioning, injuries, a lack of faith by his respective coaching staffs or a combination of the three, Bennett hasn't spent enough time on the floor to get a true read on what he can do. In fact, Bennett has averaged just 14.3 minutes per game during his career. 

Dating back to Dwight Howard in 2004, only two No. 1 overall picks have played less than 28 minutes per game in each of their first two seasons: Greg Oden and Andrea Bargnani. Even Oden, for all of his injury struggles, managed to log 21.5 and 23.9 minutes in his rookie and sophomore seasons, respectively. Meanwhile, Bargnani averaged 25.1 minutes in 2006-07 and 23.9 in 2007-08. 

Name	Year Drafted	1st Season	2nd Season
Andrew Wiggins	2014	36.1	TBD
Anthony Bennett	2013	12.8	15.7
Anthony Davis	2012	28.8	35.2
Kyrie Irving	2011	30.5	34.7
John Wall	2010	37.8	36.2
Blake Griffin	2009	38.0	36.2
Derrick Rose	2008	37	36.8
Greg Oden	2007	21.5	23.9
Andrea Bargnani	2006	25.1	23.9
Andrew Bogut	2005	28.6	34.2
Dwight Howard	2004	32.6	36.8

As for Bennett, he averaged just 12.8 minutes with the Cavs and 15.7 with the T'Wolves. Is that really enough of a sample size to consider giving up on the kid? Not according to Derek James of Hardwood Paroxysm.

"

At the age of 22, Bennett probably isn’t a lost cause. After a while, a player’s draft slot becomes irrelevant and they are who they are. The sooner Bennett finds that fit and puts it altogether will be the day we finally get to see the player that was viewed as a top-five talent in his draft class. 

"

Bennett's also working steadfastly to shed concerns over his weight. According to an Instagram post from trainer Drew Hanlen last month, the big fella has already lost 12 pounds.

With Durant limited to just 27 games last season, Oklahoma City struggled to find an adequate replacement for its hobbled franchise player. 

Name	FG%	3P%	PPG	RPG	PER	Off. Rating	Def. Rating
Jones	39.7	23.3	4.3	1.8	6.9	92	108
Singler	33.3	37.0	3.7	2.1	5.8	98	107
Morrow	46.3	43.4	10.7	2.6	14.8	124	108
Waiters	39.2	31.9	12.7	2.9	10.1	95	108

With the right coaching, could Bennett fill that void?

While Bennett didn't shoot the ball particularly well last season, his shot chart (courtesy of Vorped.com) is better than you might expect, especially around the rim. With increased confidence, he could develop into an underrated pick-and-pop option. 

Vorped.com

He also has uncanny athleticism and explosiveness for a man his size, which can be seen below.

Additionally, for as bad as Bennett's sophomore campaign was, he still managed to post a player efficiency rating (PER) of 11.41, per ESPN's Hollinger stats, which was actually better than notable names such as Matt Barnes, Terrence Ross and Lance Stephenson.  

The Thunder have a history of taking chances on players who flamed out elsewhere. While former No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet never amounted to much, Enes Kanter went from pitching in 9.3 points and 5.9 boards during four seasons with the Utah Jazz to averaging 18.7 points and 11 rebounds in 26 games with the Thunder. 

Bennett could also look to Michael Beasley as an example of someone who benefited from a change of scenery. Like Bennett, Beasley was a tweener forward with a ton of scoring potential and even more hype as the No. 2 overall pick in 2008. After two modestly productive seasons with the Miami Heat, off-court transgressions led to Beasley ironically finding new life in Minnesota, where his 19.2 points per game stands as his best offensive output to date. 

In Oklahoma City, less will be asked of Bennett than what Minnesota needed from Beasley. Like Kanter, the Thunder can mask his defensive shortcomings by pairing him with a stopper like Serge Ibaka or Steven Adams. There will also be less pressure to score as the club has enough offensive firepower to withstand a few off nights.

Bennett will also benefit from being around a winning culture with proven veterans like Durant and Russell Westbrook, who could both take the youngster under their wing. Those luxuries weren't present in his previous two stops. 

Instead, the team can focus on ways to bring the most out of a newly-svelte, possibly more-motivated former No. 1 overall pick. Bennett's $5.8 million salary may be a tough pill to swallow, but the team is already over the cap anyway. The club could make room for Bennett by finding a taker for the contracts of Perry Jones ($2 million) and Steve Novak ($3.75 million), which SI.com's Chris Mannix reported OKC was interested in doing prior to the draft.

Additionally, Bennett has a $7.3 million team option for 2016, which has virtually no shot of being picked up, making this just a one-year gamble. 

With $88.1 million already committed for next season, the Thunder have limited resources to add small forward depth in free agency. The team's only options are to re-sign Kyle Singler, find a decent alternative with the mini mid-level exception or go looking in the trade market. Of those avenues, a potential move to acquire Bennett has the most upside while offering the least amount of risk. 

Jordan Johnson/Getty Images

Anthony Bennett has been a disappointment in his first two years in the NBA, but it's still too early to label him a bust. As he awaits possibly being sent to his third different team in as many years, the question becomes, where can the former No. 1 overall pick go to reach his immense potential?

That's where the Oklahoma City Thunder come in.