Breaking Down Oklahoma City Thunder's Small Forward Position for 2014-15 Season
When it comes to the small forward position, the Oklahoma City Thunder have Kevin Durant and not much else.
In fairness, having the reigning Most Valuable Player in his prime is more than enough for any team. Durant is one of the two best players in the NBA, arguably neck-and-neck with the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James. He's an effortless scorer who doesn't get nearly enough credit for his excellence in the other aspects of his game.
Durant is relentless on the glass, especially on the defensive boards. He's finished in the top seven in defensive rebounds twice during his seven years in the league. Last season, he averaged 6.7 defensive rebounds per game, which was tied for 12th with the Memphis Grizzlies' Zach Randolph. He finished with 7.4 total boards per contest (34th in the NBA).
Defensively, he's vastly underrated. According to 82games.com, opponents had an effective field-goal percentage of 48.9 percent against Durant. His 4.4 defensive win shares were good for 10th-best in the league, and he had a defensive rating of 104.
Still, the biggest feathers in The Durantula's cap are his offensive skills. He averaged 32 points per game last year, which earned him his fourth scoring title in seven years. He shot 50.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from behind the arc. He also shot 87.3 percent from the free-throw line.
During his MVP campaign, Durant led the league in win shares (19.2), offensive win shares (14.8), win shares per 48 minutes (.295) and player efficiency rating (29.8). He also led the league in minutes played (3,122) and usage rate (33 percent), which explains why he cited fatigue as his reason for withdrawing from the Team USA prior to the start of the FIBA World Cup.
"After going through training camp with USAB, I realized I could not fulfill my responsibilities to the team from both a time and energy standpoint," Durant said in a statement from USA Basketball. "I need to take a step back and take some time away, both mentally and physically in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season."
Last season, Brooks wrote off the idea of Durant being fatigued, per Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "It’s nothing that I've talked about and worried about. Fatigue is not an issue with our group. We’re talking 39 minutes of your day. I think he (Durant) can handle that at age 25."
Durant can clearly handle it, but for how much longer? And is it worth it to KD if he's not hoisting a championship trophy at the end of the season?
Grading Thunder Small Forwards' 2013-14 Performances
There's no doubt that the play of Oklahoma City's small forwards last season is worthy of high marks. After all, the top guy on their depth chart took home the NBA's best individual honor. However, the quality of OKC's 3's in 2013-14 goes beyond Durant's excellence.
The team added depth in March when they signed veteran Caron Butler, who was available after being bought out by the Milwaukee Bucks. While he wasn't the same player from his glory days with the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards, the man known as "Tough Juice" gave the Thunder a reliable veteran presence.
He logged 27.2 minutes a night in 22 games, averaging 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. He shot 40.9 percent from the field, including 44.1 percent from three. He also contributed 1.1 steals per contest. Butler struggled to find his shot in the playoffs though, converting just 32.4 percent of his attempts (35.6 percent from three).
He'd finish the postseason with an average of 6.3 points in 11 games, getting the starting nod in two of them.
Former Baylor star Perry Jones III saw a little bit of playing time in the regular season. He played in 62 games (making seven starts), averaging 3.5 points per game in 12.3 minutes. Jones was barely heard from in the playoffs, averaging just five minutes a night.
To round out the group, Ryan Gomes and Reggie Williams made a couple of cameos. Gomes appeared in five games, while Williams played in three. Neither player managed to do anything worth mentioning.
Still, Durant's performance alone is good enough to earn this unit a gold star. Even with his gaudy offensive numbers, his own coach thought he could do more.
"Let's face it: If he wanted to score a bunch of points or more than he's scoring now, he really could do that," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks told reporters in March. "His assist level has gone up, he impacts the game. Defensively, he impacts the game. He can guard 1 through 5. So a lot of things that he does [are] all about the team."
As a testament to Durant's selflessness, the former Texas star actually believed he should be taking fewer shots. He told Mayberry in January that he's "not doing enough to help" his teammates and that he's "shooting too much":
"I think now I'm just flat out shooting too much. I have to find a way to get my teammates easier shots. I've been thinking these last few games in order for us to get it going I have to do it all offensively. But, nah, we have to do it together. It's a great learning experience for me. It's the first time I've really been in that type of position. But I just have to get everybody involved. I may have to pass up a few to find a better shot.
"
The debate over whether he's shooting too much or not enough aside, Durant's ability to fill a stat sheet carried over to the postseason. He led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 29.6 points and 8.9 boards in 11 playoff games. He added 1.3 blocks and a steal per contest as well.
Durant also played 42.9 minutes per game. That, combined with the 38.5 minutes he averaged in the regular season (including a combined 130 minutes in the final three games, when the team had its playoff spot locked up), is why he was gasping for air this summer.
That's no fault of Durant's. He put the team on his back and carried them as far as he could. In the end, the team came a couple wins short of making it to the NBA Finals. With Durant's MVP season and Butler's contributions, small forward was arguably the team's strongest position last year.
Grade: A-
What's In Flux This Season
While small forward will remain one of the team's strong suits as long as Durant is healthy, depth is a concern for the Thunder this season. Butler is now a Detroit Piston and, in the wake of his departure, all that's left are a group of unproven guys behind the team's franchise player.
Perry Jones would appear to be the most logical candidate to spell Durant. At 6'11" with a decent outside shooting touch, Jones has a little bit of Lamar Odom to his game. However, his skills aren't as polished as Odom's were even in LO's early days. Part of that is due to a lack of playing time.
In two seasons, Jones has averaged 10.5 minutes per game. Brooks has traditionally preferred playing veterans over his young guys, as evidenced by the Butler signing last season.
The other option for backup minutes is perimeter defender Andre Roberson. With former chief defender Thabo Sefolosha now with the Atlanta Hawks, Roberson is the most likely candidate to fill his shoes. At 6'7", he has the size to play some small forward, but Mayberry suggests he could be in the running to start at shooting guard as well:
"Roberson is made in the same mold as Sefolosha, long, athletic, gritty and defensive-minded. Since the Thunder acquired Sefolosha midway through the 2008-09 season, the team has preferred to keep a lockdown-defender type at the starting shooting guard spot. It alleviates pressure from Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant defensively and allows the two stars to focus on offense.
"
The Thunder also used the No. 29 overall pick in this past June's draft on Stanford small forward Josh Huestis. Like Roberson, Huestis is another long, rangy defender who could play the Sefolosha role for Oklahoma City.
This is what Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com had to say about Huestis:
"The best thing that Huestis brings to the table, and the key attribute that makes him an NBA prospect, is his defense. His size, length and athleticism gives him the ability to guard multiple positions at the college level and beyond, and he shows terrific smarts and intensity locking down opponents.
"
NBADraft.net added that Huestis is a "tough on-ball defender" and has "good timing as a shot-blocker." Huestis has yet to sign to sign with the Thunder, opting for a D-League contract instead. He had a ho-hum performance during the Orlando summer league, averaging eight points a game in 19.8 minutes and shooting 12.5 percent from three.
He could be a factor for the team down the road, but he's still another year or two away. Naturally, that doesn't help the Thunder this season. With concerns over Durant's workload, someone needs to step up to give the reigning MVP a breather.
That person could be on this roster or could be added midseason like Butler last season.
What To Expect This Season
Scott Brooks finds himself in a precarious position. If he continues to overuse Durant and the team's star player breaks down, the Thunder faithful will be at his door with torches and pitchforks (figuratively, not literally.....at least, I hope not literally).
If he scales back Durant's minutes and the team falters, his time in Oklahoma City could be coming to an end. The Thunder have been among the NBA's elite for some time now, but they have one Finals appearance and no championship rings to speak of. That's why this is a pivotal year for Brooks.
It's also a big year in terms of Durant's future in Oklahoma City. While free agency for KD is still two years away, every season in which the Thunder comes up short gives him more to consider as he mulls loyalty over more immediate success.
With LeBron James returning to Cleveland with two championship rings on his hand, the focus shifts to Durant and the inevitable "Can he win The Big One?" questions. It's a storyline that will no doubt be run into the ground until Durant hits the market after the 2015-16 season.
The Thunder can't worry about two years from now, though. They have to hope that either one of their young players will develop into a decent reserve behind Durant or that there's a veteran who can be a stopgap option until the kids are ready.
The name that is the most intriguing is Mickael Pietrus, who recently worked out for the Sacramento Kings, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Despite being in the NBA seemingly forever, Pietrus is still only 32 years old. He's a solid defender and a career 35.5 percent three-point shooter.
"The Kings worked out free agent forward Mickael Pietrus this week in Sacramento, league sources tell RealGM. Pietrus is on workout trail.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 18, 2014"
In other words, he's the kind of sneaky free-agent acquisition that should interest general manager Sam Presti.
Assuming the roster stays as-is, the pecking order behind Durant should be Jones, Roberson and Huestis. Roberson's defense could propel him ahead of Jones in Brooks' rotation, but the Thunder need to find out what they have in both players.
The Thunder's outlook at small forward for 2014-15 will be like it has been in recent years: Durant will get the bulk of the minutes and use his plethora of otherworldly basketball gifts to carry the team. Depth will be an issue until someone emerges, but Durant's presence makes this a strong unit.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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