As the regular season approaches, it's a great time to look at which teams have had a successful offseason in terms of bringing in new players. Charles Barkley recently discussed this topic with host Bill Simmons on the latter's podcast.
For 'Sir Charles', the answer was straightforward. In his view, the best new signings aren't necessarily the most talented players but rather those who can make a specific team better. The 61-year-old believes that's exactly what the OKC Thunder, led by two-time All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, have achieved this summer.
"That's what you want when you have stars; you want guys that are going to do the dirty work. And they went out and got probably the two best dirty-work guys in the NBA,” remarked Barkley while appearing on the ‘ Bill Simmons podcast .’
Lessons learned
In the 2024 playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder reached the Western Conference Semifinals , ultimately losing the series 4-2 to the Mavericks. Despite this, last season was still a significant achievement for two main reasons. First, they have one of the youngest rosters in the league, giving them ample time to make another run. Second, such a playoff experience can reveal which aspects of the team need improvement.
Regarding this point, Simmons noted that if the team had just "two guys" excelling in rebounds and shot-making at that point, it could have potentially swung the series in the Thunder's favor. Following that, he and his guest agreed that OKC has now effectively addressed these issues by signing Isaiah Hartenstein and trading for Alex Caruso.
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OKC's new acquisitions
Indeed, the new Thunder duo fits the mentioned skillset well. Center Hartenstein averaged 8.3 rebounds for the Knicks last season, while Caruso, who came over from Chicago, has consistently shown excellent defensive skills and a knack for clutch shooting. Furthermore, both Charles and Bill agreed that they fit into the "dirty work guys" category, which is another plus.
The podcast host then drew a comparison to his beloved team, the Boston Celtics, where Jrue Holiday and Derrick White play similar roles. This approach helped them win the championship title, which 'Chuck' prompted to explain why such a team composition is so successful: when other teams focus on the stars, like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in this case, it creates opportunities for other players to score more freely. This basically makes their job to convert open shots and hustle in every other part of the game.
That strategy could soon be seen with the new-look Thunder. While the team's star, Gilgeous-Alexander , will excel in one-on-one situations, there will be times when he needs to pass the ball. Caruso, shooting over .400 from beyond the arc last season, will be a crucial addition for such scenarios. Meanwhile, A.C. and Hartenstein will likely fulfill their duties on defense while showing the desired toughness and scrappiness. Combined with all the other players from the stacked roster, this will certainly make the Thunder a formidable competitor going into the upcoming 2024-2025 season.
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