Camp Opens With Bodies Missing and Questions Unanswered

The Thunder added Gallinari and called it a wing solution. That framing was always a stretch, and training camp is about to make it plain. Ajay Mitchell, who was OKC's most reliable secondary scorer last season at 14.2 points per game, has been in day-to-day status with a conditioning issue since early September. Hartenstein, locked in on a three-year deal this summer, is also listed day-to-day. The roster that shows up to camp may not be the roster OKC expects to have.

The Gallinari addition was triage, not construction. I wrote after the trade that it filled one spot while leaving the questions behind it intact — and those questions are more pressing now that camp is imminent. Jaylin Williams is the primary forward option behind Holmgren, and he shot 41.7 percent last season on limited volume. When the offensive load shifted his way late in the year, his efficiency dropped further. There is no one behind him with a clear claim to minutes.

The summer's math is simple enough: Wiggins gone, Joe gone, Dort gone, Spencer Jones offer sheet matched by Denver. What came back was Gallinari and three second-round picks. That is a front office betting on flexibility over readiness. It may prove correct in two years. It does not solve the depth chart in October.