Ryan Kalkbrenner’s Size Could Make Him Thunder Target
It’s never a negative to have too much size, or even to take a risk to add more to a basketball roster.
For Oklahoma City, the glaring need for the roster is the need for more size in the paint, especially on the bench. The Thunder have three chances to add an influx of size and big men to their rotation through the draft. OKC will have plenty of talented choices throughout the draft, but one player could stand out at No. 50 who can fill multiple needs.
Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner adds immense length coming in at 7-foot-1 with the ability to score, rebound and occasionally stretch the floor and bounce to the wing. He was a key piece to Creighton’s success this season and gave them a key big man to help fuel their offense.
Kalkbrenner averaged 15.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game as a junior for the Blue Jays. Through three seasons his numbers continued to improve as did his role for Creighton. Inside the arc Kalkbrenner is an elite scorer, knocking down shots at a 69.5% rate on more than nine shots per game. The field goal percentage ranked third nationally.
Kalkbrenner, while he didn’t do it at a high rate, also wasn’t shy about pulling the trigger from 3-point range. He improved his 3-point shooting percentage to 31% last season, though he did only attempt less than one per game.
For OKC, Kalkbrenner would be viewed as a project and a rotational big on the bench, he’d likely spend chunks of time in the G League and have a fluctuating role with the NBA unit while he develops his game.
It’s likely Kalkbrenner will be on the board when OKC selects at pick 50, and if he is he may be worth the risk simply to add more length and interior scoring in the event injuries do occur in those areas.
Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
