The OKC Thunder showed a weakness in their rotation when Steven Adams went down – here are a few ways they could try to fix that problem.

A little over a month into the season the OKC Thunder aren’t exactly in a good position

Russell Westbrook is adjusting to his new teammates and providing them with the right amount of touches. Paul George is slowly starting to look like his All-Star self for his new team. Carmelo Anthony however, doesn’t appear to know what role he plays for Oklahoma City.

These realizations are partially in response to OKC’s 7-8 record. And head coach Billy Donovan doesn’t have a go-to rotation he can rely on consistently. Donovan’s penchant for running Melo as the key player with the second unit hasn’t worked out. Moreover, relying so heavily on a still out-of-shape Raymond Felton is exposing OKC’s lack of depth.

Current OKC Thunder rotation issues:

None of their problems were easier to see than their lack of rotation worthy big men after Steven Adams missed three games with a calf injury.

They tried to fill the gap with Patrick Patterson, their biggest signing in free agency, but it is clear by his level of play that his off-season knee surgery affected him, and the rust will take longer to work off. He is averaging 4 points and 1.5 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Rookie Dakari Johnson saw a large uptick in minutes, jumping from no minutes played since October to playing 23, 17 and 12 respectively while Adams was out. The second-round pick is averaging 3.5 points with only one rebound per contest through the last 10 games in which he has seen the court.

Right Player – Wrong Position?

Forward Jerami Grant is the last player filling out the center role. Grant continues to show improvement from last season and is seeing consistently big minutes off the bench. This experiment popped up in the Thunder’s preseason Rockets game. Since then Donovan has utilized Grant sparsely in this role.

The third-year player out of Syracuse was the most consistent option to fill the five slot. Over the last 10 days Grant averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25 minutes of play. His 6’9, 220-pound frame might not match up well with most of the larger players in the low post,. But, his normal height along with his 7 ft wingspan help alter any shot that is within reach.

Despite Grant fitting in nicely, he isn’t enough to offset the loss of Adams. Should something happen to the New Zealander, the Thunder would struggle to patch that hole in the already shaky ship.

Time for a trade?

In less than a month players signed during the off season become trade eligible. At this stage teams will actively look to fix problems. While the OKC Thunder do need to fix other weaknesses, such as three-point shooting, trading for another reserve big seems to be the priority.