The Oklahoma City Thunder may have parted with a slew of role players from their championship run this summer, but they are still widely considered a top title contender on the strength of their talent and depth. Their front office recalibrated to some degree this offseason, bringing in some new faces from the draft.
That being said, their brain trust might have an early point of reckoning with one of their players — Nikola Topic. The Serbian guard has had a rough start to his career, getting sidelined for his entire rookie year due to an ACL tear and playing only in 10 games in his sophomore campaign due to an unfortunate medical issue.
Now, OKC will have to make a decision on Topic’s team option for the 2027-28 campaign sooner rather than later, and given the circumstances, it is looking more likely that they might be forced to cut ties with him.
The Thunder could be forced to make a brutal decision on Nikola Topic
The Thunder have one of the most robust backcourts in the league led by two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Aside from him, they have Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell and rookie Bennett Stirtz. With five to six players projected to be ahead of him in the rotation, Topic is already looking like the odd man out.
The only way for the young playmaker to convince OKC’s front office to keep him in the fold is to show that he can be a viable rotation piece. There is no clear path for him to be one of their regulars in light of their crowded backcourt.
A double bind also exists because head coach Mark Daigneault has no reason to just shoehorn him into the rotation at the expense of one of the aforementioned players (except Stirtz).
Simply put, Topic finds himself in a shaky situation. While the Thunder probably still have faith in him, their investment in him has ultimately not paid off so far, and the team is tremendously equipped to move on from him earlier than expected.