The Oklahoma City Thunder's quest to get back to the NBA Finals took a big hit Sunday night, when Jalen Williams went done with a gruesome leg injury. Trainers immediately covered with leg with towels so it wasn't visible and he ultimately had to be stretchered off the floor. We haven't gotten an injury update yet but it seems likely he could be done for the year.

For almost any other roster, losing your second-best player would be the end of any championship aspirations. But the Thunder are not a normal team. Williams only played 33 games last season and was clearly not himself in the postseason — OKC still made it to the Western Conference Finals and took the San Antonio Spurs to seven games.

The Thunder still have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time defending MVP and the No. 3 player in our NBA99 preseason player rankings. They have an elite two-way big man in Chet Holmgren, with plenty of depth behind him in Isaiah Hartenstein, Aday Mara and Jaylin Williams. They have a rising star on the wing in Ajay Mitchell, who can help shoulder the offensive load and a slew of relentless guards who can smother opposting ball-handlers, hit open 3-pointers and create off the dribble — Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Jared McCain. They have even have up-and-coming young players like Bennett Stirtz, Nikola Topic and Brooks Barnhizer who could theoretically break out with some additional minutes.

However, Williams' absence creates one significant hole in their rotation — a player who can operate like a wing on offense but also defend 4s and jumbo wings at the other end. In matchups with teams like the Timberwolves, 76ers or Rockets they'd need to use either Holmgren or a guard like Caruso on matchups like Jonathan Kuminga, LeBron James or Kevin Durant. Kenrich Williams is the one guy on the roster who can fill that specific positional need but it wouldn't hurt to grab some depth for that spot.

The Thunder trade for Ryan Dunn

The Thunder aren't looking for a starter or even a guy they'd need to play 30 minutes in a playoff game. What they need is a strong defender who can hold up against those bigger wings and forwards for 10-15 minutes per game, making sure they can counter this specific mismatch and not leave themselves vulnerable. A guy who lets them dictate the matchups instead of having them dictated to them.

Ryan Dunn is certainly not a game-changer and three years into his career he's been pretty ineffective on offense. But at 23, 6-foot-7 and 216 pounds, he's a very strong and versatile defender with experience taking on elite scorers — the players he spent the most possessions defending last season were LeBron James, Luka Dončić, James Harden, Steph Curry, Jared McCain, Lauri Markkanen and Naz Reid. He's already had a demonstrated impact playing the exact defensive role in which the Thunder would need him.

His offensive limitations could be an issue but, he bumped his 3-point percentage up to a serviceable 33.1 percent last year, he can move the ball, he can dribble out of trouble and with the offensive talent around him his responsibilities at that end would be extremely low. He's also on an expiring contract so there's no long-term cost and he makes perfect sense as an insurance policy. And by nabbing him now, the Thunder can get him integrated in plenty of time before the games really matter.

To make this work, the Thunder have to make it worth the Suns' while. Here they'd offer up Thomas Sorber — a bouncy, rim-running, young big man who missed all of his rookie season with a knee injury and has yet to make his NBA debut. He's a bit of a mystery box but he's only 20 and was taken with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. They could also throw in a second-rounder or two from their enormous war chest of extra picks and nab Rasheer Fleming — a player in a similar mold to Dunn who is a little taller and a year younger.

The Thunder have the talent to go far even without Jalen Williams, but their margin of error becomes smaller and the little things matter more. Planning now to make sure you have defenders to throw at the matchups only Williams would handle could be the difference.