Question about Kenrich Williams

[GeorgeMarcus]

Firstly, I apologize for making this its own thread. I wasn't sure where else to put it and for selfish reasons am hoping for a quick response. Mods are of course free to lock (hopefully after I get my response though )

Yesterday, Jalen Williams joined the OKC big men on the injury list and was unable to play against the Nets. Given that Kenrich has been a rotation player even when the team is fully healthy, it was a big surprise to see him out of the rotation when the front court was thinner than ever.

I have a couple questions about this situation:
- Was there any indication before the game that he wasn't going to play? If not, was there any clarification after the fact?
- Can anyone confirm or deny whether Kenrich dressed for the game? (in other words, would he have been ready/eligible to play if needed?)

My reason for asking isn't about accusing the team for wrong doing or anything like that. I've been conducting research on the availability of accurate/up-to-date information regarding player availability and this situation was fairly unique in that it wasn't touched on by any media source either before or after the fact.

Thanks in advance for any insight you might be able to provide!

[Devilanche]

He was available but I didn’t watch this game to see if he was on the bench.


My best guess is that as it was against a tanking team we just wanted see how our other bigs perform. Result wasn’t at risk at any point in time and if it was , those other bigs would have been pulled and Kenrich would have entered the game .

[Xatticus]

I also didn’t see the game, but I thought it curious that he was a DNP. That said, I gave up trying to figure out our rotations from game to game. I would just say that Daigneault either trusts everyone, or he isn’t that bothered with the outcome and is more concerned with the process and development of everyone on the roster. Kenrich is a de facto big, but in the stricter interpretation of what an NBA big is, he isn’t really a big at all and we know that Daigneault has no issues with throwing small lineups out there.

[slick_watts]

kenrich has a history of back injuries, and the thunder manage his minutes to some degree. he probably didn't play against the nets because they were up by 20+ early and there was no reason to put him out there; might as well give him a covert rest day.

[Clav]

Firstly, I apologize for making this its own thread. I wasn't sure where else to put it and for selfish reasons am hoping for a quick response. Mods are of course free to lock (hopefully after I get my response though )

Yesterday, Jalen Williams joined the OKC big men on the injury list and was unable to play against the Nets. Given that Kenrich has been a rotation player even when the team is fully healthy, it was a big surprise to see him out of the rotation when the front court was thinner than ever.

I have a couple questions about this situation:
- Was there any indication before the game that he wasn't going to play? If not, was there any clarification after the fact?
- Can anyone confirm or deny whether Kenrich dressed for the game? (in other words, would he have been ready/eligible to play if needed?)

My reason for asking isn't about accusing the team for wrong doing or anything like that. I've been conducting research on the availability of accurate/up-to-date information regarding player availability and this situation was fairly unique in that it wasn't touched on by any media source either before or after the fact.

Thanks in advance for any insight you might be able to provide!

Hello GM,

Didn't see this until now but will answer the questions for you, because I did watch the match vs BKN

Before the game, there really was not indication that K Williams was going to be out. I don't recall hearing if he was an injury scratch during the broadcast either (I often have music on during a game not the commentary so yeah you can't trust me there).

The Thunder do rest days occassionally, but I was expecting him to play given what you wrote about the current forward rotation. He does have some prior injury recovery for knee and wrist the past 2 seasons so it could've been an internal decision on that, but it was noted as a DNP-CD. K Williams was on the bench and looked like he dressed for game play. I wasn't pay attention during halftime or shoot around etc to note if he did either of those.


From a fan pov -- I do see that OKC likes to challenge their squad, even if a key player at a positional need is listed as out. 10-day contract C Branden Carlson and the F/C Jaylin Wiliams were tasked to be the primary post rotation, and J Williams may have had his best career game to date. Possibly had the game been at risk of losing, Kenrich would have made an appearance but yeah the deep bench played well enough.