The Oklahoma City Thunder lost two starters for potentially the rest of the season in their 108-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
General manager Sam Presti announced that Jalen Williams will undergo surgery for a dislocated left ankle and a fractured fibula; fellow guard Cason Wallace will also undergo surgery for a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
The timeline to return for both players has not been set yet, but it is expected to be several months.
Williams was injured after a drive to the basket late in the final quarter and was stretchered off the court, while Wallace left the game in the first quarter.
The Thunder were hopeful to get Williams back to his All-Star form from their title year, after he only featured in 33 regular-season games and just five games during last season's playoffs.
Wallace just signed a five-year, $139 million contract extension prior to the season starting.
The Thunder came into this season as major contenders to take out the 2026/27 championship, but how will these injuries affect their chances, and do they have the roster flexibility to move or replace Williams or Wallace?
Oklahoma City could receive a $15 million disabled player exception, which would allow them to sign or trade for a player in the last year of their contract.
However using more than $6.9 million would cause the Thunder to exceed the second apron.
The Thunder currently have seven tradable first-round picks, which they could use to acquire a replacement for the injured duo, but their current financial situation makes it difficult to trade for another All-Star-caliber player.
Could the Thunder potentially trade Jalen Williams?
If the Thunder are serious about maximising Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's prime, it may be their only option.
An ideal replacement for Williams would be the Pelicans' Trey Murphy, who has been in trade rumours for several years, but the Thunder would likely have to include Williams, or a player on a similar salary.
However, the Thunder proved they are still a serious threat without Williams, locking up the number one seed last season, and it still took the Spurs seven games to knock them out in last season's Western Conference Finals.
Mark Daigneault will likely have to rely on the likes of Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain in the short term to replace the offensive output of Williams.
They don't have many options to replace the defence of Williams and Wallace; with Lu Dort departing in the off-season, Wallace was expected to take over his role.
Trading Williams may be too drastic, but with the Western Conference becoming increasingly competitive, the Thunder may have to get creative if they want to remain championship contenders.
