Right before 2025-26 Media Day even kicked off, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced some more injury news. Kenrich Williams underwent knee surgery that will knock him out for at least 6-to-8 weeks. That means he’ll likely miss around the first 15 games of the regular season.

This isn’t new territory for Williams, who’s had injury problems before. The 30-year-old is one of the longest-tenured players on the Thunder. Even though his role has dwindled in recent years, he’s still projected to be part of OKC’s rotation.

Williams averaged 16.4 minutes in 69 games this past season. He had his moments throughout the Thunder’s playoff run to an NBA championship. Who can absorb his vacated minutes in the meantime? Here are four candidates:

Jaylin Williams

This is probably the easiest fix. Williams was already ahead of Williams in the depth chart. The former signed a contract extension this past offseason, which meant the Thunder believe he still has room to grow. Even though he’s the third-string center on the depth chart, he’s still a valuable rotation player who could help them in certain matchups.

Expect Williams to be a main rotation piece. He can shoot from the outside and has shown himself to be a secondary playmaker. You have to like his developmental story over the years. And the 23-year-old is a perfectly fine bench player in the regular season.

Ousmane Dieng

Chances are running out for Dieng. He’s in the final year of his rookie contract. And with no contract extension in sight, that likely hints his time on the Thunder is near its end. That said, this could be his last hurrah. At the very least, the 23-year-old could improve his trade value by showing some quality rotation minutes on the NBA champion.

Dieng has shown flashes, but has never made a sustained run in the NBA. The long-term project sadly never had the chance to learn on the job as the Thunder quickly ascended to the league’s best team. Maybe a fresh start elsewhere will do him some good.

Brooks Barnhizer

This could be a golden opportunity for Barnhizer. Most expected him to be with the G League’s OKC Blue for most of the season. The two-way rookie was buried on the depth chart. It’d take injuries for him to see the court. Now, Williams’ surgery cracks open the window a little bit.

It’ll all depend on how Barnhizer looks in training camp and preseason. We know he can be super active on both ends of the floor, but shooting will be his make-or-break skill. Getting some early rotation minutes in the regular season could go a long way for his developmental path.

Nikola Topic

This is out of position, but Topic could simply absorb Williams’ minutes. The Thunder have enough frontcourt options, but could siphon his minutes into their top developmental project this season. After missing all of last season with a torn ACL, everybody is anxious to see how he looks against NBA competition.

There will likely be a learning curve involved with Topic. That will test OKC’s patience to develop him while trying to win regular-season games. That said, the playmaking potential is too tantalizing not to invest in. He’s exactly what they need as a backup ball-handler if everything goes right.