Now that the Oklahoma City Thunder have their roster set for the rest of the way, we know what type of hula hoops Sam Presti has to jump through with the bottom of their depth chart.

The Thunder surprised most folks when they added Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers in a buy-low move at the NBA trade deadline. While most graded it with an A or above, there are some unintended consequences to how they handle the end of their bench.

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To make space for McCain on the 15-man standard roster, Ousmane Dieng was salary-dumped to the Charlotte Hornets. We know who OKC’s 15 standard-roster players are. Which makes their three two-way spots a little tricky to manage the rest of the way.

The Thunder spent the first two-thirds of the season with Branden Carlson, Brooks Barnhizer and Chris Youngblood as their three two-way guys. As a reminder, two-way deals allow NBA players to be active for 50 games in a single season and can seamlessly go up and down between there and the G League.

One of that trio has already hit their ceiling. Youngblood reached his 50-game limit before the NBA trade deadline. He was brought back to the G League’s OKC Blue, but won’t be allowed to play for the Thunder for the rest of the way. That’s why they added Buddy Boeheim to fill his two-way spot.

The next person in danger of reaching their limit is Carlson. He has 13 games left to be active. Barnhizer has 19 games. With 26 games left in the regular season, it’ll be interesting to see how the Thunder handle the former’s days.

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As another critical reminder, two-way players can’t suit up in the NBA playoffs. So Carlson’s season will end by the regular-season finale. A little surprising considering most thought OKC would convert him to a standard roster spot once the NBA trade deadline passed. McCain’s surprising availability obviously threw a curveball.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said the Thunder are cognizant of Carlson’s limited days. He’s in his second season with OKC under a two-way deal. They liked him enough to bring him back this past offseason. The 26-year-old has been a decent fourth-string center who has helped OKC juggle injuries.

“You’re on a budget with your two-way players. We try to be pretty strategic about that,” Daigneault said. “Balancing what you need in the moment but also understanding what you need down the road.”

Injuries have unfortunately plagued OKC’s season. From 70-plus win talks to clinging onto the first seed. The Thunder are set to have an exciting finish to the regular season as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss about a month with an abdominal strain and Jalen Williams will likely suit up for less than 40 games this season.

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That doesn’t even include the month-plus Ajay Mitchell has missed with an abdominal strain. Or the six weeks Isaiah Hartenstein has missed with two soleus strains. The Thunder are about as beat up as anybody else in the league, which likely explains their mediocre last two months.

“What’s hard about that is the future is uncertain, so you don’t know what’s going to happen or what you might need,” Daigneault said. “You want to make sure as we’re coming down the stretch of the season, we’re well-positioned with those guys to have them available when we need them.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: How will OKC Thunder handle Branden Carlson, other two-way players?