Oklahoma City Thunder
- Additions: Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Mike Muscala, Darius Bazley
- Losses: Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Jerami Grant
Of all the teams in the Northwest Division — perhaps even the entire NBA — none are more difficult to gauge how next season will pan out like the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On one hand, they’ve clearly committed to a long-term rebuild by successfully stockpiling a historic war chest of future draft picks. On the other hand, a trio of Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams would probably still be good enough to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Playing in the Western Conference however, will yield much less fortunate results for the Thunder. In fact, it will likely expedite any further internal implosions that are still yet to come. Oklahoma City already explored trading players like Adams, Dennis Schroeder and Andre Roberson to duck their luxury tax bill. It makes sense then, that they’d at least consider any trade deals if a contender wanted to pick their assets clean.
Gallinari in particular should be a player that draws interest from many suitors at the trade deadline if the Thunder don’t find themselves in the playoff race. His expiring contract makes him a much more desirable asset than Paul or Adams.
If the Thunder choose to bottom out, they could attain high lottery odds by selling off their assets. As currently constructed however, they are too good to tank entirely.
This team is not as good as last season’s Kings or Lakers, who won 39 and 37 games respectively. They’re also better than the Mavericks, Grizzlies and Pelicans who all won 33 games. It makes sense then to expect the Thunder to fall somewhere in the middle.
The youth movement led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Terrance Ferguson and Hamidou Diallo will help usher in their record-breaking 11 future first-round draft picks (and four pick-swaps). While the Thunder may not be in playoff contention next season, expect them to become a postseason staple in the not-so-distant future.
This Thunder team could easily surpass expectations or fall well short of them depending on the moves they make in the next several months.