The morning after: Where do the OKC Thunder go from here?
By Rylan Stiles
One option is: They could just try again.
Have you ever watched the incredibly popular show “The office”? Of course, you have, and if you have not, stop reading this go binge-watch the series today and come back and finish reading this article.
Now, remember that scene in the show, where lead character Michael Scott says “I am ready to get hurt again.” That is what this option feels like.
The trade that sent Paul George to the Clippers, netted the Thunder quite a few assets. One of the best young prospects in the NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, along with a ton of NBA Draft picks.
OKC acquired THREE unprotected first-round picks from the Clippers in this trade (2022, 2024 and 2026), league sources say, PLUS two firsts from Miami (2021 unprotected and 2023 protected 1-to-14) ... AND the right to swap picks with the Clips in 2023 and 2025. Staggering
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 6, 2019
These assets are enough for the OKC Thunder to grab another All-Star to try and pair with franchise star Russell Westbrook. Who could the All-Star be? That is yet to be seen. You see, with these assets Sam Presti could sit back until a star became disgruntled and demanded a trade…and in Today’s NBA that would not take long.
One name who has been commonly thrown out there is Bradley Beal. Beal loves Thunder head man Billy Donovan, and the Wizards are on a fast track to nowhere. He also seems like a nice fit with Russell Westbrook.
If the Thunder made a move to grab Beal this offseason, he is under contract for this upcoming season and the following year.
But given the fact the Wizards are still scrambling to hire a General Manager this late in the offseason, and that they have said they do not plan to deal Beal, and the biggest cherry of them all: Beal seems happy in D.C., this is a long shot.
Another possible move is All-Star Kevin Love, who is looking for a bounce-back year. The plus side to this move would be that it will take significantly fewer assets to acquire the stretch big, who was Westbrook’s college teammate.
Again, they also could decide now to flip these assets for the next All-Star wanting out of their city, and we just do not know who will be the next player to force a franchise’s hand.
The con to this goes back to the office quote I gave earlier. At this point, how confident are you the move will pay off? Can OKC get past the first round and make a run? Can the Thunder even make the player stay in such a small market? Thunder fans thought they cleared that hurdle but that lasted just a little over a year before it came crashing down.
So the question is: Are you ready to get hurt again?