The West Is A Wild As Ever
Just taking a look at the state of the Western Conference should give Thunder fans pause. I’d argue only two teams are locks to be terrible and miss the playoffs. The Grizzlies are embracing a rebuild while Phoenix, even with Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker can’t stop getting in their own way. One could argue there is a realistic path for every other team to make the playoffs. Here’s how you have to divide the rest of the West teams in relation to the Thunder as of right now.
Teams worse than the Thunder but got better based on growth and continuity
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Sacramento Kings
Both of these teams have worked so hard to revamp their culture. Sacramento should be a blast under Luke Walton while the Wolves did a great job in hiring Gersson Rosas away from Houston. Can’t wait to see Karl-Anthony Towns and yes, even Andrew Wiggins with a fresh start away from Tom Thibodeau.
Teams that arguably leapfrogged the OKC Thunder based on additions
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Dallas Mavericks
- Los Angeles Lakers
- L.A. Clippers
Speaking of teams that will benefit from a culture boost. The Pelicans can move on from the Anthony Davis saga, while also avoiding a rebuild thanks to landing Zion Williamson. Dallas will finally get to unleash Kristaps Porzingis to compliment Luka Doncic in the post-Dirk era. And it goes without saying both L.A. teams are now significantly better than OKC.
Teams that got worse or stayed the same are still better than the Thunder
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Portland Trail Blazers
Pretty self explanatory. Even without Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, coupled with a sidelined Klay Thompson, the Warriors still have the upper hand on OKC. The same can be said about Houston who just needs to calm down and run it back. Portland had a weird offseason but Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum can still carry the freight to a top four seed.
Teams that were already better than the Thunder and got better
- Denver Nuggets
- Utah Jazz
Before the Clippers struck gold, the Jazz arguably had the best offseason in the West adding Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic. Denver meanwhile, brings back the same group, just a little bit older, with the addition of Michael Porter Jr. (if he can ever stay healthy). Don’t be surprised if either of these teams ends up with the one seed come April.
So there is your new and improved West. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the Spurs, who at this point, are just trying to keep their playoff streak alive. They could make a run with the return of Dejounte Murray and continued growth of Derrick White and Lonnie Walker IV. That being said, the Spurs are in a very similar situation in terms of trying to stay relevant-more on this in a bit.
Point is, it’s going to be a grueling season in the West. Even if the Thunder retained Paul George, who oh by the way, probably won’t be ready to start the season, they would not be a lock to reach the playoffs let alone make a deep run.
If executed properly, the Thunder should be ready to strike as players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden are entering the back end of their careers. To keep it simple, the Thunder shouldn’t be focusing on those guys as opposed to possible future battles with Zion and Luka in the early-to-mid 2020’s.