The OKC Thunder Need To Blow It Up
The Big Objective
The Thunder should head into the season having accomplished two things. The first is stockpiling as many draft picks and young players as possible. The Paul George trade got things moving in the right direction but more can be done on that front. That’s where trading some of the players above is so important. The Thunder need to be in a position where SGA, Terrance Ferguson, Hamidou Diallo, Darius Bazley, and whatever other young pieces the Thunder acquire are getting real opportunities to shine.
Second, the Thunder need to be under the tax and avoid paying the repeater tax. It shouldn’t be a shock if attendance and thus, revenue take a dip this year. Getting under the tax should lessen those damages and reset the clock for whenever the next time it is the Thunder need to spend big.
Relevancy Is Overrated
When the Spurs traded Kawhi Leonard, they opted for a win-now player in DeMar DeRozan as opposed to a package based on draft picks. Most of that was because Gregg Popovich deserved to go as well as possible, but also the Spurs wanted to stay relevant. But when you think about it, were the Spurs really relevant last season? Did people really talk about the Spurs other than their playoff streak being on the line and ultimately extended?
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Here’s hoping the Thunder don’t try and fool themselves by either running it back or even reloading. How bad of a look would it be if the Thunder somehow traded for Bradley Beal and he ended up being traded or signing elsewhere? The Thunder need a fresh start and honestly, a total rebrand. But that is a different discussion for a different day.
To me, it says a lot the Thunder asked for a point guard and draft picks in the George trade. If the Thunder wanted to stay competitive, wouldn’t they have asked for someone like Landry Shamet or Montrez Harrell, or even Lou Williams? This feels like the beginning of the end, which it should be.
What A Run
Before this era ends, it can’t be stressed enough that despite not winning a championship, this was a successful, wild, and fun era. In the 2010s, the Thunder made the playoffs all but once, mainly due to the fact KD sat out 55 games that season due to injury, and still only missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker. In total, OKC saw nine playoff appearances, four Western Conference Finals appearances, and NBA Finals appearance, and at least 45 wins every season.
OKC had two MVPs. A Coach of the Year, a Sixth Man of the Year, and have had a player make an All-NBA team 10 straight years, the longest streak in the NBA.
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There will be hundreds of what if’s, close calls and regrets about how everything fell apart. But that could all be set aside should a new Thunder era take reign and win an NBA championship. In order for that to happen, a commitment to rebuilding has to persist. That needs to continue this Summer.