What NBA return format is best option for OKC Thunder?

20 team group bracket format:

The 20 team format is an undesirable option for the Thunder. Sitting in fifth and ninth overall it places OKC in the third tier. If the groups were placed under the top four seeds based on their league standing the brackets would look like this:

Bucks Group: Heat, 76ers, Magic, Spurs

Lakers Group: Jazz, Pacers, Nets, Kings

Raptors Group: Nuggets, Rockets, Grizzlies, Pelicans

Clippers Group: Celtics, Thunder, Mavericks, Blazers

If the brackets were separated in this manner the Thunder would be in what we could term the group of death. It would be a very tough path for the Thunder to be one of the top two teams in this group to advance to the second round. And the Clippers wouldn’t be happy with this set up either since they would get the best team from each tier. The Lakers, not the Bucks would get the easy bracket and could virtually breeze through.

There is the alternative of having the four top seeds draft their bracket or conduct a lottery bingo ball draw. While there are pros and cons to this format, again, it’s not ideal.

Silver was said to be keen on this option and of course many in the media love this option because of the upset potential. The odds still favor the top seeds, however, getting to the second round would require more effort from teams in the tougher brackets (again – giving the Lakers a huge advantage).

Let’s assume the Thunder could get out of the group play. It’s likely each of the top four seeds would advance and likely the second-tier teams, for the most part, would also advance. That means the Thunder would have to play the Bucks (if seeded by league) or Lakers if seeded by the conference. Again, not ideal.