OKC Thunder among leaders in NBA offseason power rankings
No. 4: OKC Thunder
As per John Schuhmann the OKC Thunder reached a major benchmark no other team can rival. In each of the past four seasons, the club ranked top 10 in defensive efficiency. That’s not particularly surprising since a core tenet of the Thunder identity is defensive excellence.
Despite the coaching shift and bevy of youngsters added to the roster that emphasis won’t change. While the objective is to rebuild, the question is whether new head coach Mark Daigneault will have enough offense to keep the fan base entertained while the team compiles as many losses as possible.
As for the offseason, it’s hard not to marvel at the absolute commitment Sam Presti took in his deconstruction of the roster. All the opening night starters other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were moved as well as Dennis Schroder.
Moreover, Presti jettisoned assets obtained via trades of those core talents just as swiftly. The return netted youthful assets who’ll be given an opportunity to succeed along with an obscene amount of additional draft picks filling up the cupboard for the next seven drafts.
For teams who elect to take the tanking and rebuild route, Presti just established the template to follow. This is the highest you’ll find the OKC Thunder seeding on any power ranking list this year at least until the draft so enjoy it now because they’ll be in the bottom tier for the weekly lists once the season starts. Mind you, that’s a win too!
Offseason Goals:
- Kickstart the rebuild
- Trade veteran talent for draft picks
- Take big swings at potential hidden gems
Additions:
- Mark Daigneault (promoted head coach)
- George Hill
- Al Horford
- Trevor Ariza
- Mike Muscala (opted in) | Hamidou Diallo (option picked up)
- Rookies: Aleksej Pokusevski | Theo Maledon | Vit Krejci (stash: recovering from torn ACL)
- Ty Jerome | Justin Jackson | Frank Jackson | Darius Miller
- TJ Leaf | Admiral Schofield | Kenrich Williams
- 2-way contracts: Josh Hall | Moses Brown
light. Related Story. Grading the Chris Paul trade
Exiting:
- Chris Paul
- Steven Adams
- Danilo Gallinari
- Dennis Schroder
- Billy Donovan (head coach – mutual decision to part ways)
- Terrance Ferguson | Abdel Nader | Nerlens Noel
- Andre Roberson| Deonte Burton | Devon Hall | Kevin Hervey