Over the last quarter of a century, the OKC Thunder could point to a bevy of standout "What if" scenarios.
What if Kevin Durant had never left for the Warriors in the summer of 2016? What if Oklahoma City had found a way to keep James Harden on the roster back in 2012?
Though all are certainly thought-provoking and highly entertaining hypotheticals to ponder on, to CBS Sports' Sam Quinn, none seem to hold a candle to the what-could-have-been possibilities had the Thunder not reneged on a trade that would have landed them Tyson Chandler from the New Orleans Hornets back in February of 2009.
Thunder voiding Tyson Chandler trade viewed as biggest 'What if'
To Quinn, this voided trade all stems from "perhaps the most important physical in NBA history" being failed, as Thunder doctors felt uncomfortable with the recovery of Chandler's big left toe roughly two years after undergoing surgery.
What's rather ironic about this situation is the fact that OKC's top physician, Dr. Carlan Yates, was actually the one who performed the operation on the big man in April 2007.
Now, hindsight is always 20/20. 16 years removed from this fateful decision, it's clear that the Thunder medical staff's trepidation was proven to be dead wrong.
Chandler went on to play 12 more seasons in the association, earning a Defensive Player of the Year award, an All-Star and All-NBA nod, and would even serve as a pivotal piece of the 2011 NBA Champion, Dallas Mavericks rotation (one that bested OKC in that postseason's Western Conference Finals) along the way.
However, the domino effect that it ended up having on Oklahoma City is what truly has Quinn in awe.
With Chandler in tow, Sam Presti and company would not have made the grueling decision to trade promising young prospect, Jeff Green, to Boston for a perceived boost at the pivot position in Kendrick Perkins.
Without Perkins, the gut-punch decision to shell out a four-year, $34.8 million deal in March 2011 in his direction would have never been made. No new contract for the veteran would have meant the Thunder would have had enough space to extend Harden in the summer of 2012
This alternate reality chain of events has Quinn strongly believing that OKC would have won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, and, even if Russell Westbrook still went down with a torn right meniscus in 2013, the tandem of Harden and Durant would have kept them "in the championship picture," not just for that season, but "for their entire primes."
To Quinn, all of this could have happened simply by taking a leap of faith and parting ways with mere role players in Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith, and DeVon Hardin.
If this actually were to have transpired with the Chandler deal, it's more than apparent that the Thunder really missed out on a far more prosperous 2010s run than some may have previously thought.