The Oklahoma City Thunder are the only thing that could get in the way of the Oklahoma City Thunder. If last year was any indication of what is to come, that's not going to happen.
NBA teams are often destroyed from the inside. Players don't get along, aren't happy about their contracts, clash with a coach or a front office. We've seen dynasties or near-dynasties fizzle out for each of those reasons, and I don't want to get ahead of my skis here — but the Thunder don't seem in danger of that happening anytime soon.
Of course, it's easy to say that about a burgeoning team that just won an NBA title. Everyone's happy when everything is going as well as they are for this franchise right now. But the way every single player on the roster bought into their role last year — whether large or small — is a pretty promising sign that Mark Daigneault has the ears of everyone in the locker room, Sam Presti has earned the confidence that he's going to give players fair deals, and ownership has created enough trust within the organization to make players feel comfortable about their futures.
Thunder show confidence in their guys, and vice versa
When was the last time a team won a championship and then sat idly by in the offseason — and it was the clear correct decision? That's basically what the Thunder did, aside from re-signing Ajay Mitchell and Jaylin Williams.
But those two moves actually kind of emblematic of why I'm not worried about the Thunder collapsing in on themselves anytime soon. Neither Ajay Mitchell or Jaylin Williams will have a huge role on the team next year; both will play, but neither is guaranteed to get minutes every night during the season. And they know that! Daigneault isn't afraid to utilize pretty much his whole roster, which means, depending on the matchup, they might not play at all.
That didn't scare either of them away, or force them — who are both 23 years old and could have larger roles elsewhere — to gripe. That's pretty significant. That's a testament to the team-focused environment the Thunder have built.
It doesn't hurt that a lot of winning has come with that environment, too. And you could make the argument that if the winning stops, that attitude of we over me will stop, too, and that's when players would get antsy or want out. And you could be right! But do you really think the winning is going to stop anytime soon?