[MrManalo43Participant]

I’ve always been a fan of the Thunder for years, not because of Russ and KD, but because of Sam Presti and he has assembled a great Thunder team that’s being written off as a fringe 8th-seed. 

The thing that the Thunder have now, that they didnt have before and only a number of teams have, is a clear hierarchy. Think about it, Warriors are going to be in disarray especially with a Big 4. No "super team" has won in it’s first season together because of hierarchy issues. On the other hand, Westbrook’s now the undisputed alpha and his Revenge Tour is gonna be insane. Otherworldly MVP Season, fellas. (If you don’t draft him first in fantasy leagues, you’re insane and just downright biased to whoever else you picked)

Support wise, he’s got ‘Dipo and Kanter as more-than-capable secondary scorers, Adams and Roberson as stoppers (also ‘Dipo), AND he’s got a fully-servicable bench where all of whom can hit 35%-or-Better from 3pt-Land (Payne, Abrines, Morrow, Ilyasova, Lauvergne). This is pretty much Lebron’s secret recipe for team building.

Presti has been making all the right moves recently, in the wake of a superstar leaving town. this latest trade for Lauvergne has me so excited again!  Lauvergne’s like French-Nick Collison. ugh, i love it. ESPN graded the trade A- vs C+ in favor of the Nuggets but quite honestly, why would they need 2nd round picks? To fill out an already stacked D-League team?! nah son. Thunder got a great piece in Lauvergne. 25 yrs old and just hitting his stride after playing for France in the Olympics.

Not saying they’ll win it all, but don’t for a second think they’re push overs. Thunder up!

 

 

 

[SubZeroParticipant]

I am too, but I’ve been a Thunder fan ever since they moved to OKC (live in Mississippi so no home team, but I was born in OKC so I just picked them up) so I’m crazy excited about every season just to watch them play again lol. But yeah I agree with everything you said; if Portland can get to the 2nd round of the playoffs, why are people writing off OKC who has an objectively better roster and more experience?

The hierarchy thing you mentioned I thought about the other day. Obviously I’m still pretty bitter about KD, but even though I never wanted to admit it, it always felt like there was a push-and-pull over whose team it was. Well, now we know. Russell is gonna tear the league apart this season and has a good chance to have one of the greatest individual seasons ever. I just hope he doesn’t spontaneously combust because of how hard he goes every night.

The season can’t get here soon enough. Thunder Up

[Hype Machine]

Who’s writing them off as an 8 seed? Everything I read has them fleecing Orlando in a trade and finishing as a 3-5 seed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[festar35Participant]

“No “super team” has won in it’s first season together because of hierarchy issues” – The Celtics “Super Team” was assembled in 07/08 season and they won the Championship, so that point doesn’t quite work.

Apart from that I am really excited about Westbrook’s potential season and his pairing with Oladipo should cause havoc on the defensive end as they are both Pitbulls.

I think we see Adams take a bigger role offensively and flourish in doing so, I think Dipo has a near All-Star season with him being the 2nd leading scorer on the team.

[theEDGEParticipant]

 I might even see the Thunder finish top 3 in the West.

Westbrook could be in the running for MVP.

Thunder have more depth now with Ilyasova,Oladipo,Sabonis,Lauvergne,Abrines and even last year draft pick .

Payne will step up and be a MIP candidate.

[DolanCareParticipant]

The Thunder have a great bench. Not sure if I like their options for a starting five though. 

Probably will be: Westbrook, Oladipo, Roberson, Kanter and Adams

 

 

 

[XYRYXParticipant]

yep totally excited about this season. For years now the expectations were pretty high for this team and they fell short many times, most of them due to injuries and the. the last year letdown against the dubs…

I still don’t really know what to expect this year but my excitement tops the expectations by lot. Many people and experts have the Thunder around 45 wins next year and this sound reasonable to me. My biggest concern is the defensive frontline and to some extent shot creation aside from Russ. I’m a little bit torn if I feel they are less predictable offensively now with KD gone and 3 players in Kanter, Dipo and Adams beeing the clear 2nd Tier scorers or even more predictable for opponents. They have always been a ball stopping iso team with Russ and KD and I’m incredibly excited if the ball runs better this year and if they can share the ball out of the last placed assists rankings. I have a feeling that KD was a way bigger part of this then people realize and we’ll see how the spot up guys like Morrow, Singler, Ersan and Abrines come along now when being leaned on. 

Steven Adams should have a really big role now and offensively he could surprise people cause he has some moves he hasn’t show often with KD and Kanter eating up so many shots. Adams is very close with Russ amongst my most favorite Thunder players.  

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

The loss of Durant was absolutely devastating and there’s really no other way to spin it. Ibaka, for whatever flaws he may have as a player, provided both weak side rim protection and floor spacing, which are 2 elements that will be sorely lacking this season. They have a bona fide superstar in his prime and some nice young peices surrounding him, but make no mistake, this is an overall flawed roster. Billy Donovan is really going to be tested to find ways to make the pieces fit together in a way that they can maximize their potential as a team. We are really going to see what he is made of this season. 

The thunder aren’t necessarily doomed or anything and resigning Westbrook was absolutely huge. If everything clicks and Westbrook has a monster year there is still enough talent on this roster to possibly make a run to the 2nd round. However, expecting anything beyond that would seem like a major stretch at this point.

[CDPHParticipant]

This is all true, but no Super Team was already a Super Team before adding a former MVP in his prime.  

We’re in uncharted waters here with GSW.  We just have to wait and see how it plays out.  

Deep(ish) Thoughts

 

  

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

 The Thunder will come back to earth a bit.  There’s a good chance Westbrook will try and do too much and get injured.  I hope I am wrong but Westbrook is a very strong willed person and I can envision him trying to win games all by himself and alienating other players on the team.

 

 

[NZBennyParticipant]

 I think the Thunder still have one trade in them. With the addition of Lauvernge, they have such an overabundance of bigs that I think they will look to shift Kanter. His contract is tradable now given that its a 2/40m or 3/60m contract depending on whether he picks up his option. That is no longer an outrageous price to pay for a young player who as a centre is a great offensive option, elite rebounder and a defensive minus. Given his improvement defensively over the course of last season, some teams will see him as a guy they can make adequate in the right system with a shot blocker at the 4. Meanwhile, the Thunder already have Adams for the 5, and Kanter is a real liability defensively as a 4. 

The Thunder can probably shift him along with a future 1st round pick to get a decent SF to add some wing depth and shooting. Someone like Wes Johnson, Ariza, Jared Dudley, or maybe even a better option like Gallinari if the Thunder add an extra sweetener like Abrines or Payne. This would balance out the team much better, and let Roberson play more at the 4, where he is much more impactful. 

After this, they could line up like

Westbrook/Payne

Oladipo/Abrines

Ariza etc./Singler

Roberson/Ilyasova/Sabonis

Adams/Lauvernge

I think this team would be a real contender for the honour of having the Warriors kick their ass in the WCF’s this season, and has real growth potential to attract another good to great FA in the off-season like Griffin, Hayward, Millsap or Mirotic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[markfitz14Participant]

How much will he go off this year? I think he takes it to another level, which is crazy to think about considering how good he already is. Just needs to improve that decision making late in games. 

[MrManalo43Participant]

His choices before:

A. Feed it to Durant

B. Be a point guard and facilitate

C. Close the game by myself

 

His choices now:

A. Close the game by myself

B. Close the game by myself

C. Close the game by myself/MAYBE pass to the open guy

 

Makes his game more efficient actually lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PlatParticipant]

 Or he’s just going to be forcing it with teams locked in on him alone defensively that he becomes even more inefficient.

[PlatParticipant]

 They will be fighting for a playoff spot, if thats anything to get excited about…they definitely wont be half as good compared to when KD was there.

[Author]

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