Going into this season, not many expected the Oklahoma City Thunder to be a competitive team. The thought was they were going to try to tank since the team acquired so many draft picks after trading away Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Jerami Grant.
For now, that’s far from what has happened. However, fans shouldn’t get too excited though. Yes, this team has competed in every game except for one dud against the Pacers. They have lost close games against elite teams like the Bucks, Rockets, and Jazz and even have an overtime win against the 76ers. Using great defense, this team fights every night they step on the court and it won’t be easy to beat them.
Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari have provided some good and much needed veteran leadership to the younger guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, and Darius Bazley. Chris Paul may have only shown spurts of what he used to be in this short season, but his style of play has rubbed off on his teammates and it has shown.
Currently, they are 1.5 games behind the 8th seed and if this team, as they’re currently constructed stays together, they will be in the mix for a playoff spot.
That’s the thing though. The team needs to stay together in order to fight for a playoff spot. Before the season, GM Sam Presti said how excited he was about this years team because of the mix vets and young guys. With how well some of the key guys have played, that could change.
After paying a league-high $61.6 million tax bill last season and being in the luxury tax 4 of the last 5 seasons, the Thunder will likely want to avoid being a tax team this year. No matter what, if they trade someone, it will alter the team in a negative way. The only guys that will be off-limits are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and maybe rookie Darius Bazley. Everyone else is up for grabs.
Ideally, the guy the team would want to trade is Chris Paul. He’s making a team-high $38.5 million and after this season will be owed $85,569,960 the next two seasons. Paul is aging and hasn’t shown that he can consistently be the same HOF Chris Paul as he once was. The issue with trading him is that he brings the leadership and identity to the team. It’s why the games have been so close. Take him away and the potential for blowouts rises.
Two other guys that will get a lot of attention from other teams before the trade deadline are Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroeder. Gallinari is 2nd on the team in scoring and 3rd in rebounding at 19 points and 5 rebounds per game. He’s also the best shooter on the team. He’s hit key 3 point shots and free throws so far. It would be a huge blow to take him away.
Dennis Schroeder has been key off the bench. He’s provided needed offensive spurts and has even been the go-to guy down the stretch in some games. Without him, some of the team’s close games wouldn’t have been close.
It’s a very good thing that this team is competing every night and not getting blown out. They have given fans an opportunity to watch some great and entertaining basketball so far which could all end if one of those guys gets traded.
Flip the page to see highlights from the OT win against the Sixers.