Relax, The OKC Thunder Will be Just Fine

Relax, The OKC Thunder Will be Just Fine

the Oklahoma City Thunder by Far and Away exceeded expectations this season we knew this young team was on the up and up and they were going to be good this year with the ascendants to superstardom from shild Alexander but we didn’t think they would be this good my preseason predictions video of the Western Conference earlier in the year I had the Thunder finishing sixth in the west and I got laughed at in the comments with people stating that this was one of the biggest hot takes to see a young team go from finishing 10th in a stacked Western Conference to jump up to the six spot in just one season leapfrogging teams like the Warriors Grizzlies Lakers in their mind there was just no way that the Thunder were going to top those teams and what do you know they finished with the best record in the Western Conference taking that top seed and doing so in convincing fashion punishing their opponents on a nightly basis with their youth and athleticism dominant on both ends of the floor even the most optimistic fans who are high on the Thunder like myself and have been singing their praises all last offseason that they were going to be a scary team would never have predicted they would finish at the top of the Western Conference so yes the Thunder exceeding expectations they did but for some reason the only thing people have been talking about more recently is that it doesn’t really matter cool they had a great regular season but they choked when it came to the postseason a great first round Series against the eighth seated Pelicans but when it came time to going up against a more veteran experienced team and a star studed team they crumbled and so what bothers me is that you have all these reactionary takes from fans saying the thunder need to back fast they need to make Swift moves to maximize sga’s Prime guys the Thunder are going to be just fine and that’s what we’ll talk about in this video as always if you’re new to the channel and you like this type of content then be sure to subscribe to help the channel grow and in return I’ll be providing more NBA content like this now what’s funny about this Thunder team is that they eerily are similar to that Thunder Squad of the early 2010s budding young stars and Kevin Durant Russell Westbrook James Harden was also coming into his own they had perfect complimentary pieces around their young core and they went from being a 23- win team in 2009 to a 50- win team in 2010 they were a 50- win team and finished as an eight seed in the Western Conference going up against the defending Champion LA Lakers they would eventually lose to the Lakers but would give them a run for their money taking that series to six games The Following Season though the Thunder were one of the best teams in the NBA and it was clear they were a contender despite their youth but because of their inexperience their lack of attention to detail falling behind early in the series got the best of them and their conf idence and they ultimately lost in the Conference Finals oddly enough also to the Dallas Mavericks who would go on to win the championship that year and at that time everyone in the media was talking about what a bright future this young Thunder team has how they’re going to bounce right back and be one of the biggest forces in the league year after year and while the Thunder would never go on to win a championship despite going to the finals the next season in large part thanks to Kevin Durant pulling one of the weakest moves in NBA history and joining a 73 win Warriors team after he couldn’t beat them himself in the Conference Finals but the point is no one was talking about this Thunder team in the early 2010s when they got bounced in the Conference Finals to the Dallas Mavericks that they were in trouble and exposing every flaw and weakness on their team for why they didn’t get further and so I ask how is this any different how is this current Thunder team different from what the KD Westbrook Thunder era was when they were in their early to mid 20s in fact you could argue the Thunder are even better position for the future than that Thunder team ever was because not only are the OKC Thunder the youngest team in the League by average age on their roster but unlike most of the teams around the NBA who are bereft of draft Capital the Thunder have a treasure Trove of draft picks at their disposal for the next seven years not only do they have a lottery pick in this year’s draft at number 12 that they got from the Houston Rockets in a trade but they have 13 future first round picks between their own and other teams some of those picks being unprotected and also 20 yes 22nd round picks not only that but unlike most teams around the league the Thunder are also one of the hand handful of franchises that have cap space at their disposal this offseason at $33 million all of this for the youngest team in the NBA who just finished with the number one seed out west now don’t get me wrong the season ended in disappointment for the Thunder and their fans while I’m sure not many truly thought that they were going to win a championship this season they did probably think that a Conference Finals or even a finals appearance was possible and yes there were aspects about this series against the Mavs that need to be looked at in assessing the roster going forward most notably to the RO guys who kind of went missing in that series and how their defense wasn’t as on point as it was throughout the season really the biggest thing for the Thunder as they assess the future going forward is how they’re going to be able to pay all these guys they’ve already taken care of Shay he’s locked in for the next three seasons but Josh giddy who was pretty disappointing in the playoffs and kind of had a subpar year overall he’s going to be extension eligible this off season before hitting restrictive free agency next off season do they try and strike a team-friendly deal with him and keep him as part of their core or do they let him hit restricted free agency and see how he does in a contract year before committing to him long term and even leave open the possibility of trading him at some point in the season to try and get value in a trade before he gets free agency chat homr Jaylen Williams these guys aren’t extension eligible yet but they’ll have two more years on their rookie scale deals after the season case Wallace the year after that what about some of their other key role players who have surpassed expectations like Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins who both have Team options on their deals for next season like yes there will be some important decisions for the Thunder to make as it relates to their overall future but the Thunder have the cap space to be able to sign their Court guys that are going to be part of their long-term plans they’ve cleaned up their cap sheet nicely they have an endless amount of draft picks for the foreseeable future and they have one of the best young superstars in the league who in my opinion should have won the MVP that’s a debate for a different day joic was incredible but when you lead your team to the best record in the NBA at the age of 25 as one of the oldest players on your roster putting up over 30 points per game 5.5 rebounds 6.2 assists on an insane 53% shooting as a guard second overall in the league in win shares yeah he should have won MVP but aside from SGA having one of the best young centers in the league in chat hram A Gifted two-way player who is coming into his own in just a second year in Jaylen Williams if you have all of that working in your favor on your roster you don’t have problems most teams would kill to be in the position the Thunder are in right now now don’t get me wrong they still need to figure out how to execute and capitalize on what they currently have built and actually take this team to the next level and not fall short like they did the last time around when they had one of the most promising young cores in the league led by Kevin Durant and look if I’m the Thunder I would use some of the draft Capital at my disposal and add in the requisite talent to fill out this roster even further maybe even get a veteran or two who can help in these big playoff moments and Mentor the young guys to learn from their mistakes and get them ready to be in a position to be a perennial Contender for the near future so everyone relax the Oklahoma City Thunder will be fine let me know what you guys think as always be sure to subscribe and I’ll see you in the next one

Discussing the disappointing end to the Thunder’s season yet the incredibly bright future they have before them (*editing credit: Alon Ginz)

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