The Oklahoma City Thunder have made some pretty big moves this offseason, but perhaps most importantly they were able to re-sign Paul George to a long-term deal that will prevent him from leaving the team any time soon.
Also, they re-signed Jeremy Grant to a three-year $27 million contract and added Nerlens Noel from the Dallas Mavericks by signing him to a two-year deal.
Last but not least, during the offseason they were able to unload Carmelo Anthony and his lofty contract, which saves them tons of money. In a cost-cutting move, OKC sent a first-round pick and Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Dennis Schroder to save tens of millions of dollars in luxury tax payments.
After these moves the Thunder starting lineup could feature Russell Westbrook at point guard, Andre Roberson at shooting guard, George at small forward, Patrick Patterson at power forward and Steven Adams at center.
In the bench their main players will be Schroder at point guard, Alex Abrines at shooting guard, Terrance Ferguson at small forward, Jeremy Grant at power forward and Noel at center
The biggest question for the team right now is whether Roberson will be ready for the start of the season after suffering a ruptured patella tendon injury last year, which tend to be very difficult to recover from.
If Roberson plays close to 80 or 90 percent of his former self, he will form an intimidating defensive combo along with George at the wing to stifle opposing forwards and guards on switches.
Patterson is likely to start over Grant for spacing reasons as Patterson has proven to be a solid three-point shooter (he’s shot 37 percent during his NBA career from beyond the arc) in contrast to Grant (who’s averaged a paltry 30.1 percent during his career from three).
By plugging Grant in the starting five, OKC would hamper its floor spacing with George being the only real threat from three-point range. By coming off the bench Grant instead can help the Thunder providing renewed energy and defense as the starters need a breather.
Overall the Thunder have improved in the offseason by keeping George, getting rid of Anthony and improving their bench with smart additions that should help them keep their starters fresh by the time the playoffs start.
Although they may struggle with spacing on offense depending on who they put on the floor together the Thunder have a deep roster that gives them defensive versatility, which should allow them to make up for their lack of long-range shooting.
OKC will be very fun to watch as they are an athletic team that will try to play at a very high pace and will look to smother opponents with their intimidating defense.
Expect the Thunder to have a very good season and win as many as 52 games if Roberson regains his shape from last season as he was a key piece for them.
Although they have the talent to win the Northwest Division and could even reach the Western Conference finals, don’t expect them to beat superior teams such as the Houston Rockets or the Golden State Warriors to advance to the NBA Finals.
