Now that the NBA Draft and free agency are drawing to a close, rosters for the next season are being finalised. This is not good news for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Apart from the addition and subtraction of a few role players and draft picks, the Thunder will essentially retain the same team as the previous year.
With the Western Conference competition getting much stiffer and OKC not having made the Finals since the 2011/12 season – in which they were destroyed 4-1 by Miami – they need to be improving to keep up with the competition, especially with Kevin Durant’s impending free agency in 2016.
The easiest way to shake up a team is a change in coach. Scott Brooks, despite winning Coach of the Year in 2012, has had the team on a stale and repetitive track for most of his Oklahoma City tenure (beginning 2008).
He has taken criticism in the past for standing back on the sidelines, while Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook go to work, and at championship level, more coaching is needed.
While he is no doubt a good coach, the longer OKC persist with Brooks at the helm, the less likely they will be to win a championship.
And the less likely they will be to retain Kevin Durant in 2016.
If this off-season has shown us anything, it’s that anything is possible. Not even a finals berth is enough for the best players in the league. This should be a big wake-up call to Oklahoma City.
The less-travelled and much riskier path to stay within championship relevancy is a roster shake-up, a route which OKC are rather familiar with.
A few off-seasons ago, Oklahoma City traded away their third banana James Harden to Houston after failing to agree on a contract extension. Needless to say it was a major setback for OKC as they were destroyed in the second round 4-1 by the Memphis Grizzlies.
After failing to capture their major off-season target Pau Gasol, General Manager Sam Presti will be hesitant to again trade one of his superstars, but I implore he look into what he could get for some of his better players, including Russell Westbrook.
Oklahoma City’s need for a proper floor general point guard has been well documented, and while Reggie Jackson remedies that problem, he does not completely solve it.
Jackson is coming off his best season and if Presti could swing a trade involving him and some of OKC’s other young talent for an established floor general, there should be no hesitation.
If all else fails, Presti should at the very least explore what he could get for Russell Westbrook. A realistic best-case scenario for Oklahoma City would be a downgrade at the point and an upgrade at centre plus some change.
Another possibility Presti could explore would be the oft-mentioned Westbrook for Rajon Rondo trade. OKC get a fantastic all-round point guard with championship experience who is one of the best distributors in the league, something Westbrook is far from.
Boston do not lose here either. Rondo’s future in Bean Town has long been uncertain with multiple reports stating that Rondo is keen to leave and Ainge is keen to let him do so. This trade not only allows Rondo to start anew on a championship contender, but Boston arguably also get the better player out of this trade. Seeing Westbrook run his own team similar to Harden’s Houston would also be an intruiging prospect.
Hypotheticals can be discussed all day, but there is no doubting that the Oklahoma City Thunder need a strike of inspiration. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are tired of playing the bridesmaid to the San Antonios and Miamis of the league, and the only way that will change is if the front office dares to be brave and acts now rather than later, when it could be too late.
The clock to free-agency 2016 is ticking.
Internal Fixation
Guest
Hi Myles. Thanks for keeping the NBA articles coming. I don't think the OKC situation is that bad and there is a real danger of overcompensating and making mistakes with bad trades to keep stars happy. At present a team on the floor at the end of games of Jackson, Westbrook, Durant, "Iblocka" and Adams looks pretty good to me. I'm no OKC fan either. If you can name a recent occasion where a team trading a top 10 player was looking substantially better 2 years afterwards (ie. the time of Durants potential extension) then you may convince me otherwise. The Lakers took 5 years after trading Shaq to win again and admittedly Odom was key in 2009 but his is the closest I can think of. Denver had a spurt post Carmelo but are not any better 2 years down the line. Maybe GSW trading Monta Ellis is close but whilst he was a top ten scorer I don't think many would have him as a top 10 player.
Declan McAllister
Guest
I like to make a lot of friends on the penpal,
Myles Stedman
Roar Guru
Thanks for you comment Thaddeus. We'll see if "a different variety of shots" is what Oklahoma City need to get it done, but I have my money on the fact that it won't.
Thaddeus
Guest
This article is pushing the limits of reality. Most teams would love to have a coach like Brooks. The reality is that everything needs to line up perfectly in order to win a Championship and that's hard to do. In the case of OKC Brooks is not one of the issues that needs to be cleaned up. KD's style of basketball has been changing after he fell in love with Dirks fade away jumper. He has been less inclined to drive the basket, so OKC has become more a perimeter shooting team. With the trades this summer and a healthy Ibaka and maturing Adams, I think you'll see Durant will have more freedom to open up different varieties of shots this year. None of those issues having anything to do with Brooks style of coaching.
Declan McAllister
Guest
i think they should be teams in the NBA Because it will make it more interesting that way
Declan McAllister
Guest
That is a good picture of the Player
astro
Guest
I really don't think the situation in OKC is that dire. They lost to a Spurs team last year, which was on a mission and basically unstoppable. If they'd beaten them, they likely would have squashed Miami, so there's no great loss in brining back the same dudes to compete again. They have young guys like Steven Adams, Lamb and (maybe) Perry Jones who will be better this year and should contribute more. Having said that, I agree that their ownership is incredibly frustrating to watch. Surely, its worth using the amnesty on Perk (even if it means paying him his remaining $9mil), and using that money to find that valuable 5th starter. I can't imagine OKC fans are looking forward to the NBA playoffs and the crunch time when OKC have to fill the 5th spot on the floor with Lamb/McGary/Morrow. OKC's owners and their dogged resistance to overpaying or going above the tax has already cost them Harden. Here's hoping it doesn't cost them more down the track...
Myles Stedman
Roar Guru
All your points are 100% valid Mushi, however the unfortunate truth we are left with is that Oklahoma City, in my opinion, will not win the championship with this team. The facts are they haven't gotten any better and their competition has. Uh oh. Would you perhaps like to address my point of maybe firing Scott Brooks?
mushi
Guest
And also a little bit of context before we hit panic stations here – the thunder had the third best margin of victory last year despite only getting 30 odd games out of a top 10 player, and the best the year before. This is a team that needs tweaks not whole sale rebuilding and trading your second best player is step beyond that – it is blowing things up. The likelihood of getting demonstrably better is very slim in a Westbrook trade so you are still in a crap shoot to win one of the next two years even if, and I strongly contest that this doesn’t happen, you become a more effective team post trade. Then you’ve got the trade package – I’d demand a trade if I’m Kevin Durant and you trade Russel for Rondo without truckloads more coming in. Because I’m not sure about the complimentary bit, Rondo is very good player, he’s one of the few point guards that would be a defensive upgrade on Westbrook and he’s less “selfish”. There is some merit to yes Russ could give up some shots to Durant but Rondo would be overkill in the other direction. There is no way you could hoist the 10% difference in usage rate all to Durant which means you’re shifting more of the load to role players. Plus rondo is a massive down grade in the shots he does take because he can’t shoot FT’s (so doesn’t actively draw fouls) or from beyond the arc. He jsut won’t put the same pressure on the defence and sometimes Durant needs that – particularly in the playoffs. He also ahsn’t played a full season since when ? 2009? Everyone focuses on what Russ takes off the table (5 shots or so a game) and not what he brings to it – still gifted at breaking down defences, takes ownership of the possession when Durant fails to get open. Danny Ainge probably goes “Kevin is that you, you know this isn’t funny I’m trying to move Rondo so stop calling up with these fake trades so can laugh at me when I wet my pants with excitement” Then looking at centre, they already get so much of the rim protection and third scoring option production from Ibaka that all they need is someone that doesn’t suck on offence and can rebound and body up on D. They don’t want a post player they have to feed to keep effective or happy because then you are just picking up the Russ problem and transplanting it into the post. That’s why I think the other team basically ahs to give up more than they are getting in Russel in order for it to work team wise at the thunder (so a lose/lose trade). Also did you hear the speech or read the transcript? It certainly seemed to me it was more than a casual “likes” - they have a bromance somewhat stronger than what I’ve seen between teammates at other clubs in psot game interviews and it is probably because they grew up together on this team. If you are trying to “pander” to a player then trading his favourite team mate (especially for a person with Rondo’s track record) is probably not on the list of top 10 moves, let alone something you shouldn’t hesitate to do. Because lets face it even if you’ve got the best team
mark g
Guest
HEY THUNDER GOOD JOB SIGNING THE ROOKIE FROM ARIZONA
Lachlan Bickley
Roar Guru
Bill Simmons was pretty scathing of the Thunder on his podcast last week suggesting that they run the risk of alienating Durant if they don't do more to help him win. And all the while the Wizards, in Durant's home town of DC, just hired his high school coach in a move that some people believe (or want to believe) is an attempt to set the table for Durant to come home.
Myles Stedman
Roar Guru
Hey Mushi, thanks for your reply. Winning or losing a trade isn't always determined by what players or picks you get in return, but as you said, Oklahoma City should demand max payout if they look to trade Westbrook. There's no doubt he's one of the best in the league. I'm sure there's no doubt Durant likes having Westbrook on his team, but that of course doesn't mean he wouldn't rather have some more complimentary help i.e. Rajon Rondo or a top-tier centre. And if you're OKC and don't win the title by 2016 - having traded Westbrook or not - I think you can start calling teams about a sign-and-trade.
mushi
Guest
Westbrook is a top ten player in the league if you consider defence part of the game. Jackson is a good solid combo guard but if you aren’t getting a Dwight Howard level centre plus a quality starting 2 guard and at least two rotation players/decent draft picks you lose that trade. Even then you are probably just going to break even on a talent used per possession basis. Add to that Durant is either giving Oscar winners lessons in acting sincere or his MVP speech was a pretty clear indication that he values Russel west brook a lot. If you trade Westbrook and don’t win the title then the thunder should start calling teams about sign and trade proposals for 2016.