Oklahoma City Thunder
Shoo wee. Life really does come at you fast. OKC’s current defining legacy is The Dynasty That Never Was.
Harden: Gone.
Durant: Gone.
Westbrook: Gone.
Paul George: Gone.
Not all is lost, however. The future is bright. Very bright! If you don’t believe us, just check out the treasure chest of draft picks sitting in Sam Presti’s office.
Fifteen first-round picks over the next seven years is not only unprecedented but quite frankly flabbergasting.
Even crazier is that Presti is probably not done. His decision of what to do with Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari is pivotal to the outlook of the Thunder’s 2019-20 season.
If either or both are traded, the OPERATION REBUILD: PROJECT TANK button will be mashed all the way down. But if The Point God and The Rooster remain in OKC, this is a sneaky good roster that is absolutely not going to roll over, even in a loaded as fuck Western Conference. It feels like all of these guys have something to prove. Teams have unified and rallied around that kind of shit before.
CP3 has actually played in Oklahoma City previously, back in 2005 when the Hornets had to move to OKC due to Hurricane Katrina. In an interview with The Oklahoman back in 2014, Paul said, "It used to smell like dog food all the time because when the wind blew, the dog food plant was right there... But I loved it."
Something tells us he’d rather be in South Beach with Jimmy Butler.
Chris Paul would be a great mentor to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who showed he has the tools to be a success in this league during his 82-game rookie season. As a 20-year-old, SGA could not legally drink in the club last year (he turned 21 this summer, whoop whoop!), yet he held his own and them some, even during the playoffs against the Warriors with KD.
League Pass Notes
Terrance Ferguson throws down some power dunks in transition.
Steven “Big Kiwi Aquaman” Adams’ glorious mane and mustache are still here.
Dennis “The Menace” Schroder’s hair is usually interesting.
We haven’t seen Andre Roberson play basketball since January 2018. With a career average of 25.7 percent on threes, curiosity is piqued to see if he worked on his shot over the last year and a half.
Always a joy to hear “Taking Care of Business” after OKC wins at home.
The Final Questions / The Final Take
Has there ever been a double Ewing Theory?
Free from Westbrook at long last, will Billy Donovan be able to spread his coaching wings and fly?
Sign us up for a world where the Thunder are last year’s Clippers, claw their way into the playoffs, and somehow face off against the Rockets in a Round 1 Melee.
Given draft pick implications, it would be smarter for OKC to suck, which means Presti likely plans to trade CP3, Gallo and maybe even Adams before the deadline.
Either way, we are hammering OVER 32.5 wins.
