OKC Thunder Don’t Have To Focus On Draft But Free Agency Is Key

The OKC Thunder are not in the lottery but that would help right now. Since that is the case, they have to focus on building through free agency.

The Oklahoma City Thunder did enough to not make it to the lottery of the 2017 NBA Draft, but with the way the team looked they could have used a pick in the top 14.

Now that they are not in the running to get high talent in the draft, free agency is where they have to direct their focus.

With players like Carmelo Anthony, Gordon Hayward and Paul George making headlines for a possible roster change either by trade or free agency, the Thunder will want to try and get their hands on one of those players.

ESPN’s Chad Ford has the Thunder picking Justin Jackson of the championship North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 21. That would be a great pick, but it would be adding another role player — A.K.A. not a player with superstar potential.

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The Thunder are in win-now mode and that means getting players that can help that cause. This Thunder team is stacked with role players that can help contribute to a certain aspect of the game, but they do not have players that help elevate the team to a higher level.

Winning now is the goal for the OKC Thunder. They have almost the same team when they had Durant if you count out them not having Serge Ibaka, and that is what helped them go to a 47-win season and surprise everybody.

Getting a player that is proven should be the goal for this offseason. By player it means just one star that will be able to complement Westbrook.

Another route they could go is getting a lot of spot-up shooters like the Houston Rockets have and have Westbrook still be the main focus.

Some spot-up shooters that would be available are Andre Iguodala and Nick Young. Those two players have been able to hit the three and they have other talents that would help the team as well.

Iguodala is a player that helps stick the other team’s best wing player. For the Thunder, players of concern in the West are Kevin Durant and Kahwi Leonard. Having a player to put on them and still be able to knock down shots on the offensive end is something that would be a great help. The Thunder lost every game to the Warriors this year.

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Nick Young is a player that, when he gets hot, there is no ceiling for him. Not only is he able to just knock down threes, he is able to take games over and single-handedly destroy opponents. His skill set is kind of like what J.R. Smith is for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Other available superstars are Blake Griffin and Dwyane Wade. Taj Gibson is a free agent this year, so that would free up space for Griffin on the roster.

With Griffin’s explosiveness the Thunder will be able to impose their will onto teams and having Westbrook and Griffin running the fastbreak would be beautiful to watch.

Wade can provide veteran leadership and a player that makes the team more organized. They will also be focused because Wade would expect the greatest out of everybody.

Wade would only be there for a while, but him holding everybody accountable would help elevate players like Victor Oladipo that need a push into the right direction. The way Wade can handle himself late in the game will help the team greatly because the Thunder have had problems closing out teams.

For the short period of time Wade is there, he could show the team how to play the right way.

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The Thunder have a lot of options going into the offseason and if they make the right decisions and put the right group of players together, OKC will be able to go far next year.