Oklahoma City Thunder: Complete 2018 offseason grades

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a successful offseason and will have a good chance to improve on their disappointing 2017-18 season.

At the start of the summer, things looked pretty bleak for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Russell Westbrook was already locked in for another season, but the departure of Paul George seemed likely and Carmelo Anthony‘s massive contract spelled financial disaster for the coming years.

Then, quite suddenly, things took a turn for the very, very good.

It all started with a party hosted by Westbrook on the eve of free agency, with George in attendance. That same night, George verbally committed to re-signing with the Thunder, announcing that he was “here to stay.” Soon after, he officially signed a four-year deal with the team.

Then, the Thunder managed to do the impossible: get rid of Carmelo Anthony. In a dreamlike outcome, they were able to send Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Dennis Schroder and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (from the Philadelphia 76ers). This move saved them a fortune in the luxury tax and probably avoided a lot of future locker room conflict.

All of a sudden, things are looking up in Oklahoma City. The Thunder are poised for huge improvement next season now that they have retained their star talent and alleviated some of their financial concerns.

Let’s take a close look at the Thunder’s 2018 offseason grades. We’ll break down every move they made from the draft through free agency and get a better understanding of why this summer was such a success. Make yourself comfortable, because we have a lot of ground to cover.