Complete 2018 NBA offseason grades for all 30 teams

Oklahoma City Thunder

Key additions: Hamidou Diallo (draft), Devon Hall (draft), Kevin Hervey (draft), Nerlens Noel (free agency), Dennis Schroder (trade), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (trade), Abdel Nader (trade)

Key subtractions: Carmelo Anthony (trade), Dakari Johnson (trade)

The Oklahoma City Thunder‘s summer was a story of small-market triumph. It was easy to make jokes about OKC’s historic luxury tax bill for a team that got ousted in the first round, but GM Sam Presti even took those away thanks to the three-team Carmelo Anthony trade that saved nearly $100 million in salary and luxury tax payments.

Re-signing Paul George — without him even taking a meeting with his hometown Lakers — was a moral victory for the Thunder, Russell Westbrook and everything OKC is trying to build in the post-Kevin Durant landscape. Keeping Jerami Grant helped lock in the team’s core, and along with Steven Adams, Presti had a foundation to build on.

He wasted no time, bringing in Nerlens Noel on a minuscule deal for frontcourt depth and rim protection. Hamidou Diallo could be a decent rookie addition in time, but the true gem trade was the Melo deal. Sure, it cost a protected 2022 first-rounder, but OKC got rid of a player who would’ve been a locker room problem and…well, brought in a player who was about to become a locker room problem in Atlanta.

Still though, if Dennis Schroder embraces his new role of sixth man on a contender, he could make the Thunder dangerous. He’s better suited as a backup, but his pick-and-roll manipulation represents a big upgrade over the returning Raymond Felton. The Thunder had no option better than running it back, but they were able to do so with a better supporting cast and without having to worry about Melo or his crippling contract.

Grade: A