Are people sleeping on the Oklahoma City Thunder?

Sure, they may be coming off a disappointing first round playoff exit, but the Oklahoma City Thunder should become a force to be reckoned with in 2018-19.

For all the hoopla surrounding the offseasons of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, the Oklahoma City Thunder did some work of their own in the summer months.

In re-signing Paul George to a four-year deal, they’ve secured a second star next to Russell Westbrook for the long-term. They also shipped away Carmelo Anthony in a deal that netted them Dennis Schroder, a supposed addition by subtraction move.

Golden State is obviously the two-time defending champions. L.A. just added the best player in the world. The Houston Rockets should still be considered contender as well, but it appears as though everyone has forgotten about what OKC is capable of.

After a season in which the Thunder underperformed, to say the least, it’s easy to assume they can’t be better in the future, but understanding all that happened last year, there is still room for improvement.

The inaugural season of any super-team is never without bumps in the road. Just ask LeBron James, who had to go through plenty after joining the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 and 2014.

Russell Westbrook and Paul George certainly weren’t bad in their first season as teammates, but there were clearly times where their lack of on-court experience next to each other came in to play, hampering OKC’s offensive attack.

Now, with a year under their belts and PG locked in for the foreseeable future, the chemistry between this dynamic duo should be where it needs to be, which should translate to better production on the court.

For all his woes on the offensive end, Andre Roberson is still one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and when his season ended in January after a ruptured tendon, it hurt the Thunder.

The four-man combination of Russ, PG, Roberson and Steven Adams was +156 last season, a top-30 mark in the league despite less than 600 minutes of action.

Assuming he comes back healthy, Roberson should improve a defense that ranked fourth in opponents points per game before the injury but plummeted to 17th afterward.

Then there is the now former member of the Thunder, Carmelo Anthony, who the team traded in order to save money. During his one-year stint in OKC, Melo never really fit in, always with his best interests at heart in trying to play the way he’s grown accustomed to over the years.

To Carmelo’s credit, he tried to sacrifice some, playing power forward as more of a floor-spacer than an iso-scorer, but it never seemed like he fully committed to the cause, opting more for his preferred style of play over what was good for the team.

No matter how much he spoke about wanting to win, it appeared as though Anthony would always try to stay Melo which, given how it worked out last season, wasn’t going to help the Thunder win games.

Now, without Anthony, it looks as though Patrick Patterson (or Jerami Grant) will assume starting duties at the 4.

A modern big, Patterson can stretch the court and provide solid switchability in pick-and-rolls on defense, and with a career arc as a role player, he’ll be plenty fine to space the court for his All-Star teammates and provide the little things on both ends, something Anthony wasn’t quite willing to do.

This OKC squad has star power, athleticism, versatility and a thirst for the ultimate goal. They went a combined 4-3 against the top two teams in the West in 2018 and will likely be better this upcoming season.

While they shouldn’t exactly be thrust into the title conversation given how much is still yet to prove, that doesn’t mean the NBA community isn’t at least slightly sleeping on the Thunder given what we know about their roster and the improvements they’re sure to make.