OKC Thunder: 5 offseason roster moves they must make
The OKC Thunder are potentially in the biggest state of flux for any franchise this offseason. Here are five roster moves they must make.
After the OKC Thunder were knocked out of the 2019 playoffs by the waving Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, their world changed. Kawhi Leonard was able to talk Paul George into requesting a trade to the LA Clippers.
In return, the Thunder got a record haul of draft picks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari. Then the Thunder allowed Russell Westbrook to be traded to give him the chance of winning a title. They traded him to the Houston Rockets and in return received Chris Paul.
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To get out of the repeater luxury tax zone, they also traded starting power forward Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets for a draft pick. This meant that they only had two of their five starters from the end of last season, Steven Adams and Terrance Ferguson.
The OKC Thunder were given a very small chance of even making the playoffs this past season. The team came out and struggled to win away from home before becoming one of the best teams in the NBA after Thanksgiving.
Chris Paul became the CP3 of old, scoring the most clutch points in the NBA for the season. Gallinari showed that he is a true talent who can do anything offensively. Gilgeous-Alexander learned everything he could of his mentor CP3.
Together with Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder found their future with Darius Bazley and undrafted rookie Luguentz Dort. Unfortunately for the Thunder, they are not in a position to contend so there is a good chance they have to rebuild next season. Here are five roster moves they need to make.