OKC Thunder: 5 offseason roster moves they have to make
The OKC Thunder have had two seasons of change on their roster. Prior to the 2019-20 season, Paul George turned the franchise upside down by demanding a trade. Russell Westbrook was then traded to the Houston Rockets. Sam Presti made the most of this situation, helping the team to a very unlikely playoff run.
Then, last season the Thunder decided they needed to blow up their roster, sending out Chris Paul, Abdel Nader, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams amongst others. They kept Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the cornerstone of the franchise for the future.
They also kept young potential stars in Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort, and Hamidou Diallo, who they then traded to the Detroit Pistons before the trade deadline, looking to get better 3-point shooting by getting Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk in return.
The OKC Thunder are entering the second season of their rebuild. Here are 5 offseason roster moves they must make to continue this process.
While the Thunder lost out in the draft lottery, they still have six picks in the 2021 draft. It is unlikely that they will use all their picks to select players for their roster this season. Last season they traded two late first-round draft picks to move up in the draft to select Aleksej Pokusevski. They also selected Theo Maledon in the second round.
The Thunder have six picks in the 2021 draft, three picks in both rounds. They then have three picks in the 2022 draft, six picks in the 2023 draft, including four first-round picks, and then six picks in the 2024, 2025, and 2026 drafts. To say they have an incredible potential for the future is an understatement.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the five roster moves the OKC Thunder need to make in the offseason.