NBA Heat check: Oklahoma City Thunder's roster problems
The Oklahoma City Thunder (21-11) sit in the third seed in the jam-packed Western Conference. Right above them sit the similarly fascinating (albeit for different reasons) Nuggets and the ascendant Warriors.
This is not a fluke. LeBron sits in Los Angeles and James Harden and the Rockets have started cooking opposing teams again. But the Thunder have reached where they have by a similar method over the past two years: prioritizing their needs.
In 2016, the Thunder fell to the Warriors after losing a 3-1 lead in the Western Finals. Kevin Durant decided that's all he wanted of normal competitive ball play, and set out to the Bay Area in what became the most hated and controversial decision of all time.
The background of this roster
For the 2016-17 NBA season, the Thunder revolved around Westbrook as he started his own assault on the record books. He won them 47 games that season while also winning the MVP award.
That season was so Westbrook centric that the Thunder had Oladipo used almost as a catch-and-shoot player. OKC was eliminated in the first round by the Rockets in five games. Critics mentioned how this hero ball strategy was stunting Adams' growth while Oladipo's talent was being wasted off the ball. Westbrook that season had the highest usage rate in history, beating out 2006 Kobe for the biggest ball hog title. Watching Westbrook that season was amazing to watch.
In the 2017-18 offseason, Thunder GM Sam Presti traded Oladipo and Sabonis for Paul George and Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and Chicago's 2018 second round pick for Carmelo Anthony. That same preseason Westbrook signed his supermax contract and committed his future to the Thunder, while Paul George was viewed largely as a one-year rental.
George was never fully comfortable in his fit, and Melo looked like a shadow of the player he'd been. OKC lost Roberson to injury midway through the season and sputtered through the last two months only to lose to the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs in six games.
This offseason the Thunder traded Melo and a 2022 protected first round pick to the Hawks for Dennis Schroder as the primary gain for Oklahoma City.