Oklahoma City Thunder Are Regretting Not Going All-In This Season

After watching so many future Hall of Famers come and go, the Oklahoma City Thunder have done a tremendous job rebuilding on the fly and accumulating talent, while remaining competitive throughout the entire process.

Within the last 15 years, the Thunder have had one of the highest winning percentages among all 30 NBA teams, yet they have absolutely nothing to show for it.

They have gone through so many different iterations of this team; the most successful being their young and upcoming 2011-12 roster. Led by their young core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, the Thunder were positioned to have one of the greatest NBA dynasties in years, but it all fell apart because of management’s reluctance to spend.

Losing Harden and getting little-to-nothing in return immediately led to the team’s downfall, and it has haunted them ever since. Though to a much lesser degree, it seems that Sam Presti and the Thunder have yet to learn their lesson from that experience and made the same mistake again.

Thunder’s Shortcomings Fall On Management

The young Thunder have performed well ahead of schedule, leaving management struggling to keep up

The new rendition of this Thunder team, led by MVP candidateShai Gildeuos-Alexander, finished the season with the best record in the Western Conference, and has now reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

After steamrolling past the New Orleans Pelicans, the Thunder’s youth has shown its face against the Dallas Mavericks as they now face elimination in the series, losing 2-3.

Even as their superstar Luka Dončić struggles immensely, the Mavericks find themselves with the advantage.

They have displayed a level of maturity and poise, while the Thunder have failed to generate offense outside their star and lacked physicality inside. Coupling that with Josh Giddey’s inability to score effectively on the perimeter, the Thunder are in jeopardy of seeing an early postseason exit.

Now more than ever, NBA teams have seen their championship windows come and go in the blink of an eye. The Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers are all recent examples of teams that saw their championship hopes dwindle away just as fast as they arrived, and the Thunder very well could end up becoming one of those teams soon.

The hesitancy to put all their chips on the table and make a big move cost them in the past, and it could very well cost them a championship run this year as well.

The league has been wide open these past few years, and management should not use their youth as an excuse to take it for granted. Though their team is indeed young, it would have been wise to capitalize on their current talent and make a bigger move at the deadline, preferably for another big alongside Chet Holmgren.

Instead, they decided to roll the dice with the players they have now and continue to hoard as many picks as possible.

Picks Don’t Play

The Thunder are building towards a future when their present is already bright

Now, similar to previous years, the Thunder are faced with significant holes in their roster, lacking physicality and starting players who contribute absolutely nothing on offense.

Though Giddey is nowhere near as ineffective as Kendrick Perkins or Andre Robertson, where he and Holmgren are concerned, the team could desperately use some help in those two areas.

A simple trade for Nic Claxton and Dorian Finney-Smith could have been the difference between the Thunder potentially winning a championship or falling in the second round.

Considering how many assets and draft capital they had at their disposal, it is hard to rationalize them not pulling the trigger on a move like that. If the Nets were to agree to a trade, the Thunder would not only have a roster leaps and bounds better than the Mavericks but also some of the much-needed size and experience to put them over the top.

Though they have certainly made their job a lot harder, their season still isn’t over. They still have a very good chance of winning this series, and if not, their future is still very bright. With all that being said, could NBA fans look back at this season as the beginning of the end for this Thunder team? Only time will tell.