NLL Insider - Team by Team: Oklahoma City Thunder

by wizkid, updated on Friday, December 25 2020, 01:34 pm EST

2019-20 Finish: 63-19

Season Highlight:

Winning streak – for a 17-game streak spanning nearly the entire 3rd quarter of the season the team was healthy, firing on all cylinders, and dominant even. They have been an overwhelming regular season team – snagging a top 2 seed in the Western Conference for four straight seasons. They’re one of the NLL’s top teams over the last 5 years and a beast to play against any night.

Season Lowlight:

“Another game 7 loss in the Western Conference Finals for the Oklahoma City Thunder” – OKC GM Nenjabin. In his own words, it has to feel a bit like 11 months of waiting each year to do it again. How long can the front office stand to put up another great roster, great season, peak form – only to fall one step short of the big dance. Sure – 26 other teams would love to say “we lost in game 7 in the conference finals”… but this is getting kind of repetitive for the OKC fans.

Best Trade:

OKC gets LeBron James, Danny Green, and Cody Martin for Chris Paul, Jaren Jackson Jr., Kevin Huerter, Lu Dort, and 2020 1st round picks (14 and 19).

This is the deal as best as I’ve been able to assemble. It seems like they packaged up what they got for Jokic with a bit more in order to bring in LeBron. What they gave up (or even Jokic for that matter) may have more long-term value – but LeBron just signed an extension, being so excited to join Kawhi and team in OKC. I don’t put this as the best trade because OKC killed it from a value stand point – in fact I would take the Cleveland side of it if I’m picking what side to start a team with. However, with their current roster and reeling after another Conference Finals loss – I love them putting their chips on the table in an attempt to bring the trophy to OKC.

Worst Trade:

The Detroit Pistons send Thabo Sefolosha and Grant Williams to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Luke Kennard and Admiral Schofield to the Detroit Pistons.

The Detroit Pistons send a 1st-Rounder (Was) to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send a 2nd-Rounder (OKC) to the Detroit Pistons.

The Detroit Pistons trade -2 GM points.The Oklahoma City Thunder receive 2 GM points.

I may think higher of Kennard than others – but he seems like a solid, young starting wing that fits in most systems. He’s got 1 more year on his rookie deal as of now, so trading him 10 months ago likely wasn’t about any immediate cap crunch. The Thunder got Kira Lewis, who has flipped with the rest of the roster in the LeBron James trade – and late lotto picks are nothing to scoff at, I just feel like Kennard is worth a bit more.

Other Notable Trades:

The Oklahoma City Thunder send Jonah Bolden and Deonte Burton to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send Carmelo Anthony and Trey Burke to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder receive 2 GM points. The San Antonio Spurs trade -2 GM points.

I’m noticing a trend where OKC likes to pull in a bonus 2 GM points in these deals. This deal was met with some level of shock around the league – feeling that Melo was worth more than Deonte Burton and Jonah Bolden. And he probably was… but sometimes getting in with the right offer fast enough benefits, and this was one of those times for OKC.

The Houston Rockets send Hassan Whiteside, Jaren Jackson Jnr and Kevin Huerter to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Derrick Rose, Nikola Jokic and Justin Patton to the Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rockets send a 1st-Rounder (Hou) to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Along with the LeBron deal, this was a “changing of the guard” type deal. While Rose and Whiteside both have some value, they kind of cancel each other out so this is pretty much auctioning Jokic (who was absolutely dominant in HOU after this deal) for JJJ, Huerter, and another first who has already been flipped along. I loved this deal for OKC at first, and still do – but I do have to admit that Jokic’s dominance to close out the year makes the deal look a bit better for Houston than I initially thought.

Miami’s 2020 2nd and OKC’s 2022 1st for Joe Ingles

OKC had a TPE burning a hole in their pocket and were excited to sweep up a solid wing for a 2nd and one of their own future 1sts. They just recently flipped him with another of their 1sts to Toronto for Ellington, Toronto’s 2021 1st (presumably an upgrade) and a 2nd.

Star:

Kawhi Leonard - F

Heading into the season, saying that Kawhi would play 73 games seemed like way too optimistic of a take… however that’s where he ended up, and he was the team’s best player in nearly every one of them. Kawhi is really the one that combines with LeBron to make this squad amongst the favorites in the West for next year.

Goat:

Derrick Rose - G

Maybe this is why he got shipped out, and he definitely looked better once getting to Houston – but he was not looking good in his 37 games with OKC. His efficiency was fine, but he wasn’t putting up many numbers. With as much talent as OKC had surrounding him on the bench, those units should have been really good and they kind of just barely scraped by until the starters could get back in the game.

Free Agency:

Looking ahead, it looks like the team is in a good position to bring back Melo after getting him at a discount previously. Hassan Whiteside is not as sure about his return – could this be another year where Ben wins big like with Derrick Rose last year for a surprise return? Or will they not want to take the risk and ensure Whiteside’s return while limiting their options elsewhere in free agency? They may have an open roster spot, but they’re also about as cash-strapped as it gets. The team doesn’t need a ton, and with center being one of the bigger things – blowing it all on Whiteside may be the play.

Draft Grade (courtesy of Brayden):

45: Oklahoma City Thunder - Justinian Jessup

NBA Draft Slot: 51

Draft Grade: B

Jessup went under the radar at Boise State. He doesn’t have the looks of an NBA player, but he’s another 3-ball maestro. He shot an insane 95.9% from the charity stripe this year. After spending 4-years as a key part of his team’s offense in college, he’ll have to settle as strictly an off-ball floor spacer in the NLL.

The Future:

Championship or Bust! They are probably the most all-in team in the league right now with an average starter age of almost 31 and no real apparent blue-chip prospects in the wings. LeBron, Kawhi, Draymond, and Melo is a heck of a list to start with and they’re surrounded by sufficient depth pretty much across the board – will their experience give them the edge against some younger teams like Milwaukee or Charlotte? Maybe… Kawhi and LeBron are an absolute force and may have enough to carry any decent supporting cast to a championship.

NLL Insider - Team by Team: Oklahoma City Thunder

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