Can The Oklahoma City Thunder Win It All?

Let’s talk about the thunder since they’re trending they did just L to Atlanta as we’re recording this and we’ve probably asked this question before but I’m gonna ask it again and then give my own answer to it do the Thunder actually need to do anything to

Be one of the five to six teams most likely to win the title this season and I’ll preface it before you answer with the vitals they are top five in offense and defense including in the half court where they have the best half court offense and that’s been they they’re the

Best three-point shooting team in the league they are below average when it comes to volume but I’ve kind of focused on I really think that they’re they’re not they’re not a good rebounding team we know this but they’ve now beaten you know the Timberwolves the Celtics we saw

Them take I mean they’ve been beating we talked about how they could use some wins against good teams and then they just like they RI rolled the Lakers they I’m not saying the Lakers are a good team but like ever since they I think it was that Lakers game was sort of the

Turning point for them which was that was on November 26 they’ve just been rattling off victories against teams that you would could they’re 12 and four during that stretch plus 9.6 rating um some of the things we have focused on or at least I have harped on I won’t say

They’re starting to normalize but they’ve improved to where there was this squishiness with the starting five offensively that seems to be coming around a little bit Josh giddy has been better I would say much better as of late because he was working from such a ner um that starting unit during this

Stretch in the 13 games they’ve played together they’re shooting uh 45% from three they’ve outscored opponents by 31 points in their 158 minutes that’s not including the Atlanta game on uh Wednesday night so I just I want to say I I I think that the people who

Believe they need to trade for a star are mistaken because right now that works within their salary structure but long term with j Williams eventually going to need a new deal Chad Homen Josh giddy himself you’re very much viewing that as well we’re making this move because our

Title window is now we know title windows are fickle and are short and so we want to maximize the next two to three years rather than prioritizing the next six to eight I don’t think that’s a flawed way of thinking by the way I think anyone who’s just criticizing well

Star doesn’t fit into their salary structure why would they go after Larry marinin it’s because you don’t know what could happen next year the year after that so there is the element of the now but if you’re already good enough to win the title you don’t need to worry about

That and so I’m curious to where you land on this team going into the playoffs winning I’m gonna say three playoff series to come out of the West I’m I saying they need to win a title but like are they good enough to do that left alone so I think the thing that

Should push them towards going and getting a big name is kind of the same reason like I don’t want them to which is that they like because the reason you do it is like oh like we are maybe the best team in the west like there’s really one or two other teams certain

Like you know Denver is Denver but like you could make the case that the th I think net rating says it that the Thunder have been better than the the wolves like there’s at least offense is I would say more trustworthy than Minnesota is for sure there’s there’s a

Discussion to be had there for sure so but it’s like well if they’re already this good like why don’t we just let this group grow together keep the powder dry and like I don’t know maybe somebody better than marinin becomes available and we’ll definitely have the ability to

Make the best offer for that guy like but at the same time you’re right here you might be one guy away I would I’m always more conservative about stuff like this where it’s like I kind of don’t want to touch this team if like I

Just I I want hren and Williams and and SGA to just be there as the top three guys for you know you talk about a 68 year window like there’s no such thing like we I think every smart franchise goes in like two to three year windows

And then they just reassess after that is the argument for them going to make the trade though is that you you have these three now and then you can fit it into your salary structure for the next two to three years yeah let’s maximize that I just like if it were someone because

Who’s the guy because if it’s Mark in like that’s a I look we we love marketing but maybe there’s something better like why not aim even higher if it means waiting a year or or I don’t know I like I just I watched that entire

Game last night I’m so I’m so in I’m so in on the Thunder they’re so good like they just so here’s where I land I probably wouldn’t I’m not gonna say that I I mean because I love so many watching the players on and I’m not even talking

About the top end talent I know some people have tried to frame it as like lud Dort being Expendable and it’s like I know he’s erratic on the offensive end at times but he still has volume on the offensive end which is more than you could say for some players and his

Defensive workload it allows you to insulate so many other people including you know why Shay gild Alexander in part is so good defensively because he gets to play with Jay duub and lud Dort y you know why Jay dub is so good defensively because he gets to play with L Dort in

General and Chad’s a great defensive player right now today as a rookie like that so I I but like Isaiah Joe kenri Williams I don’t want to see those guys get traded I don’t want to see their minutes get cut poku is not even playing us jang’s not playing my heart breaks

For both those guys at the same time there are different levels to it I I wouldn’t make and I’m I would be reticent to do this basically no matter which team I am I don’t want to make the star trade midseason because it just feels like much harder to integrate someone who’s completely

Foreign to your system and your principles and your ideologies Mark dnel could probably do it um because he does look I don’t know if you saw that I tweeted you probably didn’t I said Mark deel looks like John kind of looks like John Stockton discovered science like that’s what he reminds me

I but I think if you are a contender you should treat yourself like a contender and you could stand to beef up maybe the sixth the seventh the eighth spot in your rotation look there’s a very clear need up front when you look at rebounding maybe just some heft bounce

There um but I also think you could make the argument I know he’s been better lately I I’m not trying to be spicy with this Josh giddy is not a good fit for this team long term oh he’s the guy you move 100% that’s the guy it’s not about we

Need to trade one of these guys before they get paid and turn them into another star it’s no we should trade him before we have to pay him when his value is high enough if they want to roll him and do the Sam prey special into more picks

Fine do that now might be the time to do it if he continues to play well defenses and Boston dared him to shoot they had bigs on him for a good portion of the game that is going to happen in the playoffs and I have very little

Confidence that that Josh gidd is going to deliver for you offensively in the playoffs and so that though is thinking like well if we’re just going to move him for picks why not wait until the summer or something because he is technically helping our team now he is

Important now but that sort of brings me back to is there something where you can even make let’s acquire not Larry marinin who becomes their fourth best player but someone who is like their fifth or sixth best player you should consider that if it’s on the table um I

Would certainly say like sixth or seven or eighth like that’s not going to cost you any like that’s not going to cost you K Wallace right to go out and get that guy it’s not even to cost you Josh giddy if you want the seventh best player in your rotation I ultimately

Think what they’re gonna do is something like and I was thinking about this I I was at the gym today is wouldn’t it be so if if the Bulls were just so cheap and they wanted to get out of money before next season and it would be so

Sessy of oh like Lonzo is starting to run like we’ll turn Davis brons into Lonzo and see if Lonzo can be anything for us uh and so it’s just like yeah there’s redundancies there with Josh giddy but just like someone who is under contract for next season maybe even it

Wouldn’t shock me if they were the team that traded for John Collins just to say maybe doesn’t play a lot for us but this is a salary anchor we could use in a trade if we want to whose salary will be off the books by the time all these

Other guys are making this money that’s probably the move they make which I think is fine but I I do have if I’m distrusting something about them I look at how they might be susceptible to bigger teams on the glass or they could be tossed around on the front line if

You’re playing more of these physical teams and then there’s something about their offense that I just don’t trust where it feels like they could maybe use someone who’s going to get up threes in more volume or just an improvement a spacing improvement over some of the

Josh giddy or Lou dortman it’s in the sense of how defense is going to guard these players or even and I I think Jay dub is getting better here but sort of in not even in every level scorer but in every level ball handler and I’ve said

This way too many times over the past few weeks but like someone who has some halfcourt jiggle and joggle to them I I think one of the interesting things and they definitely did this against the Celtics and have been doing it more it used to be Williams would kind of run

Second units and like it was always tough because you know sja wouldn’t be out there A lot of times chat wouldn’t be out there and so he’s trying to he’s kind of overburdened in that role to begin with and there just wasn’t a lot of support they’re playing meic a lot

More with and he’s got the ball in second units and like that’s I mean he you know he’s not gonna blow by anybody but like that’s a point guard and he and he is really like there have been stretches where he is unlocking stuff that that JB just like couldn’t which is

Like fine it’s like you can’t ask him to be you know a primary initiator with no support out there and expect success so like there are still even with this roster because M just like was not playing and now I think he really actually matters to Second unit so like

That’s all to say zip and Vim to what he’s doing on and off the ball when you’re watching to yeah so like that’s I mean good find I mean I I really killed that acquisition just really like great timing by me like right before he started to play a lot was was good

Suddenly I also killed remember I killed them for giving up too much to move up two spots and get Cas and Wallace and now I’m like well yep so much for that I mean we’re just wrong across the board about the thunder basically like that’s why you should

Listen to us yes we’re never right but we admit it we always admit it um don’t doesn’t doesn’t party you just want to not mess with this team at all and just see you can’t I think reasonably you can’t but if there’s if you can move players who aren’t really playing like

You know Davis B and then some of these youngsters who are just not like they don’t even have a role moving forward and if it’s a lower end first to get someone who might play for you be your seventh guy in the playoffs yeah I think

You have to look at it I don’t know who that is but like everyone’s assuming it you know you you talk about it it doesn’t need to be a star is my was both of our points it’s like maybe it’s a and but it’s like because mes is playing

It’s well even if B bonovich became available is that someone you add the answer should be yes because he’s an upgrade over this but I get the Instinct of we don’t want to mess with this team right now but that brings me back to my overarching question of even if we don’t

Want to mess with this team can you envision them winning a title as currently constructive and if that’s the point of this entire thing the answer matters and it matters because of what we just talked about with title windows it’s great to say well no they’ll grow together you can’t

Guarantee that and the other thing I’ll say we’ve talked enough about Chad in General on this podcast he is I don’t I don’t think it’s being said of that he’s like the second best player on what might be the best team in the the regular season team the NBA yeah but

When is the like when’s the last time a rookie missed his entire first someone missed their entire first season due to injury and just never had any injury concerns for the rest of their career I mean why would you why would you speak that evil into I’m just but I’m to I’m

Just trying to Spotlight the point of I mean even Blake Griffin kind of had her checkered Health Bill like probably earlier than you would have expected Simmons and embiid Blake Griffin the closest thing to a recent exception oh like well because he was fairly healthy until he really wasn’t

With the knee stuff yeah probably that’s a hard I we should research that but yeah no point taken it’s rare and so it’s so that that is wrap it up there right now how many teams would you pick in front of them to win the title this

Without the Thunder making any changes I mean it’s like it’s The Usual Suspects it’s like Boston Denver and then you got to start like Minnesota is like maybe and then who am I forgetting like Milwaukee is a maybe although they can’t beat the Pacers so I don’t know how

They’re supposed to win a title um yeah they’re right you so all the way back to the original question like the reason I would say the Thunder can’t can’t will won’t win the title this year is like they’re just too young and this just never happens like you know it’s just

Always you always got to go get beat by the denvers of the world in the Conference Finals or maybe before that before you really break through so like that’s a stupid argument because there’s nothing like that actually addresses like the team itself it’s just like well based on historic trends like you just

Don’t you just don’t do it this young like it’s just not what happens so like I don’t know which way that cuts as far as like should they go get guys get veterans or something or just leave it alone and trust that in two years there

We won’t be able to say they’re too young because they’ve you know they’ve scaled up through several playoff rounds this is our roundabout way of definitively hedging where it’s saying don’t say the Thunder need to trade for a star but don’t just assume that they have all the pieces in place and that

This thing is built to last or built to get over the top it just doesn’t typically work like That

Dan and Grant discuss why they DON’T believe the Oklahoma City Thunder NEED to make a trade. But should they at least be open to it? Which names make sense? Check out the full Thunder segment and podcast here: https://youtu.be/8khjxJ_e1MI.

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