Less than eight years ago the Oklahoma City Thunder had one of the best home grown teams in recent history. They had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden all under control and they were guys originally drafted by the franchise. After appearing in the NBA Finals taken down by the mighty Miami Heat it seemed that the Thunder had next and nobody could stop it, but fast forward the Golden State Warriors have slid into the spot that a few years ago we thought OKC would be in.
Now to we are here we can’t forget how the Thunder got here, they traded Harden to the Rockets because they didn’t want to pay him and they gave that cash to Ibaka, they eventually traded Ibaka also. Then two summers ago Durant bolted to the Warriors when this same OKC team had that team down 3-2 in the Western Conference Finals and lost two in a row.
So, when Paul George who they traded Victor Olapido and Domantas Sabonis for just last summer signed a four-year $137 million deal to stay with the Thunder and Westbrook the gamble they made 365 days ago paid off.
Now with George, Westbrook and Steven Adams in the fold during their prime the Thunder now have to get players who want to play with them so they can challenge the Warriors. After losing Durant to end up with George isn’t a bad silver medal, if George left it could’ve been a whole lot worse. Without the full experience who really wants to come to Oklahoma? Put some respect on the walking triple doubles name for being able to make it work with George because you have to take this team serious as long as they are a unit.
