The Thunder ended the season on a positive note when they beat the Clippers (granted they rested all their starters). Nonetheless, the Thunder gave us an idea of what to expect next year when it comes to their starters (minus Darius Bazley who was a DNP for some reason). We saw some great performances, especially from paint beast, Moses Brown, Alexsej Pokusevski and even Josh Hall.
Moses Brown finally had a major breakout game that displayed his unknown ceiling. He had a monster statline of 24 points, 18 rebounds , three assists and a career-high 7 blocks. His future is still murky because we don’t know what the Thunder are going to do next season but he definitely made it clear that he wants to stay in the rotation. Josh Hall had a nice game as well with a 25 point and 10 rebound dub-dub. Poku was the third to make a very nice impression on his coaching staff with a 29 point, 8 rebound game.
What the Thunder are going to do next season is anyone’s guess but it’s looking bright. They may have themselves enough quality role-players that showed off this year, especially in Brown, Poku, Bazley and Maledon. Having a plethora of picks for years to come makes it tough to see the future rotations. The only staples in the rotation that can be seen are Shai (naturally), Dort, Poku, Brown and Bazley. The Thunder own 3 picks total for next season (one first and two second rounders).
Based on what their needs are at the moment, they could definitely use another power forward/center in next year’s draft. They’re lacking big men (despite having the 7’2 behemoth in Brown and Tony Bradley) so potentially drafting Evan Mobley would help immensely. Mobley is seen as a top three selection in next year’s draft so it’s going to be interesting to see where he ends up but seeing him in an OKC jersey makes sense.
The Thunder might be competitive but they’re going to be tempted to tank again in order to bolster their roster even further for the future. Imagining a roster that includes Shai Gilgeous, Mobley, Dort, Brown and Bazley is pretty scary. If they happen to tank for the next year or so, they can even possibly land a potential superstar in Bronny James (not sure who that is but he sounds good). If that were to happen, this team would look even more dangerous and a legitimate force to be reckoned with.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be a potential all star for this team next year if he stays healthy. Another player that can be an all-star or make an all-NBA team is Lu “the Dorture Chamber” Dort. Their games are blossoming beautifully in front of everyone’s eyes and they seem to be only getting better. Seeing one/both of these guys in the all star-game next year could be a possibility. If this team is able to draft Mobley and/or James in the next few years, watch out.
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