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Of the eight gamers at present averaging greater than 30 factors per recreation, there’s one who’s not just like the others. Out of Luka Dončić , Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, I feel it’s straightforward to select who I’m referring to.
The Oklahoma Metropolis guard is scoring 31 per evening on capturing splits of 54/39/94, and it’s unclear if he’s even going to make the All-Star crew. The West is loaded with perimeter expertise, he’s on the ceaselessly rebuilding Thunder, and also you want League Cross to see him play.
We do not know if he’s stats-bad crew man, as a result of each time OKC is surprisingly aggressive, GM Sam Presti docs an damage report to remain within the lottery combine. Who is aware of what the top purpose is from the Thunder’s trove of draft picks, however having that many belongings doesn’t imply it’ll be sufficient to persuade the Brick for Vic winner to commerce down.
Sure, this season can be enjoying out in another way if Chet Holmgren wasn’t sitting it out attributable to damage. Nevertheless, SGA’s timeline appears to have already began. Each different man getting 30-plus in 2022 can be pissed about lacking the playoffs, and possibly nonetheless be irked in the event that they’re relegated to the play-in.
If the Thunder earn a nine-seed they’ll be ecstatic, despite the fact that they’ve the means to commerce responsibly and problem for extra. Whereas I’m not urging Presti to piss away the large stack chasing gut-shot flush attracts, he may bully his approach into the cash on the very least.
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Proper now probably the most vital OKC commerce headlines revolve round shifting Gilgeous-Alexander. I’m not going to suggest offers for the guard as a result of that’s what informal NBA followers do on IG of their spare time. Plus, SGA is happy for the long run.
I empathize with Thunder beat author Brandon Rahbar’s agitation as a result of that’s what pundits have been doing with Damian Lillard for years. The distinction between the 2 organizations is Portland seemingly maxed out its roster round their franchise participant, and OKC is actively sandbagging promising seasons of SGA’s younger profession.
And that’s my concern. The Thunder’s present tanking isn’t as unhealthy as peak Course of, which is sweet. Joel Embiid has proven us that nice gamers can overcome poor tradition. The 76ers shall be a prime 4 crew within the East so long as he’s surrounded by serviceable expertise.
The facet impact of Philly’s asset-forward method is that despite the fact that the crew had the capital to dealer trades to enhance the roster each offseason, there’s little to no continuity. Very not often is a set of expertise ok to win a championship with out collectively experiencing playoff failure first.
Wouldn’t you like to see how the Thunder look if Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lou Dort, and Tre Mann are given an actual rotation energy ahead and heart. Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are ostensibly G League gamers at this level of their careers if that’s not Poku’s final vacation spot.
I doubt Presti would even discover the lacking draft picks that it might take to accumulate Miles Turner from Indiana. A veteran heart may enhance a protection that’s giving up 54 paint factors per recreation, which ranks fourth worst within the NBA. And it’d be good to have some type of inside infrastructure in place to ease the workload on Holmgren’s slight body when he returns subsequent yr.
Say they miss out on the No. 1 choose, and find yourself with Scoot Henderson as an alternative. Do they transfer on from Giddey in hopes of including one other guard able to getting 30? The place does Chet fall within the pecking order if that occurs?
These aren’t unhealthy points, however they have already got a rattling good downside solver, and one who’s going underneath appreciated due to a GM counting picks of over wins.
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