There has been news all summer long coming out of the NBA; players are going all over the place. The move that had shocked the basketball world was Cleveland and Boston trading Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas. That was the talk of the summer, until this past Saturday afternoon when Carmelo Anthony chose to join Russell Westbrook and Paul George. With this move, the Thunder, who saw a first round exit to the playoffs, have now jumped to the frontline of teams that can compete, and beat Golden State. If that is the case, the Thunder will have to strike as quickly as possible. All three All Stars George, Anthony and franchise face Russell Westbrook are eligible for free agency. This move could either be the beginning of securing a long-term team with OKC, or this could be players staging a tryout to earn themselves top dollar come next summer. Only time will tell, but putting these three super stars together gives the Warriors something to worry about. These two teams are on a collision course for each other which makes for good, exciting basketball!
2016 OKC Thunder
Going into the 2016 season, the Thunder had to play with only one of the two super stars that had made them a force in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant was gone, he was gone to play with the Warriors, a team that eliminated OKC just a year earlier. Speculation swirled around how the Thunder could even compete, let alone make the playoffs. Insert Russell Westbrook and the 2016 Thunder; Westbrook had himself a career year finished the season with 31.6 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game and 10.4 assists. For those of you keeping track at home regarding a triple double a game average, he also had 42 triple doubles on the season which set the NBA record previous of 41 set by Oscar Roberts in 1961-62. As a team, the Thunder went 47-35 and lost in the first round in five games to the Houston Rockets.
The New Big 3
General manager of the Thunder, Sam Presti, was optimistic but also realized what he had to do at the end of the 2016 season. Presti reportedly told everyone in the front office that “like MacGyver” he would have to get creative to improve on the 3rd youngest roster in franchise history. The first addition was small forward/shooting guard Paul George; he brings 23.7 points per game. Coming over from the Pacers, George is in a rebuild in his career and could be using his year with the Thunder as a tryout for his upcoming free agency. Then three months later, this past Saturday the NBA world was stunned when it was announced that Carmelo Anthony joined the roster. Anthony, the 10-time all-star and 4-time Olympian brings 22.4 points per game, and pretty much looks like the most challenging opponent for the Golden State Warriors. Adding this proven talent, to a young team with a leader in Westbrook. The biggest question mark will be, can the egos of the three super stars coexist and can they square up and take on Kevin Durant and the Warriors?
The short and sweet ending to this is can the Thunder get the revenge they seek with the Warriors and Kevin Durant? Have we already seen the best of Carmelo Anthony and he is now a shell of the super star he once was? Can Paul George return to being dominant, with dominant players around him or will he just be a flash in the Pan stud, that had an injury and never fully returns to form? Are the Thunder in your opinion the team to unseat the defending Western Conference and NBA Champion Golden State Warriors? This year the West will be fun to watch and the Eastern Conference will be very lopsided as it has been for a few years now.
Written by:
Carlo Guadagnino
Edited by:
Daniel Bishop
Reference
http://m.espn.com/nba/playercard?playerId=4251&src=desktop
http://m.espn.com/nba/playercard?playerId=1975&src=desktop
http://m.espn.com/nba/playercard?playerId=3468&src=desktop
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