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Are the Thunder cooked? Is their reign already over? Do they have to go get Giannis Antetokounmpo? All right, maybe that's a little bit of hyperbole, but let's have a conversation about where the recently dethroned defending champions go next. Look, if you needed a reminder about how fast the NBA moves these days and how hard it is to repeat in the modern era, just look at the Thunder. Their meteoric rise to becoming the second youngest champions ever had many of us, myself included, thinking that this was the beginning of a long reign, of a dynasty in the making. And it might still be, but just a year later, Oklahoma City's already been usurped by a team in their own conference, a team with an even younger
star in Victor Wembanyama than they have in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. All of a sudden, you know, just a year after the first championship of what was supposed to be many, not only have they been usurped by a team in their own conference, but we're already talking about the Thunder potentially having to start dismantling their team and that championship core because of the second apron. You know, it also goes back to one of the things that myself and a lot of people predicted when it came to the second apron, and that was that championship-level teams were going to fall off just as quickly as they rose up. And I think you're kind of seeing that now. Again, I'm not saying that's
exactly what's going to happen with the Thunder, but the fact they're even facing these questions is exactly what many of us predicted when it came to the second apron, right? It's it's going to punish organically built, well-built, well-drafted teams. And you know, whether that's what the NBA wants or not is kind of irrelevant at this point cuz that's where we are, and that's where the system they've created has got us. Now, having said all that, just as nothing long-term can be assumed after a team's triumph, we also shouldn't rush to bury a team like the Thunder, okay? This is still a team positioned better than any team in the league outside of San Antonio. They
can also still delay the second apron penalties for another year, and we get into that. Okay, let's say worst-case scenario, the Thunder don't want to pay the second apron next year. And so, they just decline all these team options. That would mean Isaiah Hartenstein's gone, Lu Dort is gone. That's two starters. Kenrich Williams, who's, you know, more of a bit player, reserve player, not as important, but if they actually want to cut costs and guarantee themselves not be a second apron team next year, they're probably losing all of Hartenstein, Dort, and Kenrich Williams. But, here's the thing, even if they did that, and again, this is a worst-case scenario, the Thunder still go into next season with Shai,
with Chet Holmgren, with Jalen Williams times two, with Alex Caruso, with Cason Wallace, with Jaylin Williams, with Jared McCain, with Isaiah Joe, with Aaron Wiggins, plus prospects like Nikola Topić and Tomas Satoransky, and they have the 12th and 17th picks in this year's draft, which is very highly touted. So, you think about how good and deep that team would still be even after cost-cutting measures and dropping two starters, how untalented they would be, and that team would actually fit under both aprons, and they'd have like more than $15 million of room under the second apron. Now, general manager, boy genius Sam Presti, I guess maybe not so much boy genius anymore. He's been
around a while. I guess he's just regular genius. He can also get creative. Like, the Thunder can package the 12th and 17th pick to potentially move up in the draft and just get one pick that's higher than 12 or 17. And what that would do is it would A get them an even better rotation player and rotation rookie for next season. It would also see them spend less on the one better player than they would if they made both those selections. So, that's an option. They could also bring one of Hartenstein or Dort back on a cheaper deal, a cheaper salary, I feel. If I had to pick, I would take Hartenstein. You know, no disrespect to Dort, but I think what he does is a little more replicable based on what the
Thunder have on their roster with some of those three-and-D guards and wings and things like that. Whereas, Hartenstein in the front court, the things he does, the offensive rebounding, the screening, I think is a little more valuable. Either way, whatever they do, whether it's cost-cutting measures to avoid the second apron for at least another year, or they're ready to pay the apron, they keep the band together, either way, whatever they do, the Thunder are still very well positioned. You still got Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP-caliber player in his prime. A healthier J-Dub should remind everyone why he was an All-NBA player just a year ago. Like, I know that he could barely stay healthy this
year, but we're still talking about a guy that I think a lot of franchises, if they didn't have a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, would have considered a guy like Jalen Williams a franchise player. And I think there are a lot of franchises around the league that still would see him like that. And I just I don't think one bad hamstring season at 25 years old changes that. Chet Holmgren, I know we had a postseason to forget, or at least the conference finals to forget. He was pretty good in the first two rounds. And yeah, Wemby might be his daddy for the rest of his career, but that's one player and one matchup. Chet's still like an All-Star, borderline All-Star talent at worst, with game-changing
defensive abilities. He's going to be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate for a lot of his career if he stays healthy. And even if you consider that Wemby should run away with the award for the next X amount of years, he was unanimous this year, first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year ever. Holmgren, at worst, is going to be like in the running to be the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up every year. So, let's not get carried away in thinking, you know, these guys are buried or they're, you know, sunk costs at their age. They're not. Alex Caruso's still going to lead uh the league's deepest collection of two-way role players behind them. If they're healthy and the Thunder do nothing else, they probably
sleepwalk to another 60 wins next year. Having said all of that, even if those guys, like the Holmgrens and the Jalen Williams, on 25% maxes, which is what they're going to be on next year, is fine, and I think it is. And again, the Thunder can very easily win a title as presently constructed next season. I do think the way the West Finals unfolded and just kind of looking into the future and the way we all expect Victor Wembanyama to dominate the West and dominate the NBA and dominate this matchup as long as he stays healthy does open up the possibility of a Giannis trade more than I would have said it was likely 2 weeks ago. Like I went from thinking there is no way the Thunder make that deal. It's not in Sam Presti's nature. It's not in their
nature. He's not going to break character. He's been patient the whole way. He's not all of a sudden going to get impatient when they've already been to the top of the mountain. Again, I think the way the West finals unfolded actually changes the calculus a little bit where you can't say it's guaranteed not going to happen now. Like the most chaotic and fascinating outcome would be if this stinging loss to the Spurs forces Presti out of that comfort zone and they do pursue a star like Giannis Antetokounmpo. Don't forget if the Thunder really want to, no team can beat their potential trade package for Giannis or any, you know, disgruntled star out there. Whether it's using Chet or JayDub, I mean, I
I go back and forth on who I would keep. I think you can make the argument because of what Holmgren does as a big man, maybe there's more value in that and some of what JayDub does is already done by SGA, but I don't know. I There was a part with Jalen Williams, man, in his career when I watched him and I thought the way he moved and like the ruthless efficiency with which he operated on both ends was kind of Kawhi-esque and I don't say that lightly. So, I wouldn't be quick to give up on him. But either way, if we're talking about a Giannis, the Thunder could use one of Chet or JayDub, picks, salary filler, whatever, and go get a Giannis. They would beat any other team's offer, probably blow it
out of the water, and then they could offer Giannis the chance to play with an MVP caliber player like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his prime for the next number of years. And by the way, the Thunder are so asset-rich that they could make a deal like that, still have assets left over, still have plenty of draft capital, and still have good depth around Shai and Giannis. So, I think the other part of this too is that when you think about Victor Wembanyama stoppers, Wemby stoppers, there's probably not one single Wemby stopper in the league. But, if you were building a guy from scratch that could hang with him and could deal with him and could neutralize him a little bit, you're probably building a player that
looks like Giannis Antetokounmpo. And I think that could be the great equalizer in this match-up. And again, I just think the way the West Finals unfolded, you have to at least think about it. I don't think it's impossible anymore. I think another thing to mention, too, is yes, it makes sense for the Thunder to want to delay the second apron another year just because it's one less year you have to deal with those restrictions and the roster building issues. And also, it gets you one year closer to the potential end of the CBA, which could come as early as 2029. And who knows, maybe if, you know, if you only have to pay or deal with the second apron one or two years before the CBA expires, maybe there's a completely new system in place
by the time that CBA expires and then you don't have to deal with it and with the repeater penalties and some of that stuff. So, I understand the logic for why OKC would want to delay the second apron, but I also think that the Thunder are so well-built and so well-positioned, even when you consider how many draft picks they have, that, you know, for example, one of the issues with the second apron is that your pick seven years out gets frozen. And what that means is you can't use it in trades, right? Well, if you're the Thunder and you've got this boatload of picks, are you that concerned that, oh no, we're in the second apron and our 2033 pick or whatever it is now frozen? It's just less of a concern. I know there are
obviously a lot of other things that go with it. You can't aggregate salaries. You can only offer veterans minimums. You can't use mid-level exceptions. There's a bunch of things that come with it, but I just don't think the Thunder have to be as afraid of it as most other teams. Whether it's getting Giannis, whether it's maintaining the status quo, I know we started this video by asking, are they cooked? But, the answer is no. The Thunder are still well-built. They're still in a better position than any team outside of San Antonio, like I mentioned off the top. And I think as much as the Giannis stuff
is tantalizing and again, for the record, I think it's possible. I think you know, the more likely scenario for the neutral fan is unfortunately the less fascinating one. It's that just while most of the league is figuring out how to catch the Spurs and the Knicks the Thunder and Sam Presti probably understand that they don't really have to change anything. They'll have a chance to win again as presently constructed and they might only need to make a few small moves along the margins to come right back and win 60 to 65 games again and be matched up with Wemby and the Spurs again and hope a healthier version of their team and maybe a break here or there pushes them over the top
and we're talking about them a year from now going for two championships in three years. Anyway, yeah, I think the second apron will do damage to a lot of teams and a lot of championship level teams, but the Thunder are just uniquely equipped to withstand that and continue this sustained run of greatness. Anyway, that's my take, that's my spiel on where the Thunder are, where the Thunder might be going, Giannis Antetokounmpo included. Don't forget you can follow all of my content and all of our NBA content on the Score's app, so make sure you downloaded that app and continue to follow us right here on the Score's YouTube channel. Don't forget to like and subscribe. My name Joseph Cachero,
this has been from the logo and we'll catch you next time.
