2014-15 Finish: 24-58

Season Highlight

The Thunder gained an identity. It became clear as the season wore on that GM Nenjabin had a clear vision for his rebuilding Thunder in year 2. With a Bear Bryant poster staring him in the face in his office every day, a clear message eventually sank in. "Offence sells tickets, but defence wins championships." And with the Thunder offence ranking 28th in the league, clearly not many tickets were being sold. But what the Thunder and Nenjabin were able to do, was put together a roster with a bunch of guys with good individual defensive reputations.

Joining 3rd year swingman Jimmy Butler was Jonas Valanciunas, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Draymond Green.

 

Season Lowlight

 

The Thunder were a long way from a championship finishing 14th in the Western Conference.  In fact, they weren't even that great defensively, finishing middle of the road in that category. Sure a lot of those defensive stalwarts were brought in at the tail end of the season, but still 14th in the weaker Western Conference is nothing to smile about. The main reason for the poor performances were that all those Thunder rookies and sophomores really didn't have the impact that Nenjabin would have hoped for. The Thunder turned early picks into multiple late first and second round selections, which didnt't really appear to pay off. Luckily a lot of those guys have now been moved on.

 

Best Trade

 

The Atlanta Hawks send Al Jefferson to the Chicago Bulls. The Atlanta Hawks send Robert Covington to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Chicago Bulls send JJ Redick and Taj Gibson to the Atlanta Hawks. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Devyn Marble to the Atlanta Hawks. 


The Atlanta Hawks receive 6 GM points. The Chicago Bulls receive 1 GM points. The Oklahoma City Thunder trade -7 GM points.

 

A small part to a bigger deal at the time, this one actually looks pretty great for Oklahoma City right now. Covington enjoyed a really stong and underrated season in the NBA, which should see some nice ratings for his NLL counterpart. He can also step in for the injured MKG. While Marble is currently slated for plenty of D-League.

 

Worst Trade

 

The Dallas Mavericks send Tim Duncan, Samuel Dalembert and Robbie Hummel to the Miami Heat. The Dallas Mavericks send Draymond Green to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Miami Heat send Zach Randolph and Ray McCallum to the Dallas Mavericks. The Miami Heat send CJ Miles, Kosta Koufos and Kemba Walker to the Phoenix Suns. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Sergey Karasev to the Dallas Mavericks. The Phoenix Suns send Cleanthony Early to the Dallas Mavericks. The Phoenix Suns send Rajon Rondo to the Miami Heat. 
The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (Dal) and 2nd-Rounder (Pho) to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send a 1st-Rounder (OKC) and 1st-Rounder (Dal) to the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Dallas Mavericks receive 3 GM points. The Miami Heat receive 5 GM points. The Oklahoma City Thunder trade -3 GM points.The Phoenix Suns trade -5 GM points.

 

A huge trade with many pieces involved. Now i'm a big fan of Draymond Green so i dont think this one is particularly bad, but most GM's felt that OKC gave up too much giving a top 5 pick and another later first. Green's game has also struggled in the 2K engine which doesn't help.

 

Other Notable Trades

 

The Charlotte Hornets send Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Sergey Karasev to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Alec Burks and C.J. Wilcox to the Charlotte Hornets. 

 

A nice deal for the Thunder here, MKG is the best talent of this group, it's just s shame he is now injured.

 

The Detroit Pistons send Jonas Valanciunas, Anthony Bennett and Trey Burke to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Al Horford, Isaiah Canaan and Hollis Thompson to the Detroit Pistons. 


The Detroit Pistons trade -14 GM points.The Oklahoma City Thunder receive 14 GM points.

 

Most people loved this for OKC, I wasn't as sold as I just don't see a high enough ceiling for Jonas to warrant giving up big Al Horford.

 

Best Free Agent Signing

 

Not Available. The Thunder didn't sign anyone.

 

Worst Free Agent Signing

 

Not Available. The Thunder didn't sign anyone.

 

The Star

 

Jimmy Butler - Butler broke out in his second season with the Thunder, doubling his points per game from last season. In 62 games, Butler averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. But even more impressive than his numbers is his ability to shutdown the oppositions best wing. Whoever traded this guy to the Thunder is a mad man.

 

Surprise

 

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - MKG only played in 24 games for the Thunder, and was at his scrappy defensive best. But the real surprise was his efficient offensive production. Using his athleticism to good effect, MKG was able to drop in 15 points and 7 rebounds per game on 48% shooting. Sucks that he's hurt now.

 

The Goat

 

Anthony Bennett - Ok maybe I just enjoy potting this guy for being such a horrible draft choice. But boy he just can't seem to find anything resembling an NLL game. In 18 games for the Thunder, Bennet was given 19 minutes per and only managed 3 points on 36% shooting.

 

Draft Report Card

 

The Thunder scouts are always working hard trying to find hidden gems later in the draft. After much wheeling and dealing during the season, after it's all said and done. The Thunder currently have the rights to these fairly uninspiring rookies.

 

Nikola Milutinov - A Serbian big man taken with the Cavs first round pick that was purchased for 40 gm points. This guy is a draft and stash and probably not worth that high price.

 

Josh Richardson - The 34th pick in the draft, Richardson is a 22 year old shooting guard who will be signed to the roster as wing depth.

 

Nikola Radicevic - Another Serbian named Nikola, this one a tall point guard who will also be stashed overseas.

 

Looking to the Future

 

Before MKG took a hard fall at training camp, tearing the labrum in his shoulder, I was pretty bullish about the Thunders chances heading into the next season. With a great cast of capable and flexible defenders like Butler, Green, MKG and Jonas, I thought the Thunder could prove a tough team to beat each night. But now with MKG essentially out for the season, Robert Covington has to come into the starting lineup, and the Thunders depth starts to get questioned. Especially if they can't stay healthy again next year. I still think there's improvement to be had here in 2016, but probably not as much as Nenjabin is hoping for. They are very young though, so the future still looks bright. Nenjabin is a stand up guy and appears a great fit for the commish team, so I'm sure most of the league sends their best wishes that his team comes good.

 

Upcoming Free Agents

 

Jimmy Butler - One of two big time Oklahoma City restricted free agents, Butler is a big part of the teams plans and Nenjabin has been hard at work earning gm points just to ensure this guy sticks around.

 

Draymond Green - Like Butler, Green is a starter for years to come for this team. No GM points will be spared to retain him.

 

Robert Covington - A very savy addition, and suddenly has an important role to play with the injury to Kidd-Gilchrist, I think the Thunder will do everything they can to convince him to stay.

 

Amare Stoudamire - Stoudamire's massive contract has finally expired, so now he is as cheap as chips, unfortunately for the Thunder, that likely means he bolts for a contender.