As an OKC fan from my earliest days of playing basketball, it is quite painful to see them get elimnated in the first round every year. The team has a good season, goes into the playoffs with expectations, and consistently fails to meet them. It's hard to see a team with so much potential give away their season through some bad play and some head scratching moves. The choice is clear from here, this roster is clearly not working out and does not have the talent to go all the way to the NBA finals. As a lifelong thunder fan, I call for them to rebuild the roster in order to become more connected for the future and a title contender for years to come.
Ever since the 2012 finals, the thunder had once seen the potential to become the greatest dynasty in all of basketball history. We had 3 future MVPs on the roster in Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kevin Durant. Now thats all in the past and in the dust as KD is on a new team competing for his third championship and Harden is doing the same for the Rockets. What went so wrong that these two stars are helping other teams make the finals and the Thunder are left behind in the dust. It infuriates me that group could still have been together if the Thunder were simply more adept to paying the Luxury Tax for one year and then keeping the foundation that took them to the finals together. Now the Thunder have been eliminated by the Blazers. The freaking blazers. This was the same team last year that Anthony Davis eliminated in four games with no one but himself. And here are the thunder, with 2 top 10 NBA players who can't even make it past that same team. Don't even get me started on the Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard beef because Lilliard showed up in this series and Westbook shot was as erratic as anything.
As for Paul George, I have nothing but respect for him. He did his best to guard that game winning shot and there was nothing more that he could've done to match the inconsistencies that came with Westbrook's play. George put the team on his back and carried them to stay competitive in these series. While Giannis is the clear MVP this year, I would put Paul George as a close second because of his two way play and his evolvement as a player through the time that he's come to the Thunder. Paul George is and will be the MVP of this team if he's on the roster next year and I expect big things to still come from his career. I hope he does win a championship with or without the Thunder because he has continually proved he is a master of his craft on both sides of the ball.
The Thunder need to realize their roster is not set for the future and they must make some changes in order to keep being competitive.
