Roster is massively upgraded — and here’s how you know
The Thunder won 48 games a year ago and has its sights set on winning more this season. Seems reasonable. OKC is on pace to win 55.8 games this season. The schedule will toughen, injuries will return, all kinds of things could impede that pace.
But the Thunder is better this season than last season, when it was the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. And you don’t need a lot of data to know that. You don’t even need to apply the eye test.
Just one quick comparison of the roster change will tell you the Thunder is better.
Every roster comparison from one year to the
Berry Tramel
next is composed of three sections. Players who departed, players who remained, players who arrived.
The players who remained, you know all about. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steven Adams, Jerami Grant, Patrick Patterson, Andre Roberson (sort of), Terrance Ferguson, Raymond Felton, Alex Abrines.
So the real comparison comes down to who left and who came.
The newcomers, to join such a stable core, have been quite a nice addition. Dennis Schroder has been outstanding. Nerlens Noel has been quite effective as a backup center. Second-round draft pick Hamidou Diallo has forced his way into the rotation. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Deonte Burton have had games where they contributed, which is all you can ask for guys basically on the C team. Abdel Nader also is a newcomer.
Those six players have replaced six players:
Carmelo Anthony, who played 2,501 minutes last season, thirdmost on the team.
Josh Huestis, 982 minutes, 10th-most on the team.
Corey Brewer, 514 minutes, but that’s a lot considering he came aboard in February and soon became a starter, in the wake of Roberson’s season-ending injury.
Dakari Johnson, 161 minutes.
Nick Collison, 75 minutes.
Kyle Singler, 59 minutes.
Those six players have something in common besides being Thunder teammates in 2017-18. None of those six players is in the NBA.
Singler is playing in Spain. Collison is retired. Johnson is playing in China. Huestis is in the G-League. Brewer is a free agent who hasn’t caught on with another team. And Anthony was cut loose by the Rockets after only 10 games this season.
There are 450 playing jobs available in the NBA at any one time, not counting two-way contract players. None of those jobs are held by the Thunder castoffs.
Sam Presti turned Anthony into Schroder and TLC. Turned Johnson into Nader. Presti drafted Diallo. He signed Noel off the free-agent market. Signed Burton out of the Korean League.
All kinds of teams have made nice additions. Pickups that have enhanced the roster. But how does a payroll-strapped team add six players, including two or three who really help, while losing six players of no apparent value to any other franchise?
That’s a remarkable transformation. The Thunder apparently is better this season than last season. The Thunder should be better this season. The going/coming crowd weighs heavily on the side of the coming.