The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off a highly successful 2023-24 season, with everyone agreeing the Thunder improved by at least 15 more wins en route to a 57-win season and becoming the youngest team in history to achieve such a feat by clinching the No. 1 seed.
The Thunder won their first playoff series since 2016 but were ultimately eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by the Dallas Mavericks in six games. The Mavericks had dominated the Wild West and were just over 24 hours away from the start of the NBA Finals.
This season will be a learning opportunity for the Mavericks and Oklahoma City, who are in a copycat league. Dallas was super aggressive dating back to last year, losing its final two games of the regular season to secure a top-10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which it used to acquire Derek Lively II and release Davis Bertans from his contract.
That wasn't the only thing Nico Harrison accomplished on draft night. Harrison acquired Richaun Holmes and Olivier Maxwell-Prosper from Sacramento, and ultimately acquired Daniel Gafford in the Holmes trade at the NBA trade deadline.
The offseason moves weren't done, with Harrison going all out in negotiating, even giving up a first-round draft pick to secure the signing of Grant Williams.
Dallas made aggressive moves in the 2023 offseason to strengthen its team around franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic and running mate Kyrie Irving, but things didn't go according to plan. After a slow start and a string of injuries, the Mavericks decided to change direction.
Less than half a season after investing in Williams, Dallas quickly reversed course and sent him to Charlotte for P.J. Washington, a key part of the Mavericks' playoff run.
Harrison and the Mavericks have shown the value of being consistently aggressive while still allowing room to pivot rather than being rigid, and no team can replicate that more effectively than Oklahoma City.
The Thunder rank in the top five in the league in cap space, have four open roster spots and a mountain of future draft picks this offseason to develop a young core that includes one of the best players in the sport.
Oklahoma City can afford to spend some money to bolster its rotation without fear of it hurting its future, and the Thunder have an almost unlimited number of escape routes, much like the Mavericks were able to turn things around mid-season and reach the Finals.
Of course, a little bit of luck played into the mix, with Derrick Jones Jr. and Washington firing off a career-best shooting series in the second round, but they earned that anomaly by being proactive.
If any team can replicate the Mavericks' success in the toughest conference in sports, it's the Thunder, with their wealth of assets and foundational core.
Song of the day: Disappointing diamonds are the rarest of all By Father John Misty.
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