When Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder last year for the Golden State Warriors, many thought the Thunder would probably never see the NBA Finals again. After Chris Paul joined James Harden in Houston, that prophecy seemed even more likely. But Thunder GM Sam Presti was having none of it.
First, in the wake of the CP3 move, Presti went and picked up Paul George. He didn’t give up much (Victor Olidipo, and Domantas Sabonis) mainly because the prevailing wisdom is that George is leaving for Los Angeles when his contract expires at the end of this season. That makes the move look like a plan to take a full year to get George and reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook, to commit beyond the 2017-18 season. The George transaction took the Thunder’s odds to win the NBA Championship from 66/1 to 30/1 – still a risky wager but punters can get more to play with from bookmakers offering bonuses on the NBA, including free bets.
Paul George via Facebook
Then, Presti pulled off another big move. On September 25th, the basketball world was stunned when Presti sent Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second-round pick to New York for 10-time all-star Carmelo Anthony. It was no surprise that ‘Melo wanted out of the Big Apple but he waived his no-trade-clause for deals to Cleveland or Houston. At the last minute, he put the Thunder on that list and now there’s another Big 3 in the NBA. Once again, the Thunder’s odds to win it all were essentially halved and currently sit at 16/1, similar odds to Houston and the San Antonio Spurs but not as strong as the Boston Celtics (10/1) the Cleveland Cavaliers (4/1) and the Warriors (5/11). While there’s much for Thunder fans to be excited about, what has to happen for OKC to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy next June?
Carmelo Anthony via Facebook
With the arguable exception of Michael Jordan (he had Scottie Pippen after all), superstars are unlikely to win an NBA Championship by themselves. It takes at least two and, in today’s NBA, it takes three. Since 2008, when Danny Ainge assembled Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen and the Boston Celtics promptly won the Championship, NBA teams have been trying to assemble all-star triads.
The trick is having primary scoring options volunteer to lower their shot attempts, and possibly even their minutes, to share the limelight with two others. It worked in Miami when the Heat assembled LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh and won two Championships in four straight finals appearances. It worked in Cleveland when LBJ returned to unite with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to win one championship in three consecutive finals. They played the Warriors in those three finals where Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green (and now Durant) highlighted an unselfish brand of basketball that is team first.
The Minnesota Timberwolves want to be competitive now and dealt for Jimmy Butler to go with budding young stars Karl-Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Certainly, George, Anthony, and Westbrook understand that they need to rely on each other to get through a Western Conference that is tougher than ever. They likely only have this one year to make it work and, if they don’t, one, two or all three of them could move on to different locales. Regardless of the ultimate outcome, OKC will be a team to watch this year, especially when they play the other Big 3s.
