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The Oklahoma City Thunder have had a very busy summer, trading key role players in an effort to avoid the second apron.
Amid the offseason moves, the Thunder received some good news about their superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The two-time NBA MVP’s father, Vaughn Alexander, told the No Flukes podcast recently that SGA is unlikely to leave Oklahoma City ever.
“Shai is perfect where he is in OKC, and I don’t think he will ever leave unless something like politics or something happens,” Vaughn said, via Anthony G. Halkias II of Roundtable Sports. “You know how the NBA works, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
SGA is coming off his second straight MVP-winning campaign. He averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 68 games. He led the Thunder to a 64-win season, but they came up short of defending their NBA championship.
The Thunder were one win away from their second straight trip to the NBA Finals, but they lost Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs. Shai averaged 27.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 15 postseason games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Calls Season ‘Failure’
Speaking to media for his exit interview at the end of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander described their campaign as “failure.” The reigning two-time MVP explained that he came up short of his goals for the season, but he’s looking at it as an opportunity to improve. He was also hoping that it would never happen again.
“I mean, like it was a failure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, via Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. “Like I failed at my goal. I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve. But through my experiences, I learned the most from myself, and it makes me have the greatest increases of my career when I fail my goal and don’t get what I want, and I look at this no differently.
“I didn’t get where I wanted to go this season. There’s a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens again.”
The Thunder were the best team in the regular season despite not being at full strength for the majority of the campaign. Jalen Williams was riddled with injuries, but Ajay Mitchell had his breakout season.
Thunder This Offseason
The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the offseason with a second apron dilemma, mainly due to the extensions of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. They had to shed salary to avoid incurring penalties and restrictions, so they made three trades.
The Thunder first traded Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks for two second-round picks. They then sent Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for two more second-round picks. They also traded Lu Dort to the Hawks as part of a three-team deal with the Dallas Mavericks.
In free agency, the Thunder signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a new three-year contract. Kenrich Williams also returned with a one-year deal.
As for departures, Branden Carlson signed a contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.
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