The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the biggest surprises of the 2019-20 season. The team was in fifth place in the rugged Western Conference with a record of 40-24 before the campaign entered a hiatus.
After the Thunder traded superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George in the same offseason, most pundits had OKC rebuilding in 2019-20 and fighting for a lottery pick.
However, behind a motivated Chris Paul and young stud by the name of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder were able to register the same record as the Houston Rockets after 64 games, an impressive accomplishment considering the Rockets have two MVPs leading the charge in Westbrook and James Harden.
Before the season was suspended, Paul was averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.8 assists for the Thunder. The 34-year-old future Hall of Famer was shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from beyond the arc and 90.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Shai, meanwhile, was putting up 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Paul is the perfect mentor for Gilgeous-Alexander. The two guards never had any chemistry issues during the season and, while no one knows what Paul's future in OKC is going to look like since he has a lot of money owed to him, Thunder fans have enjoyed having him on the squad.
As long as CP3 is on the Thunder, he and Shai are going to co-exist very well on the floor.
If the 2019-20 season ends up getting canceled, Thunder general manager Sam Presti will have some things to address once the offseason begins. He will have to decide if he wants to bring back Danilo Gallinari, Andre Roberson, and Nerlens Noel. All three players become unrestricted free agents in the summer.
No one expects Presti to re-sign Roberson since the swingman hasn't played in an NBA game since the 2017-18 season. The Thunder would be wise to go younger and let Gallinari walk in free agency even though he's your prototypical stretch forward.
OKC should also look to trade Steven Adams and re-sign Noel, who could turn into a potential All-Star performer playing more minutes as a starter alongside SGA.
Both Adams and Noel are only 26, but the former is due to get paid $27 million in the 2020-21 campaign. With that said, the Thunder should prioritize the development of Noel and Shai and give the two players a chance to grow together.
Noel averaged 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game for the Thunder in 2019-20. The activity and energy he brings to the table can't be measured by box score stats.
The Thunder should look to move Adams and his lucrative contract this offseason. Noel is the perfect rim roller for OKC to pair alongside Paul and Shai. He will likely be looking for a pay raise this summer after only making $2 million in 2019-20, but it shouldn't be a significant bump.
Nerlens hasn't rebounded since turning down that $70 million offer from the Dallas Mavericks in 2017.
The sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Nerlens Noel has career numbers of 8.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks. If the Thunder make him the full-time starter and increase his usage rate a little bit, he could easily average 10 points and 10 boards for OKC. His touch around the basket is improving and he has always been good at tip-ins and crashing the offensive boards.
NBA owners are still hopeful of resuming the season in the summer. However, as each day passes, it feels like the campaign is going to get canceled altogether.
If that's the case, it would be a bummer for OKC fans since they were excited to watch their underdog team embark on the playoffs.
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