The Oklahoma City Thunder will have a massive void without the presence of Russell Westbrook and Paul George on the court after enjoying two seasons of the dynamic duo. The franchise has now put its faith in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a player LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers was hesitant to give up in a trade and one the Thunder think has the chops to become a superstar.
SGA showed flashes of brilliance last postseason, dropping a 25- and 22-point games in the first round of the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors, a sign he's battle-tested and able to step up as a go-to player.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” he told Nick Gallo of Thunder.com. “It’s another opportunity that I’m blessed to have and I know a lot of people wish to have.”
General manager Sam Presti couldn't help but gloat about his boundless potential, given what he had seen about the point guard through the course of his rookie season in LA.
“We think (he) has a tremendously bright future in the league, and we're really proud to have as a Thunder player, and excited about the growth potential that he has in his game,” said Presti. “We're also really excited about just who he is as a person and the makeup of him as a young man is something that we're really, really excited about having and adding to our organization going forward.”
“He's not really even scratching the surface,” Presti continued. “He's got tremendous makeup, and that's going to be a big accelerator for ultimately how good a player he becomes. and I think he has that. He's got great size and great length, and he's a sponge.”
It's unclear if he will be playing behind Chris Paul at the point guard spot or at shooting guard, sharing the backcourt with him. What we know is that he will make the most of his opportunity in OKC and soak as much information as he can from a future Hall of Fame floor general.
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