The Nuggets and Jazz will largely look the same, while the Blazers addressed their depth issues, Minnesota looks for a third star, and the Thunder begin their aggressive rebuild. Read more »
Oklahoma City Thunder Analysis
20-21 NBA Season Preview: Northwest Division
Thirty Futures: Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will get a chance to explore the limits of what he can do as a number one option, which will be fun, until the losses begin to pile up and the malaise sets in. Read more »
Ten-Year NBA Net Rating Rankings (Infographics For All 30 Teams)
We look at the trajectory of every team in the NBA in terms of how they rank in the category. Read more »
The Pleasures Of Chris Paul Playing For Low Stakes
Chris Paul might have been happy for the opportunity to compete for titles in Los Angeles and Houston, but he was miserable throughout every game. Read more »
2019-20 Northwest Division Season Preview
While the Nuggets, Jazz and Blazers all try to climb to the elusive level of true contender, the Thunder begin their rebuild and the Wolves try to rebound from a lost season. Read more »
Shaping Narratives And Meaning During The Booms And Busts
There was already a sense of narrative fate that the story of the first decade of basketball in Oklahoma City could only end this way, however perverse. That era may not have resulted in a dynastic title run, but there was truth. Read more »
Thirty Histories: Oklahoma City Thunder (Seattle Supersonics)
The end of the Sonics was, like the end of many things that matter to people, confusing and wildly sad. In the decade-plus since, there have been only wet gray winters and no NBA basketball in Seattle. Read more »
Stars In Exile: Chris Paul And Blake Griffin After Lob City
The twin fates of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul speak to the fickle nature of player power and to the boom or bust mentality that has taken over team management. Read more »
Russell Westbrook's Full-Blown Conundrum
Russell Westbrook can either rage against the minor humbling he's been due his entire career, or he makes a few changes to his approach and we see how far the Rockets can go with everybody on the same page. Read more »
2019 Western Conference Offseason Chatter From Summer League
With so much turnover this offseason, and another exciting draft class, teams had lots and lots to say. Read more »
Chris Paul In Exile
After burning through two franchises in three years, Chris Paul is now what other people make of him, and not the other way around, as he's so strongly insisted over all these years. Read more »
The Solitude Of Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook is so domineering, so omnivorous as a player that he plays an outsized role in determining his team's fate even if he is not their best player. Read more »
Oklahoma City Thunder: 2019 NBA Offseason Preview
The Thunder will likely be very limited in what they can accomplish this offseason. Their best bets for 2020 are better health and a suddenly wide-open West. Read more »
The Maximum Available 2019 Cap Space for All 30 NBA Teams, Version 2.0
The Knicks, Clippers, Hawks, Kings and Lakers project to have the most cap space this offseason. Read more »
A Second-Tier Star With First-Tier Privileges
At the absolute peak of his powers, Russell Westbrook is every bit as good as the very best players in the league. But he just can't do it often enough, and at some point, inefficiency loses out. Read more »
2018 NBA Offseason Review: Northwest Division
On the offseason moves by the Nuggets, Wolves, Thunder, Blazers and Jazz. Read more »
Thirty Futures: Paul George
Obsessing over the pointless is part of the joy of following sports, but coverage of the Paul George saga poses a depressing question: do we like the noise more than the signal? Read more »
The Maximum Available 2019 Cap Space For All 30 NBA Teams
The NBA cap will jump by $7 million while some of the bad contracts of 2016 will come off the books, which means an abundance of cap space again. Read more »
2018 Western Conference Summer League Notes
Keith Smith emptied his notebook after speaking to players, coaches, front office personnel and agents with all 15 Western Conference teams. Read more »
The Improbable Yet Predictable Stardom Of Victor Oladipo
Similar to Donovan Mitchell with the Jazz and James Harden leaving the Ginobili role behind in OKC, fit, freedom and usage play a critical part in raising the ceiling of shooting guards like Victor Oladipo. Read more »
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