NBA: Re-seeding the Western Conference heading into 2019-20

13. Oklahoma City Thunder

Last season: 49-33, 6th in Western Conference

Notable additions: Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Notable subtractions: Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Jerami Grant, Markieff Morris, Patrick Patterson

To be clear, I don’t think the Oklahoma City Thunder will be awful by any stretch, as they did a remarkable job of trading their stars for future assets while maintaining a competitive core. Their ranking here is more of an indication of the talent in the Western Conference and the closeness of teams in this range.

Chris Paul may be 34 years old, well past his prime and constant injury risk, but he’s still a more-than-serviceable point guard that makes his teams better. Despite having the worst shooting season of his career (41.9 FG%) he still posted a positive plus-minus per 100 possessions for the 12th consecutive season. His 8.2 assists per game ranked him third in the NBA, as did his two steals per game.

Danilo Gallinari is coming off a breakout season for the Clippers where he would have likely been an All-Star if he wasn’t playing in the West. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is getting ready for his second season after a rookie year where he got better every game and played crucial playoff minutes. Holdovers Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder, and Terrance Ferguson may thrive in expanded roles without Westbrook and George, and defensive specialist Andre Roberson will return from injury.

Despite all those positives, there are too many variables to be too high on this team. Paul has missed 59 games over the past three regular seasons, while Gallinari played 68 games last year but missed a staggering 214 over the five years previous.

Gilgeous-Alexander was impressive as a rookie, but will he continue to improve or fall victim to the sophomore slump? Billy Donovan was a successful coach in college, but how will he go in his first NBA season without the crutch of Russell Westbrook to lean on?

All of that is without even mentioning the possibility of further trades or the adjustment period needed for such a drastic roster overhaul. It’s hard to project what the Thunder could be this season, but it seems safer to hedge your bets under rather than over.