Biggest offseason question for every NBA team in West: Warriors say bye to Klay? What happens to Paul George?

Every year feels like the same refrain is said about the Western Conference: it’s deeper than ever. But this past season that couldn’t have been more true. It took until the last day of the regular season to figure out who would earn the No. 1 seed between the Thunder, Nuggets and Timberwolves. The play-in round featured matchups with LeBron James and Stephen Curry. And at the end of it all, the team that stood atop the West in the playoffs was a No. 5 seed in the Dallas Mavericks. It speaks to just how deep the conference is where any team can win, especially compared to an Eastern Conference where the Boston Celtics cakewalked to the No. 1 seed, and the NBA Finals.

And with this season wrapped up, all the teams in the West will now reset and figure out ways to get better for next season. So as the NBA Draft and free agency looms, here’s the biggest question facing all 15 teams in the Western Conference. (You can find the biggest questions for every team in the East here.)

Oklahoma City Thunder: Will they grab a center?

The Thunder have already gotten going on making changes for next season. The trade for Alex Caruso answered an important question in figuring out how Josh Giddey fit on the team going forward. Well now he’s in Chicago, and they replaced him with an All-Defensive guard who can hit 3s, an important skill that OKC desperately needed against the Mavericks in the playoffs. But that’s not the only question facing this team. The loss against Dallas highlighted OKC’s need for a big man, because they just let Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford feast off lobs all series. Chet Holmgren is a solid rim protector, but he can’t play all game, and he’s not strong enough to bully those guys in the paint. But does OKC feel like they need to add a more traditional rim protecting big who can’t space the floor? That will mess up their whole flow on offense, and limit drives for the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Do they feel like the matchup against Dallas just wasn’t ideal and hope for better luck matchup wise next…

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Author : Jasmyn Wimbish

Publish date : 2024-06-25 20:21:06

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