Pound the Pavement

Oklahoma City Thunder Additions: Victor Oladipo, Domatas Sabonis, Ersan Ilyasova Losses: Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Randy Foye This is such a hot take that it might burn my ass - the Oklahoma City Thunder will finish with one of the top four seed in the Western Conference. Why? Because of this . And little bit of this . When the Thunder made their draft night trade of Ibaka, I questioned their judgment. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that the Thunder are going to be one helluva of a fun team. Westbrook and Oladipo are going to create havoc for opposing backcourts, breaking several ankles during the years, taking turns running interesting pick-and-roll schemes with a top-three center in the NBA. I'm banking on Cameron Payne and Waiters contributing as the third and fourth guards, in some order, in a team that will play as up tempo as any team in the NBA. But why am I so unconcerned for the Thunder losing Durant? Westbrook will get free reign of this team and ...

Over the next week, I'm going to write about my musings about the 2016 NBA off-season and how I see the NBA Draft and free agency shaping these teams in the near future. We're starting today with the Central Division. A few thoughts about this division - this might be one of the most exciting groups of teams in the league right now. Cleveland's definitely going to coast and stay near or at the top of the conference. Indiana has definitely changed their playing style with the moves. The Pistons and the Bucks have a young core that's prime for improvement. And Dwyane Wade is back home. Compelling shit all around. Cleveland Cavaliers Additions: Mike Dunleavy, Kay Felder, Chris Andersen Losses: Matthew Dellavedova, Timofey Mozgov Honestly, I have two words about the Cavaliers - status quo. There's a caveat though. The gains and losses on this roster seem insignificant, but given the fact that LeBron can no longer summon Herculean feats on a game-by-game basis, ...