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Oklahoma City Thunder: The dynasty that wasn’t

By Andrew Ross

Feb 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and forward Kevin Durant (35) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and forward Kevin Durant (35) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 22, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts to a play in action against the Miami Heat during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts to a play in action against the Miami Heat during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

The Future

Life comes at you fast. One day you can be looking ahead at your future thinking the world is yours, and then you blink and it all seems gone already. That’s kind of what is happening with the Thunder right now.

It was always about the future with them. Lose in the Finals? No big deal, this young and amazing team can’t possibly go without winning at least one championship (the talk was really now if they would win a title, but how many would they win). I also said that they didn’t have a window, but guess what, they do now – and it might be kind of small.

We live in a world where everyone loves speculation and looking ahead, and things get pretty interesting for the Thunder in the near future. Durant is a free agent after next summer and then Westbrook is a free agent the following year. This makes things pretty urgent for the Thunder right here and right now.

Say next season ends just like the last few have for Oklahoma City. They have a great regular season but then end up short of their goals yet again. Who’s to say Durant doesn’t take a step back and realize all the failures that have come with the Thunder and decides to work with another organization? That might have seemed crazy to think of a few years ago, but that’s the reality of things right now. Durant has to see a person like LeBron James and feel liberated that when he does become a free agent he can do whatever the hell he wants to do.

Imagine Durant does leave the Thunder. What’s next? Maybe Westbrook is fine with staying in Oklahoma City and being “the guy,” but what if he isn’t? If Westbrook went through another season like this (where he is dominating but the Thunder are still struggling to just make the playoffs), do you think he would be content just because it was his team now? Westbrook’s competitive nature is well understood by everyone, so it shouldn’t come as a shock if he does decide to leave also and take his chance somewhere else.

Because of all those “what if” scenarios, this upcoming season for the Thunder really is a must-win year. Winning really does cure any problems in sports, and it’s hard to imagine Durant would walk away from a team he just won a title with. And maybe that will happen. Maybe the Thunder really will win a title next year and then Durant and Westbrook remain in Oklahoma City for the rest of their playing days.

That’s the fun thing about sports. A lot of things can happen.

The Thunder just need to understand that they are treading on very thin ice and things could all be over for them in an instance. Imagine it: the year is 2018, the team that used to have it all now has nothing as Mitch McGary leads them 12 wins a season.

It could happen.

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