NBA Season Preview 2017-18: Oklahoma City Thunder roster has balance

The Oklahoma City Thunder made some key additions this summer to bring more balance to their roster.

Following the appropriately named ‘Season 0’ the Oklahoma City Thunder spent the offseason re-tooling their roster around Russell Westbrook in hopes for a more balanced attack.

Last year, Westbrook carried the load with a mismatched roster filled with Not Ready For Primetime Players. He had the highest usage rate of any qualified player in history last season. His nightly triple-doubles dominated the headlines, but also wore him down as the regular season turned into the playoffs.

With Westbrook on the floor, Oklahoma City had a 111.5 offensive rating in the regular season. With him off the floor, they dropped to 100.9. In the playoffs, the Thunder’s offensive rating with Westbrook on the bench plummeted to 88.8.

Sam Presti built a team around two superstars. When one superstar left, the team became a one-man show centered around their point guard. To an extent, it worked for one season. But it wasn’t a sustainable.

This offseason, Presti went back to the drawing board. He figured out a way to acquire that second superstar while also adding other toys for the reigning MVP. This year, fans should see a Thunder team that is less reliant on Westbrook and more complete.

There are still noticeable holes in the roster, but Westbrook will have to do less to fill them this year