Minnesota Timberwolves: Updated Northwest Division power rankings

Minnesota Timberwolves: Northwest Division power rankings, No. 5

No. 5: Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s offseason centered on two things: extending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and cashing in on its war chest of first-round picks.

They’ve done both, giving Gilgeous-Alexander a five-year, $172 million extension, making five draft selections, and turning a first-rounder from this year into multiple future selections.

Not only that, but the Thunder received yet another future first-round pick by taking on the $9.7 million owed Derrick Favors this season and the $10.1 million player option for next year, rescuing the Utah Jazz from a severe tax penalty.

The roster itself may still be improved from a year ago, and the team may be better by virtue of something resembling a full campaign from Gilgeous-Alexander. (OKC basically shut him down towards the end of last season, and he single-handedly made them competitive for much of the season.)

Still, the Thunder went 22-50 and will remain painfully young in 2021-22. Promising pieces such as Lu Dort, Darius Bazley, and Aleksej Pokusevski will all receive significant minutes next year, and none will be ready to provide the level of support around SGA that could lead to winning basketball.

Don’t expect Oklahoma City to truly try and compete for at least another year. They have the early beginnings of something intriguing, but will surely be in the cellar of the Northwest Division for a second consecutive season.

If we were to rank the division in tiers, it’s clear that Utah and Denver would be on the top rung, with Portland and Minnesota in the middle and Oklahoma City would be alone at the bottom. We could quibble with the Jazz or Nuggets in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, and Minnesota and Portland at No. 3 vs. No. 4, but the tiers would remain the same.

One thing is clear: the Wolves are not alone among Northwest Division teams who have had quiet offseasons to this point.