#1: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to a slow start this year but have been finding their form as of late. They have a superstar in Russell Westbrook and a top 15 player in Paul George, but the rest of the team leaves a lot to be desired offensively.
The Carmelo Anthony experiment did not work last year and the Thunder are still stuck playing a lot of isolation basketball in an era that stresses ball movement. The Thunder do not have a lot of consistent outside scoring options, especially off the bench. Dennis Schröder is their best bench player but he is very streaky from the outside. J.R. Smith would immediately give the Oklahoma City Thunder a proven scorer and shooter who has a lot of playoff experience.
It is evident that the Thunder need more scoring if they’re going to compete at the top of the Western Conference. Smith would fit well alongside Westbrook and George, and his commanding of the ball would allow more open looks in an offense that does not generate many.
A crunch time lineup featuring those three, along with center Steven Adams and forward Andre Roberson after he returns from injury, would also give the Thunder one of the best defensive units in the league.
