The Thunder are on the brink of something special ... or a break-up

Limited Upside

Sam Presti pulled a rabbit out of his hat to bring Paul George to Oklahoma City, but with both he and Russell Westbrook under contract for only one more season, this union could be a short one. How will the Thunder handle it? Repeat guest Eddie Maisonet of The Sports Fan Journal and newcomer Joshua Broom of SB Nation's Thunder blog Welcome To Loud City join the show. Topics include:The Russell Westbrook show was something last year. Can Russ step back a bit to help the rest of the team thrive with Paul George now here? Does he even need to?Getting George was a no-brainer, and now OKC has a year to sell him on staying. What has to happen for the Westbrook-George pairing to be more than a one-year reunion? Do Thunder fans view this as a real long-term option or a one-year thing? (This was explained with a Major League analogy. Yup).Will Russ and George be invested in this franchise? If so, the roster looks awesome. If not ...How George and Russ can help each other on the court, assuming they are able to mesh personality-wise.Which three players work best with George and Russ? What should the starting lineup be? What should the closing lineup be? Can Billy Donovan properly manage the rotation, or is he in over his head? Let's take a second and marvel some more about what Russ did last year, because we should never take that granted.Is it fair to say that Steven Adams' growth stagnated last year? How do the Thunder get him to take the next step?The three Thunder players you want on your all-time banana boat ... i.e. the three you want on your vacation. This was an excuse for Eddie to shout out Enes Kanter for his eventful summer.So ... is Russ gonna sign that designated player extension, or no?Predictions, which are very hard for this team. Do they have enough to get to the conference Finals? Will that keep George in OKC? This is the 21st of Limited Upside's 30 team previews leading up to next season. We're bringing together representatives from all 30 SB Nation team sites and other team-specific experts from the SB Nation/Limited Upside community to gauge the temperature of the fanbase heading into the season. PREVIOUSLY: Grizzlies NEXT UP: Jazz

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