The slate of Thunder games in Oklahoma City is over and now the city gets to experience its first off-season with long term consequences. Back when I was the "HornetsCentral GM", I wrote about the off season in which the Hornets drafted Hildric Simstrong, signed Peja Stojakovic, and traded for Tyson Chandler. Analyzing those moves was simple because the length of time they mattered turned out to be one season. Now, with the Thunder in town, however, what happens could effect the product we witness in the Ford Center for years go come.
That being said, the first step of the off-season is making decisions about the players who are currently associated with the team. Some guys are entering free agency. Some guys have contract options. Others are entering the final season of their contract and could be bought out to make room for new players. For all of these players, General Manager Sam Presti will have a decision to make. For the rest of this column, I will point out what will likely go into his thought process.