The next OKC Thunder contention window: Into the great wide open

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the OKC Thunder in action.. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Analyzing when the OKC Thunder next window of contention should be given the age of their core and timing of future draft picks.

In Tom Petty’s 1991 hit “Into the Great Wide Open”, he sings about a man who moves to a new town and starts a brand new life from scratch. Literally, everything is possible. With the season over, Billy Donovan gone, and Chris Paul having more or less said his goodbyes to the city, OKC Thunder fans find themselves feeling a little like the character in Petty’s song.

With lines like “the future was wide open” and “the sky was the limit.” Unlike Petty’s protagonist, though, who…