Veteran NBA journalists Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols sat down to chop it up about the NBA for a Sports Illustrated podcast, and they think OKC may need to make a trade if they want to win another championship this season. I have to say—I think that is absolutely hilarious. It doesn’t take long for narratives to shift in professional sports, does it? It was all good just two weeks ago.

The Spurs have shattered OKC’s image of invincibility

Oklahoma City was supposed to be in a class of their own. Pundits and fans everywhere waxed poetic over that team and their alleged inevitable dynasty. Now, after a few losses to the Silver and Black (as embarrassing as those losses were), the tea leaves have shifted. All of a sudden, longstanding dominance isn’t on the table without a little help.

“I’d be concerned enough to start looking at my enormous wallet of trade assets and trying to think about—having the conversations about what we might do before the trade deadline,” Nichols said of the Thunder.

Sam Presti has done a masterful job of accumulating assets so they can make a move whenever they deem it necessary, but nobody thought that would happen so soon. Giannis Antetokounmpo has had his name floated in rumors for the past year, and every time someone brings up OKC as a potential landing spot, the response usually involves the claim that they don’t need to make any changes whatsoever.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be the first to disagree with that now. “You don’t lose to a team three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you,” he told the media after their third loss to the Spurs. Well, that’s a problem for a team with championship goals. So, if they start emptying their treasure chest of assets, the league would be even more indebted to San Antonio.

OKC’s dynasty won’t exist with the Spurs here now

There was an outpouring of gratitude from fans after the Christmas Day game. It’s now easy to recognize just how good the Silver and Black are, and their unavoidable contender status gives people hope. Nobody wants to see the Thunder with a dynasty because they can’t beat the current allegations against them.

They don’t play a very fun style of basketball, hence the unethical comment sticking to them, whether Victor Wembanyama meant to take a direct shot or not. Their players are considered “corny.” OKC’s fans got a little full of themselves after one title and quickly became one of the most annoying groups to talk hoops with.

There’s a list of reasons they aren’t liked. Are they all fair? Maybe, maybe not. But a fair is a place where you can buy cotton candy and ride Ferris wheels. Other than that, fair doesn’t truly exist in the real world.

No way it’s fair to the rest of the league that San Antonio has a 7’5″ alien and a devastating 3-guard rotation wreaking havoc when most of them have yet to reach 23 years old. But that’s just how we like it.