JediSkyWalker wrote:Smills91 wrote:wiff wrote:I think you are right when you say both would be a nice fit for OKC. So really come draft day OKc fans should be happy either.
However if Presti does pass on Thabeet for Harden I hope he has a plan lined up to acquire a center, because he won't be in position to draft another Center this high in the draft again. So the only way they will fill the void is a trade or free agency and Centers don't come cheap.
I think a 5 in next year's draft with pick #12 > than Thabeet at #3 in this draft. Just my $.02. I'd take Harden or DeRozan even Evans over Thabeet, a million times over.
I totally agree. I don't buy this Thabeet hype at all. Defensive bigs? Are you saying defensive bigs win you ships? Because that's not the case. The biggest standout bigs this decade has been: Shaq / Duncan dynasties. And why are those two so good? Because they are dominant on the offensive AND the defensive end. Thabeet is 50% of that and will only be 50% of that. He'll never develop a dominant offensive arsenal and will not be the player that'll lead your team to the championship.
Isn't that what guys like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green are there for? Kinda hard to have a team where every starter stands out both offensively and defensively. With Durant, Green and Westbrook I think they are fine offensively. But as far as defensively they were among the leagues worst in opponent FG% mainly because they couldn't stop opposing teams in the paint.
On the other hand, you have Harden who is a gifted scorer who can pretty much do whatever he wants. He's got a big bulky body which'll help him play down in the post against NBA 2-guards.
They also have Green and Durant who can switch to the backcourt and Durant is probably one of the most dymnamic offensive players in the NBA and should soon be in the Lebron and Kobe category in terms of offensive production. They have enough offensive players.
Not to mention this'll be the offensive system for years to come:
Westbrook's ability to drive (kick out or finish)
Harden's wet jumper (midrange-long range and a good dribble penetration)
Durant's long arms to hit the long range as well as drive it something a lot of NBA 3's can't do
Green isn't the type of player you want playing the 4 so maybe they move Durant over but this is a solid lineup for years to come.. They can always sign a defensive big (Gortat, etc) if they seriously want that 'defensive' big. There's so many of these "defensive bigs" in the league: Gortat / Diop / Dampier / Sene(lol) / etc. Do they seriously want to draft another big and try and develop him? SERIOUSLY?
Dampier, Diop, Sene?
If they were seen as defensive presences then they'd be much more valuable than they are (the Knicks are seriously interesting in Gortat and they already have Sene). They are backups not someone you want to build around. And you've got about half the NBA after Gortat so if that's the plan then it'll probably end up going up in smoke.