What if OKC picked...

[giberish]

I think if they picked Love, they would've picked Rubio next year. They were rumored to be picking between Rubio and Harden during that draft.

I don't think that they were seriously considering Rubio with Westbrook - they needed a complementary guard with more range than Rubio (making Harden the obvious choice form Rubio/Harden/Evans).

With Love in place of Westbrook then they likely take Rubio (who was generally considered ahead of Harden/Evans at the time).

They also probably still take Ibaka even with Love. It wasn't clear at the time what position Ibaka would become (PF or C) or how good he'd be (could easily just have been a backup).

With Durant and Love at SF/PF they're probably trying to move Green for a SG or C even before the eventual Perkins deal.

[moocow007]

Would they have gone with Harden as their starting PG then? A lineup of Harden-Sefolosha-Durant-Love-Ibaka would be scary. Balanced scoring, rebounding, and even some defense.

Of course, the wrinkle with OKC choosing Love would that they wouldn't likely have gone with Ibaka later in the draft.

Harden's not an NBA PG anymore than OJ Mayo is. And before Harden became a revelation one of the bigger concerns about his game coming into the draft (just like it was for Mayo) was his actual ball handling (not passing) ability. And while you can make due with a guy that isn't a particularly good dribbler in college at point, it's very difficult to do so in the NBA. So, no, I don't see that the Thunder would have drafted Harden thinking he'd be the PG. Doesn't mean that they wouldn't have still drafted him (they apparently were very high on him as a SG) but I doubt reason in that scenario of yours would have been to make him the PG.

[Quinarvy]

An even better what-if: What if they drafted Durant and Joakim Noah instead of Durant and Green in '07? Still draft Westbrook and Ibaka in '08, and draft Rubio instead of Harden and slide Westbrook over to SG in '09. Assuming Rubio's injury was a freak incident and not fate, that would give a lineup of:

Rubio
Westbrook
Durant
Ibaka
Noah

Personally, I like that lineup a whole lot better than shoe-horning Love in there.

Hell, just draft Noah instead of Green and go into the Lux Tax. With a starting five of Westbrook - Harden - Durant - Ibaka - Noah, you could just have ring chasers.

[ATTL]

An even better what-if: What if they drafted Durant and Joakim Noah instead of Durant and Green in '07? Still draft Westbrook and Ibaka in '08, and draft Rubio instead of Harden and slide Westbrook over to SG in '09. Assuming Rubio's injury was a freak incident and not fate, that would give a lineup of:

Rubio
Westbrook
Durant
Ibaka
Noah

Personally, I like that lineup a whole lot better than shoe-horning Love in there.

I Never liked that Jeff Green pick for Seattle/OKC. They got two guys that play the same position in the same draft with their two lotto picks.

[Stolen Team Fan]

An even better what-if: What if they drafted Durant and Joakim Noah instead of Durant and Green in '07? Still draft Westbrook and Ibaka in '08, and draft Rubio instead of Harden and slide Westbrook over to SG in '09. Assuming Rubio's injury was a freak incident and not fate, that would give a lineup of:

Rubio
Westbrook
Durant
Ibaka
Noah

Personally, I like that lineup a whole lot better than shoe-horning Love in there.

Hell, just draft Noah instead of Green and go into the Lux Tax. With a starting five of Westbrook - Harden - Durant - Ibaka - Noah, you could just have ring chasers.

So basically it comes down to personal tastes as to whether one would want Westbrook & Harden, or Rubio & Westbrook.
And to anyone complaining that WB isn't a SG, remember that he played SG in college. The position isn't foreign to him. He did wonderfully the times he played off the ball with Harden running the point. I think he would remain doing well if he only had to worry about improving his shooting / defense as opposed to improving his PG skills. Could you imagine him being set up beautifully by a PG like Rubio? Shivers, man. Shivers.

[Jack wore plaid]

What if Portland had picked Durant?

OKC isn't being talked about right now

[Quinarvy]

An even better what-if: What if they drafted Durant and Joakim Noah instead of Durant and Green in '07? Still draft Westbrook and Ibaka in '08, and draft Rubio instead of Harden and slide Westbrook over to SG in '09. Assuming Rubio's injury was a freak incident and not fate, that would give a lineup of:

Rubio
Westbrook
Durant
Ibaka
Noah

Personally, I like that lineup a whole lot better than shoe-horning Love in there.

Hell, just draft Noah instead of Green and go into the Lux Tax. With a starting five of Westbrook - Harden - Durant - Ibaka - Noah, you could just have ring chasers.

So basically it comes down to personal tastes as to whether one would want Westbrook & Harden, or Rubio & Westbrook.
And to anyone complaining that WB isn't a SG, remember that he played SG in college. The position isn't foreign to him. He did wonderfully the times he played off the ball with Harden running the point. I think he would remain doing well if he only had to worry about improving his shooting / defense as opposed to improving his PG skills. Could you imagine him being set up beautifully by a PG like Rubio? Shivers, man. Shivers.

Keep in mind it would take them more time to develop together, since Rubio only just came over.

Durant and Noah in '07.
Westbrook and Ibaka in '08.
Harden in '09.

Regardless, Noah over Green would have been astronomically better

[giberish]

Keep in mind it would take them more time to develop together, since Rubio only just came over.

Durant and Noah in '07.
Westbrook and Ibaka in '08.
Harden in '09.

Regardless, Noah over Green would have been astronomically better

With the 3rd pick salary slot, Rubio comes over in 2009.
Although you could argue that delaying Rubio until 2011 (and then delaying his 2nd contract until 2015) would be a win for OKC.

[MagicTownBaller]

I think if they picked Love, they would've picked Rubio next year. They were rumored to be picking between Rubio and Harden during that draft.

I don't think that they were seriously considering Rubio with Westbrook - they needed a complementary guard with more range than Rubio (making Harden the obvious choice form Rubio/Harden/Evans).

With Love in place of Westbrook then they likely take Rubio (who was generally considered ahead of Harden/Evans at the time).

They also probably still take Ibaka even with Love. It wasn't clear at the time what position Ibaka would become (PF or C) or how good he'd be (could easily just have been a backup).

With Durant and Love at SF/PF they're probably trying to move Green for a SG or C even before the eventual Perkins deal.

There was talk back then that they wanted Westbrook playing the 2 more then the point. They would've played Rubio and Westbrook together and it would've been a really fun team to watch.

[MagicTownBaller]

Keep in mind it would take them more time to develop together, since Rubio only just came over.

Durant and Noah in '07.
Westbrook and Ibaka in '08.
Harden in '09.

Regardless, Noah over Green would have been astronomically better

The only reason that Rubio didn't come over was that he couldn't afford the buyout option in his contract while going #5 overall. He would've needed to be in the top three to come to the NBA right away. But, either way, it would've worked out for the Thunder.

[TheGarden]

Or

Durant and Marc Gasol in 2007
Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in 2008
Stephen Curry in 2009

Curry-Westbrook
Love-Gasol-Durant

that team has everything

[Stolen Team Fan]

Curry-Westbrook
Ibaka-Gasol-Durant

FTFY. There's no way they get both WB and Love. Still a good team, but improbable. Gasol wasn't on anybody's radar at that point, whereas Noah was known to be a top talent at Florida, but had potential immaturity issues. This team had the #5 pick, and Noah went #9, so it's not like he was a total come-out-of-nowhere reach that only makes sense in hindsight.

[OKCThunderUp35]

Get worse IMO

[Shem]

Love instead of Westbrook in 2008? How would the Thunder fare? Would they still have gone with Harden?

If the Thunder had taken Love instead of Westbrook, then things would have played out differently. Who's to say they get the 3rd pick in the 2009 draft to have a chance at Harden?

[magic wand time]

Or

Durant and Marc Gasol in 2007
Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in 2008
Stephen Curry in 2009

Curry-Westbrook
Love-Gasol-Durant

that team has everything

Then the Pau Gasol to Lakers trade doesn't happen since Wallace said the day after the trade that Marc was just as coveted and the best big in Europe, like getting another 1st rdr. Lakers don't get Pau. Don't win back-to-back. OKC could've rerouted basketball history.