Shocked OKC haven't made any moves

[JonFromVA]

The smart money will wait for the 2nd or 3rd phase of free-agency before jumping in.

[Threethrows]

his best skill (low post scoring) is something the Thunder have been missing forever. And this team is perfectly constructed to hide Kanters flaws defensively.

How would they hide him on D? If you need to hide your center that's bad. Defenses don't get to choose what the offense does, only influence it. How are they going to stop teams from pulling Ibaka out of the paint leaving Kanter on an Island? If the Thunder get too caught up sending help that's going to leave open shots anyway.

I would just let Kanter go and hope Adams blossoms. What Enes does on offense is nice but if they do keep him I wouldn't close or start games with him.

[nikster]

his best skill (low post scoring) is something the Thunder have been missing forever. And this team is perfectly constructed to hide Kanters flaws defensively.

How would they hide him on D? If you need to hide your center that's bad. Defenses don't get to choose what the offense does, only influence it. How are they going to stop teams from pulling Ibaka out of the paint leaving Kanter on an Island? If the Thunder get too caught up sending help that's going to leave open shots anyway.

I would just let Kanter go and hope Adams blossoms. What Enes does on offense is nice but if they do keep him I wouldn't close or start games with him.

he is not bad in 1 on 1 post defence. So they only have to try to hide him on P & Rs. And OKC has the size, athleticism and weak-side shot blocking to minimize any weaknesses. There is not a team in the league that is a better fit for Kanter

[NiceLikeChrist]

They dont need to make any moves. Just need to be healthy. Easy road to the finals.

[Cappy_Smurf]

I still can't believe they got Kanter. He'll be amazing for them.

Don't know why anyone would believe this. Utah got a LOT better after the trade and OKC found their way out of the playoffs. Kanter can add something to that team that they don't have, but there are lots of issues with him that detract from what he brings. He's basically worthless without Ibaka playing next to him. After that, he's got an ego that needs to be stroked so that I think it's VERY questionable how he will handle the situation when everyone is healthy and his role is somewhat limited offensively.

his best skill (low post scoring) is something the Thunder have been missing forever. And this team is perfectly constructed to hide Kanters flaws defensively.

Perfectly constructed? Lol, like I said, worthless without Ibaka next him. Ibaka goes down with an injury, and no surprise, Kanter isn't good enough to get you into the playoffs. As for his low post scoring, sure, I already acknowledged that he adds something you didn't have before. Just the same, we'll see how his attitude is when he's a 3rd option after KD and Westbrook. His defense is bad when he's trying, but it's other worldly bad when he's pouting because he thinks he's being neglected offensively.

[Atmanne]

Odds are against Durant ever making it all the way back from multiple foot surgeries..I'm hoping KD's the first NBA player to ever make it all the way back...

http://espn.go.com/blog/stephania-bell/post/_/id/3070/prognosis-good-on-kevin-durants-foot

So why is this latest procedure expected to be successful in healing Durant’s problematic fracture? One of the benefits of bone grafting is that it directly places cells with a healthy blood supply in an underserved area, which may, ultimately, enhance the healing potential of the bone. In an article published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2011 looking at bone-grafting procedures performed on re-fractures or non-unions of the fifth metatarsal in 21 elite college and professional athletes, the success rate for return to prior level of competition was 100 percent. At over two years' follow-up, only one athlete had suffered a subsequent re-fracture (the re-fracture was sustained in a motor vehicle accident, not in sports).

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez is perhaps the most recent example of a player to undergo surgery to address a re-fracture of the fifth metatarsal. Lopez had surgery last January and has played without incident so far this season.

It is also important to point out the Jones fracture is not the same type of dreaded “big man” injury that plagued Yao Ming or Bill Walton. Their fractures were to the navicular bone, a bone in the midfoot that forms a keystone of the arch on the inner aspect of the foot. It too has a poor healing supply and fails to respond in some cases even despite surgical intervention. It is vastly different from a Jones fracture and a navicular fracture that is resistant to healing can be a career-threatening injury. It’s worth noting there are no reported cases of an NBA player’s career ending as a result of a fifth metatarsal injury.

[nikster]

Don't know why anyone would believe this. Utah got a LOT better after the trade and OKC found their way out of the playoffs. Kanter can add something to that team that they don't have, but there are lots of issues with him that detract from what he brings. He's basically worthless without Ibaka playing next to him. After that, he's got an ego that needs to be stroked so that I think it's VERY questionable how he will handle the situation when everyone is healthy and his role is somewhat limited offensively.

his best skill (low post scoring) is something the Thunder have been missing forever. And this team is perfectly constructed to hide Kanters flaws defensively.

Perfectly constructed? Lol, like I said, worthless without Ibaka next him. Ibaka goes down with an injury, and no surprise, Kanter isn't good enough to get you into the playoffs. As for his low post scoring, sure, I already acknowledged that he adds something you didn't have before. Just the same, we'll see how his attitude is when he's a 3rd option after KD and Westbrook. His defense is bad when he's trying, but it's other worldly bad when he's pouting because he thinks he's being neglected offensively.

He knew he would be 3rd option from the get go and he will still get more touches than he did in Utah. And being on a winning team fixes a lot of locker room issues

[Ballerhogger]

They dont need to make any moves. Just need to be healthy. Easy road to the finals.

If the Warriors and spurs and Memphis get hurt and LAC then sure

[freestyler34]

Don't know why anyone would believe this. Utah got a LOT better after the trade and OKC found their way out of the playoffs. Kanter can add something to that team that they don't have, but there are lots of issues with him that detract from what he brings. He's basically worthless without Ibaka playing next to him. After that, he's got an ego that needs to be stroked so that I think it's VERY questionable how he will handle the situation when everyone is healthy and his role is somewhat limited offensively.

his best skill (low post scoring) is something the Thunder have been missing forever. And this team is perfectly constructed to hide Kanters flaws defensively.

Perfectly constructed? Lol, like I said, worthless without Ibaka next him. Ibaka goes down with an injury, and no surprise, Kanter isn't good enough to get you into the playoffs. As for his low post scoring, sure, I already acknowledged that he adds something you didn't have before. Just the same, we'll see how his attitude is when he's a 3rd option after KD and Westbrook. His defense is bad when he's trying, but it's other worldly bad when he's pouting because he thinks he's being neglected offensively.

I dont think it will effect Kanter to be 3 rd option, he wasnt first option even in Utah,he can be effective without being the center of offense, hes one of the best offensive rebounder in the game, he can just collect offensive boards and get easy buckets that alone will get him lots of points.

Kanter is just bad at P&R defense and help defense but ibaka is there for that reason., hes a good defensive rebounder and a good post defender, i dont think anybody can back down Kanter easily in the post.

[NiceLikeChrist]

They dont need to make any moves. Just need to be healthy. Easy road to the finals.

If the Warriors and spurs and Memphis get hurt and LAC then sure

Kidding me? Healthy okc runs through any of those teams fairly easily. This upcoming season and this past season.

[nikster]

Don't know why anyone would believe this. Utah got a LOT better after the trade and OKC found their way out of the playoffs. Kanter can add something to that team that they don't have, but there are lots of issues with him that detract from what he brings. He's basically worthless without Ibaka playing next to him. After that, he's got an ego that needs to be stroked so that I think it's VERY questionable how he will handle the situation when everyone is healthy and his role is somewhat limited offensively.

his best skill (low post scoring) is something the Thunder have been missing forever. And this team is perfectly constructed to hide Kanters flaws defensively.

Perfectly constructed? Lol, like I said, worthless without Ibaka next him. Ibaka goes down with an injury, and no surprise, Kanter isn't good enough to get you into the playoffs. As for his low post scoring, sure, I already acknowledged that he adds something you didn't have before. Just the same, we'll see how his attitude is when he's a 3rd option after KD and Westbrook. His defense is bad when he's trying, but it's other worldly bad when he's pouting because he thinks he's being neglected offensively.

Heres a recent real GM article on the Bucks on how they were so good defensively with zaza at center and why that will continue with Greg Monroe at center (Kanter at least has legit big man size to bang with centers).

Jason Kidd, with help from some bright assistants, has crafted a defensive scheme well suited to hide the pick-and-roll deficiencies of a rather immobile big like Monroe. As Grantland’s Zach Lowe explained late last year, the Bucks' help defenders are far more active than most teams around the league, tasked with eradicating free rolls to the rim for opposing big men during pick-and-rolls. And with a team full of smart and/or long, athletic defenders -- like Jared Dudley and Giannis Antetokounmpo -- Milwaukee could afford to flood the paint with bodies and still take away high value shots on passes out because of how effective their personnel was at scrambling back out to the 3-point line.

Unlike other schemes, where help from the weakside is limited in order to close off the possibility of passes out leading to open shots from beyond the arc, the Bucks defense puts bigs like Monroe in less challenging spots. Instead of trying to contain both the opposing ballhandler and roll man in a dicey game of 1-on-2 -- something teams with bigs like Serge Ibaka, Tyson Chandler, etc are only suited to do -- Monroe can lock in on simply stopping the ball while trusting his weakside help to prevent any easy, direct pass to a big man making his way down the lane toward the basket. In a sense, it takes away a responsibility Monroe is ill-suited for (containing two players at once) and shifts it onto the Bucks mobile army of long-limbed help defenders who are far more equipped to handle it.

And not only does OKC have the long athletic defenders the Bucks have, they also have an elite shotblocker in Ibaka. I have no doubt they can be a good defensive team with Kanter on the floor

[miltk]

They dont need to make any moves. Just need to be healthy. Easy road to the finals.

If the Warriors and spurs and Memphis get hurt and LAC then sure

well, what was good for the warriors,,,,

[Seabass777]

OKC made their moves.

If KD and Rusell are healthy they're top 3 in the west.

[MoneyTalks41890]

The only thing I'd like to see now is resigning Kanter and trade Novak, Waiters, PJ for a vet SG.