Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XXV: Offseason Edition)

[WeAreVenom]

Courtney Lee ‏@CourtneyLee2211

Congrats to the thunder, to Sam Presti for sticking with and keeping his team together.

Notice he didn't say Scott Brooks.

I can't help but feel that this is a subtle shot at Otis.

[Cigamodnalro]

Definitely a shot at Otis.

[D12VCMagic]

Honestly, Otis was smart to make the moves he did after the Finals. Where he screwed up was when he kept adding bad contracts in FA and then traded our best assets for crap.

[Nolimit1211]

Stephen Jackson in an elimination game is 6/6 from 3 right now. Nah, let's keep Hedo...

And he's expiring, but nah Hedo Is da man around these parts...

Otis Smith = Half this forum

[D12VCMagic]

Stephen Jackson in an elimination game is 6/6 from 3 right now. Nah, let's keep Hedo...

And he's expiring, but nah Hedo Is da man around these parts...

Otis Smith = Half this forum

If Jackson is so good and his contract is expiring, then why would Milwaukee consider shipping him out for Hedo freakin' Turkoglu? They ended up using him in a trade to get Monta Ellis anyways.

[Nolimit1211]

^^ it's not about if the offer was really there, it's about 90% of the posters here saying they'd never do it.

[OrlandO]

Since when was there a deal on the table for us to get rid of Hedo?

[thelead]

Since when was there a deal on the table for us to get rid of Hedo?

Deadline speculation...

[Def Swami]

Courtney Lee ‏@CourtneyLee2211

Just complimenting the thunder no shots intended. I'm sure a lot of fans will feel the same way after this free agency.

[OrlandO]

JJ Redick @JJRedick

Basketball fans in Seattle are pissed right now.

[MagicTownBaller]

JJ Redick @JJRedick

Basketball fans in Seattle are pissed right now.

I was just thinking about this, then I saw it on Twitter.

[Orlando Prodigy]

It's been a few months, figured I'd post this again.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Y8QmUuTkw[/youtube]

[J the Drafter]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't we have had Ellis if we elected to take on Jackson too? I don't remember the rumored 3-team trade.

Well, on this board, we could have theoretically had them, but the majority didn't want them, especially not SJax.

Considering the way Jackson was behaving in Milwaukee, any team taking him on was running the risk of getting a pouty, un-motivated player.

[J the Drafter]

They are what we could've been had we been smarter.

They drafted really well, but it helped their case that their young players were elite. The Magic got contributions from Howard, Jameer, Rashard and Turkoglu. That doesn't leave a big window for contention, or much room for recovering from bad luck.

[pogiro]

Looking at all the young faces on that team, I wish we had a great core of young players and not overpaid and under motivated vets.

I know, I'm so damn jealous.

They are what we could've been had we been smarter.

I wonder, some of you may attack me for this but, if we had cleared enough cap in 2010, I wonder if Lebron would've came here?

Instant dynasty, imo.

It's not about free agency. It's the draft. The Thunder were horrible, they drafted Durant #2 overall. They stayed horrible, they drafted Westbrook @ 4 & Ibaka @ 24 the year after. Still bad, Harden at pick 3 the year after.

For us, we sort of got too good too fast. The summer we drafted Dwight, we also added Jameer and Hedo. We went from #1 pick to #11. Imagine if we still had a top 5 pick like the Thunder. That's the year Deron Williams and Chris Paul. And then if we still were bad like the Thunder? Andrea Bargnani, Lamarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy.

Now of course you have to avoid the busts (Morrison, Martel Webster, Marvin Williams) when picking that high. But we just got too good too fast and it put us out of position to build properly. And that made us go to quick fixes, overspending, using max MLE's, LLE's, always over the cap, trading draft picks, etc... I always thought Otis wasn't bad at drafting quality players, but we never had high picks again after Dwight.

And it's also about letting them grow together. We had a ton of young talent at some point. We had Dwight, Jameer, Darko, Ariza, and then add a not so old Hedo. I thought that was a solid core to build on. And as I was researching, I forgot we drafted Varejao the same year as Dwight. I don't understand why we traded him. I remember people going on about him being a big steal getting him as late as we did.

Part of me was excited when it seemed Dwight was definitely gone. Because then we could build properly. But the decisions were made and there's no huge splash we can make in the draft anymore while Dwight is here. The only way I see that happening is if Jameer opts out, we stick with Duhon, we tank. Get high pick next year, Dwight resigns (which I don't see him doing in that scenario...), we get maybe a Josh Smith, and another max FA possibly.

[ADRajX]

Just a quick heads up for everybody

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-relea ... -june-7-8/

Over June 7 and 8 ESPNU will present eight hours from the 2012 NBA Draft Combine at the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago. Coverage will begin each day at 10 a.m. ET and will be highlighted by interviews with top draft picks, NBA and college coaches and general managers. The Draft Combine will also be available on ESPN3.

In addition to live reporting and analysis, viewers will get an inside look at how the expected top draft picks fair in the following skills challenges:

Standing Vertical Leap
Maximum Vertical Leap
Lane Agility Drill
Modified Lane Agility Drill
3/4 Court Sprint....

Also Day 1 of the Combine from Chicago will air again on NBATV, June 9th @ 6pm EST
http://www.nba.com/nbatv/schedule/

So tune in.

I'll post this in the draft thread as well.

[Bensational]

Looking at all the young faces on that team, I wish we had a great core of young players and not overpaid and under motivated vets.

I know, I'm so damn jealous.

They are what we could've been had we been smarter.

I wonder, some of you may attack me for this but, if we had cleared enough cap in 2010, I wonder if Lebron would've came here?

Instant dynasty, imo.

It's not about free agency. It's the draft. The Thunder were horrible, they drafted Durant #2 overall. They stayed horrible, they drafted Westbrook @ 4 & Ibaka @ 24 the year after. Still bad, Harden at pick 3 the year after.

For us, we sort of got too good too fast. The summer we drafted Dwight, we also added Jameer and Hedo. We went from #1 pick to #11. Imagine if we still had a top 5 pick like the Thunder. That's the year Deron Williams and Chris Paul. And then if we still were bad like the Thunder? Andrea Bargnani, Lamarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy.

Now of course you have to avoid the busts (Morrison, Martel Webster, Marvin Williams) when picking that high. But we just got too good too fast and it put us out of position to build properly. And that made us go to quick fixes, overspending, using max MLE's, LLE's, always over the cap, trading draft picks, etc... I always thought Otis wasn't bad at drafting quality players, but we never had high picks again after Dwight.

And it's also about letting them grow together. We had a ton of young talent at some point. We had Dwight, Jameer, Darko, Ariza, and then add a not so old Hedo. I thought that was a solid core to build on. And as I was researching, I forgot we drafted Varejao the same year as Dwight. I don't understand why we traded him. I remember people going on about him being a big steal getting him as late as we did.

Part of me was excited when it seemed Dwight was definitely gone. Because then we could build properly. But the decisions were made and there's no huge splash we can make in the draft anymore while Dwight is here. The only way I see that happening is if Jameer opts out, we stick with Duhon, we tank. Get high pick next year, Dwight resigns (which I don't see him doing in that scenario...), we get maybe a Josh Smith, and another max FA possibly.

it's about using the draft and free agency to acquire the best assets to make moves in the future. look at all the recently successful teams:

OKC - built via the draft
SAS - built via the draft (using late picks to boot)
MIA - built via FA
BOS - built via trades based on players acquired through the draft (AJ for KG, Green for Allen)
LAL - built via trades based off FA (signed Shaq, traded him for pieces which eventually became Odom, Gasol)
DAL - built via FA and trades
CHI - built via draft and FA. (took a long time for them to get Rose, Noah and Deng - and they STILL needed to sign Boozer)
IND - built via draft, FA and trades (drafted Granger, Hibbert, George/ traded for Hill and Collison with guys acquired in FA/ signed West as a final piece)
MEM - built via trades (absorbed ZBo, traded picks for Gay)

so, it can be done all ways. there are plenty of other teams that had high picks around the times OKC were drafting, and they aren't in the finals this year. OKC got very lucky.

Orlando can still turn things around. we need a FO that takes the draft seriously and finds the kind of steals that SAS have been finding for years. we need to clear space to acquire legit talent via FA which, regardless of how well they fit now, may be moveable for significant upgrades in the future.

[cedric76]

Noh trying to dump okafor+arisa+10th pick for expiering contract

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine

They waive jj and last year of hedo s contract is partially guaranteed

We get the 10th pick + solid vet defender

[The Effect]

Isnt Okafor making something like 28mil the next 2 years?

[WeAreVenom]

Honestly, Otis was smart to make the moves he did after the Finals. Where he screwed up was when he kept adding bad contracts in FA and then traded our best assets for crap.

I agree, actually. The moves he made right after the Finals were all good, imo.

It's every move after that that was stupid.