What happens if George leaves this year?

[Kizz Fastfists]

There would be a few teams that could take on Adams contract without having to give us 25 mil worth on contracts back isnt there?

Not really. Only a contender would be interested in Adams as someone to boost their defense in an effort to put them over the top. Those teams are not going to have cap space to "only" send back $15M or so. The cap is stagnant right now so there isn't going to be much cap space out there to begin with. LAL is unique in that they can have space for two max FAs if they can land them. Very few teams will have space to sign one max contract outright. Bird rights are going to be significant this off-season like they were last off-season. There won't be a ton of movement in FA because of the lack of space. The trade market will be slow because of contract matching.

The Lakers, Bulls, Hawks, 76ers, Mavs, Nets, Magic, Suns, Jazz and Kings are pretty much your list of teams that could send back $15M in contracts to get Adams and I don't think any of them would be interested. Do you give away Adams just to save a few bucks when you aren't going to be offered much in return by a rebuilding team? If OKC is going to rebuild then Adams gets moved to a contender and you are taking back equal salary, although maybe shorter contracts. There just isn't any upside to moving Adams. If PG leaves they can stay out of the tax without dumping Adams. The problem is they will have no way of replacing PG with anything close. If PG resigns you don't turn around and trade Adams because you are pretending to be a contender.

[bondom34]

If we're being honest, him staying was a minimal chance the entire time. The entire idea was a one year run for the heck of it. Enjoying the ride was the hope, then in great Thunder tradition someone got hurt.

[slick_watts]

If we're being honest, him staying was a minimal chance the entire time. The entire idea was a one year run for the heck of it. Enjoying the ride was the hope, then in great Thunder tradition someone got hurt.

i may be remembering wrong, but this seems like revisionist history to me as most of thunder fandom including on this board were openly optimistic of paul george staying.

was a one year run for the heck of it worth it? in retrospect, wouldn't it not have been more responsible to stockpile long term assets and try to rebuild? losing paul george for nothing is a franchise killer, especially considering the assets that were given up to acquire him were both controllable.

[Kizz Fastfists]

i may be remembering wrong, but this seems like revisionist history to me as most of thunder fandom including on this board were openly optimistic of paul george staying.

Most were optimistic that PG would return OKC to being at top 3 team in the West and they would have a great season and he would stay. It really came down to the people who wanted a rebuild saw it as a disaster and those who wanted to keep pretending the team could be a contender liked it.

[bondom34]

If we're being honest, him staying was a minimal chance the entire time. The entire idea was a one year run for the heck of it. Enjoying the ride was the hope, then in great Thunder tradition someone got hurt.

i may be remembering wrong, but this seems like revisionist history to me as most of thunder fandom including on this board were openly optimistic of paul george staying.

was a one year run for the heck of it worth it? in retrospect, wouldn't it not have been more responsible to stockpile long term assets and try to rebuild? losing paul george for nothing is a franchise killer, especially considering the assets that were given up to acquire him were both controllable.

Could you point me to this?

Because I've said 10 percent shot pretty much throughout, and I don't think many if any expected it more likely he stay than not (though I could be mistaken, maybe many did).

And a one year run at the cost of another player who pretty clearly didn't fit and was paid more than George, Kanter's contract, and Sabonis was worth it. Really the only cheap asset there is Domas, who I liked but I know many didn't. I don't think anyone thought it was "likely" he stays.

It's waaaaay too depressing on this board. Yeesh.

[Atomic Punk]

If we're being honest, him staying was a minimal chance the entire time. The entire idea was a one year run for the heck of it. Enjoying the ride was the hope, then in great Thunder tradition someone got hurt.

i may be remembering wrong, but this seems like revisionist history to me as most of thunder fandom including on this board were openly optimistic of paul george staying.

was a one year run for the heck of it worth it? in retrospect, wouldn't it not have been more responsible to stockpile long term assets and try to rebuild? losing paul george for nothing is a franchise killer, especially considering the assets that were given up to acquire him were both controllable.

With all due respect, loosing KD was a franchise killer. Had management/ownership kept last years team largely intact, they would have likely performed close to or marginally better this year. Yes, the assets would have been controllable, but still, that team wasn’t really going anywhere.
The thinking behind acquiring PG and Melo was twofold; Convince Russ to resign, and take a big swing at the WCF. I am still not convinced PG walks, but we will see. Either way, this team is still one or two pieces away even with a healthy Dre. Next season will either be more of the same, or the beginning of a dark decade for the team.

[bondom34]

i may be remembering wrong, but this seems like revisionist history to me as most of thunder fandom including on this board were openly optimistic of paul george staying.

Most were optimistic that PG would return OKC to being at top 3 team in the West and they would have a great season and he would stay. It really came down to the people who wanted a rebuild saw it as a disaster and those who wanted to keep pretending the team could be a contender liked it.

Who on this board?

Because I'm not remembering these people here who you call "most".

[slick_watts]

Could you point me to this?

just check thunder twitter mentions and the twitter feeds of the media guys. on this board, there was a lot of optimism.

And a one year run at the cost of another player who pretty clearly didn't fit and was paid more than George, Kanter's contract, and Sabonis was worth it. Really the only cheap asset there is Domas, who I liked but I know many didn't. I don't think anyone thought it was "likely" he stays.

i'm not talking about the carmelo deal, which was precipitated by the george deal. oladipo was a good player who had a good season and was locked up long term. sabonis also had a decent rookie season and was on rookie scale. lets not get things twisted. maybe nobody expected them to be this good? but you can't take the results out of the equation, either.

It's waaaaay too depressing on this board. Yeesh.

the thunder are on the precipice of doom. it should be depressing.

[slick_watts]

With all due respect, loosing KD was a franchise killer.

yeah, it was a major setback. but the team still had plenty of value to work with to do something. spending it all on a one year run, most likely a futile one year run even had dre not been hurt, will appear foolish in retrospect. especially if oladipo and sabonis continue on their present trajectory.

if westbrook wasn't going to re-sign without those moves and they were 100% opposed to tanking yeah i get why it had to be done. i'm not going to start the tank debate all over again but that's the fundamental wedge between how i would view the team and its decision making over the summer and how you would.

[bondom34]

Could you point me to this?

just check thunder twitter mentions and the twitter feeds of the media guys. on this board, there was a lot of optimism.

And a one year run at the cost of another player who pretty clearly didn't fit and was paid more than George, Kanter's contract, and Sabonis was worth it. Really the only cheap asset there is Domas, who I liked but I know many didn't. I don't think anyone thought it was "likely" he stays.

i'm not talking about the carmelo deal, which was precipitated by the george deal. oladipo was a good player who had a good season and was locked up long term. sabonis also had a decent rookie season and was on rookie scale. lets not get things twisted. maybe nobody expected them to be this good? but you can't take the results out of the equation, either.

It's waaaaay too depressing on this board. Yeesh.

the thunder are on the precipice of doom. it should be depressing.

So...nobody here? Why don't you go on twitter and tell them instead of spewing your **** here?

And a year ago you were saying Oladipo was a bad contract and Sabonis a non promising rookie who'd bust. Lets not twist things J. Maybe you're revising your own history? You can't take the equation away from the results.

And nah, not really. They're not the Kings, they're just not tanking and you're whiny because it's not what you want (which to be fair from a Sonics fan isn't that odd).

[RalphSampsonJr]

At the end of the day the Dubs are a historically awesome team. Sam probably had the thinking that if he is going to get a team on par with them, while he still has a prime Russ, he had to swing for the fences.
No point in being content in the 4-8 seed while you have a guy like Russ on your team. Might as well get him as much as help as you can and take your shot.

[slick_watts]

So...nobody here? Why don't you go on twitter and tell them instead of spewing your **** here?

there's like six thunder fans on this site and if you go back to the offseason thread and tanking thread you'll find plenty of optimism on him staying.

And a year ago you were saying Oladipo was a bad contract and Sabonis a non promising rookie who'd bust. Lets not twist things J. Maybe you're revising your own history? You can't take the equation away from the results.

i thought oladipo made sense as a salary dump for a 2018-19 rebuild.

you're completely off-base on my opinion of oladipo and sabonis, and i don't even know why that would even be pertinent to this discussion? both have clearly exceeded anyone's reasonable expectations this season. their performance will be, and should be, a factor for evaluating the trade when all is said and done.

And nah, not really. They're not the Kings, they're just not tanking and you're whiny because it's not what you want (which to be fair from a Sonics fan isn't that odd).

what the hell?

[bondom34]

there's like six thunder fans on this site and if you go back to the offseason thread and tanking thread you'll find plenty of optimism on him staying.

Actually no, not really. First there are more than that and second most of us never thought he'd stay. We were happy to have another all star level talent.

But again, if you see this issue on twitter and not RealGM why don't you go to twitter? Because rambling about it here is just misdirected anger and wasting time.

i thought oladipo made sense as a salary dump for a 2018-19 rebuild.

you're completely off-base on my opinion of oladipo and sabonis, and i don't even know why that would even be pertinent to this discussion? both have clearly exceeded anyone's reasonable expectations this season. their performance will be, and should be, a factor for evaluating the trade when all is said and done.

You've consistently said you didn't think much of Sabonis a year ago and didn't think he was a good prospect. So a salary dump and a nothing prospect is now "off-base" to your thoughts that they weren't very good. OK.

what the hell?

I mean the only reason you really liked OKC in the first place was Durant and your fandom of him personally. Now all their fans hate him and you remain. It must be terribly difficult.

[ThunderBolt]

I said I thought we had a better shot to keep George than most. I still think we have a decent shot at a 1+1 contract but I don’t feel great about it after the deadline.

Honestly, who cares if it’s revisionist history? There weren’t many people that thought Oladipo would take be jump. Sabonis is a little surprising but not shocking. The bigger issue is how we proceed moving forward rather than people trying validate their opinions. Is it really that big of an ego boost to be right?

[Atomic Punk]

With all due respect, loosing KD was a franchise killer.

yeah, it was a major setback. but the team still had plenty of value to work with to do something. spending it all on a one year run, most likely a futile one year run even had dre not been hurt, will appear foolish in retrospect. especially if oladipo and sabonis continue on their present trajectory.

if westbrook wasn't going to re-sign without those moves and they were 100% opposed to tanking yeah i get why it had to be done. i'm not going to start the tank debate all over again but that's the fundamental wedge between how i would view the team and its decision making over the summer and how you would.

Yeah, I don’t want to rehash to tank or not to tank either. I will just say this, the moves made in the off-season were made 100% out of fear. These were atypical moves for the organization and in retrospect, don’t look like wise moves for the long term health of the team. If you look at the Rockets, they have always been risk takers and love to tinker with the roster until they land on something that works. That has not been the Thunder model and I don’t think you can just pivot to that philosophy and hope to be successful right away.
That being said, I’m fine with what they did, it was different, it was a risk, and it was better than just trying to live in the middle (not the worst place to be, but not the best).

[bondom34]

I said I thought we had a better shot to keep George than most. I still think we have a decent shot at a 1+1 contract but I don’t feel great about it after the deadline.

Honestly, who cares if it’s revisionist history? There weren’t many people that thought Oladipo would take be jump. Sabonis is a little surprising but not shocking. The bigger issue is how we proceed moving forward rather than people trying validate their opinions. Is it really that big of an ego boost to be right?

For some....

But agree on your point.

[slick_watts]

Actually no, not really. First there are more than that and second most of us never thought he'd stay. We were happy to have another all star level talent.

But again, if you see this issue on twitter and not RealGM why don't you go to twitter? Because rambling about it here is just misdirected anger and wasting time.

am i taking up precious message board real estate or something? this is a basketball discussion board, no? the title of this topic is 'what happens if george leaves this year?', right?

my comments on the optimism of thunder fans here and in general on the prospects of retaining paul george appear appropriate and on topic. again, maybe i'm wrong about this board, who knows. i recall plenty of optimism for george staying though, and even throughout the year interpreting his statements, etc.

You've consistently said you didn't think much of Sabonis a year ago and didn't think he was a good prospect. So a salary dump and a nothing prospect is now "off-base" to your thoughts that they weren't very good. OK.

yes, i did not think he was a good prospect. he had a terrible rookie season offensively. he's proven otherwise this year, which necessarily adjusts the optics of the trade. oladipo's ascension as well. did i or, really, any thunder fan predict this would happen with those players? no. does that change what has happened? no. so i'm not sure what my personal opinion of oladipo or sabonis has anything to do with this.

i do not think the majority of thunder fans even on blogs and more 'intelligent' platforms viewed this as a one year shot.

I mean the only reason you really liked OKC in the first place was Durant and your fandom of him personally. Now all their fans hate him and you remain. It must be terribly difficult.

what does this have to do with the topic of discussion in this thread?

[slick_watts]

Honestly, who cares if it’s revisionist history? There weren’t many people that thought Oladipo would take be jump. Sabonis is a little surprising but not shocking. The bigger issue is how we proceed moving forward rather than people trying validate their opinions. Is it really that big of an ego boost to be right?

challenging revisionist history isn't about being right or wrong, it's about integrity.

[slick_watts]

That being said, I’m fine with what they did, it was different, it was a risk, and it was better than just trying to live in the middle (not the worst place to be, but not the best).

i'm fine with it as the package deal of extending westbrook to the DPE. my opposition of the offseason is mostly centered on the westbrook extension. presti did what he had to do flowing from that point.

i think it's fair to say though that the perception of the trade has shifted already, and will shift even more if george does leave, and oladipo + sabonis continue their path.

[ThunderBolt]

Honestly, who cares if it’s revisionist history? There weren’t many people that thought Oladipo would take be jump. Sabonis is a little surprising but not shocking. The bigger issue is how we proceed moving forward rather than people trying validate their opinions. Is it really that big of an ego boost to be right?

challenging revisionist history isn't about being right or wrong, it's about integrity.

I think there’s more integrity in saying you thought one thing but admit you were wrong. There were very few examples of players making major jumps after four years like Oladipo. Kyle Lowry was one that came to mind. I saw no basis to think Oladipo would make this jump. I thought we could build a capable bench much easier than we did. I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion George leaves. However, regardless of what I thought at the time, had we kept Vic and Sabonis I think we would have a better record and might have been able to move Kanter for a Kent Bazemore-type. Oh well.