Thunder Offseason Thread

[ThunderBolt]

We won’t rebuild and we will miss the playoffs.

[kdthunderup]

Some serious coaching or roster changes will have to happen for me to have any sense of optimism heading into next season. I'll still be following the team but I don't see myself going out of my way to catch any of our games unless we are a 55+ win team.

[petros93]

I wasn't disappointed we lost I was disappointed when we lost game 4 it was only right we got our asses kicked now in portland with Dame going for 50 on us. We played weak the entire series, this is the first time I'm actually feeling disappointed by my favorite all time player Russ and in general being an okc fan for the past 6 years has been just a huge disappointment.

For real this is it. Westbrook needs to change some things and do some soul searching, pg needs to realize he has to step up in april and may and june not december and january.

Adams needs to be traded mainly because our stupid front office game him 25 mil and now we're paying a guy as much as Giannis to sit on the bench in 4rth quarter since he can't defend and takes 6 shots per game.

Stupid **** Donovan literally 2 years earlier saw the rockets in front of his eyes destroying him with the pnr on Kanter every posetion to the point he couldn't play him anymore and still couldn't get his team to run the pnr.

Ferguson is barely good enough to come from the bench.

Shrooder needs to be traded as well to get some shooters.

For real if things with this team don't drastically change this off season I'm out.

[richboy]

What is probably going to happen is Presti will bet on young players improving and make a few simple changes and try again next year. The reality is OKC will spend like a big market but they act like a small market. What I mean is if the Thunder were in New York Presti, BD, and Westbrook would all be in danger of being shipped out. Here this team has been losing the same way in the playoffs for years. They just run it back over and over again because they have no pressure to actually win. I'm not a believer that they suddenly are going to make the hard decisions.

I think this team needs to go all in on drive and kick basketball. Which means paying Stephen Adams so much to be an above average center isn't going to work. Roberson being some kind of savior next year isn't going to happen.

You have two options. Either get someone better than Russ and PG to really take the next step. Russ isn't going anywhere but this team needs someone better than Russ to go deep in the playoffs. They need someone better than PG offensively to win a title. There is not a deal the Thunder can do to get Anthony Davis or Bradley Beal.

The other option is you have to make Westbrook and George better. The only way to do that is give them insane shooting around them. Make the paint completely open for them to attack the rim. If helps comes then top tier shooters to make the defense pay. This team has the pieces to getting the shooters it needs. Problem is Sam Presti seems to worship athletes and hope that one day they become great shooters.

Some potential deals I want.

Stephen Adams for Jrue Holiday. If the Pelicans get guards in a AD trade maybe they make a move and trade Holiday.

Sign Brook Lopez MLE. He went from someone looking for work to perhaps one of the most sought after second tier free agents this summer. Getting a shooter like him would open the floor.

Could take a flyer on Demarcus Cousins but I rather have Lopez if could make that happen.

Would look to trade DS for a stretch 4/5 or 3/4. if Grant and Ferguson are coming off my bench I be happy. Especially Ferguson who had a 6 PER during the year. Can't have a starter that is that low in production.

[ThunderBolt]

I’ll always follow the team but I can’t continue watching russ anymore. I’ve always struggled to embrace his style of play and as it has declined it’s just no longer fun for me.

[ThunderBolt]

Will exit interviews be today or tomorrow?

[ThunderBolt]

Royce said on espn that the thunder view Dononvan as part of the solution and not part of the problem. He said he spoke with Adams after the game and Adams praised Dononvans “tactical competence”. I’ll never believe that Adams used those words.

[Pillendreher]

The key thing this franchise needs is accountability. And I mean all every single level. That includes

-The Front Office which is chugging along merely on reputation and considers public perception ("We're a small town; we do things differently, even if we fail every single time") more important than actual results
-The Coaching Staff, which is among the very worst in the entire league
-The Medical Staff which manages to randomly prolong injuries
-The Scouting Department which either is not doing its job or is sent in the wrong direction by Presti et al (Troy Weaver: “We like serious basketball players, guys that are serious about the game, guys that work hard, guys that are good teammates. We can (figure out) all the other stuff, skillset and all that. Those three things are the main pillars.”)
-The people responsible for Player Development. Ferguson is in his 2nd year and can't drive to the rim.
-The players themselves

No more defensive schemes built around Westbrook not bothering to defend. No more playground style offense. No more athletic scrubs that can't do anything but jump. No more going against the trend because certain people are as arrogant as they come. No more sweeping under the rug of failures while trying to play on the fans' blue collar mentality ("We failed, but now we just gotta roll up our sleeves and try again"). No more waste of draft picks on unproven players instead of going after proven guys. No more overfeaturing of players at the expense of better players just because the GM is so desperately looking for his personal Robert Covington. No more sunk cost nonsense wasting asset after asset because you can't cut your losses. No more jogging around on defense because you couldn't be bothered to actually defend. No more thinking every shot is a good shot. No more green light for chucking. No more "I hope we will make shots" by the damn front office. No more ignoring things that work and sticking with things that don't. No more identity changes throughout the season (Excellent defense => Great shooting => Mediocre defense => Horrible shooting). No more ignoring of obvious holes in the roster. No more helping opposing teams win by accentuating their strengths. No more looking like dead men walking for weeks on end. No more acting like we're better than we are. No more losing game after game because we get out executed.

We will not get better unless people take responsibility for shortcomings. And that means every single person employed by this franchise. We're well past the point of just vowing to do better. Heads have to roll.

[Pillendreher]

Royce said on espn that the thunder view Dononvan as part of the solution and not part of the problem. He said he spoke with Adams inter the game and Adams praised Dononvans “tactical competence”. I’ll never believe that Adams used those words.

Presti is running intereference. Both of them deserve to get fired. What a **** disgrace. We deserve better than this **** ****.

[CROklahoma]

Its simple. If Donovan is here again next year, its done.

Get your fkin Cant play Kanter down in your arse Billy, repeat that every single time you wake up.

...

[Pillendreher]

Jerami has value as well, but I almost refuse to trade him because of his versatility.

I would sell high on him. He's not a proper PF. He's too small and against bigger opponents we have paid for that all season long.

[slick_watts]

donovan's not the end of the world. the team has more important problems to fix. scapegoating him will only shift focus from areas of more importance.

the problem is that the team might not have the resources to fix the problems it needs to fix.

[kdthunderup]

Royce said on espn that the thunder view Dononvan as part of the solution and not part of the problem. He said he spoke with Adams inter the game and Adams praised Dononvans “tactical competence”. I’ll never believe that Adams used those words.

Well if Donovan is tactically competent then the players are **** awful at listening to instructions.

It nearly seems like the whole organisation collectively have their own heads up their ass. I have not seen one person take any blame and say we need to make changes.

[slick_watts]

Its simple. If Donovan is here again next year, its done.

Get your fkin Cant play Kanter down in your arse Billy, repeat that every single time you wake up.

...

this is dumb. kanter couldn't be played against golden state or houston because those teams have guards who run the pick and roll and you can't drop back on. kanter was ok against us because portland could safely drop him back on the pick and roll to get him out of space / keep himself between adams and the rim and not worry about westbrook beating him with jump shots.

[CROklahoma]

Its simple. If Donovan is here again next year, its done.

Get your fkin Cant play Kanter down in your arse Billy, repeat that every single time you wake up.

...

this is dumb. kanter couldn't be played against golden state or houston because those teams have guards who run the pick and roll and you can't drop back on. kanter was ok against us because portland could safely drop him back on the pick and roll to get him out of space / keep himself between adams and the rim and not worry about westbrook beating him with jump shots.

This is even dumber.
P&R can be executed in numerous ways, not just a layup or midrange shot.
And its not just Westbrook, we have someone named Schroder aswell, or George, or even freaking Ray Felton.

With your logic, we could have safely dropped Kanter against Rockets or Warriors and be fine, right ?

[slick_watts]

Its simple. If Donovan is here again next year, its done.

Get your fkin Cant play Kanter down in your arse Billy, repeat that every single time you wake up.

...

this is dumb. kanter couldn't be played against golden state or houston because those teams have guards who run the pick and roll and you can't drop back on. kanter was ok against us because portland could safely drop him back on the pick and roll to get him out of space / keep himself between adams and the rim and not worry about westbrook beating him with jump shots.

This is even dumber.
P&R can be executed in numerous ways, not just a layup or midrange shot.
And its not just Westbrook, we have someone named Schroder aswell, or George, or even freaking Ray Felton.

With your logic, we could have safely dropped Kanter against Rockets or Warriors and be fine, right ?

what, no. the rockets and warriors have guards who can make open jump shots off the dribble. which is why you cannot do that against them. which is why the thunder got kanter in space in pick and roll and he was obliterated. the reason why portland did not have to worry about this as much is because they not only don't care about westbrook possibly getting open jump shots off the dribble, they were actively goading him into taking them.

turning this into a thing against billy donovan is hilarious. this was a specific tactic employed by the blazers with westbrook in mind.

[Pillendreher]

turning this into a thing against billy donovan is hilarious. this was a specific tactic employed by the blazers with westbrook in mind.

Did they delegate coaching the team to somebody else during the series? Did I miss this?

[slick_watts]

turning this into a thing against billy donovan is hilarious. this was a specific tactic employed by the blazers with westbrook in mind.

Did they delegate coaching the team to somebody else during the series? Did I miss this?

it's not billy donovan's fault that westbrook can't make jump shots.

[Pillendreher]

turning this into a thing against billy donovan is hilarious. this was a specific tactic employed by the blazers with westbrook in mind.

Did they delegate coaching the team to somebody else during the series? Did I miss this?

it's not billy donovan's fault that westbrook can't make jump shots.

First of all: How can we know that? Do we know if Donovan is working with Westbrook to fix whatever has happened to his jumpshot? Why is Westbrook bricking every jumpshot? Why is he missing FTs like he's Andre Drummond? Why didn't his shot improve throughout the season? What is the team doing to put him in better positions to score on those possessions?

And secondly: This is just a copout with the goal of absolving Donovan of his own incompetence, putting all the blame on Westbrook in the end. If all it takes to defend the PnR against us is to drop the Center back and we just stand there not knowing how to counter that, we need to disband the franchise and focus our time and efforts on some other sport. This is ont some pickup ball bull between a bunch of dads. This is a billion dollar business. If a whole NBA coaching staff does not know how to counter that and the whole team isn't even trying to do anything differently, then we're even more of an embarassment than I thought we were. The franchise is paying these people to figure this stuff out. And apparently they don't. They just live with whatever the opponent dictates.

What a pathethic display.

EDIT: And you know what's funny? Remember the 2016 WCF against Golden State where they actually countered their treatment of Roberson and used it to their advantage? That's what it means to actually adjust and take advantage of things. Not just standing there watching like some in over his head idiot.

[slick_watts]

First of all: How can we know that? Do we know if Donovan is working with Westbrook to fix whatever has happened to his jumpshot? Why is Westbrook bricking every jumpshot? Why is he missing FTs like he's Andre Drummond? Why didn't his shot improve throughout the season? What is the team doing to put him in better positions to score on those possessions?

better positions to score on his pick and roll handler possessions? what the heck are they supposed to do?

andre drummond is a great example. he credits reaching out to one of his old coaches to 'get back to basics' for improving his free throw shooting considerably last season. he's over 60% now the last two years which at least keeps him out of hack-a-shaq consideration. the onus on a veteran like westbrook is on westbrook. he has all the resources available to him.

at any rate, holding the coaching staff accountable for westbrook falling apart is the thinnest of thins.

And secondly: This is just a copout with the goal of absolving Donovan of his own incompetence, putting all the blame on Westbrook in the end. If all it takes to defend the PnR against us is to drop the Center back and we just stand there not knowing how to counter that, we need to disband the franchise and focus our time and efforts on some other sport.

you counter this by shooting. we're bad at shooting. westbrook himself is prone to getting goaded into defeating that pnr strategy himself. you beat this strategy by making jump shots. that's a roster construction problem and russell westbrook problem.

we've all seen westbrook, on numerous occasions this year, demonstrate an uncommon hesitance when faced with defenders sagging off him more and more. there is a solution to this, and the solution is to fix his jump shot. and that's primarily on russell westbrook.

This is ont some pickup ball bull between a bunch of dads. This is a billion dollar business. If a whole NBA coaching staff does not know how to counter that and the whole team isn't even trying to do anything differently, then we're even more of an embarassment than I thought we were. The franchise is paying these people to figure this stuff out. And apparently they don't. They just live with whatever the opponent dictates.

What a pathethic display.

i think you need a nap.