20-21 OKC Thunder Regular Season News

Old Man Game · Post #21 » by **Old Man Game** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:30 am

ThunderBolt wrote:Dort had a -6.4 net rating in the playoffs. He shot 29% from the last year in the regular season. Yes he had a great game 7. Andre Roberson had a game in the playoffs where he was 7-10 and 4-6 from three. And no, he wouldn’t go top ten in next years draft.

Counterpoint, many of the people who are picked top ten in next years draft also won't have good stats after their rookie season and would look like chum in the water trying to defend James Harden in a playoff series.

Old Man Game · Post #22 » by **Old Man Game** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 5:14 am

Chris Paul was on JJ Reddick's podcast. Some interesting Thunder nuggets on there. He said that when he first met with Donovan and Presti they tried to sell him on what sounded like a sort of load management type of season (which I would assume would be so we could tank though he didn't say that) but he nixed it. Said, 'if I'm healthy I'm playing.' Really enjoyable. Talked about when he got here he didn't see it as some sort of dead end season. He took stock of the roster (Schroeder, Gallo, Shai) and was like, I can work with this.

Watch on YouTube

Post #23 » by **ThunderBolt** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:53 am

Old Man Game wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:Dort had a -6.4 net rating in the playoffs. He shot 29% from the last year in the regular season. Yes he had a great game 7. Andre Roberson had a game in the playoffs where he was 7-10 and 4-6 from three. And no, he wouldn’t go top ten in next years draft.

Counterpoint, many of the people who are picked top ten in next years draft also won't have good stats after their rookie season and would look like chum in the water trying to defend James Harden in a playoff series.

First year players aren’t a finished product by any means but we know enough about them to have an idea what is real and what isn’t. Tyler Herro’s shooting is real. Thybulle’s defense is real. Dort has shown he’s a very good one one on defender. He’s also shown us in college and in the pros that his shot isn’t very good. There were also times in the regular season that he really struggled with his one in one defense because he’s not a long player. I can’t remember who it was but maybe it was Booker that gave him problems. He’s a good matchup for harden because he’s built like a tank. I don’t think he’s going to be near as versatile as Roberson when switching on to bigger players.

If we are looking at small sample sizes then I’m more encouraged by bazley’s bubble performance than Dort’s. It seems like for some that a good game 7 offensive game has overshadowed how bad he was in the previous games from three- 2-6, 0-9, 3-9, 0-6, 2-8. He’s often comped as Marcus Smart without the passing. I hope he can improve his threes like Smart has done. I’m hopeful he can improve the shot. I agree with Dadouv47 that his shot doesn’t look irreparable.

bbms · Post #24 » by **bbms** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:23 pm

Net rating vs Adjusted Plus-Minus, what tells the best story when evaluating Dort? At the end of the day, I think history is the best professor. Oladipo and Smart were drafted very high for similar purposes (high energy defensive combo guards).

Those high-value prospects didn't have 820 regular season minutes worth 1.64 DRPM and -0.10 RPM overall coming out of G-League with minimal practice with the first team. They also didn't have tape on Oladipo and Smart playing elite man defense against one of the biggest offensive juggernauts in the NBA's history on NBA Playoffs' level of competition. The aforementioned Matisse Thybulle scored 0.97 DRPM and 0.00 RPM overall on 1,287 minutes. Dort also crushes Thybulle on FT%, FTr (usually better stats too look when evaluating prospects' shooting ability in the NBA level), while being 2 years younger than Thybulle.

(That's a very fortunate comp. Thanks.)

Not to mention elite athleticism, power and leaping ability on his own right. I believe Dort would definitely be a hot commodity on any given Draft. We got a Top 10 pick as UDFA, it's a blessing.

Post #25 » by **ThunderBolt** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 9:09 pm

Read on Twitter

Post #26 » by **ThunderBolt** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 9:16 pm

bbms wrote:Net rating vs Adjusted Plus-Minus, what tells the best story when evaluating Dort? At the end of the day, I think history is the best professor. Oladipo and Smart were drafted very high for similar purposes (high energy defensive combo guards).

Those high-value prospects didn't have 820 regular season minutes worth 1.64 DRPM and -0.10 RPM overall coming out of G-League with minimal practice with the first team. They also didn't have tape on Oladipo and Smart playing elite man defense against one of the biggest offensive juggernauts in the NBA's history on NBA Playoffs' level of competition. The aforementioned Matisse Thybulle scored 0.97 DRPM and 0.00 RPM overall on 1,287 minutes. Dort also crushes Thybulle on FT%, FTr (usually better stats too look when evaluating prospects' shooting ability in the NBA level), while being 2 years younger than Thybulle.

(That's a very fortunate comp. Thanks.)

Not to mention elite athleticism, power and leaping ability on his own right. I believe Dort would definitely be a hot commodity on any given Draft. We got a Top 10 pick as UDFA, it's a blessing.

Well Thybulle was a career 78% free throw shooter in college, including 85% his senior year. I think that’s probably closer to accurate rather than this year. He doesn’t get to the line a lot.

I like Dort and he obviously isn’t just a scrub they found on the street. His agent made sure he wasn’t taken by just any team otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten him. I just don’t think too much should be made over a small sample size in the playoffs when most of those games he was shooting horrible. If we are going to praise his defense then we have to acknowledge the reality that his shooting isn’t very good. It may get better. There is a realistic possibility it doesn’t and that lowers his ceiling significantly.

Post #27 » by **ThunderBolt** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:08 pm

From shams article in the athletic-

The Lakers are monitoring Oklahoma City’s Trevor Ariza should he become available, sources say. As of now, both Ariza and George Hill are expected to begin the season on the Thunder roster. There is also interest in Hill’s services around the league.

Post #28 » by **Dadouv47** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:34 pm

Think Ariza is only an option if we waive him. Wonder what we can get for George Hill...a FRP looks too much while two 2nd isn't really appealing

thedoppelganger · Post #29 » by **thedoppelganger** » Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:53 pm

Orlando probably wouldn't want to, but I'd love to make some kind of Hill for Fultz swap happen

bbms · Post #30 » by **bbms** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:02 am

Could be a fun season if Ariza came over. It would be a nice mix of youth and veteran presence.

spearsy23 · Post #31 » by **spearsy23** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:27 am

thedoppelganger wrote:Orlando probably wouldn't want to, but I'd love to make some kind of Hill for Fultz swap happen

That's like saying I probably don't wanna pay a hundred bucks for a big mac.

namlede · Post #32 » by **namlede** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:39 am

This is going to be an interesting season. We have so many new and young guys on our roster. I think we will find 1 or 2 diamonds in the rough.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using RealGM mobile app

Post #33 » by **ThunderBolt** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:19 am

namlede wrote:This is going to be an interesting season. We have so many new and young guys on our roster. I think we will find 1 or 2 diamonds in the rough.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using RealGM mobile app

Besides our rookies and guys from last year, I’m somewhat optimistic about Jackson. I could also see him being a bad version of dennis schroder.

getrichordie · Post #34 » by **getrichordie** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:47 am

Figured I'd drop this here in case anyone cares to read it. No, I'm not Sam Vecenie or Royce Young, but I did put a lot of effort into this 2800-word preview for the Thunder's upcoming season. Feedback is appreciated. Be honest about what you think. Let me know if I got anything wrong.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BNfmLbtuwAVOOA7LGxOQ0CTBGfLdrxXEvuY8yoGBzJ4/edit?usp=sharing

Post #35 » by **ThunderBolt** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:18 pm

Spoiler:

I didn't listen to this yet but a couple of this stand out from what you said. If Billy was trying to sell him on a load management season, it sounds like Billy might have initially planned to be part of a rebuild. Also, if there was really a Miami package being offered for Russ, it sounds like they prioritized accommodating Russ over getting a package that immediately put them in rebuild mode.

Old Man Game · Post #36 » by **Old Man Game** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:17 pm

ThunderBolt wrote:
Spoiler:
Old Man Game wrote:Chris Paul was on JJ Reddick's podcast. Some interesting Thunder nuggets on there. He said that when he first met with Donovan and Presti they tried to sell him on what sounded like a sort of load management type of season (which I would assume would be so we could tank though he didn't say that) but he nixed it. Said, 'if I'm healthy I'm playing.' Really enjoyable. Talked about when he got here he didn't see it as some sort of dead end season. He took stock of the roster (Schroeder, Gallo, Shai) and was like, I can work with this.

Watch on YouTube

I didn't listen to this yet but a couple of this stand out from what you said. If Billy was trying to sell him on a load management season, it sounds like Billy might have initially planned to be part of a rebuild. Also, if there was really a Miami package being offered for Russ, it sounds like they prioritized accommodating Russ over getting a package that immediately put them in rebuild mode.

I mean, that's my read on it anyway. He said he literally had to tell them 'if I'm healthy I'm playing' because they had shown him scenarios wherein other vets like Kidd and Nash had voluntarily rested games at that point in their career. Not clear why else you'd do that but for rebuilding purposes.

Anyway, seeing as how much fun last season was I'm sort of glad he stopped them from doing it.

Post #37 » by **Dadouv47** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:50 pm

ThunderBolt wrote:
Spoiler:
Old Man Game wrote:Chris Paul was on JJ Reddick's podcast. Some interesting Thunder nuggets on there. He said that when he first met with Donovan and Presti they tried to sell him on what sounded like a sort of load management type of season (which I would assume would be so we could tank though he didn't say that) but he nixed it. Said, 'if I'm healthy I'm playing.' Really enjoyable. Talked about when he got here he didn't see it as some sort of dead end season. He took stock of the roster (Schroeder, Gallo, Shai) and was like, I can work with this.

Watch on YouTube

I didn't listen to this yet but a couple of this stand out from what you said. If Billy was trying to sell him on a load management season, it sounds like Billy might have initially planned to be part of a rebuild. Also, if there was really a Miami package being offered for Russ, it sounds like they prioritized accommodating Russ over getting a package that immediately put them in rebuild mode.

Not sure it was a plan to start the rebuild. Donovan knew we weren't contending and If you get an old CP3 coming from several injuries in Houston it's pretty normal to sell him on a load management season... best way to keep him healthy and rehab his trade value.

getrichordie · Post #38 » by **getrichordie** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:58 pm

Dadouv47 wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:
Spoiler:
Old Man Game wrote:Chris Paul was on JJ Reddick's podcast. Some interesting Thunder nuggets on there. He said that when he first met with Donovan and Presti they tried to sell him on what sounded like a sort of load management type of season (which I would assume would be so we could tank though he didn't say that) but he nixed it. Said, 'if I'm healthy I'm playing.' Really enjoyable. Talked about when he got here he didn't see it as some sort of dead end season. He took stock of the roster (Schroeder, Gallo, Shai) and was like, I can work with this.

Watch on YouTube

I didn't listen to this yet but a couple of this stand out from what you said. If Billy was trying to sell him on a load management season, it sounds like Billy might have initially planned to be part of a rebuild. Also, if there was really a Miami package being offered for Russ, it sounds like they prioritized accommodating Russ over getting a package that immediately put them in rebuild mode.

Not sure it was a plan to start the rebuild. Donovan knew we weren't contending and If you get an old CP3 coming from several injuries in Houston it's pretty normal to sell him on a load management season... best way to keep him healthy and rehab his trade value.

Yeah. This is the take I'd lean towards. Chris Paul was 34.5 years old heading into last season and has routinely gotten injured in recent years. This is just taking care of your players and making sure they are both healthy and available for as many games as possible.

Old Man Game · Post #39 » by **Old Man Game** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:03 pm

Still feels a little bizarre looking at this roster.

https://www.nba.com/thunder/roster

Post #40 » by **ThunderBolt** » Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:11 pm

getrichordie wrote:
Dadouv47 wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:
Spoiler:

I didn't listen to this yet but a couple of this stand out from what you said. If Billy was trying to sell him on a load management season, it sounds like Billy might have initially planned to be part of a rebuild. Also, if there was really a Miami package being offered for Russ, it sounds like they prioritized accommodating Russ over getting a package that immediately put them in rebuild mode.

Not sure it was a plan to start the rebuild. Donovan knew we weren't contending and If you get an old CP3 coming from several injuries in Houston it's pretty normal to sell him on a load management season... best way to keep him healthy and rehab his trade value.

Yeah. This is the take I'd lean towards. Chris Paul was 34.5 years old heading into last season and has routinely gotten injured in recent years. This is just taking care of your players and making sure they are both healthy and available for as many games as possible.

I guess the fact that he felt he could win with the roster seemed to insinuate to me that the front office didn't think they either could/would win much. A healthy but load managed chris paul definitely wouldn't have gotten as good of a return as what we got. We were so fortunate with him and Gallo.