OKC Thunder Offseason 2015

[bondom34]

Also, forgot to mention db but the trade board is the spot where all the team's cap situations are listed, Smitty is one of the mods there, he runs em.

[Andre Roberstan]

https://twitter.com/ailene_voisin/status/613429060694179841

I believe Vlade. Might just be Fegan trying to orchestrate Dwightmare 2.0.

Good to know about the trade board.

[Marcus50]

Kanter is a liability on D, but paired with Ibaka in the lineup, they should be a good combo and Ibaka can get Kanter's back.

A lineup of Ibaka, KD, Kanter, Roberson and Westbrook gives you a nice balance of offensive power and defensive stability.

Then you got a bench of DJ, Morrow, Waiters, Adams, Nick and Mitch, thats quite the lineup if you ask me.
OKC needs to have an offensive and defensive system, thats up to the coaches. There is no reason this team shouldnt be a Top 5-8 defensive team next year. All the tools are given.

Ibaka is not any sort of answer to Kanter's defensive weaknesses. It may work against the weaker teams but once Serge has to mark players like LMA, Tim Duncan, Griffen etc he has enough of a job just taking care of his own man. the only way Kanter's defense gets fixed is if Kanter puts the work in on the practice court and puts some effort into his defensive game on the court.

He frustrated the crap out of me post ASB last year because we can all see he has the foot speed, the size and he can jump because we all saw plenty of that on the offensive end. He moves up court with plenty of pace, but he puts much less effort on D. Forget the need to improve his defensive skill set, first I want to see him put as much commitment into his defense as he does at the other end. That is going to result in a huge improvement straight away. He does that and he is the starting Center. If he doesn't put the effort in on defense park his arse on the bench until he is prepared to.

[tleikheen]

Players develop at different rates, Kanter has become a dominant rebounding and offensive big by 23 years old. That's nothing to scoff at

what keeps being left out of the picture regarding Kanter and his defense is the bad defense of the two guards playing in front of him

Trey Burke and Alec Burks have had many ,many words written about how bad they played

Kanter never had Dante Exum playing defense in front of him,just the poor defense of Trey Burke.Exum and Gobert are the revival of the Utah defense with Exum moving in the lineup replacing Burke(same time as Kanter was traded)

With a full pre-season and a little better defense played by Westbrook than Burke in front of Kanter ,you should get a better look at Kanter who just turned 23 in may,on defense

You apparently don't understand the difference between "a top team" and winning the championship.

start by playing to your teams strength

Code: Select all

The biggest difference between future Thunder squads and the teams of the past is the possible return of Enes Kanter, who, following a midseason trade from the Utah Jazz, quickly established himself as the interior scoring presence OKC has longed for. Kanter averaged 18.7 points and 11 rebounds in 26 games, which was the best offensive output by a Thunder center ever. Kanter's addition to a lineup with Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka will give OKC one of the most dangerous and versatile offenses in basketball

and if lucky ,stay healthy....something that worked for Golden State this year

[ThunderFan123]

Kanter is a liability on D, but paired with Ibaka in the lineup, they should be a good combo and Ibaka can get Kanter's back.

A lineup of Ibaka, KD, Kanter, Roberson and Westbrook gives you a nice balance of offensive power and defensive stability.

Then you got a bench of DJ, Morrow, Waiters, Adams, Nick and Mitch, thats quite the lineup if you ask me.
OKC needs to have an offensive and defensive system, thats up to the coaches. There is no reason this team shouldnt be a Top 5-8 defensive team next year. All the tools are given.

Ibaka is not any sort of answer to Kanter's defensive weaknesses. It may work against the weaker teams but once Serge has to mark players like LMA, Tim Duncan, Griffen etc he has enough of a job just taking care of his own man. the only way Kanter's defense gets fixed is if Kanter puts the work in on the practice court and puts some effort into his defensive game on the court.

He frustrated the crap out of me post ASB last year because we can all see he has the foot speed, the size and he can jump because we all saw plenty of that on the offensive end. He moves up court with plenty of pace, but he puts much less effort on D. Forget the need to improve his defensive skill set, first I want to see him put as much commitment into his defense as he does at the other end. That is going to result in a huge improvement straight away. He does that and he is the starting Center. If he doesn't put the effort in on defense park his arse on the bench until he is prepared to.

Kanter is a double double, machine, but I think the highest we should pay him is $9,000,000. Unless he shows drastic defensive improvements I say we move on to someone else. We can get a better defensive talent for that price range

[bondom34]

I'd agree but the choice isn't Kanter or a replacement, its Kanter or nothing most likely. I'm trusting Presti's judgement.

[spearsy23]

I'd agree but the choice isn't Kanter or a replacement, its Kanter or nothing most likely. I'm trusting Presti's judgement.

This.

As a reminder of market value for centers, Jordan Hill made 9million dollars last season, Javale McGee made 12 million. And the cap goes up substantially after next season.

[Balkman32]

If he gets a max deal the Thunder will match. I could see Presti do a sign and trade if they receive a great offer.

[spearsy23]

The Kings are interested in Javale McGee? Wtf is going on in Sacramento?

[Balkman32]

The Kings are interested in Javale McGee? Wtf is going on in Sacramento?

No one knows. You could not make this stuff up.

[tleikheen]

I think the highest we should pay him is $9,000,000. Unless he shows drastic defensive improvements I say we move on to someone else. We can get a better defensive talent for that price range.

sounds like you don't give a hoot at all if Westbrook ,Durant,and Obaka likes Kanter's big #'s at the Center position
You would not even want Durant to play one game with Kanter at Center because you think defensive talent is needed more

he biggest difference between future Thunder squads and the teams of the past is the possible return of Enes Kanter, who, following a midseason trade from the Utah Jazz, quickly established himself as the interior scoring presence OKC has longed for.

Kanter's addition to a lineup with Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka will give OKC one of the most dangerous and versatile offenses in basketball.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2502340-why-the-oklahoma-city-thunder-championship-window-remains-wide-open

I'd agree but the choice isn't Kanter or a replacement, its Kanter or nothing most likely.

Myself I don't think by himself Steven Adams is good enough Center to balance Westbrook and Durants finesse game ,thats why a big deal is made of Kanter's in the paint play

I think it's fair that Kanter gets market value for what NBA teams will pay him ,he didn't make the market

[spearsy23]

Steven Adams is on par with Enes Kanter and fits the team much better. If we HAD to get rid of one I'd jettison Kanter out the door so quick that even Russ couldn't catch him. We all know he can score, that doesn't change that he's such a poor defender that he gives up as much as he gets. He's the perfect player to run our bench offense through and split time with Steven.

I'm seeing why Utah was sick of Kanter fanboys.

[Marcus50]

Players develop at different rates, Kanter has become a dominant rebounding and offensive big by 23 years old. That's nothing to scoff at

what keeps being left out of the picture regarding Kanter and his defense is the bad defense of the two guards playing in front of him

Trey Burke and Alec Burks have had many ,many words written about how bad they played

Kanter never had Dante Exum playing defense in front of him,just the poor defense of Trey Burke.Exum and Gobert are the revival of the Utah defense with Exum moving in the lineup replacing Burke(same time as Kanter was traded)

With a full pre-season and a little better defense played by Westbrook than Burke in front of Kanter ,you should get a better look at Kanter who just turned 23 in may,on defense

You apparently don't understand the difference between "a top team" and winning the championship.

start by playing to your teams strength

Code: Select all

The biggest difference between future Thunder squads and the teams of the past is the possible return of Enes Kanter, who, following a midseason trade from the Utah Jazz, quickly established himself as the interior scoring presence OKC has longed for. Kanter averaged 18.7 points and 11 rebounds in 26 games, which was the best offensive output by a Thunder center ever. Kanter's addition to a lineup with Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka will give OKC one of the most dangerous and versatile offenses in basketball

and if lucky ,stay healthy....something that worked for Golden State this year

I am one who thinks Kanter CAN improve his defense but we have to accept that even when he was scoring well for OKC his defense was a disaster. Trying to lay the blame on the Utah guards is somewhat of a stretch. Same guards played when Kanter left and the Utah defense turned into one of the best in the league with Gobert as the anchor. As I have said consistently Kanter has to put more effort into his defense. He has the tools because we have seen them on the offensive end but we have not seen any hint of a defense first attitude he has to develop. My concern is he has shown little inclination to try to improve his defense in 4 years in the league so hopefully the new team will encourage a better attitude

[Pillendreher]

Man, it would be great if Presti could land Batum.

[tleikheen]

I'm seeing why Utah was sick of Kanter fanboys.

I can see your clueless ,only offering up lame responses

Steven Adams is on par with Enes Kanter and fits the team much better. If we HAD to get rid of one I'd jettison Kanter out the door so quick that even Russ couldn't catch him.

I can see your going to be butthurt when Adams is coming off the bench,you must be the only one that doesn't get the picture that OKC couldn't get over the hump with a finesse team.That having an inside presence lessens the double teams on Durant and Westbrook. And I was right ,you don't care if Westbrook formed a trust with Kanter on PNR ,you'd rather him try to forcefeed Adams on the same plays knowing he's incapable of catching and finishing the play,smh

[bondom34]

I'm seeing why Utah was sick of Kanter fanboys.

I can see your clueless ,only offering up lame responses

Steven Adams is on par with Enes Kanter and fits the team much better. If we HAD to get rid of one I'd jettison Kanter out the door so quick that even Russ couldn't catch him.

I can see your going to be butthurt when Adams is coming off the bench,you must be the only one that doesn't get the picture that OKC couldn't get over the hump with a finesse team.That having an inside presence lessens the double teams on Durant and Westbrook. And I was right ,you don't care if Westbrook formed a trust with Kanter on PNR ,you'd rather him try to forcefeed Adams on the same plays knowing he's incapable of catching and finishing the play,smh

Yeah, we're not gonna do this. Warned.

And on topic, I'd agree with spearsy. Adams has proven himself, and if I'm picking Kanter at 10 mil or Adams rookie contract, its Adams no doubt. Worst case is a sign and trade IMO.

[Pillendreher]

I see Presti even matching an max offer. With the cap going up that would still be an acceptable contract, especially since (at this has already been pointed out) Kanter has yet to play with a good defensive squad around him. A lot of times he was beingt left on an island because Westbrook and Waiters were all over the place, but not guarding their man. Give the kid some time.

[Andre Roberstan]

[quote=bondom34]And on topic, I'd agree with spearsy. Adams has proven himself, and if I'm picking Kanter at 10 mil or Adams rookie contract, its Adams no doubt. Worst case is a sign and trade IMO.[/quote]

Agreed. If you have to let Kanter go, Adams is more than serviceable. I have these ridiculous dreams of one WCS falling to us and immediately becoming an impact player on the defensive end, but if not you could always pick up someone like Emeka Okafor for the MMLE as a backup big. If we need post moves, go McGary/Ibaka—Mitch isn't Kanter in the post, but he's definitely capable.

I'd like to keep Kanter, but we have flexibility.

[Pillendreher]

dbrandon, are you the MPN Brandon?

Don't we lose flexibilty if we let Kanter go? I mean we could maybe do a S&T (I think), but other than that...

[Andre Roberstan]

No, I'm not the MPN Brandon. I'm Snoop Dion over on DT, dbthelinguaphile on /r/Thunder and /r/NBA, same on WTLC.

We can sign and trade Kanter. Was talking with Justin on DT last night and thought we couldn't, but we talked about it and I looked into the cap implications. So far as I can tell from CBAFAQ and the actual CBA there's no restrictions regarding sending out a sign-and-traded player.

We can't receive a sign-and-traded player unless we send out salary, but we can sign-and-trade a player of our own.

We lose a good center and a trade chip if we let him walk, but next year the cap jumps by $20mil. See: https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/589169246455869440

Quick and dirty calculation says we might actually have some cap room even with KD's cap hold (depending on how we play things with our team options/QOs) but I don't have time to do the full math right now. We for sure won't if we sign Kanter, though.

I'll play with the numbers a bit more when I have time.