OKC Thunder 2022-23 Regular Season Discussion

[Dadouv47]

I like Giddey a lot but I would trade him if he's the piece needed to be added in a trade to get a very good player...a Shai/Giddey/Dort core won't work and we will trade one of them sooner or later anyway.

[ThunderBolt]

I like Giddey a lot but I would trade him if he's the piece needed to be added in a trade to get a very good player...a Shai/Giddey/Dort core won't work and we will trade one of them sooner or later anyway.

Out of that core, Giddey isn’t the guy that bothers me. I really want to give Giddey until this time next year to have strong opinions about what we should do with him.

[jake_swivel]

just drafting a guy in the 7-10 range hoping our roster will improve miraculously would be stupid.

Yeah, but like, it’s not going to miracle if there is a bunch of improvement from a bunch of 19-22 year old guys. And adding the #2 pick and likely top 10 pick. Not saying there shouldn’t be a move, but improvement, defined roles, and adding Chet will be a big deal.

[slick_watts]

I scour other teams rosters regularly. I would love to make a trade from a player that speeds up the rebuild but I have no idea who that player is. Maybe a PJ Washington or John Collins fills a need but those guys are only making a difference if J Dub takes a leap and Chet is everything we want him to be.

we're not trading for or otherwise acquiring a home run star. someone like collins or washington could be so much better than what we currently have and would make a big difference.

[ThunderBolt]

I scour other teams rosters regularly. I would love to make a trade from a player that speeds up the rebuild but I have no idea who that player is. Maybe a PJ Washington or John Collins fills a need but those guys are only making a difference if J Dub takes a leap and Chet is everything we want him to be.

we're not trading for or otherwise acquiring a home run star. someone like collins or washington could be so much better than what we currently have and would make a big difference.

Perhaps not at this point or maybe not this offseason. Would the addition of Chet and the national progression of some others be enough to push us to a bottom tier playoff team for next year and keep Shai happy? I'm also optimistic that J Dub is probably the third most important piece on the team. I don't mind the players you listed but they aren't superstars and I don't want to pay the price as if they were such. I'm all for using assets to improve the roster but not spending them frivolously.

[Dadouv47]

I scour other teams rosters regularly. I would love to make a trade from a player that speeds up the rebuild but I have no idea who that player is. Maybe a PJ Washington or John Collins fills a need but those guys are only making a difference if J Dub takes a leap and Chet is everything we want him to be.

we're not trading for or otherwise acquiring a home run star. someone like collins or washington could be so much better than what we currently have and would make a big difference.

Perhaps not at this point or maybe not this offseason. Would the addition of Chet and the national progression of some others be enough to push us to a bottom tier playoff team for next year and keep Shai happy? I'm also optimistic that J Dub is probably the third most important piece on the team. I don't mind the players you listed but they aren't superstars and I don't want to pay the price as if they were such. I'm all for using assets to improve the roster but not spending them frivolously.

Could be a huge overreaction after 29 games in his rookie season but to me Jalen is definitely our third most important piece. Giddey has real value and higher ceiling but Jalen is showing that he fits perfectly next to Shai. He could be a good starter or an elite 6th man leading the second unit in the passing game.

I only have Shai, Chet, Jalen and Giddey as really important pieces in our roster tbh and that's why we badly need to add talent (hope Dieng can join this group).

Presti made it clear that he wouldn't rush the rebuild and that the goal wasn't just to reach the playoff so I'm not sure adding a guy like PJ Washington is trending into that direction. He might change his mind because of Shai's improvement though.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[slick_watts]

I scour other teams rosters regularly. I would love to make a trade from a player that speeds up the rebuild but I have no idea who that player is. Maybe a PJ Washington or John Collins fills a need but those guys are only making a difference if J Dub takes a leap and Chet is everything we want him to be.

we're not trading for or otherwise acquiring a home run star. someone like collins or washington could be so much better than what we currently have and would make a big difference.

Perhaps not at this point or maybe not this offseason. Would the addition of Chet and the national progression of some others be enough to push us to a bottom tier playoff team for next year and keep Shai happy? I'm also optimistic that J Dub is probably the third most important piece on the team. I don't mind the players you listed but they aren't superstars and I don't want to pay the price as if they were such. I'm all for using assets to improve the roster but not spending them frivolously.

i wouldn't hold your breath on trading for a superstar.

[kdthunderup]

Trading for PJ Washington or John Collins makes absolutely zero sense. Yeah of course they would make our team better but we have been intentionally rolling out units with Poku/JRE at the 5 which have huge negative ratings whilst Muscala/Bazely who have had much better positive ratings but have been sitting on the bench.

We already have the tools on this team to be winning more game already - this is still a development year. The team is still experimenting and testing different lineups to give itself as much data as possible to see who works together and who doesn’t.

Also PJ and Collins don’t really fit into the defensive scheme we are trying to build. Chet fills a massive hole on defense as rim protector. He will 100% be starting at the 5 when he is healthy.

[ThunderBolt]

we're not trading for or otherwise acquiring a home run star. someone like collins or washington could be so much better than what we currently have and would make a big difference.

Perhaps not at this point or maybe not this offseason. Would the addition of Chet and the national progression of some others be enough to push us to a bottom tier playoff team for next year and keep Shai happy? I'm also optimistic that J Dub is probably the third most important piece on the team. I don't mind the players you listed but they aren't superstars and I don't want to pay the price as if they were such. I'm all for using assets to improve the roster but not spending them frivolously.

i wouldn't hold your breath on trading for a superstar.

That's not what I suggested. I don't want to give the value of a superstar for PJ Washington or John Collins.

[Devilanche]

I only have Shai, Chet, Jalen and Giddey as really important pieces in our roster tbh and that's why we badly need to add talent (hope Dieng can join this group).

I have hope that Joe would join that group as well. Probably as someone number 7 or 8 in minutes on the team .

[Dadouv47]

I only have Shai, Chet, Jalen and Giddey as really important pieces in our roster tbh and that's why we badly need to add talent (hope Dieng can join this group).

I have hope that Joe would join that group as well. Probably as someone number 7 or 8 in minutes on the team .

he has a shot to be a good contributor off the bench. We could have used a guy like him the WB/PG13 days.

[slick_watts]

Trading for PJ Washington or John Collins makes absolutely zero sense. Yeah of course they would make our team better but we have been intentionally rolling out units with Poku/JRE at the 5 which have huge negative ratings whilst Muscala/Bazely who have had much better positive ratings but have been sitting on the bench.

We already have the tools on this team to be winning more game already - this is still a development year. The team is still experimenting and testing different lineups to give itself as much data as possible to see who works together and who doesn’t.

Also PJ and Collins don’t really fit into the defensive scheme we are trying to build. Chet fills a massive hole on defense as rim protector. He will 100% be starting at the 5 when he is healthy.

i think a pf like washington or collins is precisely the best fit next to chet and in our starting lineup. our defensive scheme we are running now during the season is obviously not what we are going to be doing with chet in the game. we won't be switching pnr like we are now with chet at center, we'll be dropping him.

shai is a superstar now and the time to make moves is next season when chet is back. the biggest hole on the team is in the front court next to chet. not sure how getting either collins or washington or a similar player would not be a home run.

[Dadouv47]

Trading for PJ Washington or John Collins makes absolutely zero sense. Yeah of course they would make our team better but we have been intentionally rolling out units with Poku/JRE at the 5 which have huge negative ratings whilst Muscala/Bazely who have had much better positive ratings but have been sitting on the bench.

We already have the tools on this team to be winning more game already - this is still a development year. The team is still experimenting and testing different lineups to give itself as much data as possible to see who works together and who doesn’t.

Also PJ and Collins don’t really fit into the defensive scheme we are trying to build. Chet fills a massive hole on defense as rim protector. He will 100% be starting at the 5 when he is healthy.

i think a pf like washington or collins is precisely the best fit next to chet and in our starting lineup. our defensive scheme we are running now during the season is obviously not what we are going to be doing with chet in the game. we won't be switching pnr like we are now with chet at center, we'll be dropping him.

shai is a superstar now and the time to make moves is next season when chet is back. the biggest hole on the team is in the front court next to chet. not sure how getting either collins or washington or a similar player would not be a home run.

How much money do you think PJ Washington is worth on his contract?

I agree with everything u said and mostly that we need to improve our frontcourt but I'm not sure Collins or PJ are the right guys.

[Devilanche]

I think with how much money we have coming off the dead cap, I’m ok with throwing money at someone who can fill up that 2nd big spot. I prefer Myles turner if we are throwing money though. Chet as starting PF and slowly being moved to a C .

[Devilanche]

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Encouraging signs.

[slick_watts]

Trading for PJ Washington or John Collins makes absolutely zero sense. Yeah of course they would make our team better but we have been intentionally rolling out units with Poku/JRE at the 5 which have huge negative ratings whilst Muscala/Bazely who have had much better positive ratings but have been sitting on the bench.

We already have the tools on this team to be winning more game already - this is still a development year. The team is still experimenting and testing different lineups to give itself as much data as possible to see who works together and who doesn’t.

Also PJ and Collins don’t really fit into the defensive scheme we are trying to build. Chet fills a massive hole on defense as rim protector. He will 100% be starting at the 5 when he is healthy.

i think a pf like washington or collins is precisely the best fit next to chet and in our starting lineup. our defensive scheme we are running now during the season is obviously not what we are going to be doing with chet in the game. we won't be switching pnr like we are now with chet at center, we'll be dropping him.

shai is a superstar now and the time to make moves is next season when chet is back. the biggest hole on the team is in the front court next to chet. not sure how getting either collins or washington or a similar player would not be a home run.

How much money do you think PJ Washington is worth on his contract?

I agree with everything u said and mostly that we need to improve our frontcourt but I'm not sure Collins or PJ are the right guys.

both p.j. and collins are having down years. the idea of acquiring either of them would be to get in on that, and potentially create a value surplus.

i'd do 4/60 for p.j. washington, similar to the lu dort deal.

[cjmcallist]

TLDR: unless there are unique circumstances, I don’t think we can or should make a move until we see Chet on the floor for at least a half season. Presti seemed fairly clear about that in his EOY press conference.


I think a lot about Presti’s conference at the end of last year. My takeaway was that every season, he gives the team the ability to assert itself. At some point (the timing is not clear to me), they decide whether or not this team for that season is ready to play games of consequence. If not, pull the trigger and tank. If yes, look to address weaknesses. He didn’t really define games of consequence.

He also talked about how a trade is an acceleration through the phases of team building, and that it’s an “unnatural” way to build a team. Ideally, over time a team organically grows into something as the players grow and change. Making a trade is dropping an already formed object into an existing mixture. One of his jobs is to protect that accelerator button until he’s sure that the team is ready.

This team is clearly not ready to play games of consequence. Additionally, we won’t know what the organic mixture of this team looks like with Chet. We don’t know what type of player Chet will be, nor the team’s strengths and weaknesses until at least halfway through next season. Therefore, I think acquiring someone this off-season is not in the plan.

SGA is the mitigating circumstance here. If he is unhappy, he could change the plan, maybe. No indication of that so far and Harden didn’t change the plan last time. Sorry for the long post.

[ThunderBolt]

Nice to see Tre Mann play better. He seems to be a player whose success is predicated on his level of confidence. Hope Poku is OK.

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[Dadouv47]

Nice to see Tre Mann play better. He seems to be a player whose success is predicated on his level of confidence. Hope Poku is OK.

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Feel like Mann was overconfident in the beginning of the RS and then lost it because he was missing bad shots. I have no idea if he can be a decent starter/good 6th man in the NBA but he's a hard working kid and I have no doubt he will give his best to try to achieve that.

SGA's passing skill is so underrated...I love the fact that our main guys are all good passers (except Dort).

Poku making a 3, blocking a shot and got injured in a matter of 30 minutes...that's just who he's...really hope nothing serious because this season is so important for his development.

[Dadouv47]

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