Thunder Offseason Thread Part Deux: Rebuild

[Pillendreher]

I'm beginning to wonder if this forum is going to survive without Russ.

The Thunder as an interesting NBA team are done for the foreseeable future. I sure as hell won't keep spending so much time on them.

[Old Man Game]

So, who's starting for this motley crew? They're starting Paul right? But what are they doing with SGA? Is it possible they run a two PG lineup? What happens to Ferg? And now Dre is back.

[ThunderBolt]

Shai can play off the ball. CP3, Shai, Gallo and Adams seem like a safe bet. Dre or Ferguson might be undecided because of health. I would guess Terrance starts.

[Old Man Game]

Shai can play off the ball. CP3, Shai, Gallo and Adams seem like a safe bet. Dre or Ferguson might be undecided because of health. I would guess Terrance starts.

This is where I worry more about Paul's presence. It's not that he's some locker room cancer or whatever (though he could be for all I know). It's that he's taking away minutes from SGA and thereby impairing his development as a PG. But you know as long as Paul is here they'll have to start him.

[ThunderBolt]

Shai can play off the ball. CP3, Shai, Gallo and Adams seem like a safe bet. Dre or Ferguson might be undecided because of health. I would guess Terrance starts.

This is where I worry more about Paul's presence. It's not that he's some locker room cancer or whatever (though he could be for all I know). It's that he's taking away minutes from SGA and thereby impairing his development as a PG. But you know as long as Paul is here they'll have to start him.

I’m more worried about Dennis taking minutes from shai than CP3. I don’t think putting Shai at the two is forcing him to do anything unnatural. He was very good at that position when playing the warriors last year. He’s so versatile. However I would like him to run the second unit and not have Dennis do it.

[Dadouv47]

Adams/Gallo/Ferguson/SGA/CP3 probably.

Hope Roberson can play some minutes to show he has some (even if very small) trade value

[ThunderBolt]

The relevant article:

Read on Twitter

Money quotes:

Sources told Heavy.com that the Thunder are seeking a draft pick, a young player and salary relief for Adams.

“They set the price too high,” one league executive said. “That’s what you’d expect and maybe it will drop as the year goes on. It’s tough to take on his contract (two years, $53 million remaining) and give up picks and players. Most teams are pretty well set at the center spot now, you have a big guy and you have your small lineup. You can’t just take on a contract like that. There isn’t a big number of teams who could take him.”

If there is a team that is a favorite to move for Adams, sources said, it would be Sacramento. The Kings had interest in Adams before free agency began and discussed a potential deal with the Thunder. The talks did not get very far, however. Oklahoma City had eyed one of Sacramento’s young shooting guards, Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Sacramento also has forward Harry Giles, who could blossom with more playing time.

notes they like Dedmon now though

The Mavericks have been linked to Adams, too, but a deal never gained traction there. The Mavs don’t have the young assets the Thunder want and have already dealt away their 2021 and 2023 first-round picks, meaning they can’t trade a first-rounder until 2025.

The Celtics, too, were connected to Adams in trade rumors, but Adams’ salary makes him an unlikely fit. Boston likely would have to build a deal around Gordon Hayward for Adams and neither side has much interest in that. Interest from the Spurs, another team linked to Adams, has been tepid, too.

Click through to the article anyway, it's good and Deveney is good people who could use the metrics.

The Sacramento stuff was before we traded George and Russ. We were looking for a win now piece. If Kings are still interested, I’m sure the asking price has changed.

[spearsy23]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Those are my quarterbacks, man

[Old Man Game]

Shai can play off the ball. CP3, Shai, Gallo and Adams seem like a safe bet. Dre or Ferguson might be undecided because of health. I would guess Terrance starts.

This is where I worry more about Paul's presence. It's not that he's some locker room cancer or whatever (though he could be for all I know). It's that he's taking away minutes from SGA and thereby impairing his development as a PG. But you know as long as Paul is here they'll have to start him.

I’m more worried about Dennis taking minutes from shai than CP3. I don’t think putting Shai at the two is forcing him to do anything unnatural. He was very good at that position when playing the warriors last year. He’s so versatile. However I would like him to run the second unit and not have Dennis do it.

That's a good point but I think mostly if we're going to get the most out of him as a PG he needs to be our starting PG. Have a chance to grow in the role. Make mistakes. Play through them.

[spearsy23]

This is where I worry more about Paul's presence. It's not that he's some locker room cancer or whatever (though he could be for all I know). It's that he's taking away minutes from SGA and thereby impairing his development as a PG. But you know as long as Paul is here they'll have to start him.

I’m more worried about Dennis taking minutes from shai than CP3. I don’t think putting Shai at the two is forcing him to do anything unnatural. He was very good at that position when playing the warriors last year. He’s so versatile. However I would like him to run the second unit and not have Dennis do it.

That's a good point but I think mostly if we're going to get the most out of him as a PG he needs to be our starting PG. Have a chance to grow in the role. Make mistakes. Play through them.

I'd point to Paul George and Kawhi as proof that you don't have to be treated like a star from day one to develop into one.

[CROklahoma]

Call me crazy, but we actually increase our depth a lot with Robes, Galinari, Shai compared to last years.

Now its a switch up with CP3 and Russ. If we have any resemblence of ball movement we could put a battle for 8th spot.

If Billy cant do anything with this lineup, he should quit ASAP cause he had his opportunities in every situation he was at.

[ThunderBolt]

I think this team could be a blast to watch. The reality is that even if Presti decided to keep it together, there isn't any basis to think that CP3 and Gallo could stay healthy for an extended playoff run. CP3 needs to be on a team thats good enough to get to the playoffs with him resting a lot during the regular season

[ThunderBolt]

I’m more worried about Dennis taking minutes from shai than CP3. I don’t think putting Shai at the two is forcing him to do anything unnatural. He was very good at that position when playing the warriors last year. He’s so versatile. However I would like him to run the second unit and not have Dennis do it.

That's a good point but I think mostly if we're going to get the most out of him as a PG he needs to be our starting PG. Have a chance to grow in the role. Make mistakes. Play through them.

I'd point to Paul George and Kawhi as proof that you don't have to be treated like a star from day one to develop into one.

Shai is different than the other stars we've had on this team. He isn't the athlete that Russ was and he isn't the gifted scorer of Durant. I would describe him more as a potential journeyman all star. Its not to say he isn't talented and have some great tools to work with. H'e s a player that I predict might not be elite at one thing but will have no weaknesses- good defender, facilitator, shooter and all the intangibles.

[spearsy23]

That's a good point but I think mostly if we're going to get the most out of him as a PG he needs to be our starting PG. Have a chance to grow in the role. Make mistakes. Play through them.

I'd point to Paul George and Kawhi as proof that you don't have to be treated like a star from day one to develop into one.

Shai is different than the other stars we've had on this team. He isn't the athlete that Russ was and he isn't the gifted scorer of Durant. I would describe him more as a potential journeyman all star. Its not to say he isn't talented and have some great tools to work with. H'e s a player that I predict might not be elite at one thing but will have no weaknesses- good defender, facilitator, shooter and all the intangibles.

I think he'll be very good, but never great. But my point was more toward, i don't think he necessarily needs to be given free rein in order to develop. In fact, it may avoid some of the negatives that came with Durant/Russ being given no oversight from day one.

[ThunderBolt]

I'd point to Paul George and Kawhi as proof that you don't have to be treated like a star from day one to develop into one.

Shai is different than the other stars we've had on this team. He isn't the athlete that Russ was and he isn't the gifted scorer of Durant. I would describe him more as a potential journeyman all star. Its not to say he isn't talented and have some great tools to work with. H'e s a player that I predict might not be elite at one thing but will have no weaknesses- good defender, facilitator, shooter and all the intangibles.

I think he'll be very good, but never great. But my point was more toward, i don't think he necessarily needs to be given free rein in order to develop. In fact, it may avoid some of the negatives that came with Durant/Russ being given no oversight from day one.

My vision/hope for the next generation of thunder basketball is a team that likely has less top end talent but is more complete in their basketball skills. I realize its a bit of a fantasy but it would be nice to have a pg that consistently plays defense, a defensive specialist that doesn't shoot 40% from the line, a bench that doesn't have 1 or 2 low efficiency iso players, etc.

[Old Man Game]

SGA doesn't necessarily seem like a natural PG from what I gather (more a combo guard). To get the most out of him I'd think he'd need a lot of reps to develop those skills quarterbacking a half court offense that he may not necessarily be instinctive to him at this point.

[spearsy23]

SGA doesn't necessarily seem like a natural PG from what I gather (more a combo guard). To get the most out of him I'd think he'd need a lot of reps to develop those skills quarterbacking a half court offense that he may not necessarily be instinctive to him at this point.

I disagree, I think he's a more natural system point guard than Russ was. He's not a guy who should be pounding the air out of the ball. I think at his apex he should initiate an offense and move then terminate the offense with a pick and roll it it can't generate a good shot. Tony Parker might be a good role model, as long as no teammates have hot wives.

[ThunderBolt]

SGA doesn't necessarily seem like a natural PG from what I gather (more a combo guard). To get the most out of him I'd think he'd need a lot of reps to develop those skills quarterbacking a half court offense that he may not necessarily be instinctive to him at this point.

I disagree, I think he's a more natural system point guard than Russ was. He's not a guy who should be pounding the air out of the ball. I think at his apex he should initiate an offense and move then terminate the offense with a pick and roll it it can't generate a good shot. Tony Parker might be a good role model, as long as no teammates have hot wives.

I think it comes down to what you think a "natural PG" should look like. Having a PG that can play off the ball and do so effectively is priceless, imo. He's already proven he's capable of doing it but spending half of the season fine tuning that craft can only help him in the long run.

[ThunderBolt]

Listening to Down to Dunk and Cp3 was asked who he’s most excited to play with and he immediately answered “Steven Adams”. Then they said in pickup games Chris always picked Adams first. It would be nice if Paul could raise Adams value on the way out while he is here.

[Dadouv47]

Listening to Down to Dunk and Cp3 was asked who he’s most excited to play with and he immediately answered “Steven Adams”. Then they said in pickup games Chris always picked Adams first. It would be nice if Paul could raise Adams value on the way out while he is here.

Dream scenario : CP3 increasing his and Steven Adams's trade value at the same time