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I'm starting up my offseason preview and wanted to get some info and feedback from you guys before I got going.

So, I come to you folks.

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Thanks in advance.

jazzfan1971 wrote:I'm starting up my offseason preview and wanted to get some info and feedback from you guys before I got going.

So, I come to you folks.

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Thanks in advance.

Spamming the boards!

For me, the depth:

PG: Westbrook, Jackson, Telfair
SG: Lamb, Morrow, Roberson
SF: Durant, Jones III, Jerrett?
PF: Ibaka, Collison, McGary
C: Perkins, Adams, Thabeet

Storylines: Keeping healthy and the improvement of Adams, Lamb, and PJ III
Record: Not gonna speculate, no jinxes .
Coaching: Brooks takes a ton of flak for his offense, but the guy gets the team to buy in and has put in a top notch defense. We'd all pretty much love a coach to come in as an assistant and put in some offensive system with some offball movement, but it doesn't seem it's gonna happen. Brooks is a great coach for development, we'll see if he gets over the hump (I'm still hopeful). He's reluctant to change lineups when he gets started, but this season he's forced into changing the starting SG and possibly C, so we'll see.

Hope that helps!

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Depth Chart:

Westbrook, Jackson, Telfair
Lamb, Morrow, Roberson
Durant, Jones, Jerrett
Ibaka, Collison, Mcgary
Perkins, Adams, Thabeet

Story Lines:

Can the young supporting cast get the star players (RW, KD, SI) over the hump and help them win there first championship. Jackson really emerged into a big time player last year. Lamb, Adams, Jones are the keys to this team in my opinion. I can see them going with Roberson as the lockdown starting SG, but I think this is a vital season for Lamb and we have to hand him the starting reigns to start at least.. With increased minutes and confidence I think Lamb can turn into a very good player.

Record Prediction:

63-19. 1st Place in the league.

I think OKC is going to take off this year, the youth movement and young energy to go a long with a full season of healthy Russ and the reigning MVP will be deadly. There could be some learning curves a long the way, and especially in a very competitive west, but I see a big season coming.

Coaching sceanrio:

Haven't been a huge, huge fan of Brooks, but I feel like the more time that passes, the more I like him. I thought he did a good job last year getting better with rotation management and then getting us past a very good team in the LAC. Big year for him and the team.

PG- Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, Semaj Christon
SG- Lamb, Morrow, Roberson
SF- Durant, Perry Jones III
PF- Ibaka, Collison, McGary, Grant Jerrett
C- Stephen Adams, Perkins, Thabeet

Record- #1

Story lines- The development of 3rd year players Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III. Westbrook's health after missing a significant portion of last season and never playing on back-to-back nights even late in the season. The continued development of Stephen Adams with increased playing time and will he take the starting job from veteran Kendrick Perkins. Can Mitch McGary crack the rotation with veteran Collison and Perkins in front of him. The battle for the 3rd PG between the rookie Semaj Christon and the veteran Telfair.

Coach- Scott Brooks, one of the most underrated coaches by his fan base, continues to develop a young team as they try to reach their ultimate goal. After having to deal with significant injuries the last two years Brooks will hope that his team will be healthy all year and they can return to dominance they displayed in 2012-2013 in the regular season and carry that into the playoffs. Brooks wants his team to be on a roll when they enter the playoffs, unlike last season when his playoff rotation had only played four games together in the regular season and some his players were still being slowed by injuries in the playoffs.

jazzfan1971 wrote:I'm starting up my offseason preview and wanted to get some info and feedback from you guys before I got going.

So, I come to you folks.

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Thanks in advance.

Depth Chart:
Westbrook/Jackson/Telfair
Roberson/Morrow/Lamb
Durant/Jones
Ibaka/Collison/McGary/Jerrett
Adams/Perkins/Thabeet

Major Storylines:
Kevin Durant's impending 2016 free agency
Russell Westbrook's Knee
If no extension reached, does Reggie Jackson get traded or does he hit UFA

Finish:
60 wins - 2nd best record in NBA

Coach Situation:
Despite a very loud minority, Scott Brooks has 100% job security most likely not matter what happens this season, unless OKC misses the playoffs or something.

Question marks on this team that will most likely be over only with the start of the Season:

3rd string PG: Christon or Telfair? I think it'll come down to TC. This might be a big thing, because Jackson is a prime candidate for a mid-season trade.
Starting SG: Will Brooks use Jackson there? Lamb? Roberson? Morrow? How will that work out.
PF/C rotations: Collison and Perkins taking smaller roles? Will McGary crack the rotation? How significant will Adams' minutes be across the season? Important question because this might be the last season of Perkins and Collison, and Adams, Jones and McGary'd better be ready for that.

Westbrook / Jackson / ??? (Christon or Telfair)
???? (Lamb, Jackson, Roberson, Morrow, Jones III as wild card)
Durant / Jones III
Ibaka / Collison / McGary / Jerrett
Perkins / Adams / Thabeet

Major storylines:
Adams' impact: will he prove himself as a starting caliber center on a contender?
Lamb and Jones III: will their talent and promise translate into factors on a title contender?
Durant: repeat MVP?
Westbrook, Ibaka and Durant: peaked or can they make another step forward?
Is this ring time for the Thunder? (this question is automatically yes if like two or three of the questions above are answered yes).

Projected record:
58-24. Blazers, Rockets, GSW and Jazz are likely to improve. Once again West is gonna be a lot wilder than East. I predict a quiet year for the Thunder until the ASG, then Thunder arrive strong for the playoffs in a good streak.

Coaching situation:
Brooks is much much much safer than he should be.

From rotoworld:

Tibor Pleiss is close to signing with the Thunder, according to his agent.

Last month, he was not expected to sign with the Thunder, and it's possible he stays in Europe. Pleiss signed a four-year deal to play in Spain back in 2012, but he is eligible to play in the USA this season.

Source: Sportando

Jul 28 - 10:02 AM