Moderators: nate33, montestewart, LyricalRico
hands11 wrote:Wizardspride wrote:jivelikenice wrote:I think there's a decent shot it happens, especially if he delivers a title to OKC before that.
Actually, I think it's just the opposite.
We have a better chance if Durant doesn't win a championshio in OKC.
Agreed. That's what I thought when I read that.
We would want him to get frustrated there and for him to start getting stick of Westbrook. And to never get over how they let Harden walk.
stevemcqueen1 wrote:Players like Durant don't leave their teams while they're still good unless something is irreparably wrong with the team. OKC has two top ten players and that FO has been outrageously successful. He's never going to leave. He'll go down as the greatest player in that franchise's history, be the second greatest player of this era, and have one of the most successful careers in NBA history.
OKC would have to lose Westbrook for nothing as a minimum for Durant to consider leaving IMO. And even then, they'd still have Ibaka, who was a top five PF last year. There is no other team in the NBA right now that offers Durant a better chance at winning a championship in both the short and long term. He has no reason to leave. If he wants to win multiple rings, all he and OKC have to do is wait their turn. Sooner rather than later, Miami won't be the best team in the NBA any more. OKC is next.
LyricalRico wrote:dckingsfan wrote:What do you thing about Utah?
Utah in general, or as a place for Harrington? I don't think Harrington would go to Utah.
In general, Favors and Kanter could be a foundation for good things to come, and Heyward is decent IMO. Lots riding on Trey Burke, though. Based on how he did in summer league, it could take him a while to develop.
What's most interesting IMO is what they have several medium to large expiring contracts and some extra future picks, which they could package together for help on the wings to go with their young frontcourt. Not sure who's available, though.
They could also let those contracts expire, keep the picks, and just ride out a rebuild through the draft. They're going to have to pay Favors, soon, though. So maybe they do decide to accelerate things. Either way, I think they're positioned pretty well.
stevemcqueen1 wrote:Players like Durant don't leave their teams while they're still good unless something is irreparably wrong with the team. OKC has two top ten players and that FO has been outrageously successful. He's never going to leave. He'll go down as the greatest player in that franchise's history, be the second greatest player of this era, and have one of the most successful careers in NBA history.
OKC would have to lose Westbrook for nothing as a minimum for Durant to consider leaving IMO. And even then, they'd still have Ibaka, who was a top five PF last year. There is no other team in the NBA right now that offers Durant a better chance at winning a championship in both the short and long term. He has no reason to leave. If he wants to win multiple rings, all he and OKC have to do is wait their turn. Sooner rather than later, Miami won't be the best team in the NBA any more. OKC is next.
hands11 wrote:stevemcqueen1 wrote:Players like Durant don't leave their teams while they're still good unless something is irreparably wrong with the team. OKC has two top ten players and that FO has been outrageously successful. He's never going to leave. He'll go down as the greatest player in that franchise's history, be the second greatest player of this era, and have one of the most successful careers in NBA history.
OKC would have to lose Westbrook for nothing as a minimum for Durant to consider leaving IMO. And even then, they'd still have Ibaka, who was a top five PF last year. There is no other team in the NBA right now that offers Durant a better chance at winning a championship in both the short and long term. He has no reason to leave. If he wants to win multiple rings, all he and OKC have to do is wait their turn. Sooner rather than later, Miami won't be the best team in the NBA any more. OKC is next.
Miami is in the East. They haven't been the ones stopping OKC from getting into the finals.
Wizardspride wrote:hands11 wrote:stevemcqueen1 wrote:Players like Durant don't leave their teams while they're still good unless something is irreparably wrong with the team. OKC has two top ten players and that FO has been outrageously successful. He's never going to leave. He'll go down as the greatest player in that franchise's history, be the second greatest player of this era, and have one of the most successful careers in NBA history.
OKC would have to lose Westbrook for nothing as a minimum for Durant to consider leaving IMO. And even then, they'd still have Ibaka, who was a top five PF last year. There is no other team in the NBA right now that offers Durant a better chance at winning a championship in both the short and long term. He has no reason to leave. If he wants to win multiple rings, all he and OKC have to do is wait their turn. Sooner rather than later, Miami won't be the best team in the NBA any more. OKC is next.
Miami is in the East. They haven't been the ones stopping OKC from getting into the finals.
http://www.philstar.com/sports/2013/07/ ... oyal-roots
If he weren’t playing for the Thunder, Durant said he would prefer to play for the Washington Wizards. “I’m not suggesting it will happen someday,” he said. “I’m happy at Oklahoma City but it would be cool playing before friends and family in D. C. Right now, I love Oklahoma City, my new home.”
hands11 wrote:Wizardspride wrote:hands11 wrote:
Miami is in the East. They haven't been the ones stopping OKC from getting into the finals.
http://www.philstar.com/sports/2013/07/ ... oyal-roots
If he weren’t playing for the Thunder, Durant said he would prefer to play for the Washington Wizards. “I’m not suggesting it will happen someday,” he said. “I’m happy at Oklahoma City but it would be cool playing before friends and family in D. C. Right now, I love Oklahoma City, my new home.”
Great find WIZ ... posted July 4th, 2013
Durant was born and raised in Seat Pleasant, a small city in Maryland, only a 20-minute drive away from downtown Washington, D. C. Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene Grant said the “city of excellence” is part of what is called Metro D. C. Although he’s from the East Coast, Durant enrolled at the University of Texas for a year before turning pro in 2007. Durant played at Seattle then wound up at Oklahoma City.
If he weren’t playing for the Thunder, Durant said he would prefer to play for the Washington Wizards.
miller31time wrote:I don't know how wise it is to gameplan for a 10% chance Durant signs here in 2016/2017.
If we have the pieces to acquire talent immediately or in the very near future, I feel it's best to improve the team that way. If Durant wants to be in Washington, when the time comes, I'm sure we can find a way to change our plans.
long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:NatP4 wrote:but why would the pacers want Mahinmi's contract
Well, in fairness, we took Mike Pence off their hands. Taking back Mahinmi is the least they can do.
hands11 wrote:miller31time wrote:I don't know how wise it is to gameplan for a 10% chance Durant signs here in 2016/2017.
If we have the pieces to acquire talent immediately or in the very near future, I feel it's best to improve the team that way. If Durant wants to be in Washington, when the time comes, I'm sure we can find a way to change our plans.
Why can't you do both ?
And your 10% number means nothing. The deal wouldn't be happening this year. You have no idea what the percentage would be later.
But you know what I do know ? Kevin D said
If he weren’t playing for the Thunder, Durant said he would prefer to play for the Washington Wizards. “I’m not suggesting it will happen someday,” he said. “I’m happy at Oklahoma City but it would be cool playing before friends and family in D. C. Right now, I love Oklahoma City, my new home.”
Spoken like a true politician.
http://www.philstar.com/sports/2013/07/ ... oyal-roots
Wonder if we can find any press clips of him saying he would prefer playing in LA or NY..
Kevin loves DC.
http://wizardsxtra.com/2013/08/01/kevin ... e-wizards/
hands11 wrote:stevemcqueen1 wrote:Players like Durant don't leave their teams while they're still good unless something is irreparably wrong with the team. OKC has two top ten players and that FO has been outrageously successful. He's never going to leave. He'll go down as the greatest player in that franchise's history, be the second greatest player of this era, and have one of the most successful careers in NBA history.
OKC would have to lose Westbrook for nothing as a minimum for Durant to consider leaving IMO. And even then, they'd still have Ibaka, who was a top five PF last year. There is no other team in the NBA right now that offers Durant a better chance at winning a championship in both the short and long term. He has no reason to leave. If he wants to win multiple rings, all he and OKC have to do is wait their turn. Sooner rather than later, Miami won't be the best team in the NBA any more. OKC is next.
Miami is in the East. They haven't been the ones stopping OKC from getting into the finals.
Its been LAL, SA, MEM and Dallas stopping them, not Miami.
Last year MEM took them out 4-1 in the 2nd round
SA the year before that 4-1 in conference finals
year before that MEM took them 7 games and lost and Dallas took them in the conf finals 4-1
year before that LAL in the first round 4-2
The West have plenty of hurdles. You can add Houston to the list.
stevemcqueen1 wrote:
The only reason they didn't make it back to the finals last year was the Westbrook injury. They made it to the finals the year before, obliterating SA on the way. They had a good shot to make it the year before that but they were just too young and ran up against Dirk when he was on a mission and having a postseason run for the ages.
They'll be the favorite in the West once again next year. The West has very good teams. But none of them are as good as OKC. Houston got a lot better with Dwight. But even with him, they're not as good as OKC because Durant is still better than Dwight and Westbrook is better than Harden.
The only team in the NBA that's currently better than healthy OKC is Miami. And age and salary are going to ensure that won't be the case in two years, if not sooner.
Dat2U wrote:I mentioned this in the Durant thread but I question whether guys like Aldridge, Cousins & Love are any better acquisitions than someone like Thad Young or Ilyasova. When considering the price in terms of trade assets or salary and looking at the advanced numbers, I have trouble coming up with reasons on why Aldridge, Cousins or Love would be ideal targets for us.
Cousins simply isn't very good. He has to make a significant jump to be worth the type of money he's demanding.
Love throughout his career has prioritized defensive rebounding over challenging shots which begs the question of whether he's more of a stat hog than a real difference maker in terms of wins and losses.
Aldridge's efficiency has been middlin' at best. He's a poor rebounder and not known as a lock down defender. Is he really worth all the assets Portland would require to make a deal?
I think you can put Monroe into the same boat too because of his marginal defensive abilities.
dockingsched wrote:Zach Lowe just wrote a very detailed in-depth piece on Cousins examining some of his talents, but mostly some of his short comings. He looked a his infamous "attitude and effort" problems, but also went above that and looked at some of his basic short comings on defense and offense. Its a nice piece that didn't go the lazy route and pin his weaknesses simply on effort or attitude.
the article looks into how cousins fails miserably on the defensive end and lets down his teammates, specifically on pick and roll defense.
it also looks at how his offensive tendencies have left a lot to be desired, though it shines some light on some positive changes he made late in the season that drew him closer to the basket instead of a mostly inefficient long range shooter.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/954 ... st-mystery
here are some quick snapshots from the pretty lengthy piece:
on his defense:The Kings have ranked 20th, 28th, and 29th in points allowed per possession, respectively, during the last three seasons, and they've been worse with Cousins on the floor in all three, per NBA.com. Cousins is a stout post defender and voracious rebound gobbler, but he has struggled horribly at almost any part of defense that involves him moving around above the charge circle. Giving heavy minutes and a max-level salary to a big man who can't defend is a great way to lower your ceiling unless (a) that big man is a historically great offensive player, on the level of Dirk Nowitzki or peak Phoenix Amar'e Stoudemire, or (b) you can find the perfect rim-protecting complement to that player without compromising your spacing on offense. Good luck!
on effort:Some of Cousins's problems on defense are clearly effort-related. He is always behind the play, a disastrously bad habit that can take on many forms. The most obvious is when he is late getting back on defense, either because he's pouting over a missed shot or a pass that never came, or because he's yapping at the officials over a perceived injustice. I doubt any player in the league costs his team more points this way; even Dwyane Wade thinks Cousins should shut up and get his ass back on defense.
on defensive selfishnessWe tend to think of selfishness as something ball hogs exhibit on offense. But Cousins, to this point in his career, has been a selfish defender in lots of ways. He tries to minimize the amount of energy he expends executing the team's scheme, and as a result, he stays very close to his own man when his team really needs him to be helping more aggressively. Even when he slides over on time to try to contain the opposing point guard on a pick-and-roll, he often leaves his help spot early, after offering only a token wave of the hand.
there's a lot more stuff, including stuff on his offense that isn't so hopeless. the article's basic conclusion is the following:Signing Cousins to a max contract is gambling on his personality, always a murky thing, and on his ability to morph into an average NBA defender.
It's a tough bet to make at this point. D'Alessandro has talked Cousins up at every opportunity, and the team's new owner, Vivek Ranadivé, made a point of watching Cousins at the Team USA training camp last month in Las Vegas — a rare gesture for an owner. (Sources who were at those workouts said Cousins was very bad, again.) But the track record so far does not suggest Cousins is a cornerstone player. Some team is going to give him something close to the max, whether it's Sacramento; the Lakers or some other team that will be flush with cap space next summer; or a team that trades for Cousins between now and then.
D'Alessandro should be working hard to find that trade partner willing to surrender a package that meets his needs. The Kings should be in no rush; Cousins hasn't earned it. They control the free-agency process, and they should make him prove he's worth that kind of deal — either so they can feel comfortable giving it to him, or to boost his trade value midseason.