OKC is a disgrace

[bbms]

Thunder fans bumping this may want to wait to find out if Lakers (who went 3-1 against thunder btw) are their first rd matchup or not…because if it is and Thunder lose a #1 vs #8 matchup in rd 1 then all the chest thumping will have been for nothing. Sure Thunder will still have a bright future and yada yada yada but living in the present, round 1 may be a major problem.

if they lose they lose. the rebuild was successful, and all the casual trolls in this thread look foolish.

A #1 seed losing to a #8 seed would be seen as successful? The bar can’t possibly be set that low in OKC.

in an okc vs lal match up, the pressure is all on lal to win, no matter the scenario you draw. 0 data on this okc formation on playoffs environments vs a goat level leader with 20 years of playoffs experience... on the other hand, the rebuild has already succeeded given what okc already achieved and it's positioning as a franchise to perform in the next decade - given the wealth of talent and assets accumulated.

[BobbyPortisEyes]

Thunder fans bumping this may want to wait to find out if Lakers (who went 3-1 against thunder btw) are their first rd matchup or not…because if it is and Thunder lose a #1 vs #8 matchup in rd 1 then all the chest thumping will have been for nothing. Sure Thunder will still have a bright future and yada yada yada but living in the present, round 1 may be a major problem.

if they lose they lose. the rebuild was successful, and all the casual trolls in this thread look foolish.

A #1 seed losing to a #8 seed would be seen as successful? The bar can’t possibly be set that low in OKC.

They went from finishing second last in the West to finishing with the best record in the West in a span of 2 years. Give me a break on judging if the rebuild was successful based on what happens in their first playoff run.

[Dadouv47]

yeah there's no reason an healthy OKC team shouldn't be a contender next season even if we lose in the first round this year.

I just hope they can go as far as possible to learn playoff basketball.

[Joshyjess]

I'll be pulling for the Thunder in the West. If they should happen to meet Boston in the Finals, of course I'll be all for the C's, but otherwise, I wouldn't mind seeing OKC win it all this year. They seem like a likeable team.

[MoneyTalks41890]

I don't get the chest thumping yet either because they could be 4-0'd and people would reverse bump the OKC posters for how fradulent the core was.

For every Jaylen Williams there is/was a Aleksej Pokusevski that Presti botched.

Yes, finding a star at 12 means the GM was garbage because the swing at 17 didn't work out...

Lots of pulled muscles in this thread, even now.

[Revived]

if they lose they lose. the rebuild was successful, and all the casual trolls in this thread look foolish.

A #1 seed losing to a #8 seed would be seen as successful? The bar can’t possibly be set that low in OKC.

They went from finishing second last in the West to finishing with the best record in the West in a span of 2 years. Give me a break on judging if the rebuild was successful based on what happens in their first playoff run.

I didn’t even read the specifics, you’re right the rebuild would be seen as succcesful, yes. But I don’t agree that the season itself would be seen as successful, that’s just my perspective. Even with it being a young team and all that context, I can’t agree with any perspective where a #1 seed losing to a #8 is seen as successful year. Again, just my take.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

I don't get the chest thumping yet either because they could be 4-0'd and people would reverse bump the OKC posters for how fradulent the core was.

For every Jaylen Williams there is/was a Aleksej Pokusevski that Presti botched.

That would be one heck of a track record

[NoDopeOnSundays]

[donemilio21]

if they lose they lose. the rebuild was successful, and all the casual trolls in this thread look foolish.

A #1 seed losing to a #8 seed would be seen as successful? The bar can’t possibly be set that low in OKC.

in an okc vs lal match up, the pressure is all on lal to win, no matter the scenario you draw. 0 data on this okc formation on playoffs environments vs a goat level leader with 20 years of playoffs experience... on the other hand, the rebuild has already succeeded given what okc already achieved and it's positioning as a franchise to perform in the next decade - given the wealth of talent and assets accumulated.

OKC and MIN do not (should not) have pressure to win in this years playoffs. The pressure for both teams, but more so on OKC, is going to continue to be a winning team for the seasons to come, particularly next 3 or 4, and also go deep in playoffs. One or two good season won't erase years of tanking. But if OKC achieves the success level of the KD-Russ teams in this decade, their rebuilt would be considered successful.

[cupcakesnake]

I don't get the chest thumping yet either because they could be 4-0'd and people would reverse bump the OKC posters for how fradulent the core was.

For every Jaylen Williams there is/was a Aleksej Pokusevski that Presti botched.

A playoff flameout this year would not re-validate this thread. OP wrote this because of tanking and putting out a terrible product. It turns out OKC's rebuild was actually spectacularly fast and extremely efficient. Winning 57 games and grabbing the one seed is already enough for this thread to proven wrong.

A first round sweep would certainly be humbling, but not humbling enough to make this thread reasonable.

[ChipotleWest]

A #1 seed losing to a #8 seed would be seen as successful? The bar can’t possibly be set that low in OKC.

in an okc vs lal match up, the pressure is all on lal to win, no matter the scenario you draw. 0 data on this okc formation on playoffs environments vs a goat level leader with 20 years of playoffs experience... on the other hand, the rebuild has already succeeded given what okc already achieved and it's positioning as a franchise to perform in the next decade - given the wealth of talent and assets accumulated.

OKC and MIN do not (should not) have pressure to win in this years playoffs. The pressure for both teams, but more so on OKC, is going to continue to be a winning team for the seasons to come, particularly next 3 or 4, and also go deep in playoffs. One or two good season won't erase years of tanking. But if OKC achieves the success level of the KD-Russ teams in this decade, their rebuilt would be considered successful.

Maybe not for OKC and maybe not for Anthony Edwards, but for Towns and Gobert who are 28 and 31 they don't have forever.

[lessthanjake]

I don’t think it matters what happens in the playoffs this year for purposes of whether the Thunder’s rebuild is successful. If you get the #1 seed in your conference with a 7+ SRS, then a rebuild was successful. A rebuild isn’t only successful if you win a title. It is successful if the team is rebuilt into a genuinely good team. And the Thunder are a genuinely good team this year, regardless of what happens in the playoffs.

And, by the way, I think the same general thing about the Timberwolves. At this point, the Gobert trade was successful, even if they lose in the first round. If you go from being a mediocre play-in team to competing until the final day for the #1 seed, and you have a 6+ SRS, then a major trade that helped you make that leap was a good trade.

I think sometimes people overindex too much on what exactly happens in the playoffs. There’s a healthy dose of randomness to playoffs in sports. Rebuilds and trades and whatnot are more about putting together a team that is really good, rather than somehow ensuring playoff success. You can’t ensure playoff success, and if you ran any given playoffs 100 times, you’d get a ton of different results. If the result that happens to occur in reality is on the bad side of the bell curve of possible options for a really good team, it doesn’t mean they weren’t a good team or that a rebuild or trade was bad.

[ConSarnit]

A 3 years rebuild with only one very high draft pick in Chet at #2. Don't think we will be able to win it all this season but there's no reason we shouldnt be able to contend for several years if we stay healthy. 3 more seasons of SGA's contract, 6 seasons of JDub and Chet team control and still many picks to use. Credits to Presti and to our coaching staff. I wish we had such a good coach in the KD/WB days instead of Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan.

Can't take it for granted though...Atlanta young squad went to the ECF and is a mess right now, Grizzlies are in some trouble even if I think they will be good again next season.

I understand not taking it for granted but from an outsider opinion OKC is in the best spot any team in the history of the league has been in outside of having a MJ/Lebron level players locked up during their prime.

-SGA under contract for 3 more years (MVP level player)
-Chet and Jalen looking like future all-stars both on rookie deals for 2 more years
-high level coach and GM in place
-$30m in cap space this upcoming season
-biggest war chest of draft assets in NBA history
-solid role players (Dort, Kenrich and Wallace) all locked in on value contracts for 3 years

Something would have to go terribly wrong for this team not to be solid playoff team over the next 6 years. Even if SGA walked in 2027 you could still have 2 all-stars still under contract and multiple 1sts between 2028-2030. It's an embarrassment of riches. If OKC is shooting for the stars (title) then even failure seems like they'll still land comfortably on the moon.

[bisme37]

This was a surprising year for the Thunder. I had a great time watching them operate the offense and torch teams in the transition and TO game. Lots of questions to be asked in the playoffs, but they have improved considerably from the two-ish years near the bottom of the table. Internal development, like in 2010-era Thunder, has driven this.

That is evident by the youth on the roster getting a #1 seed, and also the OKC Blue (GL) is in the GL Finals, a deciding Game 3, tomorrow night vs the Maine Celtics (Boston's team).

Lots of alignment going the right way with the play on the court and the chemistry of the players, but still lots of questions to answer, like does Giddey fit in OKC and who is going to help Holmgren in the post?

I was just thinking about how the Thunder and Celtics have the best records in the NBA and also the 2 best G League teams this year. I imagine that's a rare occurrence. Seems like the bad NBA teams should have the better young prospects and minor league teams.

Looking forward to the deciding game tonight! I'm not a big G League watcher usually but the playoffs have been a lot of fun.

And I said it in the game thread last night but huge congrats to Thunder fans on an awesome RS and good luck in the playoffs!

[MoneyTalks41890]

A #1 seed losing to a #8 seed would be seen as successful? The bar can’t possibly be set that low in OKC.

in an okc vs lal match up, the pressure is all on lal to win, no matter the scenario you draw. 0 data on this okc formation on playoffs environments vs a goat level leader with 20 years of playoffs experience... on the other hand, the rebuild has already succeeded given what okc already achieved and it's positioning as a franchise to perform in the next decade - given the wealth of talent and assets accumulated.

OKC and MIN do not (should not) have pressure to win in this years playoffs. The pressure for both teams, but more so on OKC, is going to continue to be a winning team for the seasons to come, particularly next 3 or 4, and also go deep in playoffs. One or two good season won't erase years of tanking. But if OKC achieves the success level of the KD-Russ teams in this decade, their rebuilt would be considered successful.

OKC has missed the playoffs 5 times total since they moved to Oklahoma. Against 11 playoff appearances. And have the 7th most wins in the NBA in that period.

There is no pressure this year. This team is obviously built to be successful for many years. But the rebuild is already a major success.

[Dadouv47]

A 3 years rebuild with only one very high draft pick in Chet at #2. Don't think we will be able to win it all this season but there's no reason we shouldnt be able to contend for several years if we stay healthy. 3 more seasons of SGA's contract, 6 seasons of JDub and Chet team control and still many picks to use. Credits to Presti and to our coaching staff. I wish we had such a good coach in the KD/WB days instead of Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan.

Can't take it for granted though...Atlanta young squad went to the ECF and is a mess right now, Grizzlies are in some trouble even if I think they will be good again next season.

I understand not taking it for granted but from an outsider opinion OKC is in the best spot any team in the history of the league has been in outside of having a MJ/Lebron level players locked up during their prime.

-SGA under contract for 3 more years (MVP level player)
-Chet and Jalen looking like future all-stars both on rookie deals for 2 more years
-high level coach and GM in place
-$30m in cap space this upcoming season
-biggest war chest of draft assets in NBA history
-solid role players (Dort, Kenrich and Wallace) all locked in on value contracts for 3 years

Something would have to go terribly wrong for this team not to be solid playoff team over the next 6 years. Even if SGA walked in 2027 you could still have 2 all-stars still under contract and multiple 1sts between 2028-2030. It's an embarrassment of riches. If OKC is shooting for the stars (title) then even failure seems like they'll still land comfortably on the moon.

yeah, I agree with this. We are in such a good position that it would be really bad not winning a championship in this new era.

It's still a star league though and the impact of the best players on a team is huge so gotta hope JDub/Chet reach their ceiling or close to it and it would be nice if Shai stays.

[Clav]

This was a surprising year for the Thunder. I had a great time watching them operate the offense and torch teams in the transition and TO game. Lots of questions to be asked in the playoffs, but they have improved considerably from the two-ish years near the bottom of the table. Internal development, like in 2010-era Thunder, has driven this.

That is evident by the youth on the roster getting a #1 seed, and also the OKC Blue (GL) is in the GL Finals, a deciding Game 3, tomorrow night vs the Maine Celtics (Boston's team).

Lots of alignment going the right way with the play on the court and the chemistry of the players, but still lots of questions to answer, like does Giddey fit in OKC and who is going to help Holmgren in the post?

I was just thinking about how the Thunder and Celtics have the best records in the NBA and also the 2 best G League teams this year. I imagine that's a rare occurrence. Seems like the bad NBA teams should have the better young prospects and minor league teams.

Looking forward to the deciding game tonight! I'm not a big G League watcher usually but the playoffs have been a lot of fun.

And I said it in the game thread last night but huge congrats to Thunder fans on an awesome RS and good luck in the playoffs!

And good luck to the Celts as well! Great team with an even better championship chance this year than the past two I think. No one really figured out how to stop Boston and I think we'll see a very motivated team this playoffs.

Regarding the GL - It seems a lot more random on who ends up getting to the playoffs, but sometimes a good GL player is hiding down there on a rookie contract with the main club... like Jordan Walsh or Ousmane Dieng for our BOS and OKC squads respectively. They are definitely NBA level players but still need to improve their games. However for the GL they are the focal points of the action. If these players were in Marcus Sasser or Kris Murray's place, they'd be playing 20+ minutes a night in the main club.

Here's call for any other General posters to visit the G-League forum and discuss your team's affiliate, the league overall, or the Championship-deciding Game 3 tonight with OKC Blue @ Maine Celtics at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific USA time.

[Yoshun]

Pulling up a lot of years old threads recently.

[ShootersShoot]

They've done great and they're far from a disgrace, but does anyone think they're winning the championship? I'm not sure there's ever been a bigger pretender as a #1 seed.

But just the fact that they got the #1 seed is a testament to the GM and owner and staff.

2015 Hawks surely?
OKC has a legit superstar and maybe 2nd best HCA in the West, so they are in much better positioned for postseason.

I should have said in the West, the East was a joke then except for Lebron.

The 20/21 Jazz perhaps?

[KembaWalker]

I don’t really get the point of the bump, nobody’s going to be eating crow for saying 3 years ago that shamefully tanking is a disgrace. I don’t even see anyone saying it wouldn’t work, just that it’s incredibly lame. We already know it “works” even by the time this thread was made because the Sixers did the same thing to get an MVP level player

Something can be simultaneously extremely pathetic and also objectively a decent way to build a team, if ownership signs off on it