OKC Thunder Trades and Transaction Thread

[Dadouv47]

I'm still worried Presti wants JDub to stay at the 4.

[Devilanche]

My big takeaway was that we wanted giddey to come off the bench. Wondering who slot into that opened spot .

[ThunderBolt]

I'm still worried Presti wants JDub to stay at the 4.

If Kenrich can have a bounce back season that would solve a lot of problems.

[Dadouv47]

I'm still worried Presti wants JDub to stay at the 4.

If Kenrich can have a bounce back season that would solve a lot of problems.

I don't really know how. Kenrich can have a decent role as a bench player but that's it. Don't see how he could solve a lot of problems except if he improves a lot somehow (and size is still an issue to me)

[ThunderBolt]

I'm still worried Presti wants JDub to stay at the 4.

If Kenrich can have a bounce back season that would solve a lot of problems.

I don't really know how. Kenrich can have a decent role as a bench player but that's it. Don't see how he could solve a lot of problems except if he improves a lot somehow (and size is still an issue to me)

I don't think Kenrich as a starting power forward is best long term solution. I think he could be a solid back up as a small ball four if he can get back to what he was two years ago. If the front office doesn't think he can do that, I think we should move him.

[Kizz Fastfists]

I'm still worried Presti wants JDub to stay at the 4.

I'm concerned about this as well. Presti made too many comments about no caring about rebounding. I suspect he is going to set OKC up for another dominant regular season just to get crushed by Dallas/Minny/Denver in the playoffs. He'll then act surprised that the offense struggled against the size and say destroyed on the boards and dominated in second chance points from the opposition was expected. Really looking forward to Presti proving me wrong for the first time.

[slick_watts]

rebounding was an issue against dallas but we didn't lose because of it- our defense was mostly stellar despite losing the boards. we lost because we couldn't score. i wouldn't want to downgrade the rebounding from last season but the more pressing issue is ensuring we have the personnel and aptitude to score in the half court against the prison league playoff defenses.

we allowed 112.88pp100 in chet minutes without jaylin williams against dallas. 9pp100 better than the wolves and 7pp100 better than the clippers did overall.

[Kizz Fastfists]

rebounding was an issue against dallas but we didn't lose because of it- our defense was mostly stellar despite losing the boards. we lost because we couldn't score. i wouldn't want to downgrade the rebounding from last season but the more pressing issue is ensuring we have the personnel and aptitude to score in the half court against the prison league playoff defenses.

we allowed 112.88pp100 in chet minutes without jaylin williams against dallas. 9pp100 better than the wolves and 7pp100 better than the clippers did overall.

Edey is the only player we can draft that can change that. He is such a great P&R finisher, something OKC currently lacks, that he could elevate the half court offense to another level as a rookie. I'm just relatively certain he isn't even on the draft board. A SGA/Edey P&R combo is the type of thing championship dreams are built on. Even in a bench role Edey and even if we assume he won't be able to make a consistent 3 point shot until his 3rd year, which given his focus on improving his mid-range and 3pt shots I'm of the opinion he'd be at least a P.J. Washington level 3pt threat, 33%, as a rookie, he would still be huge as a bench player on both ends of the court.

[slick_watts]

rebounding was an issue against dallas but we didn't lose because of it- our defense was mostly stellar despite losing the boards. we lost because we couldn't score. i wouldn't want to downgrade the rebounding from last season but the more pressing issue is ensuring we have the personnel and aptitude to score in the half court against the prison league playoff defenses.

we allowed 112.88pp100 in chet minutes without jaylin williams against dallas. 9pp100 better than the wolves and 7pp100 better than the clippers did overall.

Edey is the only player we can draft that can change that. He is such a great P&R finisher, something OKC currently lacks, that he could elevate the half court offense to another level as a rookie. I'm just relatively certain he isn't even on the draft board. A SGA/Edey P&R combo is the type of thing championship dreams are built on. Even in a bench role Edey and even if we assume he won't be able to make a consistent 3 point shot until his 3rd year, which given his focus on improving his mid-range and 3pt shots I'm of the opinion he'd be at least a P.J. Washington level 3pt threat, 33%, as a rookie, he would still be huge as a bench player on both ends of the court.

i hope we don't use the draft to fill any of our holes. i think giddey's spot in the starting unit has to be occupied with someone who can make threes and be switchable on defense, and not be a net negative on defense relative to him (low bar to clear). we probably need another reserve ball handler. i dunno if the wallace/caruso/joe/wiggins reserve group is ideal- unless wallace makes a big leap. not having a 3rd handler in the game to pressure defenses killed our half court offense in the playoffs. and of course backup big.

some players could fill a couple holes at once. but i'll be disappointed if we look to the draft to fill those. draft a project instead.

[Kizz Fastfists]

i hope we don't use the draft to fill any of our holes. i think giddey's spot in the starting unit has to be occupied with someone who can make threes and be switchable on defense, and not be a net negative on defense relative to him (low bar to clear). we probably need another reserve ball handler. i dunno if the wallace/caruso/joe/wiggins reserve group is ideal- unless wallace makes a big leap. not having a 3rd handler in the game to pressure defenses killed our half court offense in the playoffs. and of course backup big.

some players could fill a couple holes at once. but i'll be disappointed if we look to the draft to fill those. draft a project instead.

I disagree. They should draft to fill a hole in the roster, but not the hole in the starting lineup. Edey fills a need/hole without being someone that jumps into the starting lineup. Tristan da Silva would also fill a hole in the roster, but not the hole in the starting lineup. I expect the starting lineup to be SGA/Dort/Caruso/JDub/Chet. I don't have any expectation of Presti understanding the massive hole in the roster at PF, because I don't believe he understands how to evaluate his team. I believed Presti when he admitted that he is too stupid to understand his team. When someone tells you who they are you should believe them. I expect this off-season to be as insignificant as last off-season. I expect OKC to be a 2nd round exit again and Presti to waste another year of OKC's championship window.

[slick_watts]

I disagree.

fair enough. scouting is fallible and relying on the draft to fill a hole as a contender with our assets is a misstep imo. sam presti doesn't hit on every pick, you don't, i don't, it's all mostly random.

I expect the starting lineup to be SGA/Dort/Caruso/JDub/Chet.

i do not.

I don't have any expectation of Presti understanding the massive hole in the roster at PF, because I don't believe he understands how to evaluate his team. I believed Presti when he admitted that he is too stupid to understand his team. When someone tells you who they are you should believe them. I expect this off-season to be as insignificant as last off-season. I expect OKC to be a 2nd round exit again and Presti to waste another year of OKC's championship window.

you should stop listening to anything sam presti says to the media. nothing he says matters and he routinely lies. he traded giddey less than a month after spending 45 minutes verbalizing a love letter to him in his exit interview. i think you're in too deep, brother kizz.

[Big nick]

So slick what do you believe the starters to be my feeling is cason will start and Caruso will be 1st in

[Dadouv47]

I'm fine if we keep the pick because we will have tax issues long term but you can't count on the draft to improve your roster short term...odds of drafting a guy that could help a contender in his rookie year are very very low. Improve via trades/FA is the only realistic goal.

[Kizz Fastfists]

I'm fine if we keep the pick because we will have tax issues long term but you can't count on the draft to improve your roster short term...odds of drafting a guy that could help a contender in his rookie year are very very low. Improve via trades/FA is the only realistic goal.

I would agree if picking in the 20s, but picking in the lottery allows you to pick a player with specific developed skills that help you short-term as they develop the rest of their game. I'm going to use Edey with P&R offense and rebounding as a rookie that can make an impact. If you are picking in the 20s then you look at guys like Chomche who have long-term upside, but won't contribute as a rookie unless he is a draft and stash then he could be an impact rookie in a year or two. The Thunder just had two rookies, Chet and Cason, have huge impact on a team that went from playin game to #1 seed.

[Devilanche]

It’s reasonable to consider the lotto pick will not break into our starting lineup.

Also kind of reasonable the assume the lotto pick will not be able to enter our guard rotation whereby we are kind of deep.

Small chance this pick may enter as 3rd or 4th big even if we add 1 starting calibre big though.

I have our roster as below

PG - SGA , Cason
SG - Dort , Caruso , Wiggins
SF - Jdub , Joe
PF - Empty , Kenrich ,Dieng
C - Chet , Jaylin

Option not picked up - Lindy waters
contract expired - Hayward , Muscala , Biyombo

Still leave us 3 empty spots in free agency/draft.
With one of wiggins/joe/kenrich as potentially moving if needed due to freeing up minutes for 12 or backup minutes.

[Kizz Fastfists]

I have our roster as below

PG - SGA , Cason
SG - Dort , Caruso , Wiggins
SF - Jdub , Joe
PF - Empty , Kenrich ,Dieng
C - Chet , Jaylin

Option not picked up - Lindy waters
contract expired - Hayward , Muscala , Biyombo

Still leave us 3 empty spots in free agency/draft.
With one of wiggins/joe/kenrich as potentially moving if needed due to freeing up minutes for 12 or backup minutes.

We view the roster a bit differently.

PG- SGA, Cason
SG- Dort, FA, Wiggins, #12 that gets most of their playing time in the g-league
SF- Caruso, Joe, Waters
PF- JDub, Kenrich, Dieng
C- Chet, Jaylin, vet minimum cheerleader

I expect the draft pick to be stuck on the bench as I'm expecting it to be another wing. Right now I'm leaning in the direction of Ja'Kobe Walker as the waste of #12. Where either da Silva, Edey or Ware would slot in nicely as 2nd on the depth chart at PF or C. I also expect FA to be focused on players like CP3, if GS releases him, Buddy Hield, Lowry, etc. I do not expect any big men to be pursued in FA or trade, just like last year, outside of an emergency vet minimum big man.

[kdthunderup]

Hartenstein would fill a big need and fits the Presti mold, so it’s hard to imagine we aren’t prepared to offer him a contract. All the other teams with cap space this offseason don’t really make sense for him. We can also offer more money than the Knicks and front-load the contract, making it easy to offload him once Chet and JDub’s new contracts kick in. It will come down to whether the Knicks are willing to give him the starting role and part ways with Robinson. OKC should be able to offer him a significant role if we reduce Chet’s minutes at center a bit and play him at the 4 more, which would be ideal for Chet to avoid wear on his body during the regular season.

If we have some cap space left after that, we should try to pick up a veteran wing with a bit of size like Covington, O’Neal, or Batum. I have a feeling Presti is hopeful Dieng can step up and provide some value next season based on his offseason comments.

If we can acquire both of the above, then the roster, in my opinion, is well-rounded and can throw many different types of lineups with varying size based on matchups.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Hartenstein would fill a big need and fits the Presti mold, so it’s hard to imagine we aren’t prepared to offer him a contract. All the other teams with cap space this offseason don’t really make sense for him.

How does Hartenstein make sense? He's a banger in the paint with no floor stretching ability. He takes 90% of his shots within 10 ft of the basket. He took a total of three shots from 3pt range last year. He's the opposite of what Presti wants. If Presti wanted that type of big man he should have traded for Gafford.

[kdthunderup]

Hartenstein would fill a big need and fits the Presti mold, so it’s hard to imagine we aren’t prepared to offer him a contract. All the other teams with cap space this offseason don’t really make sense for him.

How does Hartenstein make sense? He's a banger in the paint with no floor stretching ability. He takes 90% of his shots within 10 ft of the basket. He took a total of three shots from 3pt range last year. He's the opposite of what Presti wants. If Presti wanted that type of big man he should have traded for Gafford.

He definitely has the ability and technique to become a stretch 5. He showed promise with the Clippers and was allowed to utilize that part of his game. Thibs is old school and has forced him to rein in that part of his game because they prioritize offensive boards. Get him working with Chip, and he could easily be a guy putting up 35%.

[Devilanche]

I have our roster as below

PG - SGA , Cason
SG - Dort , Caruso , Wiggins
SF - Jdub , Joe
PF - Empty , Kenrich ,Dieng
C - Chet , Jaylin

Option not picked up - Lindy waters
contract expired - Hayward , Muscala , Biyombo

Still leave us 3 empty spots in free agency/draft.
With one of wiggins/joe/kenrich as potentially moving if needed due to freeing up minutes for 12 or backup minutes.

We view the roster a bit differently.

PG- SGA, Cason
SG- Dort, FA, Wiggins, #12 that gets most of their playing time in the g-league
SF- Caruso, Joe, Waters
PF- JDub, Kenrich, Dieng
C- Chet, Jaylin, vet minimum cheerleader

I expect the draft pick to be stuck on the bench as I'm expecting it to be another wing. Right now I'm leaning in the direction of Ja'Kobe Walker as the waste of #12. Where either da Silva, Edey or Ware would slot in nicely as 2nd on the depth chart at PF or C. I also expect FA to be focused on players like CP3, if GS releases him, Buddy Hield, Lowry, etc. I do not expect any big men to be pursued in FA or trade, just like last year, outside of an emergency vet minimum big man.

I’m an optimist bro.

I think it’s possible that the free agency splash is a PF/C while I recognise the draft could still be an SF. A PG/SG just doesn’t make sense to me if we don’t foresee a way to playing time for said draftee.