2024-2025 OKC Thunder Games Thread

[bbms]

IH, Dort, Joe, #15 and OKC best 2026 pick for KD.

It doesn't touch your core. KD expires after next season so it allows you to extend JDub and Chet without creating cap issues. It gives you a reliable 2nd scorer for next year's playoff run while giving Chet and JDub another year to grow and adjust to the playoffs where they can hopefully step up in their 5th season to be what OKC needs.

When they step up and win games 4, 5 and 7 like they did against Denver this discussion goes away.

this offer is huge.

dort and hartenstein are like exactly the dream offer by the pacers ownership pov. it solves so many issues for them they might actually be competitive. they wanted butler + frp for durant. we might have to take picks back, not put picks forward imo.

a GM could get fired for offering that much to 37 years old KD that is on the last year of his contract if I'm not mistaken.

I like Cason but we still need Dort. I also think we still need to keep a good big man because Chet can struggle in some match up or get in foul trouble. Well, we wouldn't have won the Denver series without Hartenstein.

move like that and in a blink of an eye and you have dort bullying sga in the playoffs.

[Dadouv47]

who wins game 4 wins the championship.

...but I give us 5% chances to win game 4.

I will watch at best 10 regular season games next season

[Dadouv47]

funny that in some podcasts I listen that OKC should go big, in others I listen that OKC should go small ball with no big again. I just think we have no clue what to do anymore and we need our players to perform (this isn't about some huge rotation/line ups changes)

[Dadouv47]

we need another playmaker and another scorer. We might have that playmaker in Ajay or Topic but they are young. Don't want to lose forever because we play too many young players with no experience.

[Kizz Fastfists]

we need another playmaker and another scorer. We might have that playmaker in Ajay or Topic but they are young. Don't want to lose forever because we play too many young players with no experience.

Trade for KD and sign Russ to a vet minimum contract. Russ comes off the bench as a playmaker. The most hated player and most loved player of the past return and win a championship. SGA-Dort/Caruso-JDub-KD-Chet with Russ, Cason, Wiggins, Topic, Jaylin, Ajay off the bench.

[Dadouv47]

we need another playmaker and another scorer. We might have that playmaker in Ajay or Topic but they are young. Don't want to lose forever because we play too many young players with no experience.

Trade for KD and sign Russ to a vet minimum contract. Russ comes off the bench as a playmaker. The most hated player and most loved player of the past return and win a championship. SGA-Dort/Caruso-JDub-KD-Chet with Russ, Cason, Wiggins, Topic, Jaylin, Ajay off the bench.

bring back Perkins

Seriously speaking, the only former Thunder player that would make sense is CP3 to lead the second unit but it looks like he wants to finish his career in LA.

[bbms]

kd on this team okc 16-2 the whole thing at the absolute worst

[Xatticus]

As much as I don't want to say this the problem is NOT the roster. Presti put together a team that would win this series with a competent coach. How did OKC get knocked out last year? They were up against a bigger team. How are they losing in the Finals? Indiana is playing bigger than OKC because Mark is coaching like he has as little interest in winning this series as my 3 month old grandson!!!!!

Carlisle is in his head. During the games it's obvious that RC is a much experienced and better coach.

I'm afraid SGA, Chet, JDub and Caruso are tired, our defensive style is very demanding. Fourth quarter again was lost because of poor execution.

But I agree with you that IHart needs to play more minutes, maybe even 30 minutes.

Game Four is a must win.

You have to take the bad with the good. I like Daigneault. He has been very important in the development of this team and the success that we have seen over the last couple years. That said, he has clearly cost us several games in this postseason. It almost bit us in the ass against Denver and it very might well be the reason we lose to Indiana.

He is a young coach. I don't expect him to get everything right. He has to learn and improve just as the players do. I hope that we have enough to get us over the line this year, but if we come up short, I expect everyone to come back with a hunger next year. This is only the beginning of our championship window.

[Dadouv47]

I think it's Sam Vecenie that said after the game that OKC can't play Isaiah Joe even if he hit his 3's because of how bad he's defensively. That's sad for such a offensive weapon that was signed under a "great" contract. Presti sucks at drafting good 3 point shooters but he got unlucky with some guys he tried to bring in the team: Anthony Morrow, Abrines, Isaiah Joe.

oh yeah and he also said that Chet was the best player during the 3 first quarters. I don't know if I agree but dude was balling...he TRIED at least to do his best and mentally he isn't as weak as JDub.

[Kizz Fastfists]

This is only the beginning of our championship window.

I heard that before and I remember what happened. There is no next year. If you have a chance you have to do everything in your power to win that year as there is no guarantee of another shot.

[Dadouv47]

This is only the beginning of our championship window.

I heard that before and I remember what happened. There is no next year. If you have a chance you have to do everything in your power to win that year as there is no guarantee of another shot.

yeah next year Chet might be injured in the post season and the spurs will have a monster team.

Also heard Boston was gonna be contending for years and now they gotta get rid of good players and pray for Tatum to comeback at 90% of his pre injury level.

[Dadouv47]

I wish we at least had the 7th pick in the draft so we could have some fun after a painful postseason but...nope

[Dadouv47]

OKC with only 16 assists despite shooting over 40% from three is very concerning. I know we had too many turnovers but it's easier to fix than the lack of passing game. We lost game one after having only 13 assists too. Just not moving the ball well enough and the non shai minutes are horrible to watch.

[Xatticus]

This is only the beginning of our championship window.

I heard that before and I remember what happened. There is no next year. If you have a chance you have to do everything in your power to win that year as there is no guarantee of another shot.

yeah next year Chet might be injured in the post season and the spurs will have a monster team.

Also heard Boston was gonna be contending for years and now they gotta get rid of good players and pray for Tatum to comeback at 90% of his pre injury level.

Most teams forget what brought them to championship contention.

Boston's issues were rather obvious. They were locked into an expensive and aging roster. Horford and Jrue were only going to decline in effectiveness and Porzingis carries heavy risk of injury. We don't have these issues.

Milwaukee has destroyed any hopes of another title window during the Giannis era because they opted for a series of short-sighted decisions.

Phoenix was in the Finals in 2021. They won 64 games in 2022 and lost in the Conference Finals. How did they destroy their team? By doing precisely what is being advocated for our team in this thread.

People talk themselves into failure instead of learning from the mistakes that others have made. Where was this franchise at the end of the Westbrook era? What advantages did that iteration have over this one? It's not an accident that this organization has climbed to the top of the Western Conference in a relatively short span of time.

[Dadouv47]

I heard that before and I remember what happened. There is no next year. If you have a chance you have to do everything in your power to win that year as there is no guarantee of another shot.

yeah next year Chet might be injured in the post season and the spurs will have a monster team.

Also heard Boston was gonna be contending for years and now they gotta get rid of good players and pray for Tatum to comeback at 90% of his pre injury level.

Most teams forget what brought them to championship contention.

Boston's issues were rather obvious. They were locked into an expensive and aging roster. Horford and Jrue were only going to decline in effectiveness and Porzingis carries heavy risk of injury. We don't have these issues.

Milwaukee has destroyed any hopes of another title window during the Giannis era because they opted for a series of short-sighted decisions.

Phoenix was in the Finals in 2021. They won 64 games in 2022 and lost in the Conference Finals. How did they destroy their team? By doing precisely what is being advocated for our team in this thread.

People talk themselves into failure instead of learning from the mistakes that others have made. Where was this franchise at the end of the Westbrook era? What advantages did that iteration have over this one? It's not an accident that this organization has climbed to the top of the Western Conference in a relatively short span of time.

agree. I think some of us are mostly pissed because 1. this year is/was an incredible opportunity to win a title and 2. we are not a star/superstar away of winning it. Presti needs to make moves this offseason but it doesn't mean we should get rid of key young players and get a guy that will cost you 30% of your salary cap.

[bbms]

again let's see if indiana is the team to beat okc twice back to back

[Mr Thunder Nick]

I'm really satisfied by coach Mark. He is by far the best coach in OKC history (much better than this clowns Brooks and Donovan). He did a phenomenal job this past year with his team.
But NOW we are in the finals and the opponent team has also a great coach in R.Carlisle (one of the best in the league since some decades). I think Mark made some mistakes in trying to adjust to the Pacers and changing his starting lineup and going small at the end of game1. Game three finally I.Joe hits 2 3pointer in four minutes and he never saw the floor again (unbelievably). Like Charles (Chuck) Barkley said after game 3: "OKC is by far the best team of this season, and as the best team you have to change nothing and the opponent has to adjust to your team. But he said also that coaches don't like to come back to their decisions.
I think Mark has to admit his mistakes and going back to the force of this team from the whole season.

I understand that he his still a young coach and for the first time so far in the postseason. Therefor he has to accept that he was wrong in some situations.

Also I would like that he would have a more experimental coach on his side in the future. A coach with chief-coach experience. (like Stotts, Fitzgerald, McMillan and so on)

The key for this Finals...it is coach mark who hold it in his hands.

[Dadouv47]

just think it's gonna be a blowout loss today. OKC looks physically and mentally done. Feeling that Indy took control of those POs in a bad bad way after game 3. I had not this feeling last year against the Mavs or this year after game 3 in Minny or even when Denver was up 2-1. Probably Shai gonna play well but that's it.

[Dadouv47]

Whatever happens moving forward, the most positive lesson of these POs is that Shai is the right guy to lead you to a championship. I would take him over Giannis and only behind Jokic for that. He's a true leader, played well in key games and did everything he could. Nobody questioning his MVP anymore outside of crazy Jokic fanboys. OKC would have a ring by now if KD had Shai leadership.

[Devilanche]

again let's see if indiana is the team to beat okc twice back to back

Pressure is really all on okc