The CBA has created an unstoppable monster in OKC

[Pointgod]

I can do nothing but laugh at the people who keep talking about how the new CBA, second apron rules etc are making the NBA better.

I’m not sure many seem to fathom how unstoppable it makes OKC because other ‘contenders’ are so limited in what they can do to add talent.

Barring injuries, i don’t see how this team isn’t a dominant Warriors like force. The sort of thing everyone cried about.

Don’t get me wrong they’d be amazing without the new CBA changes but I think other teams would be better placed to build deeper teams to compete.

This new CBA sucks. I just don’t see how we won’t continually run into this sort of scenario with one dominant team and a bunch of average so called contenders.

I agree with you that the new CBA sucks. Give Sam Presti credit he knew that this CBA would pretty much make it impossible to keep together a contender and he built through the draft, but not only that cornered the market on draft picks to the point where it is still paying off 4 seasons from now

[michaelm]

I can do nothing but laugh at the people who keep talking about how the new CBA, second apron rules etc are making the NBA better.

I’m not sure many seem to fathom how unstoppable it makes OKC because other ‘contenders’ are so limited in what they can do to add talent.

Barring injuries, i don’t see how this team isn’t a dominant Warriors like force. The sort of thing everyone cried about.

Don’t get me wrong they’d be amazing without the new CBA changes but I think other teams would be better placed to build deeper teams to compete.

This new CBA sucks. I just don’t see how we won’t continually run into this sort of scenario with one dominant team and a bunch of average so called contenders.

I think you are way off on this OKC still a small market and this is the last year before all the supermaxes kick in.

They won't be able keep everyone however they are still under the apron this year.

They still have picks and that has nothing to do with the CBA .Drafting and developing has nothing to do with it either.

They haven’t’t always been well coached but their GM is remarkably good at drafting, and still has many picks to work with when they can’t pay all their current stars. Best thing Westbrook ever did for them was garnering picks, and the SGA trade is one of the best and worst trades in history depending on whether you are the Thunder or the Clippers.

[The Laker Kid]

Nah, can't hate on OKC. They did it "the right way" unlike teams who just nab superstars and build superteams. You gotta admire a team like OKC.

[collidingNeurons]

Teams shouldn't be penalized for success and building a good team other than what it costs to pay those players, teams that draft well and develop talent should be able to pay for them if they decide with the only restriction being adding new free agents above the cap. The cap is important to keep the NBA from becoming like MLB and the top markets just have the ability to go shopping every year and price all the top talent out of reach for smaller market teams.

[Maxthirty]

The other teams should’ve stopped them from getting iHart and Caruso. Those deals + what they already had made them a juggernaut.

[pwayknicks]

Only thing the new cba hurts is that mid level veteran who is no longer getting that 3rd contract, instead they will have to sign a really cheap deal or give up their job to a rookie. There is a reason most teams benches are comprised of rookies and vet minimum contracts.


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[Daddy 801]

Teams shouldn't be penalized for success and building a good team other than what it costs to pay those players, teams that draft well and develop talent should be able to pay for them if they decide with the only restriction being adding new free agents above the cap. The cap is important to keep the NBA from becoming like MLB and the top markets just have the ability to go shopping every year and price all the top talent out of reach for smaller market teams.

I couldn't agree more. I think there needs to be two set of lines for the apron. Drafted and restricted free agents signed to a team and free agents signed to a team. It's similar to the Larry Bird rule but relative to the new CBA and rewarding GM's who do a good job.

The real travesty of the new CBA will not be teams like LA/Miami who are a free agent destinations not being able to create a superteam, it will be when OKC has to trade away core guys on their team. And I am not an OKC fan. But Presti and their fans should not be punished for success and doing things the right way. I will happily trade for one of their good players or picks when the time comes....but it shouldn't have to come to that.

If players drafted didn't count against the cap the same way as players not drafted we might not have seen the worst trade off all time this past season with Luka. Lakers obviously like they got Luka but Dallas fans got robbed and anyone besides a Lakers fan (and even reasonable Lakers fans) can see that trade was a joke. I have to believe the conspiracies of wanting Luka in LA because the trade makes no sense. I don't think there is one person on this board who though Nico made a good trade. If every realGM person can see a trade is complete BS there is something afoot.

[Daddy 801]

Only thing the new cba hurts is that mid level veteran who is no longer getting that 3rd contract, instead they will have to sign a really cheap deal or give up their job to a rookie. There is a reason most teams benches are comprised of rookies and vet minimum contracts.


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I think we will also see teams get very, very weary of signing the superstars to that 3rd or 4th deal. All you have to do is look at Dame, PG, Embiid, AD, etc to see that guys should be paid the max from 25ish to about 32ish and after that it doesn't make sense. There is only one LeBron who beat father time.

[meekrab]

In three years people like OP will be posting "OKC would still be dominating if not for the new CBA that forced them to trade off their talent"

[SFour]

I would blame the Clippers first....OKC likely has a top 10 pick heading their way this season thanks to the Clippers, and there's a decent chance it could jump into the top 3

[Old_Blue]

Luck had nothing to do with OKC being where they're at today. Neither did hopes and prayers - not even the kind of massive pre-game invocations OKC is known for. Nope. It took OKC not being afraid to suck for an extended period of time until they got it right. You gotta overcome that fear. Oh, and it also helps to remain calm.

Watch on YouTube

[Daddy 801]

I would blame the Clippers first....OKC likely has a top 10 pick heading their way this season thanks to the Clippers, and there's a decent chance it could jump into the top 3

And if the Jazz don’t start losing OKC is going to get a pick in the 9-14 range. OKC is set for a long time. They will probably trade out all those picks for future picks. Making them even more set up for the future. Unless they get a top 5ish pick of course. But the later FRP’s I see them selling off to a team like the Pels who sold theirs away.

[Daddy 801]

Luck had nothing to do with OKC being where they're at today. Neither did hopes and prayers - not even the kind of massive pre-game invocations OKC is known for. Nope. It took OKC not being afraid to suck for an extended period of time until they got it right. You gotta overcome that fear. Oh, and it also helps to remain calm.

Watch on YouTube

100% this over and over. Presti tanked the right way. And he is being rewarded for it. For those of us who are pro tanking they showed how it’s done right.

[Effigy]

This isn't any different to when the Spurs were good.

It happens.

It’s different. OKC did it without lucking into a generational superstar with the. NUmber one pick.

[Old_Blue]

Luck had nothing to do with OKC being where they're at today. Neither did hopes and prayers - not even the kind of massive pre-game invocations OKC is known for. Nope. It took OKC not being afraid to suck for an extended period of time until they got it right. You gotta overcome that fear. Oh, and it also helps to remain calm.

Watch on YouTube

100% this over and over. Presti tanked the right way. And he is being rewarded for it. For those of us who are pro tanking they showed how it’s done right.

Presti didn't just tank. He tanked on steroids. Stage One was selling off all his team's assets. Stage Two was using his team as a shell company to absorb other teams' unwanted contracts, rehabilitating the players tied to those contracts and then selling off those assets. That's a double return on value and should be the template for any true tank commander.

[sisibilio]

They also have his flops. Gave away Sengun and Lively.

[Statlanta]

Ironically the CBA is what will make OKC bearable. No way they pay Ajay Mitchell with the rest of their bench and future prospects. Presti will be forced by his ownership to make cost cutting moves the second certain players stop improving or meeting expectations.

[Johnston797]

They also have his flops. Gave away Sengun and Lively.

They won the Lively trade. Cason Wallace is awesome and Lively can't stay healthy.

Sengun was frustrating even at the time, but he is not a perfect fit for Presti's vision and with SGA and they probably wouldn't have gotten Chet bc Sengun would have helped in his rookie year. One could argue how the picks they got for Sengun guaranteed they got JDub too as they locked in the 11th pick before their 12th pick that next year.

[Optms]

Nah, can't hate on OKC. They did it "the right way" unlike teams who just nab superstars and build superteams. You gotta admire a team like OKC.

What's hypocritical is fans on here cried non stop about the Curry/LeBron era, yet here we have the smallest of small market teams built through the draft from the ground up, elite FO management and player development, and still get hate.

[Johnston797]

OKC doesn't pay the repeater tax until 2029-30. If they won every year prior, that's a 5 peat. A new CBA comes in at that time too.

Even if they are over the 2nd apron next year, they don't have a permentely frozen pick until the 2035-2036 season. They could compete for a 9 peat and tank for 2 years before that.

Balmers or the Lakers new owners would just pay out the ear and keep this team together. I'm sure OKC will be a bit more frugal but likely not enough to stop OKC from being a juggernaut given Presti magic.

Let me add that OKC opens a new stadium in 2028-2029 and per above won't be paying the repeater tax yet, so they they might just keep the bulk of the team together for 3 years after this one although there will be a couple of personal losses.

In 2028-2029, SGA is 30, Dub 27 and Chet 26. Agreed, they gonna be a problem for a long time.