Did Presti drop the ball in the 08 draft?

mattle · Post #1 » by **mattle** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:07 pm

I like the Westbrook but think they should have gone Bayless to get some outside shooting but I dont think anybody can be upset with Westbrook at the #4 pick. Kevin Love would be nice to have right now though.

But as for the #24 pick. If you are battling the worst teams in the league do you really need to draft a project to stay in Europe for 2 years?

Without a doubt the #24 pick should have gone to Darrell Arthur or George Hill. After Arthur it should have been a no brainer to go after Mario Chalmers, which we could have grabbed with the #33 pick. Chalmers would be the starting PG right now.

I dont think anybody expected Luc Mubah Monte to be playing as well as he is, so I wont hold that against him. Bill Walker is a guy that was available to us as well at #46.

I think we should have tried to get a few more polished basketball players. We had 6 picks and we came away with 1 player and Kyle Weaver.

sonic-ben · Post #2 » by **sonic-ben** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:20 pm

every year ... there is bad picks time will tell as always

Great · Post #3 » by **Great** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:24 pm

Does Westbrook idolize Arenas?

Love, Hill, or Bayless would have been great

sonic-ben · Post #4 » by **sonic-ben** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:41 pm

#1 Westbrook
#2 Durant
#3 Green
#4 Ibaka
#5 Thabeet or Mullen

long term.... if it pans out

Post #5 » by **wizkid27** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:36 am

There's a lot of ifs... I think Westbrook was THE right pick. The numbers aren't neccessarily backing me up on that right now, but I think it will pan out that it was right to take him over Love, Bayless, and everyone else that was available at 4.

Ibaka, yeah, it's an unknown... Arthur would be more popular right now, and I think it could be said there were a lot of people wanting him on draft night. The forward position is pretty crowded on our roster right now... so maybe the thought was having a guy oversees would work better. A shooter would've fit into the rotation better, but outside of that, I think we're pretty clogged up at every spot with mediocre or better players. George Hill has performed nicely, but wasn't really on the radar with the 24 pick so you can't really say that was a bad choice.

I think Chalmers is putting up decent numbers in Miami and definitely slipped more than he should have, but Weaver is a solid player and I think he'll fit into the team very nicely, potentially more so than Chalmers would have. His height and versatility will be helpful down the line.

My biggest question of the draft (on draft night and still to this day), is the DJ White selection. I mean, it was great to get in there and get another 1st rounder, but I just don't see what the guy is bringing to the table that we couldn't get elsewhere. I think CDR would've been an ideal pick here and thought so at the time... but I guess every team needs that hustle/enforcer post up guy and that they want him to be it?

Overall, I think they really made out alright. I don't know enough about Ibaka to say much either way, but I didn't feel like there was anybody there at 24 that really filled a need... Arthur was the best player, but he may have been malcontent to sit on the bench with White, Wilcox, and Collison all playing the same spot.

Post #6 » by **SD2042** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:39 am

Presti is a smart guy and knows how to draft well from his days in San Antonio. The Westbrook pick looks solid so far. Right now, he has to find his footing in the game and he should be able to play to expectations. Should they drafted a shooter in the draft. Absolutely and here's the obvious. The Thunder needs more than ust KD35, Green and whoever decides to play in a game. They need a shooter or two to help take the scoring load off their main cogs in order to keep the unneccessary pressure off your main players from scoring on every possession. Balancing the pressure all around should make it better for a team to better their chances to win games.

london sonic · Post #7 » by **london sonic** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:13 pm

Im happy with westbrook and ibaka could turn out a stroke of genius.but still believe should have traded up to get mayo.we will see too early to judge after 10 games.

BadWolf · Post #8 » by **BadWolf** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:55 pm

Mayo and durant couldn't coexist on the same team.
With 24 it should have been Green. He's another sf, but someone has to play behind Durant and green, and you can take a risk at 24.

ChrisTheFuturePaul · Post #9 » by **ChrisTheFuturePaul** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:33 am

I'm not sure about Westbrook's attitude, he takes ALOT of shots and at the moment (an amazing 1 shot per 30 seconds!!!) and is shooting a woeful 30%. You can cut him some slack by saying hes just finding his feet or hes trying to be the scoring spark the Thunder desperately need, but to me it shows hes a Sg in a PG's body who isn't creating for anybody but himself.

This needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Regarding the 24th pick, it's easy in hindsight to judge these decisions, lets hope Ibaka's story plays out somewhat like Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili

Post #10 » by **wizkid27** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:52 am

I would say though, that Westbrook is being relied upon as the bench "sparkplug"... and on a bench (and really a team) without many guys creating shots, he's gotta do what he's trying to do. I've watched pretty much all of every game, and would have to say that he doesn't take many bad shots at all... just needs to work on his jumper. I don't really dislike Watson much, and actually think he's helpful to Westbrook's development as a PG, but I'm often much more frustrated with the shots Watson shoots than Westbrook.

Great · Post #11 » by **Great** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:25 pm

Can anyone recall a team ever rebounding from so much losing?

Durant, Green, Westbrook...can they mentally recover from many more 20 and 62 seasons?

Post #12 » by **wizkid27** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:46 pm

Well, generally for a team to recover from perennial losing, the core of the team changes at least somewhat significantly. For example, yeah, Durant, Green, Westbrook may be here... but there could also be another all-star level player or two. I could see it ending up that Durant is an all-star and Green and Westbrook are both just solid starting level players... we would probably need another all-star. I think with that said, they can definitely reboudn as a team and individual players. Look at Brand and the Clippers... they lost for YEARS, kept Maggette and Brand throughout it, and then had at least a brief stint where they were a very solid team (I'm sure there are much better examples, but that's the first that came to mind).

big L · Post #13 » by **big L** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:57 pm

I think it's still too early to tell with these guys, but in general, I'd say:

1) PJ has done a terrible job developing these guys. Westbrook takes too many shots? Durant doesn't drive to the hole enough? These are things that good teachers would jump on.

2) Ibaka is worth the gamble at 24. Mattie, if you're battling teams for the worst record in the league, that's EXACTLY when you gamble on someone's up side. Chalmers? I love Chalmers, but he's not going to be a star. Pure and simple. Very solid contributer, good guy to have around, but Ibaka may turn out to be a complete beast, and as we have nothing to lose, we might as well take a shot at him.

3) I totally agree that we didn't do enough with all those second rounders. I still don't get why the Sonics didn't keep Hardin around instead of picking up that giant weirdo from Arkansas?

Post #14 » by **wizkid27** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:31 pm

good break down big L...

old rem · Post #15 » by **old rem** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:24 am

Great wrote:Can anyone recall a team ever rebounding from so much losing?

Durant, Green, Westbrook...can they mentally recover from many more 20 and 62 seasons?

The Celtics were pretty low. Spurs hit bottom with David Robinson injured...got Duncan....came back fast. Houston came back fast with Olajuwon + Sampson.

Westbrook? He was a reach in the top 10, fine athlete but neither a great passer or shooter. And....yeah, Mayo could play with Durant. He played with Bill Walker in high school..and that worked.

Post #16 » by **wizkid27** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:41 pm

Walker is a heck of a lot different player than Durant... just because you played with one star player doesn't mean you can play with another

Cracked Fingers · Post #17 » by **Cracked Fingers** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:54 pm

Yup. Then again a lot of teams screwed up.

I'm not a Sonic/Thunder fan but I thought they should have picked Eric Gordon then traded Green for another pick.

I don't think it is far fetched to say you could have possibly ended up with Bayless and Gordon. Jeff Green showed enough his rookie season to pull in pick around the 10th selection.

BadWolf · Post #18 » by **BadWolf** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:23 pm

I have no idea what'd they do with Bayless and gordon in the same lineup, then at least go with Westbrook and Gordon.

Westbrook-Gordon-Durant-Griffin-Swift looks mighty good.

What are the options to trade Green for a good, young SG anyway? Someone like Nick Young or Gordon would fit nicely.

sportsaddict99 · Post #19 » by **sportsaddict99** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:42 am

Its all part of a master plan to get Blake Griffin from OU. Think Tim Duncan/David Robinson (Spurs connection)

Post #20 » by **Morris_Shatford** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:39 pm

While Westbrook may have been a reach, he may very well be the right pick for the team in the long run.

The Ibaka pick however, I just don't understand.
I am not quite sure why the organization (even pre Presti) has a love affair with drafting project big men in the first round,

If the organization was that interested in adding a Power Forward with that pick, someone like say Darrell Arthur who is lightyears closer to being able to contribute at the NBA level then Ibaka is may have been a better add at that point.

Teams like the Spurs can waste first round picks on the Tiago Splitter of the worlds because they are good enough now to be able to wait a few years on first round picks, the Thunder are not in that position and should have opted for the best player on the board at the time. Arthur or Batum would have been far more valuable now, then the gamble that Ibaka will come into the NBA and be > Arthur is proving to be right now.