Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XLVIII"Preseason"Ed.)

[RYgoBOOM]

Knew Harden was going somewhere....didn't expect Houston though. Hoping we don't regret not dealing for him

[ChosenSavior]

Knew Harden was going somewhere....didn't expect Houston though. Hoping we don't regret not dealing for him

He was on the table for Orlando?

[RYgoBOOM]

Knew Harden was going somewhere....didn't expect Houston though. Hoping we don't regret not dealing for him

He was on the table for Orlando?

I bet he could have been had for one of our bigs and AA. They want to Amnesty Perk I think so one of our bigs and of course picks would be needed.

I just think Harden is a bigger deal than people are giving him credit for

[tiderulz]

i would do that jameer and jj for randolph and a first rounder trade... we cut salary and get a guy, who with minutes would put up all star numbers, along with a pick, on a cheap deal... sign me up...

oh and okc would never do afflalo and jj for lamb and martin... they robbed houston, so they wont give us a player with potential to be a star 2, and a legit scorer, for 2 borderline starters who the same exact player, on a lot worse contracts than what lamb and k-mart are making...

ok, JJ is borderline starter, but Afflalo is not. He is definitely starter material, better player than Martin.

[Def Swami]

Royce Young ‏@dailythunder
Presti indicates Eric Maynor won't be getting an extension, saying they'll likely see how things play out this season.

[NEM]

i would do that jameer and jj for randolph and a first rounder trade... we cut salary and get a guy, who with minutes would put up all star numbers, along with a pick, on a cheap deal... sign me up...

oh and okc would never do afflalo and jj for lamb and martin... they robbed houston, so they wont give us a player with potential to be a star 2, and a legit scorer, for 2 borderline starters who the same exact player, on a lot worse contracts than what lamb and k-mart are making...

ok, JJ is borderline starter, but Afflalo is not. He is definitely starter material, better player than Martin.

im sorry, but afflalo is not better than martin. martin is a legit scorer, who can get to the line and create his own shot. dont come at me with "afflalo is a defensive stopper" because by that account, JJ is a defensive beast because his DRating was higher than afflalo's last year... afflalo is one of the most overrated players we have had in a while. and he is only overrated by people on this board. i dont know why either... he averaged 15 last year.... as a spot up shooter... he cant create worth a damn, for himself or for others for that matter.

[Def Swami]

Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA
I'm hearing that extension talks between Ty Lawson and the Denver Nuggets have stalled. The two sides have until Oct. 31 to reach agreement.

Jameer and JJ 4 Lawson

I know you're being sarcastic but still. We traded Iggy to Denver for Affalo and Harrington

If we traded Jameer and JJ there we'd probably get Anthony Randolph and a 2nd in return

Yeah, I don't see how we'd get Lawson via trade. I imagine that they'd want an up and coming point guard to replace him considering so much of their offense is predicated on penetration and pushing the ball by the point guard. If they were to trade Lawson, a guy like Bledsoe might be their target in a 3 team deal.

But, I would really like him on our team. I'll be interested to see the salary he commands on the market.

[Def Swami]

I think OKC should have taken care of Harden first instead of Ibaka.

I think OKC is banking on Ibaka to develop offensively. If he can hit mid-range shots consistently and continue to finish around the basket well, he complements KD and Westbrook better.

I'm still really intrigued by this "guaranteed" lottery pick they received. They have a lot of options with it if Toronto is a lottery team. They can package it with Lamb to move up in the draft and get the player Presti and his team wants.

[OrlChamps2030]

I think OKC should have taken care of Harden first instead of Ibaka.

I think OKC is banking on Ibaka to develop offensively. If he can hit mid-range shots consistently and continue to finish around the basket well, he complements KD and Westbrook better.

I'm still really intrigued by this "guaranteed" lottery pick they received. They have a lot of options with it if Toronto is a lottery team. They can package it with Lamb to move up in the draft and get the player Presti and his team wants.

Why wouldn't they just use the draft pick? What's this boards deal with moving up in the draft..especially in the lotto..this isn't the NFL, it's pretty rare.

[Def Swami]

I think OKC should have taken care of Harden first instead of Ibaka.

I think OKC is banking on Ibaka to develop offensively. If he can hit mid-range shots consistently and continue to finish around the basket well, he complements KD and Westbrook better.

I'm still really intrigued by this "guaranteed" lottery pick they received. They have a lot of options with it if Toronto is a lottery team. They can package it with Lamb to move up in the draft and get the player Presti and his team wants.

Why wouldn't they just use the draft pick? What's this boards deal with moving up in the draft..especially in the lotto..this isn't the NFL, it's pretty rare.

They could just use the draft pick. My argument is that they have the capability to trade up depending on where in the lottery they fall. That's just basic strategy used by a lot of GM's. I like this deal for OKC for the flexibility it gives them. They may not even want to move up in the draft. They could use it in another deal for a player. It's just another tool for Presti.

[arkknight1988]

that move doesn't help the thunder get back to the finals this year but they did get great draft pick, lamb, and an expiring martin. Sucks for small market teams

[rcklsscognition]

Is Houston a big market now? I don't get all this big market small market talk.

[OrlChamps2030]

Is Houston a big market now? I don't get all this big market small market talk.

Dude. Personally I don't think this is a Big Market vs Small Market thing but Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. And has a huge Chinese market. Definitely big market

[Magic#1]

Is Houston a big market now? I don't get all this big market small market talk.

Houston isn't LA or NY, but it is a huge city

[arkknight1988]

Is Houston a big market now? I don't get all this big market small market talk.

houston is a huge market but thats not the point. LA would of been able to keep harden while OKC had to deal him

[NickAnderson]

Is Houston a big market now? I don't get all this big market small market talk.

houston is a huge market but thats not the point. LA would of been able to keep harden while OKC had to deal him

Explain please

[arkknight1988]

Is Houston a big market now? I don't get all this big market small market talk.

houston is a huge market but thats not the point. LA would of been able to keep harden while OKC had to deal him

Explain please

just look at LAs payroll compared to OKC

[magicman123]

stop blaming this on the small market vs big market crap, OKC did not want to pay him more money, they could of easily kept him

[gp123]

we should trade afflalo for lamb and that toronto pick...

let JJ stat pad and trade him at deadline... drive the tank to the lotto, then draft smart.

[arkknight1988]

stop blaming this on the small market vs big market crap, OKC did not want to pay him more money, they could of easily kept him

do u know how much the owner was willing to spend?