KEVIN DURANT MIX

[thriller08]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVbE22aFGvk[/youtube]

A short mix I made about Kevin Durant. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[bondom34]

Nice! I usually am not too into mix videos, but I like it!

[NaturalThunder]

Looks good. Wish it was a big longer but still a good short mix.

A bit off-topic, but I can't post in the General Board so I'm going to vent here. it's really starting to bug me that more than a few people are sort of counting OKC out next year because we didn't make any flashy moves and let Martin walk. It's almost as if they forget we still have that Durant guy, and I also think his season last year has been kind of pushed to the backburner and slowly forgotten due to LeBron's brilliance (which is understandable). But he just had a friggin' 28-8-5-, 50/40/90 season at 24 years old. As long as that guy is on our team, and Westbrook is healthy and out there with him, we're going to be pretty damn good.

Most people think there's some huge gap between Durant and LeBron but, after seeing some of the games and performances he had in the playoffs after Westbrook went down, I'm not sure the gap is as big as most of them think. I mean it's still noticeable, and LeBron is far-and-away the best player in the league, but Durant is really, really stinkin' good. He looked like a slightly poorer man's 2009 LeBron James in the playoffs after Russ went down and Durant was the same age this year as LeBron was in 2009. Point being, if you go age by age for comparisons, the gap between Durant and LeBron isn't nearly as big.


Anyway, good mix, and I just spent the last 20-30 minutes watching other Durant mixes and a couple of short Westbrook mixes. Can't wait for the season to start.

[bondom34]

Looks good. Wish it was a big longer but still a good short mix.

A bit off-topic, but I can't post in the General Board so I'm going to vent here. it's really starting to bug me that more than a few people are sort of counting OKC out next year because we didn't make any flashy moves and let Martin walk. It's almost as if they forget we still have that Durant guy, and I also think his season last year has been kind of pushed to the backburner and slowly forgotten due to LeBron's brilliance (which is understandable). But he just had a friggin' 28-8-5-, 50/40/90 season at 24 years old. As long as that guy is on our team, and Westbrook is healthy and out there with him, we're going to be pretty damn good.

Most people think there's some huge gap between Durant and LeBron but, after seeing some of the games and performances he had in the playoffs after Westbrook went down, I'm not sure the gap is as big as most of them think. I mean it's still noticeable, and LeBron is far-and-away the best player in the league, but Durant is really, really stinkin' good. He looked like a slightly poorer man's 2009 LeBron James in the playoffs after Russ went down and Durant was the same age this year as LeBron was in 2009. Point being, if you go age by age for comparisons, the gap between Durant and LeBron isn't nearly as big.


Anyway, good mix, and I just spent the last 20-30 minutes watching other Durant mixes and a couple of short Westbrook mixes. Can't wait for the season to start.

NT, I agree very much. KD had what would be an MVP year, but Lebron just went nuts, and deserved to win it of course. That being said, this team has the second best player in the league on it (btw again off topic but a part of me misses the KD vs. Melo thread with melomiracle....ahh good times!). With Russ back, it'll be another solid playoff run at least, I'm still hopeful Presti does something to get a C with the new TPE, I'm thinking maybe he will. That being said,hes gettin ripped on the general board (I understand the frustration, hated not bein able to post on it for 3 months) but is still a top GM. Morey wouldn't be viewed like he is if the original CP3 deal went through, Houston wouldn't be in this situation, he kinda lucked out there, so as much as you can love what he did and I do, he got lucky just like all top GMs do. In the end OKC will be there again.

[BirdmanPresents]

Looks good. Wish it was a big longer but still a good short mix.

A bit off-topic, but I can't post in the General Board so I'm going to vent here. it's really starting to bug me that more than a few people are sort of counting OKC out next year because we didn't make any flashy moves and let Martin walk. It's almost as if they forget we still have that Durant guy, and I also think his season last year has been kind of pushed to the backburner and slowly forgotten due to LeBron's brilliance (which is understandable). But he just had a friggin' 28-8-5-, 50/40/90 season at 24 years old. As long as that guy is on our team, and Westbrook is healthy and out there with him, we're going to be pretty damn good.

Most people think there's some huge gap between Durant and LeBron but, after seeing some of the games and performances he had in the playoffs after Westbrook went down, I'm not sure the gap is as big as most of them think. I mean it's still noticeable, and LeBron is far-and-away the best player in the league, but Durant is really, really stinkin' good. He looked like a slightly poorer man's 2009 LeBron James in the playoffs after Russ went down and Durant was the same age this year as LeBron was in 2009. Point being, if you go age by age for comparisons, the gap between Durant and LeBron isn't nearly as big.


Anyway, good mix, and I just spent the last 20-30 minutes watching other Durant mixes and a couple of short Westbrook mixes. Can't wait for the season to start.

It was the same thing when they lost to the Heat. What people don't understand is, without making moves the Thunder will still improve because guys are developing. The opposite is true for most teams like the Heat, Spurs, Grizzlies. Time is on OKCs side, which is a huge factor when talking about how OKC improved without Harden this season.

[NaturalThunder]

It was the same thing when they lost to the Heat. What people don't understand is, without making moves the Thunder will still improve because guys are developing. The opposite is true for most teams like the Heat, Spurs, Grizzlies. Time is on OKCs side, which is a huge factor when talking about how OKC improved without Harden this season.

Exactly, and that's why I think Presti hasn't been pressing real hard to make any big moves. For starters, I think he's doing his best to stay under the tax threshold so he doesn't have to get started on being a luxury tax payer until he absolutely has to in a few years when Durant, Russ, and Serge are up for new contracts; because when that happens, if all 3 stay here, he won't be able to avoid it. And due to the repeat offender penalties being so harsh under the new CBA, I can understand why he wouldn't want to unnecessarily go into the tax this year for someone unless he absolutely felt they could put us over the top.

He really is taking the San Antonio approach of letting your young players develop, while also collecting draft picks, layering players, and letting those young players develop overseas or in the D-League because, like you said, time is still on his side. I think once he sees Durant and Russ and Serge may be about to reach their peak, and it may look like they don't have enough to win a championship, he'll be more aggressive during the summers. But for now, we've still got more than half our rotation filled with players 25 years old or younger. I think some people have kind of forgotten how young Durant, Russ, and Serge still are because this will be the 4th season OKC has been a contender. They just forget that, when OKC broke onto the scene in 2011, all those guys were 21-22 years old; and if Westbrook hadn't gotten hurt, there's a really good chance (even after losing Harden) OKC would've wrapped-up a 3 year stretch of 2 Finals appearances and a WCF appearance all before Durant and Westbrook turned 25.

But our core is still young and developing:

Durant - 25 years old
Westbrook - 25 years old
Serge - 24 years old
Reggie - 23 years old
Lamb - 21 years old
Perry Jones - 22
Daniel Orton - 22
Steven Adams - 20

That's how old those players will be next year. I doubt Adams and Jones break the rotation, but we'll still have a 9 man rotation where 5 of the players are 21-25 years old. I list Orton, because it wouldn't surprise me if he's our back-up center this year.

[NaturalThunder]

NT, I agree very much. KD had what would be an MVP year, but Lebron just went nuts, and deserved to win it of course. That being said, this team has the second best player in the league on it (btw again off topic but a part of me misses the KD vs. Melo thread with melomiracle....ahh good times!). With Russ back, it'll be another solid playoff run at least, I'm still hopeful Presti does something to get a C with the new TPE, I'm thinking maybe he will. That being said,hes gettin ripped on the general board (I understand the frustration, hated not bein able to post on it for 3 months) but is still a top GM. Morey wouldn't be viewed like he is if the original CP3 deal went through, Houston wouldn't be in this situation, he kinda lucked out there, so as much as you can love what he did and I do, he got lucky just like all top GMs do. In the end OKC will be there again.

Yeah, I've been reading the Harden/Presti/OKC threads. A lot of ignorance in there, but it's a message board, so it's expected. Even if I could post on the GB I don't think i'd even bother. OKC still improved statistically (across the board) and in the W/L column this year even after losing Harden. If Westbrook doesn't get hurt, OKC likely gets back to the Finals, and people aren't freaking out or overreacting nearly as much about the trade. Offensively and defensively we were better in almost every category this year while also improving our win% from last year.

People forget Harden's impact was and always would be limited in OKC. He never would've totally flourished without going somewhere else. Durant and Westbrook are better than him, and he was always going to be the 3rd option, and the effects are even more magnified because options #1 and #2 were also ball-dominant perimeter players.

[Chalky White]

Keep being cheap, keep exchanging valuable talent for talent that is mediocre, keep thinking that because he's young and developing that winning isn't an immediate concern, and OKC will feel what Cleveland felt.


Great video though. Truly a special player.

[NaturalThunder]

Keep being cheap, keep exchanging valuable talent for talent that is mediocre, keep thinking that because he's young and developing that winning isn't an immediate concern, and OKC will feel what Cleveland felt.

Yeah, because the current situation in OKC for Durant (or Westbrook if you're one of those who thinks he's OKC's best player) is the same as LeBron's in Cleveland. OKC has young players that are still developing, including their "Big 3". Cleveland kept trying, and failing, by signing fringe all-star veterans and/or former all-stars past their prime to put with LeBron. OKC already has a young, talented dynamic duo, and it could be a legit "Big 3" soon if Ibaka continues to develop. Then you wait a year or two and see if Jackson, Lamb, PJ3, and Adams develop, and you're good to go. If not, then it's time to panic and going into the luxury tax and signing FA's that you think might help.

If Presti is still being this cheap a few years down the line, fine, but right now, this summer, it's understandable.

[Chalky White]

Keep being cheap, keep exchanging valuable talent for talent that is mediocre, keep thinking that because he's young and developing that winning isn't an immediate concern, and OKC will feel what Cleveland felt.

Yeah, because the current situation in OKC for Durant (or Westbrook if you're one of those who thinks he's OKC's best player) is the same as LeBron's in Cleveland. OKC has young players that are still developing, including their "Big 3". Cleveland kept trying, and failing, by signing fringe all-star veterans and/or former all-stars past their prime to put with LeBron. OKC already has a young, talented dynamic duo, and it could be a legit "Big 3" soon if Ibaka continues to develop. Then you wait a year or two and see if Jackson, Lamb, PJ3, and Adams develop, and you're good to go. If not, then it's time to panic and going into the luxury tax and signing FA's that you think might help.

If Presti is still being this cheap a few years down the line, fine, but right now, this summer, it's understandable.

Obviously went over your head.

[NaturalThunder]

Keep being cheap, keep exchanging valuable talent for talent that is mediocre, keep thinking that because he's young and developing that winning isn't an immediate concern, and OKC will feel what Cleveland felt.

Yeah, because the current situation in OKC for Durant (or Westbrook if you're one of those who thinks he's OKC's best player) is the same as LeBron's in Cleveland. OKC has young players that are still developing, including their "Big 3". Cleveland kept trying, and failing, by signing fringe all-star veterans and/or former all-stars past their prime to put with LeBron. OKC already has a young, talented dynamic duo, and it could be a legit "Big 3" soon if Ibaka continues to develop. Then you wait a year or two and see if Jackson, Lamb, PJ3, and Adams develop, and you're good to go. If not, then it's time to panic and going into the luxury tax and signing FA's that you think might help.

If Presti is still being this cheap a few years down the line, fine, but right now, this summer, it's understandable.

Obviously went over your head.

Ok, and it's still "over my head" so how about explaining what you meant?