OKC Thunder Offseason 2015

[Balkman32]

This team is build around Kd. NO Kd no nothing, no championship, no playoffs LOL at Kanter being in the big 3.

I see what you are writing but, the Thunder are not worried about bringing in someone to take Kd's minutes just incase. They are taking the BPA no matter what position. Because when you don't take the BPA you loose.

So you know the year is 2015 right? Its not 2012 anymore.

You do get that we've expanded our options since 2012 right?
You get that in a season with everyone injured including KD for much of the season and Ibaka in the last 20 games or so, you do get we still almost had 50 wins right? With a coach who had no idea how to properly use Kanter and Ibaka.... oh, that Kanter, who showed us he can put up near 20-10 in 27 minutes... ya, i think its safe to say he could easily be a part of a big 3..... w hat exactly do you expect from someone in a big 3?

I will take the assumption that Presti, does not have his head up his ass and is concerned with the KD issue possibly being persistent for a few years. Which means he will draft a 2/3 and in FA go after a 3.

Kanter has some work to do before we crown him and put him in the Top 50 players in the league.

He could draft anyone. 1-5 and move players in different spots to make it work. the only FA they could bring in is someone making $3.3 mill witch aint much. Plus, you still have Lamb, Jones, and Novak all on the roster, and all can play the 3.

[Soonerule]

This team is build around Kd. NO Kd no nothing, no championship, no playoffs LOL at Kanter being in the big 3.

I see what you are writing but, the Thunder are not worried about bringing in someone to take Kd's minutes just incase. They are taking the BPA no matter what position. Because when you don't take the BPA you loose.

So you know the year is 2015 right? Its not 2012 anymore.

You do get that we've expanded our options since 2012 right?
You get that in a season with everyone injured including KD for much of the season and Ibaka in the last 20 games or so, you do get we still almost had 50 wins right? With a coach who had no idea how to properly use Kanter and Ibaka.... oh, that Kanter, who showed us he can put up near 20-10 in 27 minutes... ya, i think its safe to say he could easily be a part of a big 3..... w hat exactly do you expect from someone in a big 3?

I will take the assumption that Presti, does not have his head up his ass and is concerned with the KD issue possibly being persistent for a few years. Which means he will draft a 2/3 and in FA go after a 3.

I'm trying to see where this "persistent for years" idea is coming from. As far as the Thunder's 2014/15 season goes, KD's last surgery couldn't have happened at a worse time, but as far as recovery goes, it could not have happened at a better time. Six uninterrupted months to heal after the bone graft. It either takes or it doesn't and there is no reason to think that it won't and there is no urgent need for large amounts of playing time in October or November.

Here is the list of players that suffered the same injury complete with names, whether or not they had surgery, a re-occurrence, a second surgery and total games missed:

http://instreetclothes.com/2014/10/12/breaking-kevin-durants-jones-fracture/

[Balkman32]

There is no real point to argue here. The Team is going nowhere w/o Kd. They are building around Kd not trying to replace him. There eggs are all in Kd's and Russ's baskets. You know because they are both top 5 players in this league.

[Soonerule]

There is no real point to argue here. The Team is going nowhere w/o Kd. They are building around Kd not trying to replace him. There eggs are all in Kd's and Russ's baskets. You know because they are both top 5 players in this league.

I think I read that somewhere...

[Bravenewworld]

This does not really matter w/o Kd the season is a wash.

And again. clearly you didnt pay attention to last season.

The one where we missed the playoffs? Yeah, we must have missed that. With a healthy Russ all season and no KD we had a winning percentage of .55, that's a 45 win team. Even if you add ten wins to compensate for Serge being out that's a bottom 4 seed.

Yah, the same team that qualified to sign 16th and 17th players because of how injured we were.
The same team that could not maintain a healthy roster for any ten game stretch.
A team that was 50% different at the end of the season.
And a team that while all this was going on, was half a game out of the playoffs.... or better yet, a tie breaker out of the playoffs.

BTW, we didnt have a healthy Russ all season did we? He missed the first 20 games. A vital 20 games to miss.

[Bravenewworld]

Why would i do that? You can go to the thread here, when it first happened and check the conversation you were already a part of, but i guess didnt pay attention to.
Or you can go to the thread in the general discussion forums.
Or you can do a quick google search yourself.
Stop acting like its other peoples job to spoon feed you information, if you don't know these things already or are unwilling to take the ten seconds to find them out, you probably should be discussing them.

Or... Or... And hear me out here.... You could stop talking out of your a**. We are not a championship contender with Matt Barnes instead of KD, Jones fractures are rarely to never chronic injuries, Scott Brooks apparently did know how to use Kanter (or was that 20/10 Kanter being misused? Maybe he can put up 35/15 this year), 50 wins is not a contender, Kanter was a net negative, and Waiters still sucked.

Okay, say whatever youre going to say. Don't bother attempting to find out if this is potentially an on going situation or not.
Oh, and now Brooks knew how to run big men..... brilliant. Just brilliant.

[Bravenewworld]

This team is build around Kd. NO Kd no nothing, no championship, no playoffs LOL at Kanter being in the big 3.

I see what you are writing but, the Thunder are not worried about bringing in someone to take Kd's minutes just incase. They are taking the BPA no matter what position. Because when you don't take the BPA you loose.

So you know the year is 2015 right? Its not 2012 anymore.

You do get that we've expanded our options since 2012 right?
You get that in a season with everyone injured including KD for much of the season and Ibaka in the last 20 games or so, you do get we still almost had 50 wins right? With a coach who had no idea how to properly use Kanter and Ibaka.... oh, that Kanter, who showed us he can put up near 20-10 in 27 minutes... ya, i think its safe to say he could easily be a part of a big 3..... w hat exactly do you expect from someone in a big 3?

I will take the assumption that Presti, does not have his head up his ass and is concerned with the KD issue possibly being persistent for a few years. Which means he will draft a 2/3 and in FA go after a 3.

Kanter has some work to do before we crown him and put him in the Top 50 players in the league.

He could draft anyone. 1-5 and move players in different spots to make it work. the only FA they could bring in is someone making $3.3 mill witch aint much. Plus, you still have Lamb, Jones, and Novak all on the roster, and all can play the 3.

Top 50?
10 from each position.... Id say hes a top 10 center, wouldnt you? The guy is clearly one of the most skilled low post players in the game and has shown he can produce effectively and efficiently.

[bondom34]

Gasol
Jordan
Cousins
Bogut
Horford
Val
Nurkic
Chandler
Howard
Gobert
Drummond
Mozgov


There was a very fast 10 without any real thought. I'd take all those guys rather quickly, and honestly I still think Adams is a better overall player.

[bondom34]

Also per a guy on reddit who knows someone working w/ the team, looks like Mo Cheeks will be back.

[spearsy23]

Also per a guy on reddit who knows someone working w/ the team, looks like Mo Cheeks will be back.

Freaking sweet! I don't know why exactly, but this is the most exciting thing I've heard all offseason

[bondom34]

Also per a guy on reddit who knows someone working w/ the team, looks like Mo Cheeks will be back.

Freaking sweet! I don't know why exactly, but this is the most exciting thing I've heard all offseason

Apparently some guy knew stuff on Jackon and Harden, I'm hoping he's legit. Invited him here too, would be great.

Billy D and Cheeks could be good for Russ too.

[spearsy23]

Why would i do that? You can go to the thread here, when it first happened and check the conversation you were already a part of, but i guess didnt pay attention to.
Or you can go to the thread in the general discussion forums.
Or you can do a quick google search yourself.
Stop acting like its other peoples job to spoon feed you information, if you don't know these things already or are unwilling to take the ten seconds to find them out, you probably should be discussing them.

Or... Or... And hear me out here.... You could stop talking out of your a**. We are not a championship contender with Matt Barnes instead of KD, Jones fractures are rarely to never chronic injuries, Scott Brooks apparently did know how to use Kanter (or was that 20/10 Kanter being misused? Maybe he can put up 35/15 this year), 50 wins is not a contender, Kanter was a net negative, and Waiters still sucked.

Okay, say whatever youre going to say. Don't bother attempting to find out if this is potentially an on going situation or not.
Oh, and now Brooks knew how to run big men..... brilliant. Just brilliant.

Point to a list of guys with recurring Jones fractures. The fact is you can't, because it's hardly ever a chronic issue. CJ McCollum had one, now he's good as new. Julio Jones had one, good as new. Mike Bibby, Pau Gasol, Andre Blatche, Glen Davis, Kwame Brown, and the list goes on. Just because you refuse to separate them doesn't mean 'foot injury' always means the same thing. The success rate of the bone graft is almost 100%. You're better off preparing for Russ getting re-injured than expecting KD to be done.

You said it yourself, Kanter was averaging 20/10 in under thirty minutes. What's his ceiling if that's being misused? Is he a 30/12 guy? 35/15? What's he average if being used 'properly'? The fact is, Scotty spammed the Westbrook/Kanter p&r down the stretch. Enes was put in the perfect position to succeed offensively, and he thrived.

[spearsy23]

Yah, the same team that qualified to sign 16th and 17th players because of how injured we were.
The same team that could not maintain a healthy roster for any ten game stretch.
A team that was 50% different at the end of the season.
And a team that while all this was going on, was half a game out of the playoffs.... or better yet, a tie breaker out of the playoffs.

BTW, we didnt have a healthy Russ all season did we? He missed the first 20 games. A vital 20 games to miss.

Over the course of the entire season, when Russ was healthy and KD not, we had a winning percentage of 55%. Post trades it was 57%. If you want to add 10% due to other injuries we're still the 7 seed. We're not in GSW or CLE's league without KD.

[spearsy23]

This team is build around Kd. NO Kd no nothing, no championship, no playoffs LOL at Kanter being in the big 3.

I see what you are writing but, the Thunder are not worried about bringing in someone to take Kd's minutes just incase. They are taking the BPA no matter what position. Because when you don't take the BPA you loose.

So you know the year is 2015 right? Its not 2012 anymore.

You do get that we've expanded our options since 2012 right?
You get that in a season with everyone injured including KD for much of the season and Ibaka in the last 20 games or so, you do get we still almost had 50 wins right? With a coach who had no idea how to properly use Kanter and Ibaka.... oh, that Kanter, who showed us he can put up near 20-10 in 27 minutes... ya, i think its safe to say he could easily be a part of a big 3..... w hat exactly do you expect from someone in a big 3?

I will take the assumption that Presti, does not have his head up his ass and is concerned with the KD issue possibly being persistent for a few years. Which means he will draft a 2/3 and in FA go after a 3.

I'm trying to see where this "persistent for years" idea is coming from. As far as the Thunder's 2014/15 season goes, KD's last surgery couldn't have happened at a worse time, but as far as recovery goes, it could not have happened at a better time. Six uninterrupted months to heal after the bone graft. It either takes or it doesn't and there is no reason to think that it won't and there is no urgent need for large amounts of playing time in October or November.

Here is the list of players that suffered the same injury complete with names, whether or not they had surgery, a re-occurrence, a second surgery and total games missed:

http://instreetclothes.com/2014/10/12/breaking-kevin-durants-jones-fracture/

Missed this before I posted, great post
At the end of the day, sure we can prepare for the most unlikely scenario, but why would we ignore needs based on the 1% chance that KD doesn't get healthy? That said, I still want a hybrid 2/3 because Waiters sucks, Lamb probably isn't the answer either, we need 2's who can keep up physically with Lebron, and as much as I love Robes getting a version of him that shoots 35% from three puts this team squarely ahead of everyone else. The only other need is backup point, and that's only because DJ may not be back after next season and you'd prefer not to have a rookie at that position.

[Bravenewworld]

Point to a list of guys with recurring Jones fractures. The fact is you can't, because it's hardly ever a chronic issue. CJ McCollum had one, now he's good as new. Julio Jones had one, good as new. Mike Bibby, Pau Gasol, Andre Blatche, Glen Davis, Kwame Brown, and the list goes on. Just because you refuse to separate them doesn't mean 'foot injury' always means the same thing. The success rate of the bone graft is almost 100%. You're better off preparing for Russ getting re-injured than expecting KD to be done.

Why do you always have to argue with what i say?
And why does that argument typically start with you rewording what i said?

Dude... fact of the matter is this.
KD has an issue that can possibly be persistent.
We, dont have a legit full time back up 3.
Combine the two and we come to the very rational conclusion that we should be looking for a good 3. It does not have to be a superstar 3, or a home run 3 or anything like that. Simply someone who can come in and post 20mpg WKD healthy, and possibly come in full time if the worst happens and KD needs some more time off.

And BTW, we prepared for Russ being injured long term. We got DJ, who showed us he could run the show in Chicago when Rose was out and with the Bobcats. Im not making the argument for it anymore.... because we actually already did it. Give us a 3, that is of the quality of DJ, and you wont hear me saying anything will you?

You said it yourself, Kanter was averaging 20/10 in under thirty minutes. What's his ceiling if that's being misused? Is he a 30/12 guy? 35/15? What's he average if being used 'properly'? The fact is, Scotty spammed the Westbrook/Kanter p&r down the stretch. Enes was put in the perfect position to succeed offensively, and he thrived.

Who knows what Kanters ceiling is.... thats my point. Outside of a few play options, we almost never ran sets for Kanter. So what happens when we do? If lets say, 65% of his game last year was improvised then what happens when its not and he actually becomes an offensive focus? The Pickle roll they did over and over, was for everyone, it was one of the few sets we could run effectively. But it was not focused on Kanter and his skill set.

But whatever comes up, it does not change any of the points i made about Kanter.

[spearsy23]

Why do you always have to argue with what i say?
And why does that argument typically start with you rewording what i said?

Dude... fact of the matter is this.
KD has an issue that can possibly be persistent.
We, dont have a legit full time back up 3.
Combine the two and we come to the very rational conclusion that we should be looking for a good 3. It does not have to be a superstar 3, or a home run 3 or anything like that. Simply someone who can come in and post 20mpg WKD healthy, and possibly come in full time if the worst happens and KD needs some more time off.

All I've asked for is some proof that KD's injury is likely to be persistent. You said 'go look it up yourself.' Well SoonersRule provided you a sweet link, I provided you some names, and you're wrong.

And BTW, we prepared for Russ being injured long term. We got DJ, who showed us he could run the show in Chicago when Rose was out and with the Bobcats. Im not making the argument for it anymore.... because we actually already did it. Give us a 3, that is of the quality of DJ, and you wont hear me saying anything will you?

So we don't need a backup if Russ goes down? We'll just run DJ for 48 minutes? We have Robes, Morrow and Jones plus Singler expected to be back. That's 4 guys to give minutes to at the 3. There are no upgrades in FA, and the priority should and will be getting guys who fit alongside KD.

Who knows what Kanters ceiling is.... thats my point. Outside of a few play options, we almost never ran sets for Kanter. So what happens when we do? If lets say, 65% of his game last year was improvised then what happens when its not and he actually becomes an offensive focus? The Pickle roll they did over and over, was for everyone, it was one of the few sets we could run effectively. But it was not focused on Kanter and his skill set.

But whatever comes up, it does not change any of the points i made about Kanter.

If you say so, I like Kanter as a scoring option. He proved he can do it effectively and efficiently, yet he still gives up more than he gets. Without significant improvement he isn't a cornerstone, and he certainly can't replace Durant and leave a team as a championship contender.

[Bravenewworld]

At the end of the day, sure we can prepare for the most unlikely scenario, but why would we ignore needs based on the 1% chance that KD doesn't get healthy? That said, I still want a hybrid 2/3 because Waiters sucks, Lamb probably isn't the answer either, we need 2's who can keep up physically with Lebron, and as much as I love Robes getting a version of him that shoots 35% from three puts this team squarely ahead of everyone else. The only other need is backup point, and that's only because DJ may not be back after next season and you'd prefer not to have a rookie at that position.

Again, since this seems to be ultra hard for you to grasp.

No one would be ignoring anything.
The one position we do not have a legitimate two players deep in, is the 3.

Russ-DJ. Two legit players. One franchise. One starter quality.
Waiters-Roberson-Morrow. Three legit players. One potential sixth man type material. One starter quality defensive role player. One 3pt specialist.
KD-PJ3. One franchise. One.... kinda all over the place right now.
Ibaka-McGary. Two legit players. One franchise. One starter quality (at least by what we saw in his short period playing)
Kanter-Adams. Two legit players. One becoming franchise. One starter quality.

I want PJ3 to be our full time back up 3. I would love for him to start showing what he showed us in college and in the summer league. But until then, we need to bring in a full time back up 3 that is more reliable than "we dont really know how he's going to turn out".

[spearsy23]

At the end of the day, sure we can prepare for the most unlikely scenario, but why would we ignore needs based on the 1% chance that KD doesn't get healthy? That said, I still want a hybrid 2/3 because Waiters sucks, Lamb probably isn't the answer either, we need 2's who can keep up physically with Lebron, and as much as I love Robes getting a version of him that shoots 35% from three puts this team squarely ahead of everyone else. The only other need is backup point, and that's only because DJ may not be back after next season and you'd prefer not to have a rookie at that position.

Again, since this seems to be ultra hard for you to grasp.

No one would be ignoring anything.
The one position we do not have a legitimate two players deep in, is the 3.

Russ-DJ. Two legit players. One franchise. One starter quality.
Waiters-Roberson-Morrow. Three legit players. One potential sixth man type material. One starter quality defensive role player. One 3pt specialist.
KD-PJ3. One franchise. One.... kinda all over the place right now.
Ibaka-McGary. Two legit players. One franchise. One starter quality (at least by what we saw in his short period playing)
Kanter-Adams. Two legit players. One becoming franchise. One starter quality.

I want PJ3 to be our full time back up 3. I would love for him to start showing what he showed us in college and in the summer league. But until then, we need to bring in a full time back up 3 that is more reliable than "we dont really know how he's going to turn out".

Morrow played the three a ton last season, Robes plays the 3 offensively, and Singler is expected to be back. If Singler isn't back then I'd say it's probably because we drafted Stanley Johnson or Justise Winslow. No other available SF's are going to be getting significant playing time next year over Jones/Morrow.

[Bravenewworld]

Why do you always have to argue with what i say?
And why does that argument typically start with you rewording what i said?

Dude... fact of the matter is this.
KD has an issue that can possibly be persistent.
We, dont have a legit full time back up 3.
Combine the two and we come to the very rational conclusion that we should be looking for a good 3. It does not have to be a superstar 3, or a home run 3 or anything like that. Simply someone who can come in and post 20mpg WKD healthy, and possibly come in full time if the worst happens and KD needs some more time off.

All I've asked for is some proof that KD's injury is likely to be persistent. You said 'go look it up yourself.' Well SoonersRule provided you a sweet link, I provided you some names, and you're wrong.

Im kind of done with this conversation, it seems to be going no where.
But i kept the first quote and your reply in so i can highlight this second part.

All I've asked for is some proof that KD's injury is likely to be persistent. You said 'go look it up yourself.' Well SoonersRule provided you a sweet link, I provided you some names, and you're wrong.

KD has an issue that can possibly be persistent.

This is exactly what i was talking about... you literally did exactly what you attempted to laugh off.

Me saying that this is a possibility and we need to prepare for the worst, is not me saying its a likely scenario.

[Bravenewworld]

Morrow played the three a ton last season, Robes plays the 3 offensively, and Singler is expected to be back. If Singler isn't back then I'd say it's probably because we drafted Stanley Johnson or Justise Winslow. No other available SF's are going to be getting significant playing time next year over Jones/Morrow.

Yah.
Paul Pierce played the 4 a few times last year too.
Marion used to play the center at times.

So what?
Teams do this when they are lacking proper back ups at that position. You can put any player at any position, it doesnt mean that's whats best for the team.

Morrows not a 3.
Roberson could develop into a 3, but we'd have to move him over there full time and i dont think he'd be the defensive beast he is as a guard. Many of his advantages would be evened out.

I like Singler, but again, hes a question mark.
Same with PJ.

Now.
What we really need to do is take Lamb, Novak, PJ and that 14th, and try to get Winslow in the draft. Winslow would be the ideal 2/3 in the draft that we could get, that i'd be comfortable with. Kelly.... ehhh... not so much. Hes a 2.