How many players does the Thunder have under roster now?

[TKainZero]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/OKC.html

Westbrook
Kanter
singler
Collinson
adams
payne
mcgary
Roberson
huiestas

Plus
Olidipo, Sabonis, Illyasova

That's 12
Plus signing KD back

That's 13
With waiters, morrow and foye leaving.


Is waiters going to leave? With dipo coming in is there any chance he sticks around?
Morrow has a team option, and I could see the Thunder keeping him (cheap)
I think foye is for sure gone.


Free agency is going to essentially be just about bringing KD back, and having the money to sign a big name (horford?)


Also...
With the glut of post players, does this mean dakri Johnson is no longer part of the future plan?

[Andre Roberstan]

I don't think Presti is done yet. We're unbalanced towards offense a little bit in the frontcourt, and we have way too many PFs, especially if you count swingmen that flex to the 4.

Word on the street is that they might keep Dion, but Oladipo makes it less necessary.

Dakari might still have a future with us. Keep your thirsty mitts off him

[Kizz Fastfists]

As of right now:

Russ/Payne
Roberson/Oladipo
Singler/Huestis
McGary/Collison
Adams/Kanter

They also have Morrow and Ilyasova with non-guaranteed contracts. Ilyasova has to be released on the 1st of July and Morrow on the 15th.

They have cap holds from KD, Waiters, Foye, Nazr and Sabonis.

If you want my best estimate of the roster on July 15th, after FA. I'm going to go with:

Russ/Payne
Roberson/Oladipo/Morrow
KD/Tyreke/Huestis
Gasol/Sabonis/West/Collison
Adams/Gortat

Yes, I can break down the moves that get them there, but I'm not going to right now. I expect something similar to that for next season. It might not be those exact names, as guys like Gortat and Tyreke could be changed with several others. If they did manage to go Horford over Gasol it would also mix it up due to their salary difference.

[Kizz Fastfists]

With the glut of post players, does this mean dakri Johnson is no longer part of the future plan?

I think they are going to find a one year solid backup center and then bring up Dakari Johnson next year as the backup. That way they only break in one "rookie" big at a time. Sabonis this year and Johnson next year.

[TKainZero]

Dakari might still have a future with us. Keep your thirsty mitts off him

Please???
Let us have Dakari and we will tank our KD interview... lol

[Kizz Fastfists]

Please???
Let us have Dakari and we will tank our KD interview... lol

You don't even get an interview! If KD goes to Boston maybe we'll give you Russ, Roberson and Singler for D'Angelo Russell, Ingram and future picks. Your 2021 and 2023 unprotected first round picks should be sufficient.

[bondom34]

Dakari might still have a future with us. Keep your thirsty mitts off him

Please???
Let us have Dakari and we will tank our KD interview... lol

I'd work on getting the interview first, then try bribery.

[Pillendreher]

As of right now:

Russ/Payne
Roberson/Oladipo
Singler/Huestis
McGary/Collison
Adams/Kanter

They also have Morrow and Ilyasova with non-guaranteed contracts. Ilyasova has to be released on the 1st of July and Morrow on the 15th.

They have cap holds from KD, Waiters, Foye, Nazr and Sabonis.

If you want my best estimate of the roster on July 15th, after FA. I'm going to go with:

Russ/Payne
Roberson/Oladipo/Morrow
KD/Tyreke/Huestis
Gasol/Sabonis/West/Collison
Adams/Gortat

Yes, I can break down the moves that get them there, but I'm not going to right now. I expect something similar to that for next season. It might not be those exact names, as guys like Gortat and Tyreke could be changed with several others. If they did manage to go Horford over Gasol it would also mix it up due to their salary difference.

So you think Presti will turn McGary, Singler, Ilyasova and Kanter into Evans, Gasol, West and Gortat. How does that work? Please elaborate, even if you don't want to

[Kizz Fastfists]

So you think Presti will turn McGary, Singler, Ilyasova and Kanter into Evans, Gasol, West and Gortat. How does that work? Please elaborate, even if you don't want to

Ilyasova and McGary for Gortat. Washington then releases Gortat to clear cap space to chase FAs.

Kanter and Singler to Houston for a pair of 2nd round picks in 2017. Houston gets shut out in FA and trades for an offensive big man that could put up video game numbers, along with Harden, in D'Antoni's system and they get a 37% 3pt shooter.

Sign Gasol for 2yrs/$25M.

Use the trade exception from Kanter to bring in Tyreke, which helps NOLA shed some salary to add a max player next to Davis.

Sign West with the mini MLE. West is looking for a ring and after leaving over $10M on the table last year to chase with the Spurs he upgrades to OKC.

[Pillendreher]

Ilyasova and McGary for Gortat. Washington then releases Gortat to clear cap space to chase FAs.

They already have 28 mil. in capspace without getting rid of Gortat. Which FAs will they chase with 30+ mil? They need both a PF and a C and I don't think they will hit on any really good FA. I guess they could try to get rid of him because he still has 3 years on his contract (38 mil) and he will be 35 years old at the end of his contract.

Kanter and Singler to Houston for a pair of 2nd round picks in 2017. Houston gets shut out in FA and trades for an offensive big man that could put up video game numbers, along with Harden, in D'Antoni's system and they get a 37% 3pt shooter.

I could see this, but there's no way in hell they take Singler without us taking Brewer.

Sign Gasol for 2yrs/$25M.

I guess but we'd need a different Gasol than the Bulls' Gasol.

Use the trade exception from Kanter to bring in Tyreke, which helps NOLA shed some salary to add a max player next to Davis.

That would put them at about 30 mil in cap space. But that's not that much considering they'd have to bring in a starting SG and starting SF.

Sign West with the mini MLE. West is looking for a ring and after leaving over $10M on the table last year to chase with the Spurs he upgrades to OKC.

It'd be interesting how many minutes he could get.

[Andre Roberstan]

So you think Presti will turn McGary, Singler, Ilyasova and Kanter into Evans, Gasol, West and Gortat. How does that work? Please elaborate, even if you don't want to

Ilyasova and McGary for Gortat. Washington then releases Gortat to clear cap space to chase FAs.

Kanter and Singler to Houston for a pair of 2nd round picks in 2017. Houston gets shut out in FA and trades for an offensive big man that could put up video game numbers, along with Harden, in D'Antoni's system and they get a 37% 3pt shooter.

Sign Gasol for 2yrs/$25M.

Use the trade exception from Kanter to bring in Tyreke, which helps NOLA shed some salary to add a max player next to Davis.

Sign West with the mini MLE. West is looking for a ring and after leaving over $10M on the table last year to chase with the Spurs he upgrades to OKC.

The numbers actually work, but this plan is contingent on Grunfeld being an idiot (fair) and Morey being an idiot (not likely).

Who's the center Washington is supposed to get that's better than Gortat? Gortat's still a starting-quality center, and Washington's not the free-agent capital of the world.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Since several people are rooting for Horford I wondered what the roster would actually look like with Horford. First, they would have release Ilyasova and Morrow. Then they trade Kanter and Singler to Houston for a pair of 2nd round picks. That leaves OKC with:

Russ/Payne
Roberson/Oladipo
KD/Huestis
Horford/Sabonis/McGary/Collison
Adams

To fill out the rest of the roster they use the MLE on Joe Johnson, the bi-annual exception on Miles Plumlee or Cole Aldrich so you end up with:

Russ/Payne
Roberson/Oladipo
KD/Johnson/Huestis
Horford/Sabonis/McGary/Collison
Adams/Aldrich

If you are a fan of RPM and PER you might argue Aldrich was the best backup center in the NBA last year. You also might argue that he should be a starter.

[Kizz Fastfists]

The numbers actually work, but this plan is contingent on Grunfeld being an idiot (fair) and Morey being an idiot (not likely).

Who's the center Washington is supposed to get that's better than Gortat? Gortat's still a starting-quality center, and Washington's not the free-agent capital of the world.

Washington is rumored to be wanting Noah and willing to overpay for him. They could also chase Horford, Whiteside, Howard, Al Jefferson, etc. They were a .500 team last year. They have Wall and Beal and they need a better big man if they are going to get over the hump. Since the trade would have to be executed on the 1st I'm guessing that Washington is willing to take the plunge and hope that they can get someone to take the money.

Morey is always trying to overthink things and make the huge swing for the fences play. Beverly, Harden, Ariza, Teletovic (a reasonable FA signing) and Kanter could put up 120 points a game for them. Of course they'll give up 130 points a game, but I can see D'Antoni pushing for a lineup along those lines. You can't really have a team built around Harden and have defense as a top priority. I think Houston is going to be similar to the Rangers of the 90s and early 2000s where they scored a ton of runs, but had terrible pitching. They were fun to watch, but would lose 9-7 and 6-4. A lot of scoring and excitement, but no chance at contending.

[Andre Roberstan]

Washington is rumored to be wanting Noah and willing to overpay for him.

That rumor was proved false either end of Friday or yesterday, I forget which. They could chase other free agents, sure, but they have enough cap space--they specifically planned around signing Durant this year. It doesn't have to be him that fills that space. They have no reason to trade Gortat.

Morey is always trying to overthink things and make the huge swing for the fences play. Beverly, Harden, Ariza, Teletovic (a reasonable FA signing) and Kanter could put up 120 points a game for them. Of course they'll give up 130 points a game, but I can see D'Antoni pushing for a lineup along those lines. You can't really have a team built around Harden and have defense as a top priority. I think Houston is going to be similar to the Rangers of the 90s and early 2000s where they scored a ton of runs, but had terrible pitching. They were fun to watch, but would lose 9-7 and 6-4. A lot of scoring and excitement, but no chance at contending.

Except that Morey is a slave to advanced stats, which are not exactly Kanter's friend. And he loves cap flexibility, which also is torpedoed by signing Kanter. It's literally the most anti-Morey move ever to trade 2nds for Kanter. He's never doing it. It's not his MO. It's never been his MO.

[spearsy23]

I think nola and Portland are the most likely landing spots for kanter

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[itzmrgigglez]

http://thunderousintentions.com/2016/06/26/okcs-top-free-agents-after-the-ibaka-trade/

Hope this helps all of us!

[spearsy23]

I disagree that backup sf is the biggest concern. It's obviously pf and no amount of overating illy is gonna change that. We need a guy strong enough to play pf in traditional lineups that isn't a defensive liability.

As far as backup sf, dipo gives us some freedom to move robes around and cover 10-12 minutes at both the 2 and 3, while Cam hopefully develops enough to get Russ some time at the 2.

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[bondom34]

All those free agents either don't fit or are too expensive. Williams will make more, J. Green is bad, G. Green is a terrible defender and streaky, I think Boston keeps Jerebko.

They need a starting 4 like spearsy said. I don't know what the plan is right now, and I love the trade but that's the spot. I think Sabonis and Mitch will get minutes off the bench but would rather someone brought in to start.

[Kizz Fastfists]

I think nola and Portland are the most likely landing spots for kanter

Portland is interesting since they offered him the max last year. They could have Kanter for the 2019 2nd they have that will be the better pick between the Lakers and T'Wolves.

I don't see Nola being interested. I see them more looking for a defensive center to put next to Davis to try to protect their guards. I think they'll try for Whiteside first and then Mahinmi.

[spearsy23]

I think nola and Portland are the most likely landing spots for kanter

Portland is interesting since they offered him the max last year. They could have Kanter for the 2019 2nd they have that will be the better pick between the Lakers and T'Wolves.

I don't see Nola being interested. I see them more looking for a defensive center to put next to Davis to try to protect their guards. I think they'll try for Whiteside first and then Mahinmi.

I don't think nola can afford to look too much for fit, they need everything. A young big that fits perfectly with Davis offensively should get them interested. Especially since they'll have to overpay to get any good free agents.