OKC Thunder Offseason: Avengers Assemble

[slick_watts]

These play-type stats

https://nbamath.com/nba-play-type-data/

are weird. This is the total defensive value added for our current roster:

Westbrook: 316/423
Felton: 26/423
Roberson: 2/423
Abrines: 418/423
George: 128/423
Grant: 38/423
Anthony: 58/423
Patterson: 36/423
Adams: 139/423

And for former Thunder players:

Oladipo: 364/423
Sabonis: 169/423
Kanter: 144/423
Gibson: 408/423

Some of those make sense, some of those don't at all.

this seems a little too derivative to me.

[Old Man Game]

Anybody have insider? Was curious if Ferguson was on this list:

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/20237226/six-rookies-most-likely-outshine-their-nba-draft-pick-2017-18-season

[slick_watts]

Anybody have insider? Was curious if Ferguson was on this list:

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/20237226/six-rookies-most-likely-outshine-their-nba-draft-pick-2017-18-season

dennis smith jr., donovan mitchell, justin jackson, john collins, jarrett allen, kyle kuzma.

[ThunderBolt]

Why would anyone pay for insider? Do I get a refund if their opinions are wrong?

[Old Man Game]

Why would anyone pay for insider? Do I get a refund if their opinions are wrong?

Don't know but but people do it. I think you get it for free if you subscribe to the magazine.

[Old Man Game]

Anybody have insider? Was curious if Ferguson was on this list:

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/20237226/six-rookies-most-likely-outshine-their-nba-draft-pick-2017-18-season

dennis smith jr., donovan mitchell, justin jackson, john collins, jarrett allen, kyle kuzma.

Damn. Kuzma. Did the league learn nothing from Draymond's draft?

[slick_watts]

Why would anyone pay for insider? Do I get a refund if their opinions are wrong?

my dentist's office gets the magazine and he doesn't care about insider so i asked and he let me use his code.

[bbms]

I remember earlier in the offseason where I was claiming that Presti got behind the league curve given how much draft investment they made on combo guards and centers and how little investment they made in wings since 2010, and now...

Paul George
Carmelo Anthony
Andre Roberson
Alex Abrines
Josh Huestis
Terrence Ferguson

That came around quickly. I'm excited for 2017/18. Huestis looks legit, Abrines and Ferguson looks talented and there's still room for a guy like Grant to grow. It's nice to be a Thunder fan again. At this point I think David Lee would be a very nice addition to this team. He's a nice passer and shooter from the C position, he'd be a nicd fit.

[ThunderBolt]

I remember earlier in the offseason where I was claiming that Presti got behind the league curve given how much draft investment they made on combo guards and centers and how little investment they made in wings since 2010, and now...

Paul George
Carmelo Anthony
Andre Roberson
Alex Abrines
Josh Huestis
Terrence Ferguson

That came around quickly. I'm excited for 2017/18. Huestis looks legit, Abrines and Ferguson looks talented and there's still room for a guy like Grant to grow. It's nice to be a Thunder fan again. At this point I think David Lee would be a very nice addition to this team. He's a nice passer and shooter from the C position, he'd be a nicd fit.

Mostly agree. Grant has run out of time. He makes monster dunks and blocks but we don’t have time to wait for him a to get better. He’s been in the league long enough.

[Balkman32]

Why would anyone pay for insider? Do I get a refund if their opinions are wrong?

Don't know but but people do it. I think you get it for free if you subscribe to the magazine.

I have had it for years. They usually just hit me with the $40 charge. I end up calling a week later telling them I don't use it and I really don't need it. They end up giving me back $20. Between the insider access and the mag its worth $20. They usually have some decent mock drafts and I wonder how they will handle the Draft Express guys moving forward.

[wco81]

Anybody have insider? Was curious if Ferguson was on this list:

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/20237226/six-rookies-most-likely-outshine-their-nba-draft-pick-2017-18-season

dennis smith jr., donovan mitchell, justin jackson, john collins, jarrett allen, kyle kuzma.

Damn. Kuzma. Did the league learn nothing from Draymond's draft?

He actually grew up in Michigan like Draymond.

But was apparently a late bloomer and he wasn't on Michigan or MSU's radar coming out of high school.

Utah was in on him early.

[Pillendreher]

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/10/10/nba-scouts-preview-northwest-thunder-nuggets-jazz-russell-westbrook-carmelo-anthony

Oklahoma City Thunder: Will the Thunder trades work?

I’m lukewarm about them even after the Carmelo Anthony trade. Last year they were three pieces away. Now they’re still one piece away. Paul George and Anthony will make Russell Westbrook’s life easier, but they still need one more two-way wing to match up with the best teams. . . . George will be getting squeezed from both sides because Anthony is going to take lots of shots. If Anthony doesn’t get them, he’ll check out and the whole plan will fall apart. I could see them trading George before the deadline if the chemistry doesn’t click. . . . I think Westbrook will be the back-to-back MVP. He’s not that traditional pass-first guy, but he attracts so much attention that everyone else benefits. His aggressiveness sets them up. . . . Andre Roberson is a very good defensive player, but he kills an offense. We’ll be here in five years waiting for him to learn to shoot a basic jump shot. . . . There are some matchups where Steven Adams is at risk because he’s a traditional center, but he gets by better than most 7-footers. He stays very busy on the offensive glass, which helps a lot. . . . Patrick Patterson is a glue guy, but he can’t make plays for you in the playoffs. He will disappear. . . . Raymond Felton is really important for them. I can see them playing him with Westbrook just to balance the load and make sure that Felton can help keep George involved offensively. . . . Their bench is just specialty guys who make you cringe when they’re on the court. Jerami Grant is fun in transition but worthless in a half-court game. Kyle Singler is making good money to wave a towel.

I don't know how serious I can take this 'scout'. Some of these takes sound like they were copy&paste from the General Board.

[bondom34]

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/10/10/nba-scouts-preview-northwest-thunder-nuggets-jazz-russell-westbrook-carmelo-anthony

Oklahoma City Thunder: Will the Thunder trades work?

I’m lukewarm about them even after the Carmelo Anthony trade. Last year they were three pieces away. Now they’re still one piece away. Paul George and Anthony will make Russell Westbrook’s life easier, but they still need one more two-way wing to match up with the best teams. . . . George will be getting squeezed from both sides because Anthony is going to take lots of shots. If Anthony doesn’t get them, he’ll check out and the whole plan will fall apart. I could see them trading George before the deadline if the chemistry doesn’t click. . . . I think Westbrook will be the back-to-back MVP. He’s not that traditional pass-first guy, but he attracts so much attention that everyone else benefits. His aggressiveness sets them up. . . . Andre Roberson is a very good defensive player, but he kills an offense. We’ll be here in five years waiting for him to learn to shoot a basic jump shot. . . . There are some matchups where Steven Adams is at risk because he’s a traditional center, but he gets by better than most 7-footers. He stays very busy on the offensive glass, which helps a lot. . . . Patrick Patterson is a glue guy, but he can’t make plays for you in the playoffs. He will disappear. . . . Raymond Felton is really important for them. I can see them playing him with Westbrook just to balance the load and make sure that Felton can help keep George involved offensively. . . . Their bench is just specialty guys who make you cringe when they’re on the court. Jerami Grant is fun in transition but worthless in a half-court game. Kyle Singler is making good money to wave a towel.

I don't know how serious I can take this 'scout'. Some of these takes sound like they were copy&paste from the General Board.

Yeah half of this is either inaccurate or a bad take.

[Pillendreher]

So apparently Matt Pinto said that George playing with the bench and not Anthony will likely continue. He played the most minutes in the preseason because he asked for it according to Pinto.

What do you guys think about that given Donovan said he could see Abrines getting more minutes with the starters and Roberson getting more minutes with the bench?

[bondom34]

I would rather Robes more with Melo. So however that works out.

[bbms]

So apparently Matt Pinto said that George playing with the bench and not Anthony will likely continue. He played the most minutes in the preseason because he asked for it according to Pinto.

What do you guys think about that given Donovan said he could see Abrines getting more minutes with the starters and Roberson getting more minutes with the bench?

fan of george playing with the bench. I think Felton and George alone can spearhead a good enough offense to overmatch most bench units.

This way we can stack Melo's minutes with Westbrook's and play Melo's offense where it has been historically and theoretically most effective: as a pure off the ball scorer.

Not a fan of Roberson subbing out early. OKC's current theorethical edge over 1st unities after the Paul George trade is the ability to present a special, elite, physical, hard nosed wing defense to feed off a proven a high octane, physical, elite transition offense. Abrines sacrifices all that edge for an offensive improvement that might be (1) not good enough to compete in a shoot out against top 5 offensive unities and; (2) will come for the sacrifice of our theorethical edge for making our wing defense less suffocating and our transition offense softer and slower. (3) his value drops in late games when we have to overcome a deficit.

If I am Donovan, my first subs in the game, in season opener, would be at 8 minute mark, Westbrook and Melo out, Felton and Abrines or Patterson depending on the match up. Make it a slower and physical game on the opposing wings earlier on, wear them out, beat them out, and them unleash Westbrook's speed on opponents when they are already bullied and on their way to gas out.

Use your defense to feed your offense, goddammit.

[slick_watts]

So apparently Matt Pinto said that George playing with the bench and not Anthony will likely continue. He played the most minutes in the preseason because he asked for it according to Pinto.

What do you guys think about that given Donovan said he could see Abrines getting more minutes with the starters and Roberson getting more minutes with the bench?

based on the limited data we have from preseason, i like the idea of george being the bench sacrifice. melo and rw already have a pnr / pnp type synergy and probably should be on the court together often. george doesn't hurt the group but it has appeared to me his impact offensively has shone out more when alone with the bench against other bench units. i was not impressed with melo's staggering foray.

abrines with the starters more is something i thought we'd see. similar to waiters with the starters. we've always done stuff like that. i don't think this marginalizes roberson much at all unless abrines turns into rudy fernandez overnight.

i do not like roberson getting minutes with jerami grant.

[Pillendreher]

I just think that Roberson+George would be a waste of defensive talent against opposing benches. Sure, we could maybe really suffocate opposing benches, but we need that more against top tier lineups, not against the scrubs of the league.

The most important thing to me is still finding a guy that can play the 5, defend and be decent enough in the Pick and Roll. A bought out Tyson Chandler would be awesome for that role.
We should trade Grant for a guy like that.

[getrichordie]

Looks like we have our own Yannis now. We recently signed Yannis Morin. Probably will be relegated to the G-League. But he looks like an interesting prospect. Maybe our small ball 5 in the near future?

Watch on YouTube

By the way what happened to that french player that everyone was so hyped up about in the draft? Jean something...

[ThunderBolt]

Looks like we have our own Yannis now. We recently signed Yannis Morin. Probably will be relegated to the G-League. But he looks like an interesting prospect. Maybe our small ball 5 in the near future?

Watch on YouTube

By the way what happened to that french player that everyone was so hyped up about in the draft? Jean something...

He got diagnosed with the same thing that guy from Baylor had, if I remember correctly.