Thunder Offseason Thread Part Deux: Rebuild

[slick_watts]

of course kd's unhappy. once he's retired or close to it and the bridges are mended it'll be better. the reconciliation between him and the thunder after he's done playing will be heart warming and much needed for both sides. this talk about harming himself and mental health is a little much.

[ThunderBolt]

of course kd's unhappy. once he's retired or close to it and the bridges are mended it'll be better. the reconciliation between him and the thunder after he's done playing will be heart warming and much needed for both sides. this talk about harming himself and mental health is a little much.

We only want whats best for him physically, mentally and spiritually.

[spearsy23]

of course kd's unhappy. once he's retired or close to it and the bridges are mended it'll be better. the reconciliation between him and the thunder after he's done playing will be heart warming and much needed for both sides. this talk about harming himself and mental health is a little much.

Because we only speculate about mental health with Westbrook.

[spearsy23]

of course kd's unhappy. once he's retired or close to it and the bridges are mended it'll be better. the reconciliation between him and the thunder after he's done playing will be heart warming and much needed for both sides. this talk about harming himself and mental health is a little much.

We only want whats best for him physically, mentally and spiritually.

(To stop talking)

[slick_watts]

of course kd's unhappy. once he's retired or close to it and the bridges are mended it'll be better. the reconciliation between him and the thunder after he's done playing will be heart warming and much needed for both sides. this talk about harming himself and mental health is a little much.

Because we only speculate about mental health with Westbrook.

westbrook's mental problems are all on the basketball court.

[jambalaya]

Who might Presti "try for" by trade or free agency in next few years? Derrick White? Who else? I don't see a lot of obvious candidates (assuming he isn't going to go for Blake at his age). Looney?

Not big names but might be pursued for a role: Josh Hart? Austin Rivers?

[ThunderBolt]

It really depends on a lot of factors. On one hand presti has said that the rebuild hasn’t started yet because the tear down isn’t complete. On the other hand Sam made comments about rebuilds happening much quicker nowadays.

Personally I don’t think there is any point in making trades for role players until there are at least 2, preferably 3 core players in tact.

I could also see Sam wanting to get into the playoffs ASAP with a young team to establish a winning culture. Then again Sam made comments about needing better picks to get better players. That implies needing to be somewhat bad to have a realistic shot.

All that being said, Zach Lavine wouldn’t surprise me.

[Dn4sty]

It really depends on a lot of factors. On one hand presti has said that the rebuild hasn’t started yet because the tear down isn’t complete. On the other hand Sam made comments about rebuilds happening much quicker nowadays.

Personally I don’t think there is any point in making trades for role players until there are at least 2, preferably 3 core players in tact.

I could also see Sam wanting to get into the playoffs ASAP with a young team to establish a winning culture. Then again Sam made comments about needing better picks to get better players. That implies needing to be somewhat bad to have a realistic shot.

All that being said, Zach Lavine wouldn’t surprise me.

I fully expect a deal like this, especially if OKC also would get someone like WCJ out the deal as well

[ThunderBolt]

It really depends on a lot of factors. On one hand presti has said that the rebuild hasn’t started yet because the tear down isn’t complete. On the other hand Sam made comments about rebuilds happening much quicker nowadays.

Personally I don’t think there is any point in making trades for role players until there are at least 2, preferably 3 core players in tact.

I could also see Sam wanting to get into the playoffs ASAP with a young team to establish a winning culture. Then again Sam made comments about needing better picks to get better players. That implies needing to be somewhat bad to have a realistic shot.

All that being said, Zach Lavine wouldn’t surprise me.

I fully expect a deal like this, especially if OKC also would get someone like WCJ out the deal as well

Aren’t the bulls super high on WCJ? Or are you thinking this deal happens later on down the road?

[DoubleJ13]

Was on youtube scrolling through stuff & saw they uploaded a Mike Muscala video that reminded me that they signed Mike Muscala.

This offseason has been pretty dumb.

[ThunderBolt]

The Thunder's relationships with agents is intriguing to me.

Read on Twitter

?

[Dn4sty]

It really depends on a lot of factors. On one hand presti has said that the rebuild hasn’t started yet because the tear down isn’t complete. On the other hand Sam made comments about rebuilds happening much quicker nowadays.

Personally I don’t think there is any point in making trades for role players until there are at least 2, preferably 3 core players in tact.

I could also see Sam wanting to get into the playoffs ASAP with a young team to establish a winning culture. Then again Sam made comments about needing better picks to get better players. That implies needing to be somewhat bad to have a realistic shot.

All that being said, Zach Lavine wouldn’t surprise me.

I fully expect a deal like this, especially if OKC also would get someone like WCJ out the deal as well

My point was OKC being a place where they pick up assets to take back long term money on not so great contracts. The Bulls aren’t trading Markennan or White and that basically leaves WCJ or some pick.

[jambalaya]

With regard to KD being miffed at support staff not greeting his return with "love", I'd assume they were either told to not give it by top execs or were afraid to. Either way that probably says something about the Thunder culture. Of course KD leaving and the way he did and everything after it (leaving another place and criticizing both in ways) says something about his culture too.

I doubt he ever gets to the finals with Nets. Some chance, but not that much.

[Andre Roberstan]

With regard to KD being miffed at support staff not greeting his return with "love", I'd assume they were either told to not give it by top execs or were afraid to. Either way that probably says something about the Thunder culture. Of course KD leaving and the way he did and everything after it (leaving another place and criticizing both in ways) says something about his culture too.

I doubt he ever gets to the finals with Nets. Some chance, but not that much.

That's a heck of an assumption to make. Like there's an inter-office email that goes out like "hey guys, no one be nice to KD"? I think that's pretty unlikely.

Afraid to? Maybe. IDK. But the first option seems completely outlandish.

[ThunderBolt]

With regard to KD being miffed at support staff not greeting his return with "love", I'd assume they were either told to not give it by top execs or were afraid to. Either way that probably says something about the Thunder culture. Of course KD leaving and the way he did and everything after it (leaving another place and criticizing both in ways) says something about his culture too.

I doubt he ever gets to the finals with Nets. Some chance, but not that much.

Or perhaps you and others are not remembering what actually happened.

Watch on YouTube

[jambalaya]

I was going by what Durant said. The tape shows lots of media and one on camera hug that neither side probably felt they could avoid. He either didn't consider that enough or created a different memory based on his own feelings.

You think people being told not to be demonstrative toward KD on his return is "completely outlandish"? I don't. Management decided to let a scrub wear his number. Management is known to tell everyone what to do down to the n th level on so many things. It more likely was verbal or implied. But who knows. Durant and / or the people off camera.

If they wanted him to feel still a part of the family, they could have by either being clearly relaxed / normal or by explicitly directing people to be welcoming.

Has Thunder public relations commented? Thunder media talked to pr or the support staff on of off the record? I haven't seen or heard any response. Silence doesn't say anything for sure but it doesn't say denial of the claim either.

[ThunderBolt]

I was going by what Durant said. The tape shows lots of media and one on camera hug. He either didn't consider that enough or created a different memory based on his own feelings.

You think people being told not to be demonstrative toward KD on his return is "completely outlandish"? I don't. Management decided to let a scrub wear his number. Management is known to tell everyone what to do down to the n th level on so many things. It probably was verbal or implied.

If they wanted him to feel still a part of the family, they surely could have by being clearly relaxed / normal or by explicitly directing people to be welcoming.

No one gives a crap what Durant said. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. Lets look at the evidence we have. The tape does not show lots of media. It's less than a minute long yet still shows evidence contrary to his statements. I believe Durant even made comments about this woman but I would need to do some digging.

He was there to play a basketball game. Should the thunder have had in his shower to have made him feel more at home? How much opportunity is there for interaction outside the court and the locker room. There is a difference in wanting him to be part of the family as opposed to telling staff to act a certain way, which according to this video would show a rogue employee. I wonder if sam had her decapitated.

[jambalaya]

I made a casual comment and only "continued" after push back on it.

The main thing I (or others not there) have on it is what KD said and the nothing "said" to my knowledge from anybody else there. It is may not be the perspective of the Thunder management and staff but it was his. The tape with one hug is not pivotal to me. Durant mentioned several classes of employees (that would run at least several handfuls and folks of higher rank than opponent locker room door security) and reacted to the sum of them, not one case.

I speculated about several possibilities on the topic but said I was "assuming" and that doesn't necessarily mean I buy KD's statements at face value. I didn't assert anything as "facts". He has a negative view that probably does get exaggerated at times.

If you don't "give a crap what Durant said" then why comment so strongly?

"The tape does not show lots of media."? It is camera after camera after camera. I counted about 20-25, (unclear if the cellphones are reporters or staff).

But I don't care enough about this to continue beyond this point. I rarely comment outside of directly related to basketball.

If Thunder mgt and pr decide not to respond, the players and public will mainly have Durant's comments to evaluate on their own.

[ThunderBolt]

I made a casual comment and only "continued" after push back on it.

The main thing I (or others not there) have on it is what KD said and the nothing "said" to my knowledge from anybody else there. It is may not be the perspective of the Thunder management and staff but it was his. The tape with one hug is not pivotal to me. Durant mentioned several classes of employees (that would run at least several handfuls and folks of higher rank than opponent locker room door security) and reacted to the sum of them, not one case.


If you don't "give a crap what Durant said" then why comment so strongly? If the only thing" said" on topic means nothing to you, then your reaction also appears low on "facts" or anything close to them and reflexive.


"The tape does not show lots of media."? It is camera after camera after camera. I counted about 25.

But I don't care enough about this to continue beyond this point.

Regardless if your comment is causal or formal, I disagree with it.

If the tape hug is not pivotal then obviously evidence doesn’t matter. I’ll leave it alone because facts have no bearing on reality.


Counting cameras makes no sense. That statement is odd to me. If you count 25 cameras in less than one minute that is not approx 25 minutes of separate evidence. It’s one piece of evidence filmed from slight different perspectives. FWIW, That short perspective doesn’t show everything but what it does show is evidence that disputes his claims.

Should we therefore believe what Durant says happened behind the scenes? Depends. Did you believe Durant when he said he didn’t like playing for billy Donovan or did you believe him when apologized? Did you believe Durant when he stated that despite all that happened, he knew that guys like Presti would be at his funeral or do you know believe what Durant says now about about “the GM”?

Durant talks out of both sides of his mouth and it’s not hard to verify that. What we can verify is that Presti has always taken the high road when asked about Durant. What has he done behind the scenes? We may never know but which sources seems more credible to any neutral party?

[jambalaya]

Saying the camera hug was not "pivotal" is not the same as dismissing it totally. Thanks for that addition of information.

Muscala signing is not much money for a seemingly decent player and probably has a team marketing to fans element to it. With Galinari likely short term and Adams uncertain, Muscala fills a slot. Didnt know he was tight with Schroder. https://www.nba.com/thunder/feature-muscala-190911

Training camp opens in 9 days.