2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread

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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#801 » by ThunderBolt » Mon Jul 27, 2020 4:47 pm

Read on Twitter
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#802 » by Galloisdaman » Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:14 pm

ESPN had a list of top 50 players under the bubble. While I disagree with some spots its nice to see 4 OKC players made it.
Dennis
Gallo
SGA
Paul
My eyes glaze over when reading alternative stat (not advanced stat) narratives that go many paragraphs long. If you can not make your point in 2 paragraphs it may not be a great point. :D
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#803 » by getrichordie » Tue Jul 28, 2020 1:21 pm

As they face the reality of a sea of red ink playing in empty or near-empty arenas for the 2020-21 season, some NBA owners are quietly preparing to find cash to weather the storm.

Earlier in the summer, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told players that roughly 40% of the league's revenues come from ticket sales and arena sponsorships as he prepared them for challenges ahead. The league and players' union are expected to make adjustments to the current collective bargaining agreement before next season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's ownership, led by Clay Bennett, is largely supported by the energy business, which has taken a financial beating in recent months. After Bennett, the largest stakeholders are the estate of Aubrey McClendon, whose shares have been for sale for more than a year, and George Kaiser, a banking and energy magnate who has lost more than $2 billion in net worth since last year. One of its primary sponsors, Chesapeake Energy, filed for bankruptcy in June.

The Thunder have the third-highest payroll in the league with key player Danilo Gallinari headed to free agency. All-Star point guard Chris Paul is scheduled to make $41 million next season, set to be the second-highest salary in the NBA.

All owners, many of whom run hedge funds or are in private equity, are impacted in some way by the virus, as markets have fluctuated over the last five months. There is also uncertainty about how a deal with the players will pan out; with the current 50-50 revenue split, the players are contractually obligated to share the losses with owners by giving back money from their contracts.

Getting a clear picture of what will happen in October, when the NBA's offseason is expected to commence, is a challenge. But the signs already point to hard decisions coming and possible player movement to handle the money challenges.

"With few exceptions, no one wants to make long-term commitments right now," one general manager said. "You can already feel it coming."


https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29544380/nba-owners-current-financial-turmoil-portends-future-payroll-problems
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#804 » by ThunderBolt » Tue Jul 28, 2020 7:40 pm

Spoiler:
getrichordie wrote:
As they face the reality of a sea of red ink playing in empty or near-empty arenas for the 2020-21 season, some NBA owners are quietly preparing to find cash to weather the storm.

Earlier in the summer, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told players that roughly 40% of the league's revenues come from ticket sales and arena sponsorships as he prepared them for challenges ahead. The league and players' union are expected to make adjustments to the current collective bargaining agreement before next season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's ownership, led by Clay Bennett, is largely supported by the energy business, which has taken a financial beating in recent months. After Bennett, the largest stakeholders are the estate of Aubrey McClendon, whose shares have been for sale for more than a year, and George Kaiser, a banking and energy magnate who has lost more than $2 billion in net worth since last year. One of its primary sponsors, Chesapeake Energy, filed for bankruptcy in June.

The Thunder have the third-highest payroll in the league with key player Danilo Gallinari headed to free agency. All-Star point guard Chris Paul is scheduled to make $41 million next season, set to be the second-highest salary in the NBA.

All owners, many of whom run hedge funds or are in private equity, are impacted in some way by the virus, as markets have fluctuated over the last five months. There is also uncertainty about how a deal with the players will pan out; with the current 50-50 revenue split, the players are contractually obligated to share the losses with owners by giving back money from their contracts.

Getting a clear picture of what will happen in October, when the NBA's offseason is expected to commence, is a challenge. But the signs already point to hard decisions coming and possible player movement to handle the money challenges.

"With few exceptions, no one wants to make long-term commitments right now," one general manager said. "You can already feel it coming."


https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29544380/nba-owners-current-financial-turmoil-portends-future-payroll-problems


I really have no idea what direction the franchise is going to go. I fear it will be more of a holding pattern, which is the last thing I want.
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#805 » by Old Man Game » Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:22 am

Watching today it finally hit me how strange the playoffs are going to be in that setting. Imagine a close game in the 4th quarter, Lebron drives, there's contact but the defender appeared to be in position. Does he get the block call? It'll be really interesting to see how the refs respond to these stars in such an intimate setting when they know a lot of the lobbying will be audible to the audience over the air.
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#806 » by ThunderBolt » Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:27 pm

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Bazley is the one prospect on our team that I feel the best about him improving his weaknesses.
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#807 » by getrichordie » Thu Jul 30, 2020 2:36 am

I don't want to jump the gun, but I think it is entirely possible that Bazley could be better than Shai when it's all said and done.
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#808 » by Old Man Game » Thu Jul 30, 2020 4:10 am

ThunderBolt wrote:
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Bazley is the one prospect on our team that I feel the best about him improving his weaknesses.
It sort of hit me watching him go against those D-leaguers that Portland was running out there that if he'd spent this season in the D-League like a lot of rookies do we probably would be super pumped about him.

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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#809 » by getrichordie » Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:00 am

"D-leaguers" or not, some of that stuff was really impressive for his age.
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#810 » by ThunderBolt » Thu Jul 30, 2020 9:45 am

Old Man Game wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:
Read on Twitter


Bazley is the one prospect on our team that I feel the best about him improving his weaknesses.
It sort of hit me watching him go against those D-leaguers that Portland was running out there that if he'd spent this season in the D-League like a lot of rookies do we probably would be super pumped about him.

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It’s interesting how okc uses young guys in comparison to the spurs. San Antonio has Lonnie walker who is still underplayed, in my opinion and in year two. Okc takes guys like Bazley, Ferguson and Sabonis and puts them in the starting lineup right away.
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#811 » by ThunderBolt » Thu Jul 30, 2020 9:47 am

getrichordie wrote:I don't want to jump the gun, but I think it is entirely possible that Bazley could be better than Shai when it's all said and done.

Would you truly feel that way if he played for the pistons or someone else you don’t watch? I want bazley to succeed but he needs to take a massive jump before we discuss that kind of potential with him. He has flashes but honestly, is there one thing he does well right now?
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#812 » by getrichordie » Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:25 am

ThunderBolt wrote:
getrichordie wrote:I don't want to jump the gun, but I think it is entirely possible that Bazley could be better than Shai when it's all said and done.

Would you truly feel that way if he played for the pistons or someone else you don’t watch? I want bazley to succeed but he needs to take a massive jump before we discuss that kind of potential with him. He has flashes but honestly, is there one thing he does well right now?


If I saw a guy who just turned 20 who is 6'8-6'9, strong, and moves that well and can drive to the basket and defend like he did against the Blazers, I'd say his ceiling is really high if he keeps working at it. That'd be true no matter what jersey he was wearing.
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#813 » by ThunderBolt » Thu Jul 30, 2020 4:06 pm

getrichordie wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:
getrichordie wrote:I don't want to jump the gun, but I think it is entirely possible that Bazley could be better than Shai when it's all said and done.

Would you truly feel that way if he played for the pistons or someone else you don’t watch? I want bazley to succeed but he needs to take a massive jump before we discuss that kind of potential with him. He has flashes but honestly, is there one thing he does well right now?


If I saw a guy who just turned 20 who is 6'8-6'9, strong, and moves that well and can drive to the basket and defend like he did against the Blazers, I'd say his ceiling is really high if he keeps working at it. That'd be true no matter what jersey he was wearing.


That blazers team wasn’t exactly an elite roster. Bazley has some skills but he also is raw. At most levels of professional basketball, even bad players can look good at times. Wasn’t semaj christon playing well somewhere else after he left here? Daniel Hamilton put up big numbers in the g league. Bazley’s drives to the basket are far from a sure thing. He looks like a young Jerami Grant more often than not.

I’m not hating on bazley. I just don’t yet see anything he looks to be elite at doing. He’s an aspiring “jack of all trades” kind of player, in my opinion. I think he could develop in to a well rounded player but I don’t see him being better than Shai.
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#814 » by getrichordie » Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:03 pm

I just said it's possible. So you are shutting the door on that possibility already?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#815 » by ThunderBolt » Thu Jul 30, 2020 9:07 pm

getrichordie wrote:I just said it's possible. So you are shutting the door on that possibility already?

It’s possible but I don’t think it’s probable. I hope you’re right and you can rub it in my face. We need someone to go alongside shai as another all star caliber talent.
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#816 » by Galloisdaman » Thu Jul 30, 2020 9:46 pm

Almost every teams fanbase has a young guy or 2 that they have super high hopes for. Usually they do not reach those high hopes but once in a while they do. Hopefully Bazley is one of the guys that exceeds the high hopes. I think he is only 19 so its so early. His body and brain will probably mature a lot from 19-24
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#817 » by jambalaya » Fri Jul 31, 2020 8:03 am

Summer league intensity at best. 20 points on 19 possessions used. 3 for 5 from 3 is good. 4 for 10 from inside arc, not so much. A couple of defensive plays but little rebounding. Little passing. May be best he's done. Looked active / comfortable. But let's see it in 3 or more of the next 5 games.
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#818 » by spearsy23 » Fri Jul 31, 2020 3:04 pm

I think your best case for bazley is something like prime nic batum, and that would be fantastic.
“If you're getting stops and you're making threes and the other team's not scoring, that's when you're going to see a huge point difference there,” coach Billy Donovan said.
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#819 » by thor19 » Fri Jul 31, 2020 5:02 pm

spearsy23 wrote:I think your best case for bazley is something like prime nic batum, and that would be fantastic.

I am with you bazley for me can be a prime nic batum that someone say he is a star ( not superstar or allstar) . Can be a really good role player but he dont scream main guy, maybe a ibaka type of player when kd and westbrook where here
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Re: 2019-20 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread 

Post#820 » by ThunderBolt » Sat Aug 1, 2020 6:07 pm

I could get used to basketball in July and august. Less overlap with football is a good idea in my book.
bisme37 wrote:If there were magnets in basketballs so strong they changed the path of the ball as it flew through the air, wouldn't the ball then stick magnetically to the rim when it got there?

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