20-21 OKC Thunder Regular Season News

[Sea2003]

Figured I'd drop this here in case anyone cares to read it. No, I'm not Sam Vecenie or Royce Young, but I did put a lot of effort into this 2800-word preview for the Thunder's upcoming season. Feedback is appreciated. Be honest about what you think. Let me know if I got anything wrong.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BNfmLbtuwAVOOA7LGxOQ0CTBGfLdrxXEvuY8yoGBzJ4/edit?usp=sharing

Throughout your article, I think there were some areas where you wrote a little too much instead of getting to the point. Do you think there's a way to shorten the paragraphs? Shorter phrases could do the trick. Furthermore, I think writing down exactly what your going to talk could help. Oftentimes, you would also jump point to another as if you didn't know what to talk about. Also, I think you could also work on your tone. Often, the tone would change from being serious to being sort of whimsical. I recommend that you try to read posts from other outlets (such as the ringer) to get a sense of how they balance it. All in all, I think you did pretty well considering this was your first post.

[jambalaya]

Dup removed

[jambalaya]

A few thoughts:

It was mostly fine.

It was really an off-season review and preview. Who is the intended audience and did they need the off-season review?

The first 3 and last fun fact I probably would have either eliminated or integrated more into the storyline.

A few players got left out or lightly discussed.

Could have discussed style of play more, team strengths & weaknesses, "tanking" / timeline in general, player improvements goals more. What other changes might be considered.

Ending with that question? I dunno. I'd say the answer to that question would be the main thing I'd want to read. I know the above detail already.

Are you going to try to get the article placed at a website?


Perhaps you could tease that a part 2 (or more) is coming.

[getrichordie]

Yeah, we missed out on Giles, guys.

[ThunderBolt]

Yeah, we missed out on Giles, guys.

I've liked him for a while but there really wasn't any way to get him. We've had 40 guys on the roster for a while. For a team like Portland it could be a really good pick up and keep them from having to give too many minutes to Kanter.

[ThunderBolt]

Read on Twitter

I've heard some people question if Horford was really coming to okc.

Read on Twitter

Watch on YouTube

He sounds really bought in. At 5:26 he gets asked about coming in to an obvious rebuild situation.

[jake_swivel]

We’re going to win too many games aren’t we.

[ThunderBolt]

We’re going to win too many games aren’t we.

I’m not too worried about it. The draft still looks really good top five even though Kuminga and Green haven’t played yet.

[Dadouv47]

Not worried at all about our future ranking. We are better than Detroit, Cleveland and the Knicks but they play in the East so we are fine to get one of the 3 worst ranking.

We will need to get lucky comes draft night, that's a bigger issue...

[bbms]

We’re going to win too many games aren’t we.

And that's great.

I hate to look into top 5 draft prospects.

If we get them is because the team sucks. And more often than not those picks suck anyway.

Tanking is not a good strategy.

[retrobro90]

Not worried at all about our future ranking. We are better than Detroit, Cleveland and the Knicks but they play in the East so we are fine to get one of the 3 worst ranking.

We will need to get lucky comes draft night, that's a bigger issue...

This is good to keep in mind when it comes to how the schedule will play out considering teams will be sticking to a lot of division/conference opponents this season thanks to the limited travel.

However, even if they had the worst record in the league the flattened lotto odds would have us most likely picking 5th. They really need to be bottom 6 to have legitimately good odds at the top 5. That's tough too because if I had to bet right now I think they're better than Cleveland, Detroit, New York, and Chicago and probably close to where Minnesota/San Antonio/Sacramento are or will be.

[ThunderBolt]

There are often all star level players that fall outside the top five but very few elite superstars fall that far. There are almost always all stars in the top 5. I think it depends on the definition of tanking. True tanking isn’t what I want to do which involves not even trying to win like the Hawks and Grizzlies did a couple of years ago. However getting top picks is the best way to get elite players. Stressing over whether or not we get the worst record is wasted time. The new lottery odds really mean we just need to be lucky more than bad.

[jake_swivel]

We’re going to win too many games aren’t we.

And that's great.

I hate to look into top 5 draft prospects.

If we get them is because the team sucks. And more often than not those picks suck anyway.

Tanking is not a good strategy.

What about top 3 picks? Do they usually suck? I’d say that’s the surest bet to finding a superstar as a small market team.

Tanking isn’t a good long term strategy, but neither is being in the 7-10 range. It’s no man’s land for acquiring top tier talent, and as a small market team, basically being able to lock down high end guys through after their rookie deal is the great equalizer in this league as the rules are constructed.

[Dadouv47]

There are often all star level players that fall outside the top five but very few elite superstars fall that far. There are almost always all stars in the top 5. I think it depends on the definition of tanking.True tanking isn’t what I want to do which involves not even trying to win like the hawks and Grizzlies did a couple of years ago. However getting top picks is the best way to get elite players. Stressing over whether or not we get the worst record is wasted time. The new lottery odds really mean we just need to be lucky more than bad.

Pretty much. Don't think the new rules are bad but they don't help teams that are trying to tank like we are. With the old rules we would be a lock for having a great team with +/- 3 top picks and all our assets. Now we need more luck

[ThunderBolt]

There are often all star level players that fall outside the top five but very few elite superstars fall that far. There are almost always all stars in the top 5. I think it depends on the definition of tanking.True tanking isn’t what I want to do which involves not even trying to win like the hawks and Grizzlies did a couple of years ago. However getting top picks is the best way to get elite players. Stressing over whether or not we get the worst record is wasted time. The new lottery odds really mean we just need to be lucky more than bad.

Pretty much. Don't think the new rules are bad but they don't help teams that are trying to tank like we are. With the old rules we would be a lock for having a great team with +/- 3 top picks and all our assets. Now we need more luck

So far we’ve seen the pelicans get the number one pick and the Knicks have things not go there way twice. We have a very small sample size of this draft but it could be around 5-7 deep. Maybe a guy like Boston is a bust. Maybe a guy like Moody is a prospect that becomes a star outside the top 5. I think this draft has potential to accelerate our rebuild. We just need to make sure we don’t get hosed in the lotto and fall too far.

[Dadouv47]

There are often all star level players that fall outside the top five but very few elite superstars fall that far. There are almost always all stars in the top 5. I think it depends on the definition of tanking.True tanking isn’t what I want to do which involves not even trying to win like the hawks and Grizzlies did a couple of years ago. However getting top picks is the best way to get elite players. Stressing over whether or not we get the worst record is wasted time. The new lottery odds really mean we just need to be lucky more than bad.

Pretty much. Don't think the new rules are bad but they don't help teams that are trying to tank like we are. With the old rules we would be a lock for having a great team with +/- 3 top picks and all our assets. Now we need more luck

So far we’ve seen the pelicans get the number one pick and the Knicks have things not go there way twice. We have a very small sample size of this draft but it could be around 5-7 deep. Maybe a guy like Boston is a bust. Maybe a guy like Moody is a prospect that becomes a star outside the top 5. I think this draft has potential to accelerate our rebuild. We just need to make sure we don’t get hosed in the lotto and fall too far.

Sample size or not we know the odds. So it's obviously more difficult for a team that is tanking than it was before.

Agree about this draft being 5-7 deep...which means that it's not the worst draft to get ''unlucky'' if we end up with a pick between 4 and 6. Obviously Cade in OKC would be nuts and we can't draft a bust but not the worst draft to fail to get the first or second pick.

[bbms]

We’re going to win too many games aren’t we.

And that's great.

I hate to look into top 5 draft prospects.

If we get them is because the team sucks. And more often than not those picks suck anyway.

Tanking is not a good strategy.

What about top 3 picks? Do they usually suck? I’d say that’s the surest bet to finding a superstar as a small market team.

Tanking isn’t a good long term strategy, but neither is being in the 7-10 range. It’s no man’s land for acquiring top tier talent, and as a small market team, basically being able to lock down high end guys through after their rookie deal is the great equalizer in this league as the rules are constructed.

Well, I hope the Thunder don't go that route.

It's better to compete, and if we really like a prospect, trade aggressively for him. I really don't want Presti to use all that 17 first-round picks.

[Dadouv47]

And that's great.

I hate to look into top 5 draft prospects.

If we get them is because the team sucks. And more often than not those picks suck anyway.

Tanking is not a good strategy.

What about top 3 picks? Do they usually suck? I’d say that’s the surest bet to finding a superstar as a small market team.

Tanking isn’t a good long term strategy, but neither is being in the 7-10 range. It’s no man’s land for acquiring top tier talent, and as a small market team, basically being able to lock down high end guys through after their rookie deal is the great equalizer in this league as the rules are constructed.

Well, I hope the Thunder don't go that route.

It's better to compete, and if we really like a prospect, trade aggressively for him. I really don't want Presti to use all that 17 first-round picks.

We won't be able to move up into the draft without offering SGA or crazy picks (like our own).

The Heat/Clippers etc. picks are nice to trade for role players but not enough to make a significant move into the draft.

[ThunderBolt]

What about top 3 picks? Do they usually suck? I’d say that’s the surest bet to finding a superstar as a small market team.

Tanking isn’t a good long term strategy, but neither is being in the 7-10 range. It’s no man’s land for acquiring top tier talent, and as a small market team, basically being able to lock down high end guys through after their rookie deal is the great equalizer in this league as the rules are constructed.

Well, I hope the Thunder don't go that route.

It's better to compete, and if we really like a prospect, trade aggressively for him. I really don't want Presti to use all that 17 first-round picks.

We won't be able to move up into the draft without offering SGA or crazy picks (like our own).

The Heat/Clippers etc. picks are nice to trade for role players but not enough to make a significant move into the draft.

For this year, it kind of depends on where the Houston pick lands. If it’s around 12-16 and we won’t to move up from 8-12, I think it would be possible with some additional future assets. Based on the small sample size we’ve seen, I don’t think it’s crazy that a guy like Zaire Williams or Brandon Boston falls outside the top 8.

[Dadouv47]

Well, I hope the Thunder don't go that route.

It's better to compete, and if we really like a prospect, trade aggressively for him. I really don't want Presti to use all that 17 first-round picks.

We won't be able to move up into the draft without offering SGA or crazy picks (like our own).

The Heat/Clippers etc. picks are nice to trade for role players but not enough to make a significant move into the draft.

For this year, it kind of depends on where the Houston pick lands. If it’s around 12-16 and we won’t to move up from 8-12, I think it would be possible with some additional future assets. Based on the small sample size we’ve seen, I don’t think it’s crazy that a guy like Zaire Williams or Brandon Boston falls outside the top 8.

Sure. my answer was to bbms who thinks we should compete and move into the draft with our future assets. I was mainly talking about how dificult it is to move up to get one of the first picks of the draft.