OKC with DeMarcus Cousins

[sonictecture]

Under normal conditions a productive college center with good size and adequate athleticism would be the first selection off the board, even if there are other star or super star quality players at other positions.

In the case of Cousins there seems to be enough concerns regarding maturity, character and the potential disruption of team chemistry to pass on him if you have one of the top 2 or 3 picks in the draft , much less number one.

The above condition would seem to make a player of Cousins size and production more available than typically he would be under normal conditions.

If you were Sam Presti, and Cousins was in reach, what specific concerns would prevent you from drafting/obtaining Cousins?

[Grits n Gravy]

with okc picking 21 and 26, packaging both of them will not move them up much at all, there is no way that cousins falls outside the top 5-6 imo, so theywould have to package both picks and a major asset to have a shot at him...i don't know whether the picks and jeff green would be enough but that could put them in a pretty nice situation for further growth...although i would not like having cousins on that sort of young team situation.

acquire him the way above and then go out and sign david lee or, so help the rest of the league, chris bosh, and you've got a great team.

c - cousins/krystic
pf - david lee or chris bosh(highly unlike but..)
sf - durant
sg sefo/james harden
pg westbrook/maynor

that is a sick team..again though, i would rather stay away from cousins...crazy talent but volatile.

[Cammo101]

OKC has no real way to get Cousins unless they move one of their very good, "untradable" players. But, if he was there, they would jump on it without thinking twice.

[gswhoops]

OKC isn't going to get Cousins without dealing Westbrook, and they're not going to move him for an unknown with attitude issues.

[Downtown]

Daniel Orton looks more likely than Cousins for OKC.

[sonictecture]

I need to ask for a little patience. Before we discuss how OKC might acquire Cousins, let's focus on if they should.

I've heard coach David Thorpe mention in a chat that despite Cousins obvious talent and production that he wouldn't want him on "his" team. This seems to come from a belief that an investment in Cousins is ultimately not worth the resources because of issues that cannot be readily developed and a potential of a single player to destroy a team from within.

OKC has developed a system of strong leadership, which encourages the inclusion and acceptance of teammates. They are made up of guys young enough to relate and bond with Cousins. They have shown a willingness to develop young talent and are in a position to let talent develop at different paces based on abilities.

Is Cousins a bad apple that would spoil the bunch or would the strength of the group allow Cousins to grow and flourish in a way that he might otherwise not on another team?

[gswhoops]

I need to ask for a little patience. Before we discuss how OKC might acquire Cousins, let's focus on if they should.

I've heard coach David Thorpe mention in a chat that despite Cousins obvious talent and production that he wouldn't want him on "his" team. This seems to come from a belief that an investment in Cousins is ultimately not worth the resources because of issues that cannot be readily developed and a potential of a single player to destroy a team from within.

OKC has developed a system of strong leadership, which encourages the inclusion and acceptance of teammates. They are made up of guys young enough to relate and bond with Cousins. They have shown a willingness to develop young talent and are in a position to let talent develop at different paces based on abilities.

Is Cousins a bad apple that would spoil the bunch or would the strength of the group allow Cousins to grow and flourish in a way that he might otherwise not on another team?

Well, IMO it's kind of like discussing LeBron James' fit on the Warriors (to use hyperbole). Possibly an interesting discussion, but rendered useless by the fact that Golden State has exactly 0 chance of acquiring him.

[Surfman]

What if they offered Harden, Green, and both there picks. I could see maybe Minnasota or a Golden State going for that.

[Surfman]

Opps, forgot MInnasota already has 3 picks io the first round, Not sure they would want 4 in the first round.

[gswhoops]

What if they offered Harden, Green, and both there picks. I could see maybe Minnasota or a Golden State going for that.

No, GS would definitely be better off with Cousins. More wings and depth picks aren't all that valuable to us.

[mattg]

i think you're grossly overestimating Cousins' attitude issues to be honest. You make him sound like Terrel Owens or something. Out of curiosity, what incident about Cousins has you so concerned? Is it just the reputation that everyone seems to tag on every time he's mentioned?

[John Doe [MIN]]

Unfortunately for Sam Presti, he's already wasted several top 5 picks on role players and backups. Which is fine, he's still the best GM in league history. Still, I worry that he'll be in for a rude awakening when he realizes that he doesn't automatically receive one (or two) top 5 picks every year and, in fact, cannot draft DeMarcus Cousins, instead being stuck with the crappy, no-big-man offensive scheme he's worked so hard to build.

But seriously, he's the best. Who else could have won the 2nd overall pick in 2007 and taken Durant? Genius.

[dream_catcher_9]

Unfortunately for Sam Presti, he's already wasted several top 5 picks on role players and backups. Which is fine, he's still the best GM in league history. Still, I worry that he'll be in for a rude awakening when he realizes that he doesn't automatically receive one (or two) top 5 picks every year and, in fact, cannot draft DeMarcus Cousins, instead being stuck with the crappy, no-big-man offensive scheme he's worked so hard to build.

But seriously, he's the best. Who else could have won the 2nd overall pick in 2007 and taken Durant? Genius.

u mad. its not hard to spot with you pissing in every OKC thread.

[John Doe [MIN]]

Unfortunately for Sam Presti, he's already wasted several top 5 picks on role players and backups. Which is fine, he's still the best GM in league history. Still, I worry that he'll be in for a rude awakening when he realizes that he doesn't automatically receive one (or two) top 5 picks every year and, in fact, cannot draft DeMarcus Cousins, instead being stuck with the crappy, no-big-man offensive scheme he's worked so hard to build.

But seriously, he's the best. Who else could have won the 2nd overall pick in 2007 and taken Durant? Genius.

u mad. its not hard to spot with you pissing in every OKC thread.

Yeah, weird how my opinion of Presti doesn't change radically based on which OKC thread I'm in.

I'm not mad, but I do think it's ridiculous for someone to have created this thread. How the hell would OKC acquire Cousins? Why is this a subject worthy of discussion? We might as well make this same thread for the other 29 teams.

It's clear you weren't clever enough to discern what I think to be the reason from my original post, so I'll say it a little more clearly: This thread is further evidence of how delusional people are about OKC's future. We have this rosy idea of "they're this good now, and they're only going to get better!" when in fact, this is it. They won't have another shot at a young player of Cousins' caliber ever again this decade. They don't actually have max cap space this summer (close, but big contracts to scrubs like Krystic and Collision put them just out of range) which means they're probably closer to getting a David Lee in free agency this year. Add him to Durant, a talented but wildly overrated Westbrook, and a slew role player lottery picks, and that's your team. Will that be enough to win a title? I'm not so sure.

[John Doe [MIN]]

Under normal conditions a productive college center with good size and adequate athleticism would be the first selection off the board, even if there are other star or super star quality players at other positions.

In the case of Cousins there seems to be enough concerns regarding maturity, character and the potential disruption of team chemistry to pass on him if you have one of the top 2 or 3 picks in the draft , much less number one.

The above condition would seem to make a player of Cousins size and production more available than typically he would be under normal conditions.

If you were Sam Presti, and Cousins was in reach, what specific concerns would prevent you from drafting/obtaining Cousins?

I just noticed, apparently this thread is really about why Oklahoma City shouldn't draft DeMarcus Cousins. Wow.

Uh, it's ok Thunder fans. I really don't think you need to be worried about this.

[sonictecture]

I created the thread, but I'm not a Thunder fan. I do however have an interest in how teams are built. The Thunder pose an interesting case study for how a team could be built. The diverging topics from whether the Thunder could move up high enough in the draft to obtain Cousins or whether the drafting of players that project as better fits is a better strategy than simply picking the best player available in the draft every year are testament to that.

It seems that I cannot talk about whether the Thunder should acquire Cousins, without first addressing how the Thunder could acquire Cousins. Or perhaps the discussion I hoped to have isn't as interesting to others as the how. So let's start with how.

The premise is that, Cousins due either character concerns or a lack of athletic explosion is not currently rated as the top rated player in the 2010 draft. Based on current projections Cousins could be selected anywhere from second to fourth. Historically players in the range of 2-4 in the draft can be obtained in trade. Deron Williams in 2005, Lamarcus Aldridge in 2006 are recent examples. The reason I hoped to avoid the how of obtaining Cousins, as we do not know with certainty which teams will be slotted 2-4 at this moment, so let's avoid specific examples for now.

The second part of the premise is that OKC would be willing to offer any player or combination of players outside of Durant and Westbrook on the current roster as part of a trade. In addition OKC would be willing to trade a combination of current or future first round picks. And finally OKC would be willing to use their cap space to take an unwanted contract from another team to facilitate a trade.

If you agree that Cousins could be available and that Thunder have enough combined assets to obtain him, the question of this thread is would you? Would you overspend if you had to, would you have any concerns regarding adding his personality to a team in which you have made chemistry such a high priority?

[gswhoops]

Historically players in the range of 2-4 in the draft can be obtained in trade. Deron Williams in 2005, Lamarcus Aldridge in 2006 are recent examples. The reason I hoped to avoid the how of obtaining Cousins, as we do not know with certainty which teams will be slotted 2-4 at this moment, so let's avoid specific examples for now.

However, both those trades were with other teams that had top 10 picks (Portland traded down from #3 to #6, Chicago from #2 to #4). The only real example of a team trading a top 5 pick for a player was the #5 for Ray Allen deal and thats because Seattle was rebuilding and unloading their veterans.

The second part of the premise is that OKC would be willing to offer any player or combination of players outside of Durant and Westbrook on the current roster as part of a trade. In addition OKC would be willing to trade a combination of current or future first round picks. And finally OKC would be willing to use their cap space to take an unwanted contract from another team to facilitate a trade.

Maybe OKC could use Harden to acquire a top 10 pick, then combine that pick with their other assets to land a top 3 pick but that all depends on who wins the lotto. It's hard to find teams that are willing to trade down on top picks (which is why it so rarely happens). Most of the teams that are in a position to win a top 3 pick need franchise talent like Cousins a lot more then an assortment of lesser assets. Maybe Utah or Memphis would give you the #3 for Harden and Green. That's about the only way I could see it happening.

If you agree that Cousins could be available and that Thunder have enough combined assets to obtain him, the question of this thread is would you? Would you overspend if you had to, would you have any concerns regarding adding his personality to a team in which you have made chemistry such a high priority?

No. If I were Presti, I'd go after someone like Al Jefferson who can give the same post scoring without the attitude and at a much lower cost.

[vincecarter4pres]

I think LITERALLY the only way OKC could even dream of aquiring Cousins is if Philly jumped to the 3rd overall pick and OKC shipped Harden and the 21st pick for the 3rd and Elton Brand, completely eating his salary with cap space and even that might be a reach.

Maybe, they could get the third pick straight up for Westbrook, but do they want to go that route?

[AQuintus]

However, both those trades were with other teams that had top 10 picks (Portland traded down from #3 to #6, Chicago from #2 to #4). The only real example of a team trading a top 5 pick for a player was the #5 for Ray Allen deal and thats because Seattle was rebuilding and unloading their veterans.

And the 5th pick last year for Foye and Miller. That hasn't exactly worked out so well for Washington, though, so I wouldn't suggest it.

[i<3basketball]

Maybe, they could get the third pick straight up for Westbrook, but do they want to go that route?

No way in hell OKC would consider that. Westbrook is a budding star.