(Official) 2013-2014 Oklahoma City Thunder Thread

[G.Walker]

With Kevin Martin leaving and recent transactions, next season is not looking good for the Thunder, Presti's last few decisions were

[dankrutka]

"Not looking good?" The Thunder will likely be a top 5 team next season and win 55-60 games. It's also hard to judge Lamb until he's played. Unfortunately, Brooks unwillingness to play young players could make his transition slower. Anyway, there are 25 teams that would kill for the Thunder's roster.

[BoulderSooner]

With Kevin Martin leaving and recent transactions, next season is not looking good for the Thunder, Presti's last few decisions were

i would bet you today that the thunder winning % goes up again .... ie they have a better record .

[dankrutka]

i would bet you today that the thunder winning % goes up again .... ie they have a better record .

I tend to agree, but I could see them with anywhere from 55-63 or 64 wins, but I lean towards the higher side.

The Thunder offered Dorell Wright a 1-2 contract. He'd be a good vet pick up. Decent defender and 3 point shooter for a low price. Let's hope he takes it. He'd help with Lamb's transition. Although, knowing Brooks, he'll play Wright all the minutes and Lamb none. Lol.

[Praedura]

Mr. Krutka, perhaps this should be your user image?

[dankrutka]

So awesome! I might make the change.

[king183]

With Kevin Martin leaving and recent transactions, next season is not looking good for the Thunder, Presti's last few decisions were

I've always said these threads are a great way to determine who knows basketball and who doesn't. G., my friend, you are one of those who does not.

[king183]

Barring injury, the Thunder will almost certainly be a top 3 finisher and will likely play in the Finals.

[dankrutka]

Barring injury, the Thunder will almost certainly be a top 3 finisher and will likely play in the Finals.

Not sure about likely (which is over 50%), but I'd say as likely as anyone. Gonna be some good competition in the West next season. Should be a fun season.

[G.Walker]

Barring injury, the Thunder will almost certainly be a top 3 finisher and will likely play in the Finals.

I know more than you think. The problem is people keep talking about making it to the Finals, that is not the issue, its about beating Miami and winning a championship. The reality is that the Harden trade is not working out like we thought. The reality is, we are a worse team without Kevin Martin. The reality is, we can't beat Miami with the current line up we have. That is why I said its "not looking good". Of course Presti and Co. has time to make more transactions, and it will be interesting to see how he uses that mid-level exception. They have to get more scoring off the bench, so are we going to rely on Lamb and Jackson to carry the bench? Really? Dorrell Wright would be a great addition, but it won't solve our problems. Other teams are getting better, the Clippers, Mavericks, and Rockets will all get better this off season, and those are teams we have to worry about next season. The Thunder got a pass last season because Westbrook got hurt, so we will see next season how good they are come playoff time. And whose to say Westbrook will be the same player he was before he got injured? We need a 3rd option for scoring after Westbrook and Durant, which we currently don't have. I've said it before and I will say it again, if the Thunder go into next season with the current lineup they have, they will not win a championship.

[betts]

The problem is, we're a good team in a small market with two owners who recently lost their jobs. I think it was Barry Tramel or Darnell who finally wrote an article about what I've been saying regarding the CBA since it was first inked. The CBA is great for bad small market teams. It offers them the possibility to cash in if they don't make the playoffs. Big market teams whose owners have enough money will continue to spend despite the punitive luxury tax and that money will be distributed. So, if a big market team has a smart manager/owner combo, they can afford to put together a superstar team. Small market teams with inexpensive players will collect the cash from those transactions. Small markets who were lucky enough to draft great players won't be able to afford a "Big Three" once it's time to exchange a rookie contract for the big money it takes to retain them. They have to hope the Spurs model works for them and they can continue to find undervalued role players to put with a superstar or two. But the Spurs have had luck and brains and still haven't won the title in a while - they just get close. That might be us until Durant gets tired of only getting close and leaves. Or, once or twice we get that marvelous combination of luck, a couple of superstars and some talented role players Presti finds and we're golden.

But Kevin Martin wasn't going to be that third superstar to give us a "Big Three". I don't think we probably would have beat the Heat this year even with Harden. I agree we need at least a third scoring option, but maybe what we really need is 3 scoring options who don't always have to be great but can light it up some nights - a Leonard, Neal, Green combo. Those kinds of guys are out there and affordable. We just have to find them. And hope Adams is a hidden gem. I'm hearing rumors he might be.

[TaoMaas]

The reality is that the Harden trade is not working out like we thought.

Really? I think it's too early to know how it turned out other than the Toronto pick wasn't quite as high as we would have liked. How did you think it was going to turn out? Did you think we were going to go into the luxury tax to keep Kmart?

The reality is, we are a worse team without Kevin Martin.

Eh...yeah...maybe. Again, it's too soon to tell. Reggie, Serge, KD, and Russ may all step up their game again...Lamb may do well...and the Thunder could roll right along like nothing ever happened. But technically you might be right in that they could be even better if Kmart were still here.

The reality is, we can't beat Miami with the current line up we have. That is why I said its "not looking good".

The reality is, NOBODY's line-up over the last two years has been able to beat Miami, although the Thunder were given a better chance than 95% of the rest of the NBA. If that's "not looking good" in your book, then I don't know what to tell you. Go figure out a way to trade for Lebron, I guess. lol

[Bellaboo]

This is kind of interesting - I was at the Grey Snail bar in Tulsa this past weekend. A friend of mine I went with is a regular there, and another regular noticed I had a Thunder shirt on and came over and told me how James Hardin sat in a booth right behind us last year the day before the Thunder played a preseason game at the BOK Arena. This regular was from Texas and told Hardin his favorite team was the Mavericks, he said Hardin said that he'd more than likely be playing in Texas in a couple of weeks, but not with the Mavs.

Sounds like Hardin knew it was going to happen a week or two in advance.

[dankrutka]

No offense, but based on all the available info about the situation I'm not really buying that story. The Thunder had an an offer to him on the table and also talked with the Wizards and Warriors beforehand. And why would James tell that to some random person even if true? If he was just telling random people he met in public than info about the pending trade would have leaked at least as rumors, which it did not. Doesn't really pass the smell test.

[catcherinthewry]

Other teams are getting better, the Clippers, Mavericks, and Rockets will all get better this off season, and those are teams we have to worry about next season.

The Clips got a better coach, other than that they got Reddick and Dudley - slight improvement. The Mavs (who didn't even make the playoffs last year) and Rockets are banking heavily on signing Dwight Howard. If they don't get him they are likely to be worse next year instead of better, although the Rockets may try to sign Josh Smith.

As for the Thunder's future not looking good, Las Vegas disagrees. The Thunder are second only to the Heat as favorites to win the championship next year.

[dcsooner]

The problem is, we're a good team in a small market with two owners who recently lost their jobs. I think it was Barry Tramel or Darnell who finally wrote an article about what I've been saying regarding the CBA since it was first inked. The CBA is great for bad small market teams. It offers them the possibility to cash in if they don't make the playoffs. Big market teams whose owners have enough money will continue to spend despite the punitive luxury tax and that money will be distributed. So, if a big market team has a smart manager/owner combo, they can afford to put together a superstar team. Small market teams with inexpensive players will collect the cash from those transactions. Small markets who were lucky enough to draft great players won't be able to afford a "Big Three" once it's time to exchange a rookie contract for the big money it takes to retain them. They have to hope the Spurs model works for them and they can continue to find undervalued role players to put with a superstar or two. But the Spurs have had luck and brains and still haven't won the title in a while - they just get close. That might be us until Durant gets tired of only getting close and leaves. Or, once or twice we get that marvelous combination of luck, a couple of superstars and some talented role players Presti finds and we're golden.

But Kevin Martin wasn't going to be that third superstar to give us a "Big Three". I don't think we probably would have beat the Heat this year even with Harden. I agree we need at least a third scoring option, but maybe what we really need is 3 scoring options who don't always have to be great but can light it up some nights - a Leonard, Neal, Green combo. Those kinds of guys are out there and affordable. We just have to find them. And hope Adams is a hidden gem. I'm hearing rumors he might be.

The problem is, we're a good team in a small market with two owners who recently lost their jobs, really Betts? if our franchise is relying on owners who have to go to a day job to afford this investment we are in real trouble ala George Shinn.

[betts]

That was a bit of a joke, I hope! I don't like to use smileys so sorry you misunderstood. But Presti did seem to imply that if the team went over the cap, it would be short term only. And Aubrey was the one person who might have said, "Heck with it, lets spend some big money to win big." I'm not sure he's in that position anymore. And we don't get enough revenue from our television contracts or sponsors to have lots of extra money to spend.

[OKCisOK4me]

With Kevin Martin leaving and recent transactions, next season is not looking good for the Thunder, Presti's last few decisions were

Are you an OU fan? Just wondering...

[Anonymous.]

Are you an OU fan? Just wondering...

Just find the guy who is opposed to the color orange, good stuff.



I don't think Presti is done just yet. He waits until deadlines as we have seen in the past.

[betts]

I watched the summer league game yesterday and thought there were some promising players. I suspect there might be couple of Presti hidden gems in there. I don't think Presti cared enough to keep Kevin Martin and I'm not sure that was a bad decision. He's had some great finds and has his hands tied by the cap somewhat. I don't think we should expect every move he's made to work out perfectly, as doing so would require him to be clairvoyant. If we could get a clairvoyant GM, that would be great. Until then, I think Presti has done a fine job.

[dankrutka]

The Thunder summer league team has had some really encouraging developments this week.

- While Reggie Jackson had a bad first game, he exploded for 35 points, 23 in the 4th quarter, yesterday. Looks ready for his increased role/load (link)
- Jeremy Lamb shot poorly in his first two games, but exploded for 32 points today (link).
- While Steven Adams isn't blowing anyone away he has looked better than I expected. He's playing solid defense and has had two efficient offensive games in a row. He's still got a lot of work to do, but it's been encouraging. I hope I was wrong on him.
- Our other draft picks have a lot to work on, but have both shown nice potential their area of strength (i.e., Grant Jerrett (3 point shooting); Andre Roberson (disruptive defensive player))
- Dwight Buyckes has played well at point guard and is at least making a case to be the 3rd point guard on the roster.

[Laramie]

I hope we don't overly react to the draft picks. Big men come at a premium and we are building through the draft. Watching Adams and several others in the Orlando Summer League competition was an eye opener and we know it's going to be tougher going through the veterans in the NBA.

Considering what he selected, it is going to be interesting to see how these picks mature over the seasons to come. We may have found a diamond-in-the rough.

Among the draftees, I was particular impressed with the play of Grant Jerrett. Many look promising among their peers and as we all know--it's going to be a challenge adjusting to NBA regular season style of play.

[catcherinthewry]

I liked Andre Roberson a lot. He brings a some talents we need, not only is he a good defender but he is a very good rebounder. If he can develop a corner three he can really help this team.

[catcherinthewry]

I also really like what I saw out of Daniel Orton. The Thunder has to find a way to keep him on the team. I think he could be a contributor off the bench this year.

[dankrutka]

I also really like what I saw out of Daniel Orton. The Thunder has to find a way to keep him on the team. I think he could be a contributor off the bench this year.

Thabeet would probably have to get cut to make room for Orton, but he showed promise in the summer league. It'll be interesting to see what they do.