OKC Thunder 2013 - 2014

[dankrutka]

What exactly happened that caused Westbrook to need a third surgery? Did he re-injure the same spot? Different injury? Exploratory? Poor procedure done the first time?

Swelling. The second time it was because of a loose stitch from the first surgery. He just had a scope so it's not a completely new procedure. If that doesn't sound right it's because I'm not a medical doctor.

If Westbrook comes back later this month, which I expect, then I'll say between 54-58 wins. If Westbrook hadn't been injured I expected between 58-64ish.

[Stan Silliman]

I said in an earlier thread and I'll say it again. We need an additional ball handling point guard.
Reggie is getting worn out and he won't be as much help in the playoffs if he re-injures his back from over playing.
Derek never was a great ball handling pass first pg, more of a shooting guard.
We need to either rent a top notch developmental league player or someone from a foreign league.
You can rent them on 10 game contracts. Since we shipped Ryan Gomes, we've got two spaces open.
I don't see what it hurts. It might help rest some guys and it might help win some games we wouldn't.

[ljbab728]

After the embarrassing performance tonight in Denver, anything would help.

[OKCisOK4me]

Those two open spaces are second round draft picks that aren't available to us until after this season. No short term relief...

[Teo9969]

It wouldn't be the end of the world to give Lamb more time on the ball, and it would be valuable experience for him as things move forward.

Even so, OKC needs to find another option for backup PG. That or even start Fisher and bring Reggie off the bench early on (~8 minute mark).

[OKCisOK4me]

I'm very impressed with Lamb. I think that look on his face that he carries is just natural. I thought at first it was a confused look but now I see it as a face that steals victory away from our opponents. He's stone cold. Definitely needs more playing time.

[Bill Robertson]

Those two open spaces are second round draft picks that aren't available to us until after this season. No short term relief...

We do have two open roster spots and some money under the cap.

[Anonymous.]

Last night's game was a trash game. I don't think more than 4 plays were actually planned and executed on.

The team is broken without Russell, the only reason we have chances in games is if KD goes off for some insane amount of points.

I am glad Brooks ran with the 3rd string for the last quarter and a half last night.

Right now Lamb is shooting terribly, Thabo is back to being hesitant, Reggie is trying too hard and looks frustrated when his teammates stand around, Fisher is a mess trying to do anything but stand on the 3 point line.



The worst part about all of this, is this coming week is probably the toughest stretch in our schedule. Maybe we can at least beat the Bucks in our only Saturday home game... lol

[Bill Robertson]

Last night's game was a trash game. I don't think more than 4 plays were actually planned and executed on.

The team is broken without Russell, the only reason we have chances in games is if KD goes off for some insane amount of points.

I am glad Brooks ran with the 3rd string for the last quarter and a half last night.

Right now Lamb is shooting terribly, Thabo is back to being hesitant, Reggie is trying too hard and looks frustrated when his teammates stand around, Fisher is a mess trying to do anything but stand on the 3 point line.



The worst part about all of this, is this coming week is probably the toughest stretch in our schedule. Maybe we can at least beat the Bucks in our only Saturday home game... lol

Scary as it is for us Thunder fans you hit the nail squarely on the head. I hope Westbrook comes back with a completely healed knee.

[Richard at Remax]

The Thunder are playing like Buzz's girlfriend right now....WOOF!

[OKCisOK4me]

We do have two open roster spots and some money under the cap.

How did we get those two open spots?

[OKCisOK4me]

Scary as it is for us Thunder fans you hit the nail squarely on the head. I hope Westbrook comes back with a completely healed knee.

The problem with our fan base is that they expect a mythical national championship. Shouldn't confuse the two, lol.

[Bill Robertson]

How did we get those two open spots?

Each team can have 15 players on the roster. We only had 14 so we had 1 open spot all along. Then Gomes wasn't replaced by a warm body so that's a second.

[Teo9969]

We do have two open roster spots and some money under the cap.

tax line and cap are not the same. We're well over the cap.

[OKCisOK4me]

Each team can have 15 players on the roster. We only had 14 so we had 1 open spot all along. Then Gomes wasn't replaced by a warm body so that's a second.

Gotcha. I was under the impression that we only have the two "picks" for the upcoming second round of the draft.

Question is, will Sam Presti fill the two spots with minimum salary players or try to bring in one player that's worth more by the trade deadline?

tax line and cap are not the same. We're well over the cap.

Do you have a link to that? I know that you can see individual salaries on ESPN.com but is there a link to that kind of info? Thanks.

[Laramie]

tax line and cap are not the same. We're well over the cap.

Here is a source on the team salary CAP:

According to NBA free agency 2013: What cap space and exceptions do teams have left? - SBNation.com; we are well over the CAP.

[OKCisOK4me]

Here is a source on the team salary CAP:

According to NBA free agency 2013: What cap space and exceptions do teams have left? - SBNation.com; we are well over the CAP.

I actually had a little down time and found this site which shows we're $12,000,000 over the cap:

Oklahoma City Thunder Team Payroll | Basketball-Reference.com

[dankrutka]

Gotcha. I was under the impression that we only have the two "picks" for the upcoming second round of the draft.

Question is, will Sam Presti fill the two spots with minimum salary players or try to bring in one player that's worth more by the trade deadline?

One of the picks we'll probably never actually get because it's heavily protected, but the other one we'll get at some point, but it may not be in this upcoming draft.

[Laramie]

One of the picks we'll probably never actually get because it's heavily protected, but the other one we'll get at some point, but it may not be in this upcoming draft.

"As part of the Harden trade, Oklahoma City received a first-round pick that belongs to Toronto. The Raptors sent the pick to Houston in July in exchange for point guard Kyle Lowry, and the Rockets conveyed that selection to the Thunder to acquire Harden.

The worse the Raptors do, the better that pick becomes.

But there's a catch.

There are certain conditions on which Toronto gets to retain the pick. The Raptors negotiated them into the original trade to protect themselves from relinquishing a highly coveted selection, hence the popular term “protected pick,” or “conditional pick.”



In this case, the pick is protected through the 2017 NBA Draft.

In 2013, the selection is protected from picks 1 through 3 and 15 through 30. That means the Thunder receives the pick if it's anywhere from 4 to 14."--The No. 1 reason for Thunder fans to root against the Raptors | News OK

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ... as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[OSUMom]

So part of the trade for Harden was a draft pick that we not get afterall? that's wacked. Do we get anything in exchange if the Raptors can take it back? Or is it just SOL?

[catcherinthewry]

"As part of the Harden trade, Oklahoma City received a first-round pick that belongs to Toronto. The Raptors sent the pick to Houston in July in exchange for point guard Kyle Lowry, and the Rockets conveyed that selection to the Thunder to acquire Harden.

The worse the Raptors do, the better that pick becomes.

But there's a catch.

There are certain conditions on which Toronto gets to retain the pick. The Raptors negotiated them into the original trade to protect themselves from relinquishing a highly coveted selection, hence the popular term “protected pick,” or “conditional pick.”



In this case, the pick is protected through the 2017 NBA Draft.

In 2013, the selection is protected from picks 1 through 3 and 15 through 30. That means the Thunder receives the pick if it's anywhere from 4 to 14."--The No. 1 reason for Thunder fans to root against the Raptors | News OK

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ... as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

Not sure why you posted this. The Thunder drafted Steven Adams with Toronto's draft pick. I'm sure Presti was hoping for something higher than the no. 12 pick, but Toronto went on a nice run after they traded Rudy Gay and moved the pick down. Anyway, the only player I would've wanted before Adams was Olidipo. Both of them would've filled a need, but in the long run VO probably would've cost more and thus would've been harder to keep. All in all, I'm very happy with Adams.

[Bill Robertson]

tax line and cap are not the same. We're well over the cap.

Right. I knew that, just used the wrong word.

[OSUMom]

Why does everyone want to hit Adams?

[Laramie]

Why does everyone want to hit Adams?

There was some excitement when Adams had that one outstanding game. Adams is in the development stages and he is a lot further along than Byron Mullens and Cole Aldrich.

[Easy180]

Last night's first quarter was probably the worst play by both teams that I have ever seen...Really turned it around in the second half and still found a way to hit the century mark