OKC Thunder 2014 - 2015

[PWitty]

Again, the fact that people keep saying the Thunder are cheap (and lots of people are saying it... lead by Bill Simmons) makes them look at our moves through that single story. Houston, on the other hand, is seen as very willing to pay top dollar for free agents... and deservedly so. So, if Thunder do the same thing that Houston did, it could be perceived very differently. (By the way, this is the same way that stereotyping works). However it's important to note that when Houston passed on Parsons they immediately spent money and Trevor Ariza AND are already hoping to pay big bucks for that third star... What will OKC do if we don't sign Reggie? Will we spend it on someone else? I think OKC will spend above the tax to win if it finds the right deal, but we won't really know until they do it.

A couple things to consider in terms of Reggie's deal. First, with the new TV contract and the cap expected to rise significantly, you can't compare what Reggie will make against contracts negotiated before these developments. Contracts are rising. Based on similar players who have recently signed deals (see players like Kyle Lowry, Eric Bledsoe, Kemba Walker), I'd say Reggie will get between $10-13 million per year. Here's the question - if the market goes too high for Reggie, will we spend that money in other ways? Free agents aren't likely to flock to OKC so passing on Reggie could either mean overpaying for someone else or getting no one. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

My suspicion is that Presti and co trust Reggie as a professional and intend to match any reasonable offer for him in restricted free agency next summer, but who knows?

You're right on the new TV deal. I didn't think about that. But I'd imagine that will only inflate the value of players who already max out the current max contract (the KD's of the world). It'll be interesting to see if that trickles down to the entire roster, and if so to what extent. I agree that Reggie commands $10-13 million, but I still think that if anyone goes higher than that then we wouldn't be considered cheap for not matching it. Although if Reggie is honestly open to remaining on the bench, and just wants a nice pay raise, then I would prefer to keep our roster intact. Roster turnover only ruins team chemistry. And he may very well have his chance at the starting spot within the next couple years if Russ decides to bolt home to LA. That seems to be the one potential FA move I hear people bring up the most, unfortunately.

[Bellaboo]

I think PJIII's play could really help him carve out a long term role in the rotation. Hes been fantastic these last two games.

Having said that, Perk will not be destroying team's second units. He was great last night, but it was an aberration. Glad to see him play well though.

Perk actually has played well in all 3 games. He will dominate the second units of teams, he actually has defensively done it against the first units. He matches up well against 8 - 10 centers, which is why Adams is now the starter. When he plays against lesser talent, he'll do fine. He said he worked on his hook shot all off season and it showed the other night.
Where Perk will excel, is in having his team mates in proper position.

[Jake]

Andre Roberson sprained his ankle.

This season is cursed.

[Laramie]

nm

[Laramie]

Great to see Reggie Jackson's return; he's has never been much of a defensive player. He could become a starter; but not for a championship contender. Let's not judge him on the first game of his return from an injury.

We're limited to 8-9 players a night, tomorrow at Toronto will be our fourth game in six nights with a one game layoff from west coast to east coast.

Andre Roberson sprained his ankle.

This season is cursed.

Another injury? Andre Roberson, we wish you the very best.

[s00nr1]

All these injuries.....basically just come to expect them at this point. Oh, and then there's this to rub salt on the wound:

The decision that doomed the Thunder long before the injuries | New York Post

[Jim Kyle]

You do remember, I hope, that the New York Post is a few (dozen) notches lower than "Weekly World News" in its devotion to honest, informed journalism...

[dankrutka]

Perk actually has played well in all 3 games. He will dominate the second units of teams, he actually has defensively done it against the first units. He matches up well against 8 - 10 centers, which is why Adams is now the starter. When he plays against lesser talent, he'll do fine. He said he worked on his hook shot all off season and it showed the other night.
Where Perk will excel, is in having his team mates in proper position.

Perk is maybe the worst offensive center in the NBA. I'm not exaggerating. He will not have a good offensive season. He had zero points tonight in a return-to-the-mean type game where his team desperately needed offensive help. All we can ask of Perk is to be a defensive floor general, play tough one-on-one D when needed, block out his man so others can get rebounds, and mentor young guys. Players with Perk's history of offensive ineptitude don't just suddenly improve at this point in their careers. He is what he is... And he isn't what he isn't.

[Bellaboo]

Not much offense out of anyone tonight. Perk has outscored Collison this year, which isn't saying much.

[Anonymous.]

This first month is about squeaking out as many Ws as you can to save the season. The Clippers W would have been nice. Right now we need to root for every team in the West to lose. So far, 3 of them have started out perfect.

[Laramie]

Not much offense out of anyone tonight. Perk has outscored Collison this year, which isn't saying much.

Perkins also has a number of unforced turnovers. He knows he can't dribble, so opponents immediately converge on him when he rebounds. Collison does have the ability to pass to someone underneath the basket or shoot.

[OSUMom]

Perry Jones out. Reggie Jackson hobbling around in obvious pain. Then Telfair gets thrown out. I mean....... sheesh. The fact that we only lost by 12 was a miracle.

[Mel]

This is starting to be a bad joke. Was a contract put on our team? Did the New Orleans Pelicans hire a Voodoo Queen to put a curse on us?

[Bellaboo]

I'll recant, after last night, Perk is just bad. His body was old when he entered the league at 18 and his decline has come sooner rather than later. He brought toughness, but doesn't add much to the table currently.

[Anonymous.]

That was a brutal start to the season. We finally get some rest this week until Friday - at least we have a pair of home games to try and get some wins this weekend.

[Roger S]

There is a bright side to the season so far.... We are only one game back in our division and we are still ahead of the Lakers.

[Urbanized]

There is a bright side to the season so far.... We are only one game back in our division and we are still ahead of the Lakers.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I still maintain that if they can beat all bottom-feeders, grab a few surprise wins like the home opener and make it through November 500-ish, if everyone returns healthy and on schedule they will run roughshod over everyone in December and have a great chance at a strong playoff run.

[Anonymous.]

I have been looking at the numbers, I think these guys need to win 9-10 games by mid december to have a shot at playoffs.

Thunder have a pretty rough schedule to close out 2014, OKC could easily have 20 losses already by New Years. Going off of the strength in the West - we may not even be able to afford 10 more losses the rest of the season. KD/Russ/Morrow will have to go extreme hero mode to pull it off. Losing home games will not really be an option this season, especially in 2015.

The key is going to be picking off Ws against these teams early here in November. If we can spot MEM and SAC a loss this weekend, we will create much needed breathing room.

[FighttheGoodFight]

These games are painful to watch.

Maybe we can pull a San Antonio and tank to get Tim Duncan? BELIEVE

[Laramie]

Let's get that 15th player on the roster, quick!

This is the most unfortunate situation I've ever seen in the NBA.

We don't have enough healthy players to practice (two five team scrimmage).

The healthy and inexperienced players we have are logging in a ton of minutes. It will only lead to more injuries. The Thunder are hemorrhaging blood; we need a transfusion.

Let's Go Thunder!

[dankrutka]

The Thunder are signing Ish Smith with the team's hardship relief exception (because they have more than 3 players out for at least 2 more weeks). He's a point guard that plays decent defense and hustles. He's a terrible shooter who is undersized, which is why he's not on a team already. He'll likely be dropped before his contract is guaranteed later in the season. He should provide some guard relief though.

[dankrutka]

The Thunder are pretty likely to lose on Friday to Memphis to go to 1-5 (which is what I predicted before Westbrook went down), but the schedule eases up after that.

Unfortunately, we still desperately need to get guys back and it seems that Morrow, Roberson, and (fingers crossed) PJIII's injuries aren't that severe and they could be back soon. But... even with all those guys back beating "bottom feeders" is still going to be tough. Our next stretch consists of the Kings, @ Bucks, @ Celtics, and Pistons. Those teams are all considered "bottom feeders" and I'd be very happy to just go 2-2 and against their healthy squads. We'd still have to fight hard to beat any of those teams.

I'm really worried that we haven't heard anything about PJIII yet today. That generally means there is bad news.

[Laramie]

Meet the new Thunder addition!

Ish Smith

Age: 26, Education: Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

Ish Smith Stats, Bio - ESPN

The Thunder are set to sign veteran point guard Ish Smith with its hardship exception, per The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry. Smith, 26, a 6-foot guard in his fourth year out of Wake Forest, has career per-game averages of 2.9 points, 2.0 assists and 1.4 rebounds.

Thunder set to sign PG Ish Smith with hardship exception | News OK

P. S. Thank you, Lord!

[Teo9969]

Sacramento is not such a bad team. That will be a challenging game for us.

Would be great to pull one of the next 2 out.

[dankrutka]

Very worrisome that there's no news yet from the Thunder on Perry Jones' knee. Not a good sign...