OKC Thunder 2016 off-season news

[dankrutka]

I'm disappointed in KD and feel like he took the easy way out basketball-wise. However, he was an amazing and classy ambassador for OKC since 2008. And this is his life and his decision. You won't see me ever trash the guy. Thanks for the good years, KD.

[Thomas Vu]

This is the same for every small market team and even some large market teams. Name me one big free agent that Denver or the teams in New Orleans have signed ?

Drew Brees and Peyton Manning?

[OKCretro]

Drew Brees and Peyton Manning?

Didn't realize I had to preface my question with in basketball....

Also I might argue yes Peyton Manning was a big name, but past his prime. he was 1 qb sack away from being a vegetable his whole life. Not sure many teams would have signed him after all his injuries.

I bet the thunder could sign AI or Karl Malone but really what does that get you?

[Zuplar]

Didn't realize I had to preface my question with in basketball....

Also I might argue yes Peyton Manning was a big name, but past his prime. he was 1 qb sack away from being a vegetable his whole life. Not sure many teams would have signed him after all his injuries.

I bet the thunder could sign AI or Karl Malone but really what does that get you?

Wow, what an unneeded ****ty comment.

[FighttheGoodFight]

I was reading today this move also helps Kevin sell shoes. Moving and having all this coverage of him will reverse his slipping shoe sales lately. As much as everyone hates it "Super" teams get all the coverage, screen time and games on TV. He is going to sell a lot of shoes.

[Anonymous.]

It was a perfect storm. Reports of KD being easily impressionable and having corporate hotshots and players coaxing him into everything they want for their own benefits. This is why the OKC front office said they were worried outside influences have been swaying Durant all season long. And it turns out it is true and there was basically indirect recruiting attempts by the GSW the whole time.

So either this is what happened, or KD is the best liar/PR person to ever play in the modern, media-filled NBA.

[Patrick]

I was reading today this move also helps Kevin sell shoes. Moving and having all this coverage of him will reverse his slipping shoe sales lately. As much as everyone hates it "Super" teams get all the coverage, screen time and games on TV. He is going to sell a lot of shoes.

I bet he'll have a bump in shoe sales initially, but they'll ultimately drop off. He's no longer the star of a team. In OKC, he was the superstar. In Golden State, he will be 2nd or 3rd on the list behind Curry and Thompson. He'll be no different than Scottie Pippen was to Michael Jordan. KD will be second fiddle to the true MVP, Curry. Gone are the scoring titles. Gone are the MVP's. He'll have to give up those to the true star of the team, Curry. Curry's shoes will increase, but ultimately, KD's will fall as he is no longer the star of the team. He'll still be a good player on a team, but he'll no longer be a team's star. Think Pippen. Sure, Pippen has rings, but Pippen will always be in the shadows of Michael Jordan. Kevin Durant will be the same. His legacy will not be what it could've been had he won a title on his own, with his own team, in OKC.

[FighttheGoodFight]

From TrueHoop Podcast:

Ethan Strauss asks the guys if the Harden trade “lit the fuse” for Kevin Durant’s decision to join Golden State and ultimately ruin OKC's roster. Windhorst says he thinks the Thunder losing a 3-1 lead in the WCF was the key factor. Someone else (Tom Haberstroh?) tries to clarify Ethan’s point by asking would the Thunder have lost that lead with Harden on the team? This sparks Windhorst to get something off his chest…

Brian Windhorst:

“So here’s the thing guys, I have to step in here, you cannot look at that trade and say either/or. The Thunder were the product of their own misjudgements but they were the product of some terrible misfortune along the way. And one of the misfortunes was in 2011 a new CBA came in with extremely penal luxury tax penalties and as part of that CBA, without Durant even asking for it, [the league] grandfathered his contract in to giving him the ‘Rose provision’. When the CBA opened (the next year) it was like “by the way, you now have a luxury tax that’s twice or three times as penal as it was before, when you were planning your team. Oh and by the way, we decided we’re giving Kevin Durant three more million dollars over every year of his contract” and the Thunder we’re like “umm…WHAT?!” And it was such a bad deal for the Thunder that the league later refunded them the money but it was too late because they had to make the decision on Harden. Now if you wanna retort and say…
Someone else on the panel interrupts with a big “wait, whaaat?” because, like me, they can’t believe this **** either
BW (cont.)
“…So as you know, there’s this thing called the ‘Rose provision’. It was called the ‘Rose provision’ but it might as well have been called the ‘Durant provision’ because he was the first person to actually get it. (It allows a player) to get extra money if you made two all NBA teams or were voted into two all-star games. Durant had signed his extension before the CBA and it was kicking in as soon as the new CBA came in. He didn’t have the opportunity to get the ‘Rose provision’ (in this contract because it didn’t exist when he was negotiating his contract). And somewhere in the lawyering…
Amin Elhassan jumps in to mention that the Rose Provision is negotiable between the player and the team from 25%-30% of the cap. However, in Durant’s case the league gave him the full 30% retrospectively without negotiation.

BW (cont.)

“They just gave it to him and it was a crazy decision and pardon my podcast French but they absolutely screwed the Thunder on it. Now, you’re gonna say “what are you complaining about? So what you have to give KD more money” but it screwed the Thunder’s planning. All of a sudden it meant that they had to account for three million dollars more per year for the next five years when they had to try and decide on Harden. And you may say to them “well you’re still an idiot because you should still pay Harden and pay the luxury tax. What’s your freaking problem, Thunder?” and the answer is they were horribly afraid of the repeater tax which they’d be in right now if they had signed Harden. So yes, if you want to frame the decision that they screwed up with Harden – yeah - but they got a terrible piece of misfortune there.”
And in case anyone wants to ask “well, why not still blame the Thunder’s cheap owners for not paying the repeater tax?”...

[adaniel]

People blaming Durant's departure because "OKC sucks" are ignoring the fact that the team that literally just won the title is from Cleveland, Ohio.

Not to rag on Cleveland, I'm sure it's a nice city, but the self-depreciating, insecure attitude people have towards OKC is tiresome.

Players leave much larger markets and cities all the time in all of the 4 major sports. That's just what happens. Welcome to the big leagues.

I should point out that Dallas and Mark Cuban are legendary FA strikeouts at this point. They just lost Chandler Parsons to Memphis of all places and couldn't lure DeAndre Jordan even though he is from here. Is that because Dallas is somehow deficient as a city? Actually now that I think about it when was the last time the New York teams were even relevant? And with Dwyane Wade likely going to Cleveland himself, expect Miami to head that way as well.

Don't get me wrong there will always be an issue with some players with small markets...it just is what it is (with that in mind, The NBA is probably the best sports league for smaller markets). But building on the Lebron-to-Cleveland comment, players go where they think they can win. They can always (and frequently do have) second homes in other cities. Its unfortunate that OKC still has so much self-hate that bubbles up from time to time.

[SoonerDave]

ANd let's be sure to keep in mind how many titles Harden brought to Houston.....just as many as KD has ever one. And he's since become perceived as a bit of a pariah on that team...so the Harden business is just a red herring. We wouldn't have Adams without that trade.

Bottom line - Thunder is shafted from every possible angle. No way around it. Perfect storm. When al the dust settles, I'm not sure there will be any one player identified as having done more singular damage to one team than KD has done to the Thunder. You couldn't have *calculated* a way to inflict more damage. As I credit KD with being a pretty sharp guy, I have this suspicion it wasn't all accidental, and his relationship with Thunder management wasn't nearly as good as we might have been led to believe. And this was, at least in part, his way of saying "sayonara."

[dankrutka]

There is no question that KD leaving was an unfortunate perfect storm of about 10 things happening... If any of them hadn't, KD is likely still with the Thunder.

[Patrick]

I should point out that Dallas and Mark Cuban are legendary FA strikeouts at this point. They just lost Chandler Parsons to Memphis of all places and couldn't lure DeAndre Jordan even though he is from here. Is that because Dallas is somehow deficient as a city? Actually now that I think about it when was the last time the New York teams were even relevant? And with Dwyane Wade likely going to Cleveland himself, expect Miami to head that way as well.

Don't get me wrong there will always be an issue with some players with small markets...it just is what it is (with that in mind, The NBA is probably the best sports league for smaller markets). But building on the Lebron-to-Cleveland comment, players go where they think they can win. They can always (and frequently do have) second homes in other cities. Its unfortunate that OKC still has so much self-hate that bubbles up from time to time.

I agree. KD didn't leave because OKC sucks. He even said himself that he really liked our city and he invested a lot here. He didn't leave because of bad retail. Or bad infrastructure. Or bad grocery stores. Or lack of mass transit. Etc. etc. He left because he had a greater opportunity with another team for a chance at creating a dynasty. He had a greater opportunity at winning a championship for many years to come. He left because of basketball. It was after all, a basketball decision. IT was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and who can fault him for taking it?

Free agents aren't turning down cities because of amenities. I think the only player that turned down OKC because of amenities was Pau Gasol, and he's in the minority. And look where he's signing.....after failing at a city with amenities, he's now going to San Antonio, a smaller market...why? For the chance at winning. Like I said, most of these players don't live in the cities where they work anyways, especially in smaller markets. Free agents are choosing cities based on where they can win. If a city's amenities were the reason for FA's choosing a city, then teams like the LA Lakers and NY Knicks would be killing it. But they're not.

[adaniel]

Good read:

Superteams Like The Warriors Usually Underperform — Will The Kevin Durant Era Be Different?

Answer: Maybe, but not likely due to law of diminishing returns

[Pete]

There is no question that KD leaving was an unfortunate perfect storm of about 10 things happening... If any of them hadn't, KD is likely still with the Thunder.

Not the least of which being Klay Thompson playing the game of his life -- by far -- in Game 6 of the Thunder / Warrior series.

Had that not happened, we would have won that series and maybe even the title and either way, Durant would have likely not view GS as such a better option.

The irony is that it was Durant's own horrible performance in that game that cost us as much as Thompson's absurd aberration.

[Patrick]

There is no question that KD leaving was an unfortunate perfect storm of about 10 things happening... If any of them hadn't, KD is likely still with the Thunder.

Many factors were at play, but I think ultimately it came down to 1 thing. It was a basketball decision. What was the greatest opportunity to win championships for many years to come? It was clearly Golden State. He has an opportunity to create a dynasty there, and I think that was too good to pass up.

[Anonymous.]

Exactly. The luxury tax would be killing OKC right now. Casual fans don't understand the inter-workings of the NBA, they just say ignorant stuff like "OKC is too cheap". When that doesn't even make sense. These are the same "fans" who are posting on social media saying to use KD's would-be salary to fund state education. Like really?

If OKC was aware of the future of the CBA, no doubt we keep Harden. But it didn't happen and we still had an elite squad and were headed to our best chance ever at a 'ship. Yet KD still screwed over this franchise. People are trying to make this entire thing out to be something OKC did, or Presti, or Russ... But I think what we really found out is who KD really is. And that is a punk.

[AP]

I listened to the true hoops podcast and Brian Windhorst does a really good job explaining the Harden deal with the cap and he OKC really got screwed and basically everybody avoids the tax. Even some of the richest people in the NBA. Give it a listen if you get a chance.

[Patrick]

Exactly. The luxury tax would be killing OKC right now. Casual fans don't understand the inter-workings of the NBA, they just say ignorant stuff like "OKC is too cheap". When that doesn't even make sense. These are the same "fans" who are posting on social media saying to use KD's would-be salary to fund state education. Like really?

If OKC was aware of the future of the CBA, no doubt we keep Harden. But it didn't happen and we still had an elite squad and were headed to our best chance ever at a 'ship. Yet KD still screwed over this franchise. People are trying to make this entire thing out to be something OKC did, or Presti, or Russ... But I think what we really found out is who KD really is. And that is a punk.

I agree. All KD cares about is himself. I appreciate all he did for OKC, but his true character has really come out here. All he cares about is rings, increasing his endorsements, etc. It's okay to want to improve yourself, but sometimes in life you have to think about more than just yourself.

[AP]

I hate the thought process that basketball players or any SPORT for that matter don't owe anything to fans. If it wasn't for fans all of these athletes would be playing basketball and making as much as professional lacrosse players. Literally their whole world as they know it is due to fans supporting them.

[dankrutka]

I agree. All KD cares about is himself. I appreciate all he did for OKC, but his true character has really come out here. All he cares about is rings, increasing his endorsements, etc. It's okay to want to improve yourself, but sometimes in life you have to think about more than just yourself.

I'm stunned reading takes like this. First, we're all working with a huge information deficit. None of us know exactly why KD left despite what we read. Second, asking other people to make sacrifices in their jobs and lives so you can have more joy seems, well, selfish.

All an employee owes their company is their full dedication while they're there. It's KDs life and making the decisions he wants is not selfish on any level.

[jerrywall]

I hate the thought process that basketball players or any SPORT for that matter don't owe anything to fans. If it wasn't for fans all of these athletes would be playing basketball and making as much as professional lacrosse players. Literally their whole world as they know it is due to fans supporting them.

So by that logic, no actor can ever leave a show you like, or refuse to sign up for a sequel?

I'd say their world as they know it is due to years and years of work and sacrifice and talent. Be the top 1% of the top 1% of anything (as most pro athletes are) and you'll be successful.

[Pete]

Don’t Sweat Kevin Durant’s Departure. You’re Doing Fine, Oklahoma City!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/..._durant_s.html

[AP]

So by that logic, no actor can ever leave a show you like, or refuse to sign up for a sequel?

I'd say their world as they know it is due to years and years of work and sacrifice and talent. Be the top 1% of the top 1% of anything (as most pro athletes are) and you'll be successful.

I didn't say that they couldn't leave did I?

[jerrywall]

I didn't say that they couldn't leave did I?

The concept of "owing" the fans would seem to imply that obligation.

[Pete]

Reggie Miller, who he himself stayed 18 years in Indianapolis, rips Durant for his decision:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...-cheap-jewelry