An early look at 2009-2010

this draft has only two "elite" players, so anyone else at 3 would not be a complete stretch . . .

Turner with the top pick isn't as unreasonable as it might seem. His numbers are easily on par with other top 10 talents, and unlike most of them, he didn't play in a run and gun system. Remember that Westbrook was another draft "sleeper" who didn't round into the top 10 or 5 conversation until after his pre-draft workouts. Turner is another guy that teams will be fall over themselves for once he comes in and they see measure up as good or better than the supposed "elite players" currently at the top.

kev :Do you like him for the first or second pick? I don’t think he’s good enough for the top spot - and he’s probably gone before the second pick . . .

It all depends on where da ping pongs fall, but if we're like say 4th or 5th pick and can't trade up to get Blake then i'm all for tradin down a spot or two to take him at the 7th 8th range.

Do you like him for the first or second pick? I don't think he's good enough for the top spot - and he's probably gone before the second pick . . .

I also like Gerald Henderson for our soon to be open 2 spot. He's a winner and comes from great coaching. Some of the things I like about Gerald is that he can take big shots without fear and plays defense to boot! He seems like a good kid judging by the little i've seen of his interviews and such so that fits the character portion.

Vega :Westbrook is a future all-star. Green is going to end up being a Ron Artest sort of player. Not a star, but a tough, hard working sort of guy that every team needs for success.
Chandler and Kaman get injured too much, Okafor isn’t worth a top five pick, and I doubt that Golden State will give up Biedrins for anything that we can give them. I’d hang on to our lotto pick if I were Presti.
Personally, I would take Curry. He’s a darn good shooter chock full of potential, plus he fits Presti’s policy of getting high character guys. (I really like that policy.) Then, I would sign Channing Frye and Steve Novak/Walter Herrmann. Our rotation would look like this:
PG: Westbrook/CurrySG: Westbrook/CurrySF: KDPF: Uncle JeffC: Krstic6: Thabo7: Livingston8: Frye/Collison (If we keep Collison, we don’t sign Frye.)9: Weaver10: White11: Novak/Herrmann12: Guy we get with Spurs pick.

I personally love this one because I was having the same conversation with some of my friends about Evan Turner. I don't know if he's in the draft but I believe he would do wonders at the 2 spot. He has the prototypical size(6 ft 7) for the 2 or 3 spot and he can shoot it well. Also he has a nice feel for the game and he's only 20 which he could very well become the dark horse of the draft.

Good call - even though he's not a great shooter, he would be the next best shooter after Durant . . . he's a heady, unselfish kid and he's got great character . . . sign him up . . .

I don't see such big changes over the summer. Presti will likely draft James Harden who will be a perfect addition to the team. At #25 he's likely to take anybody... but who ever it won't be a contributing player next season. This summer we'll see if Livingston is the answer at backup point guard. Serge Ibaka will get a tryout. My bet is he sticks. I will also bet DJ White will continue to impress in summer league. Swift is shown the door. Same for Rose & Mason. Presti will continue to dangle the expiring contracts of Watson, Wilkins & especially the not completely guaranteed salary of Atkins in hopes of landing a difference making veteran who fits on the team. Krstic & Sefolosha will return improved and a training camp together with their coach will do wonders. By Christmas it'll be:

Starters - Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Green, Krstic
Rotation - Livingston, Collison, Sefolosha, White
Bench - Weaver, Ibaka, #25 pick, Watson, Atkins, Wilkins

@Steve H
good post - I could see the Wolves ( MAYBE)passing since they have Al Jefferson and Love, but still, we are biased; I think a 3-man post rotation of Jefferson, Love, and Griffin would be great for that frnachise . . . the Clips are the Clips; who knows what they would do . . . I'm sure by now that everyone knows my stance on Green - based on his defensive play this year - I'd throw him in a package in a heartbeat . . . if we do keep Green, I hope he gets serious about stopping people . . .

@kev If the Clippers or the T-Wolves land the top spot, I'm hopeful that a deal could be made to move up if we get the 3rd or 4th pick. 3 or 4 spot. The Clips are set to pay Zach Randolph 33mill over the next two years, with no way in hell to move his contract. The T-Wolves seem to be rightfully delighted with Kevin Love's play at PF. Why would'nt those two teams jump on swapping first rounders with Green and maybe another 1st round pick (This year's or next)thrown in as a sweetener? I love Green's play, and think he would be a great prospect on any team not carrying a future all-star at SF on their roster.

@kev
Amen. There isn't a single player on the team not named Durant that I wouldn't move for Blake. To be honest, substituting Blake for Westbrook or Green would easily be a net gain.

to clarify on my previous post - if any team is foolish enough to trade the rights to Griffin . . .

If another team is foolish enough, then Presti SHOULD move Green or Westbrook - our top four guards are RW, Thabo, Livingston and Weaver - NONE of them are good three point shooters - one of them should be moved if possible . . .

i like thabo starting - the thunder seemed to play the best basketball with him in the lineup. offensive liability - sure. but durant will be a top 3 scorer soon, so thats not a big deal.
if livingston is healthy enough, he should start & russ moves to 2.
running the offense is his forte & he has always shown ALOT of promise - when healthy of course.
the only thing is: can russ play as well off the ball?
& of course, that pushes thabo to the bench which ruins my initial theory!
if russ can play under control, keep him at the point.
is he able to "harness" himself, while also realize that the bread is buttered by #35?
earl, des, damien - see ya. its too many young, talented guys that deserve more minutes than they do.
the big key is a paint player. not so much offensively - see durants scoring - but who can rebound & be a defensive presence. i want to think hasheem could be that, but i'm not sure (& slightly frightened by that prospect!) if you look at at the top teams in the west, i'd say only the lakers, houston & san antonio had a true offensive threat n the post - the key is defending the paint & your top rebounder HAS to avg more than 6.9!
i'd love to get biedrins, & as stupid as golden state seems to be with personnel, i cant imagine they'd let him go anywhere.

& why have i had the feeling that presti will move russ or (more likely) green in order to move up to that #1 & grab blake??

Even though Livingston can play, he really doesn't clear up our backcourt. We know he can play point, and he's a good shooter from around 15-18 feet. The problem is at the other end - he doesn't have the lateral movement necessary to keep up with point guards. So if he is your designated backup PG, then you still have to have a 3rd smaller guy to play the point defensively (Atkins, Watson, etc.) Throw in the fact that none of the above guys can shoot consistently from long range, and you have a big mess. I think that there will be a trade of some sort, as we have a lot of odd parts.

I wouldn't be surprised if we got a veteran (either through FA or via trade) to start at the two . . . then we move Thabo to the bench . . .

@Blake

can't have a non-shooter at the two - that's one of the reasons why our offense stunk this year - I can't count the number of times I cringed when RW pulled up and took a jumper - when your two does that (and is open) it's supposed to go in . . .

I would cry all summer if the Thunder select Thabeet . . .

i could see them getting thabeet if griffin doesnt get here first. getting curry would be good as far as shooting goes but i dont know if hes worth a pick that high when there are other concerns that need to be addressed

Again, this is why I love the offseason... so much to talk about.

@Blake
How about Orlando and Atlanta? Atlanta pushed Boston to 7 games last year and just stomped Miami in the first game this year. Orlando kind of fell on it's face tonight, but their undersized Center certainly wasn't the one letting them down. Both teams have small lineups according to pre-draft measurements.

As for Griffin against Yao and Shaq, well, I don't know what to tell you. Shaq is pretty much over the hill and Griffin could use his speed quite effectively. Yao, well, who DOESN'T have trouble guarding Yao? The guy is 7'6" and can shoot out to the three point line. Even if we got Thabeet (closest in height), he'd get demolished by Yao every time they played. The fact is, true centers aren't as tall as ESPN would have you think. Dwight and Duncan are the truest and most dominant centers out there, and both are under 7'. Interestingly, a lot of centers nowadays like to shoot jump shots, which are a lot more easily guarded by shorter players. The guys that are real terrors down low aren't normally that tall (most really big centers are purely defensive).

@Keith
I could definatly see westbrook at the 2. But then again theres not too many pg's that can rebound like he can. He just needs to relax a little and not get so wound up. But I guess thats a rookie for ya.

I just cant picture Griffin doing much with the likes of Yao, Shaq, or any of the other true centers in the league. Although he will be able to use his speed and athleticism to counter their strength and height. But your right it all depends on who gets him. If its us though I would like to use him at the 4 and push green to the bench. If he played the 5, then I assume that means KD, Green, and Griffin would be starting. Which means we would be about 6'9" from the 3 to the 5. Dont know of many teams like that.

@Joe
Harden is my 3-6 pick also, though I still think using such a pick to land an established player in a trade would be better.

@Blake
I can agree with you on Green, but only because of his size/strength issues. They guy can't bang inside, and falls in love with his jump shot even when he's not hitting. Of course, all those things are such that he can get better by eating more steaks and watching film. I'm still not sold on Westbrook as PG, but he could be an all-star caliber 2 regardless. It's all up to how much he's willing to work and change himself. Given what little I know of him, he seems pretty willing.

Also, Blake is probably going to measure up the same size as Horford, Amare, Jefferson, or Dwight (all guys measured 6'9" or under without shoes). He has the wingspan, reach, athleticism, and skill to play center in the NBA. Whether he ends up playing PF or C will depend on who drafts him, but he's not going to be pigeonholed or questioned like Michael Beasley.

Lets be honest with ourselves. If we are going to establish a perennial playoff team then I think Jeff Green is going to have to come off the bench. Maybe even Russell also. I dont think he has the patience to be a all-star pg. Also, if we are lucky enough to get Griffin I see him playing the four. He's listed at what 6'10. But more likely 6'8 or 6'9.

Jordan Hill's game reminds me of Chris Wilcox. I would be surprised if he was ever more than an occasional starter, but more likely a strong reserve in the NBA. He needs a lot of work to be a dominant player in the NBA. He is all potential, but certainly not ready for prime time.

Harden would be my pick if we don't get the top pick.

Hill is listed at a generous 6-9 in college. I'm not one who thinks height forces you into a certain position, but he doesn't seem to play big either. I wouldn't draft him to play center.

Besides Griffin, I don't think there is a difference maker at center in this draft. Thabeet has foul-machine written all over him, and his tendency to look pedestrian against good college players makes me think bust. You can't teach height, but height doesn't make you a player either.

@Vega
I think Green as Artest is a bit of a stretch. Artest is an all-star. He's a lockdown defender at 3 positions. Green is a more efficient scorer, but he has a long ways to go before he's Ron Artest. Westbrook certainly has the capacity to be an all-star, but it's all in his development. He could be a 20 and 8 guy, or he could be a chucker with poor court vision, all up to what he makes of himself.

Kaman is certainly an injury risk, but Chandler has really only been hurt this last year. He played at least 73 games the 4 previous years. As for Biedrins, it has less to do with his value (a good team wouldn't trade him) as it has to do with the situation. GS has committed way too much money to a very bad team and Nellie has never utilized bigs properly. It's not hard to imagine them dumping Biedrins' salary just to save some money.

Also, I like Curry as well, but not with our top pick. He couldn't defend in college, so why would he be able to defend now? I think the top pick would be worth more in a trade than a guy whose shortcomings would make it hard to stay on the court. I want a shooter, but if he can't defend, he's only going to be worth 15 minutes per game at best. Not exactly top 5 pick material in my mind.

I've said it before, but I'd love to grab Evan Turner from OSU if he declares. The kid carried his team in a tough Big 10 conference and can do everything. Despite being the KD-like focus of every defense, he still shot over 50% from the field and 44% from three. He's got a lot of size/length, and he's an interested defender. Everyone seemed to overlook the Big 10 all year, and it hurt a lot of stocks. If Turner had been playing for a bigger program, he easily would have been considered a top 10 lock.

PG: Westbrook
SG: Turner
SF: Durant
PF: Green
C : Trade Player

Thabo would give a rest to Turner and Durant, Krstic would get the main minutes at backup PF and C (I think Collison is part of a trade), and Livinston or Weaver would spell Westbrook as the main backup. After that it's all situational guys or role players (hopefully one of them being a shooter).

Does anyone know if Jordan Hill can play center?

We need a low post scorer BADLY. Right now, ALL of our scorers are jump shooters. KD, Jeff, Russell and Nenad are all jump shooters. So when the shots don't fall, we lose. I was hoping DJ White would be a low post scorer, but it seems he also loves to shoot jumpers.

All the good teams have at least 1 low post scorer to take pressure off the jump shooters. We have no one who can post up and get us a few easy buckets.

I also agree that its not imperative that we get Blake Griffin. I am not sold on Jordan Hill and Stephen Curry may not even enter the draft. However, I think if we can get a Top 4 pick, we're assured of either Griffin, Rubio, Thabeet or James Harden (who looked awful in the Dance, but has serious skills). I think all 4 of those guys can contribute right away.

And yes, we only have 2 picks this year. Our 2nd round pick goes to Denver.

Westbrook is a future all-star. Green is going to end up being a Ron Artest sort of player. Not a star, but a tough, hard working sort of guy that every team needs for success.

Chandler and Kaman get injured too much, Okafor isn't worth a top five pick, and I doubt that Golden State will give up Biedrins for anything that we can give them. I'd hang on to our lotto pick if I were Presti.

Personally, I would take Curry. He's a darn good shooter chock full of potential, plus he fits Presti's policy of getting high character guys. (I really like that policy.) Then, I would sign Channing Frye and Steve Novak/Walter Herrmann. Our rotation would look like this:

PG: Westbrook/Curry
SG: Westbrook/Curry
SF: KD
PF: Uncle Jeff
C: Krstic
6: Thabo
7: Livingston
8: Frye/Collison (If we keep Collison, we don't sign Frye.)
9: Weaver
10: White
11: Novak/Herrmann
12: Guy we get with Spurs pick.

@Vega
Good points.

Changes I would make.
1) Thabo is not a starting caliber player on a good team unless he or Westbrook becomes a threat from mid and long range.
2) Krstic is a fine role player, but I expect him to be replaced through a trade for an established guy at center (I'm thinking Biedrins, Chandler, or Kaman).

I call these changes because I think they will be in Presti's priorities. With the high pick we are going to replace one or the other, and that cap space is too tempting to not replace the other.

I agree with you that we probably aren't yet an attractive place for stars, but that will change with the continued improvement of KD as well as the increasing win total. Of course, the biggest point to notice this year is that there aren't any stars on the market. Boozer might be available, but he's a huge injury risk who'll want an oversized contract. Sorry, Booz, but I'd rather sign your backup. Free agency is going to be exactly as Vega says simply because teams will be holding their money tight while at the same time the market will be flooded with role players instead of stars.

A major issue Presti and Brooks have to address is whether we truly have a "big three" or not. Three is kind of a hallowed number in basketball. It's the most efficient shot, the deadliest weapon, and the maximum number of true stars a team can have without running into huge economic and shot allocation issues. Durant is easily the best player this team has, and should have been an all-star this year. The question they have to ask is if Westbrook is coming along enough to say he will be player teams have to focus on in the future. They will have to ask if Green can be anything more than a solid player who gives his all. Can those guys ever be all-stars, or are we missing more than we want to admit when talking about a "big three?"

Weaver will be with the Thunder next year. I guarantee it. Basically, the team will probably look something like this next year:

PG: Westbrook
SG: Thabo/draftee/free agent
SF: KD
PF: Green
C: Krstic/draftee/free agent
6: Livingston
7: Weaver
8: White
9: Draftee
10: Draftee
11: Free agent (Steve Novak? Walter Herrman?)
12: Free agent (Channing Frye? Keith Bogans?)

I'll say it again. Don't expect Presti to trade for a superstar. (Especially Bosh. Please stop mentioning Bosh.) Okafor is the only one I can see us possibly trading for, and that is still pretty unlikely. Also, no big name free agent will sign here, and it is doubtful that Presti will go after any of them anyway.

Everyone needs to realize that this isn't franchise mode on NBA 2K9. You can't just go get every superstar and forget about your core. Presti is trying to build the team through the draft and the signing of good role players (Krstic.) and trading to get good role players. (Thabo.)

Another thing everyone needs is patience. It isn't the end of the world if they don't make the playoffs next year. Presti's plan for the team will require waiting.

Also, it isn't the end of the world if we don't get Griffin. Perhaps it is because I don't live in Oklahoma, but I just don't see it that way. There are other options (Hill, Rubio, Curry.) in the draft that, while they aren't as good as Griffin, are still darn solid ball players.

Another thing that needs to be addressed is free agents. Stars won't sign here. It is as simple as that. Besides, we don't need stars anyway. We need more quality role players. I have compiled a list of free agents that I think would fit here:

Walter Herrmann/Steve Novak: Three-point specialists.
Channing Frye: Quality backup center.
Keith Bogans: Good defender and three shooter.

No flashy big names. Just good players that every team needs to win a championship. That is what OKC needs.

Why wouldn't Kyle Weaver be on the roster next year? Will he be traded? His salary is guaranteed for next year.

Ah... What about DJ White?

To the best of my understanding, we only have two selections in the draft, not three as you alluded to. We gave up our second rounder in the Petro trade. So we have ours and San Antonio's first in this draft-no second rounder. We sent a first rounder (the one we got in the Petro trade) to Chicago for Thabo.

Next season we have ours, and Phoenix's unprotected first. We gave up our second rounder to Phoenix. So as it stands now, we have two first rounders this draft and two next draft; and no second rounders in either of the next two drafts.

http://www.draftexpress.com/transactions.php

There are just too many options out there for the Thunder right now to speculate until we see which lottery ball we draw. #1?- Great, we'll take Griffin, and possibly trade for a center (Watson/Collison/Green? for Bosh? Keep Green, substitute a 1st round pick for Kamen? Okafor?), #2? Great, We'll take Rubio, slide Westbrook over to the starting SG spot, and pick up a quality PF on the free-agent market (Boozer?Lee?). Picking 3 through 6? Is Wall in the Lottery? Move up to the 1 or 2 spot, or take Hardin or Thabeet, and make the move for Boozer or Lee- or Kamen. Or Okafor. Way too many options to even guess what we do until the lottery balls fall, but flat out fantastic that we have so much flexibility that we should be able to improve dramatically regardless of how the ping-pong balls drop.