If you’re head’s not spinning by now, then you just haven’t been paying much attention. Ever since Tuesday night’s last envelope was opened, the NBA rumor mill and speculation factory (speculation factory?) have been on fire. On fire I say.
Will the Thunder move up? Move down? Take Thabeet at three? Harden at three? Someone else at three? Will Rubio fall to three? Does OKC even want Rubio? Should the Thunder trade its pick for a proven veteran? Who does OKC like? What are the Thunder’s needs? Trade the pick to the Lions so they can draft a wide receiver? Questions, questions and more questions. There’s so much to talk about right now, it’s almost hard to keep up.
Some people love Hasheem Thabeet. And there’s good reason to. He’s 7’3″, can protect the rim, is a raw player that is sure to improve both, is a two-time Big East defensive player of the year and fills a need for OKC. But there’s also good reason not to. Big guys like him are hit and miss. He doesn’t move his feet very well. He has hands of stone. Can he defend more agile NBA big men? You’re banking on an offensive game to develop and it may not.
Some people love James Harden (raises hand). He’s a complete offensive player that can pass, shoot, dribble and make people better around him. He’s a perfect complementary shooting guard for Russell Westbrook. He doesn’t need others to create his offense. But there are defensive questions. Is he big enough? Is he quick enough? Is he athletic enough? Does he have enough range on his shot?
And all this goes on and on and on. You can play this guessing game with every player in the draft. Ty Lawson, DeMar DeRozen, Jordan Hill, whoever. You can play the game with trade options. You can play it all over the place. I know I will. Heck, it’s kind of the point of this here place. To speculate, analyze, discuss and debate all things Thunder. It’s pretty freaking fun honestly.
But in the end, it comes down to Sam Presti and what he wants to do. And you know what? I believe in him. I completely, entirely, wholeheartedly trust his judgement. Whatever he does June 25th, I’m totally behind. Well, just short of picking Austin Johnson and trading for Eddy Curry. I don’t think I can’t get behind that. (Literally! Because Eddy Curry is fat… get it?)
Just for some reason, I have the utmost confidence in Presti and his staff. I trust them. I trust that they will absolutely make the most informed, sensible, well-researched decision in the league. They do more homework than anyone. For instance, they’ve seen Thabeet and done more research on the big guy than anyone, according to Draft Express. So if they pick him, it’s because he’s their guy and they believe in him. And honestly, that’s enough for me. Sure, I’d be a bit disappointed because I liked other players better. I don’t think Thabeet is a top five guy. I see him as a 15-20 minute a game guy that can protect the rim a little, but he’s not franchise center and I see him as a wasted pick. But that’s why I sit here and type on the Internet and Sam Presti makes big time cash downtown.
He hit a grand slam with Russell Westbrook last year at four. He knocked one out of the park with Jeff Green. He brought in Thabo Sefolosha for a late round pick. He had what appears to be the correct instinct on the Tyson Chandler deal. He flipped a bag of rocks and an old sock for an unprotected first round pick next year. And on and on. We all know what he’s done. The man’s got the golden touch. He just knows what he’s doing. He’s got a plan and he’s executing it. The whole organization marches in step to his beat. He’s got everybody believing, everybody buying into his vision. And that says something in itself.
So whatever happens from now until then, I’m down with. I can’t say that I’ll be as fired up with taking say, Thabeet, as I would Harden or Rubio, but I’ll deal with it. It may be tough to stomach since we all have our opinions on what we think is right and what we think is the best move. Maybe in three years we realize it was the wrong choice, but we’ll cross that road when we get there. Right now, I know that Presti and his staff evaluate talent as well as anyone and probably work harder than anybody. Hard not to trust that. He has a vision for this organization and since he’s far smarter than I am, I’m with him all the way.
Some don’t trust in their GM. Some do. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t second guess, discuss or debate what Presti does in this draft. We’re fans. It’s what we do. Three more years of wins in the 20s and I may be singing a different tune, but as of right now, I completely believe in Sam Presti. Whatever he does, I’m behind. Except of course that whole Eddy Curry-Austin Johnson deal.
(And if you’d like that picture up there bigger, click here. It works nice as a desktop background.)
ricockulous shot.
Ridiculous to say at the least. I know Brandon Roy did it earlier in the year but his team was not about to go down 2-0 and potentially lose a series. This shot is going to go in the books, just like Jordan over Elho.
@Nix
Jordan-esque
defining moment in Lebron's career.
Yea serioulsy Gortat is looking great...He runs the court better then I expected as well...
That whole argument about losing on purpose b/c Seattle didn't resign Lewis is ridiculous. He signed a grossly overpriced contract that would have hurt the Sonics more than letting him go. And, did we really know that Ray Allen would continue to be a consistent scorer and worth his contract? What they did was prudent in just the way that their upcoming pick will be.
I like what I see - I just wish that this game stays a blowout so he will play a lot more in the 2nd . . .
BTW, Gortat, the Polish Hammer just defended big Z one on one on the low block and Z tried to back him down..no luck. Great position defense, it was a shot clock violation for Z.
Nice post Royce. It's good to have a GM that you can feel reasonably comfortable with. In fact it's a downright luxury. Being probably the only long time Sonic Homer here, I lived year after year of terrible, horrible, dumbfounding draft picks by Wally Walker and Rick Sund. (Back in the day Bob Whitsitt was great, but he left because of Walker, and went on to the Blazers.
It's true that there were a few hits, very few, but I had to sit around and watch Swift get drafted when Jefferson was on the board; Petro, Sene, Radmonovich. What's really bad is if you look at all the players we drafted, and shipped them somewhere else to become good for someone else: Scottie Pippen, Carl Landry, Big Baby Davis, Willie Green, Bobby Simmons, Corey Maggette, Bobby Jackson, Doug Christie.........
It really is a luxury to be able to respect Presti's draft and player roster management accumen.
I have shared extensively on this blog - feel free to look back - I defensively charted the last fifteen games or so and gave details on why I think he's (at best) average defender.
@Kev
And I am extremely optimistic that percentage will improve next year. His shot looks good, and the game is bound to slow down for him. Picking on Russell as some kind of "weakness that should be addressed" when he is quite likely to out-score,out-rebound and dish more assists than D.Rose next year seems a little off the deep end to me. And his weak defense? Either put the pipe down or share brother.
I said if he turned out to be a great pick then I would apologize. You are glossing over a MAJOR statistic: FGPCT. A difference of 7.5% is MAJOR. Did you watch Rose vs Boston? He's in a different league than Westbrook. He took over games against the world champs. If you had your choice, there is no way you take Westbrook over Rose. I won't bring up Westbrook's (lack of) defense again.
@Kev
Dude, I think you are setting the bar crazy high for young master Westbrook. He was fourth in the ROY voting at a position he did'nt even play in college, with a continuously changing starting roster on a team with notoriously bad perimiter shooting. In spite of these disadvantages, he posted a stat line that compares to Derek Rose as follows:
Rose: ppg-16.8 apg-6.3 rpg 3.9 fg%-.47 3pt%-.22 topg-2.4 mpg-37
Westbrook:ppg-15.3 apg-5.3 rpg-4.9 fg%-.39 3pt%-.27 topg-3.3 mpg-32.5
Give Russell another 4 and a half minutes a night and he matches Rose in scoring. Give him those minutes and Ben Gordon (or J.Harden)on the wing catching passes, and he has more assists. There is not a doubt in my mind that his shooting percentage will rise significantly, and his turnover rate will go down as he learns his teammates and the position. Give this kid two years with a stable line-up, and you'll be glad we did'nt get saddled with D.Rose in last year's draft.
@Keith
I don't think they CAN make any trades until the day of the draft- though the GMs can certainly have their plans and contingency plans in place. As much as I agree with you regarding Rubio's potential, picking up TWO players that directly address our team's greatest needs is too good a deal to pass up. Rubio could well be playing in the all-star game one of these years, but I honestly don't know that the same can't also be said of Harden and even McGee. And then there is the "I don't want to play in a small market" issue. I don't think GMs should ever cave to that kind of blackmail, or that this sentiment is even directly attributable to Rubio (though I read something-Draftexpress? attributing similar comments to his parents), But at the end of the day- why risk squandering the pick entirely when we can slip a 40% perimiter shooting threat and 2+ blocks per game into our pocket?
I just watched The Oklahoman's roundtable with Tramel and Rohde, and Tramel thinks that an offer of our two first-round picks this year, and our two picks next year might be enough to land Blake. That does seem a bit like you're mortgaging your future to land the hometown kid, but we wouldn't have to trade any of the Big Three to get him.
Ah, this would've all been so much easier if we had just landed the #1 pick outright...
@Steve H
I thought the idea of the Washington trade was that it would take place before the draft, or that it was only if Memphis picked Rubio. If Rubio falls to three, we should take him for ourselves. Harden is good, but Rubio has CP3 or Jason Kidd potential. You don't trade that away for an extra big man who may never even start.
@Kev
Exactly. We all have a lot of different opinions on a lot of things, it happens. One person being right in the past doesn't make them right always, and one person being wrong in the past doesn't make them wrong always.
On Westbrook, however, I totally agree with you. I'm hoping very hard that if/when a Blake trade falls through, that Memphis opts for The Bust over Rubio. How sick would it be to see Slick Rick precision passing to Kid Delicious 10 times a game? Just how impossibly good could those two be together? Could KD hit 50% and 45% getting a ton of better looks? Could Rubio average 12 assists per game sliding passes to KD and a cutting Westbrook?
I think Presti has done a good job. Do I trust in him making good decisions? Yes. Still, that doesn't mean I have to agree with every decision he makes. Like someone said earlier, he does this for a living and he probably has a slew of assistants and scouts at his disposal. However, people make mistakes. Intelligent people can disagree. There is nothing wrong with healthy debate, as long as opinions are backed up.
For example, I am not a fan of Westbrook. Now, I know he was only a rookie, but I just don't see him becoming a classic point guard. Yes, I prefer a classic point guard over today's "combo guard". Westbrook was at or near the league lead in committing turnovers, and his shooting percentage was mediocre. Worse,his decision making late in close games was horrific. All that being said, I know he has a chance to improve. He has obvious qualities like his athleticism and determination when getting rebounds. Better yet, I like what he said after the season was over. When asked what you need to improve on, he replied "Everything". So he may prove me wrong. If/when he does, I will man up and be the first to admit that I was wrong.
The point is that if Presti takes Thabeet, I will still be a Thunder fan, and I will hope that Thabeet does well. I will still disagree with the pick, and I will still think that Presti's a decent GM.
The person who goes unrecognized in this is Clay Bennett. He saw the kind of team that Presti and his buddies built down in San Antonio, and wanted the same thing in OKC.
Bennett was accused of losing on purpose during the team's last year in Seattle, what with trading Lewis and Allen away--but both he and Presti realize that while you might be able to buy a championship or two (see Boston last year), you can't buy a winning tradition and a culture of success without putting the pieces together methodically, brick by brick.
I love that trade idea moving Rubio to Washington for Harden and McGee- though I was'nt sure if the rumor was exclusive to Rubio, or if the same could be worked out for Thabeet as well. If we can't wrangle Griffin away from the Clipps, that is my second favorite draft idea. Barring those two occuring, I hope we land Harden.
no, Derozan's not a shooter, and he's not as good a passer . . .
would anyone take DeRazon instead of Harden?
One look at that poster clogged my propaganda filter.
I c wat u did thar Vega.
Well played. I laughed.
Draft Thabeet? Only as part of a draft day deal with the Wizzards in exchange for James Harden at #5 plus JaVale McGee.
Otherwise it's just pick James Harden.
Let's see what a training camp will do to help Krstic. DJ White has a legit chance. And I'm looking forward to seeing Serge Ibaka this summer. Seriously, this team already has a boatload of young bigs.
@Brian
Tyson Chandler? Not a chance. DeSagana Diop is more like it.
Hasheem Thabeet now, compared to what he was his freshman year at Uconn, is a lot better and more polished. He has developed every year at Uconn and i think he can be a starting center in the NBA because of his shot blocking and instincts. He could be the next Tyson Chandler with a little help from the coaching staff. Chad Ford wrote that Westbrook does not want to move to the 2 and that he isnt good of the ball so drafting Rubio would totally mess up the backcourt. If the Thunder traded back to 5 and got Javale McGee in the process that would be a good trade because they would also nab Harden, therefore filling two needs. But i hear this trade talk every year and i think the Thunder are just gonna sit there and draft Rubio after the Grizz take Thabeet (because Michael Heisley makes the decisions in Memphis, not the talent evaluators. Would you think otherwise?)
Also known as Josheem Petreet and Hashebert Thabift
I'll like any pick except Mosheem Thasene.
@Bernard
Amen.
I am just glad that we have a GM that we can trust.
look around the league and you wonder how some of these so called expert got their job.
No one's perfect. Not any of us, and not Sam. That said, I have a feeling Sam has a lot more people with a lot more experience and a lot more tape than I could ever dream of having. His pick, ultimately, will be more informed than mine. Still, it's so much more fun to argue.