We all saw the need for a backup small forward for Kevin Durant. Sam Presti did too.
The Thunder acquired Lazar Hayward late Tuesday from the Wolves for Robert Vaden and two conditional second round picks. Hayward, a 6-6 swingman, is 25 years old and was taken 30th overall in 2010. Last season with Minnesota, he averaged 3.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 42 games.
“We are excited to be able to add Lazar to our organization,” Sam Presti said in a release. “Lazar is someone who we followed closely through the draft process and identified as a potential fit for the culture and identity that we are continuing to build in Oklahoma City. His toughness, length and shooting are attributes that will add depth to our roster, while his professionalism and competitiveness embody the intangibles that we value as an organization.”
Hayward is out of Marquette and was a pretty good college player. He had a reputation there for being a gritty, tough player that got more out of effort than out of physical ability. You know, a Presti type of player.
OKC had a need at small forward and targeted Hayward as a low-risk backup. The Thunder gave up very little to a team that didn’t have a need for Hayward. It adds more depth and gives Scott Brooks a chance to play with rotations and playing time a bit more.
It also could potentially hint that the team doesn’t see Thabo as a backup to Durant but either a backup to James Harden or even still the starter.
Hayward’s contract has him on OKC’s books through 2013, with a team option for 2014. He’s making about $1.1 million per season the next two years and would make $2.1 in his option year.
this trade will single handedly bring down the Thunder organization for years to come.
Wow I am quite surprised at the hate. This is a typical Thunder trade. OKC gave up (practically) nothing. So, any production is great. Add in that he's making almost nothing, and this trade is about as low risk as you can get. Is the upside massive? No, but whatever upside comes is really icing.
Instead of paying Shane Battier for past performance, you try to develop the next Shane Battier.
Love Lazard Hayward. He has the Thunder DNA. Excellent defensive player, great character and team leadership, positional versatility.
I really don't understand the anger about this trade. This guy is going to be sat in front of a screen and will watch every single trick and move Artest, Battier, and Tony Allen pulled on KD. Then in practice he will do it every single possession. The worst that comes from this is what? A guy who sits on the bench and plays garbage time? Who cares? He replaced a mediocre d-league player.
@see-mittens If he wasn't on a guaranteed contract it wouldn't matter either, but this guy is locked in for a couple years.
@see-mittens I think the word is not anger, but disappointment. And I think it's not about who we did get, but who we didn't get. This is a nickle and dime type trade, and it would have been more fun if it were a bigger splash.
Is the site coming up for anyone else in mobile version sometimes?
@Grolgar Yes, this has been happening for me on and off all summer, but most often in chrome.
@[censored]@Grolgar yeah happening to me in Chrome too.
@Grolgar Yes, in every browser.
Looks like I can forget about the possibility of Presti making a bid for Richard Jefferson if/when the Spurs decide to amnesty him...oh well, there's always the trade deadline, I suppose.
DX Profile on Lazar Harward coming out of college. You read it, and can't help but think that either Sam Presti wrote it, or it was a letter written directly to Sam Presti. Either way, I'm not ecstatic about his addition, but can definitely see why Presti went out and got him:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Lazar-Hayward-5323/
One more thing I'm annoyed about: The NBA decided NOT to drop the price for NBA League Pass. Even with fewer games, they are still charging $169. (I'm pretty sure that's the same price I paid last year). The only difference is this year, they are including free mobile so you can stream games from your smartphone for free.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/NBA-League-Pass-prices-won-t-dip-down-as-the-NB?urn=nba-wp11747
@Daniel Hawaii At first I said I wouldn't get it but I'm on the fence about possibly getting the 5 team option. I'm tempted to not buy either just because of the fact that it's BS that we're being sold 20% less games but not getting a 20% discount..
@JimboSlice@Daniel Hawaii _FUCKING NBA, you are kidding me. Why the hell did it take so long to get it up online if the price was just going to be the same anyway? Bunch of douchebags. But, I'll pay it. THis must be how drug addicts feel towards their dealers.
@Old Man Game@JimboSlice@Daniel Hawaii
I had the perfect slightly altered quote from half baked as a reply, but its probably not appropriate for this site.
@JimboSlice What's the 5-team option?
@JimboSlice Hmm... that might be a better option. Plus all the games are in HD, whereas my cable provider doesn't give us all the League Pass games in HD. Only 1 or 2 games per day are on an assigned HD station. Have you used this in the past? How's the broadband? Does it lag a lot? If I wanted to watch a game after it's already done, will they show you the score ahead of time? I hate that.
@Daniel Hawaii $110 to choose 5 teams on league pass broadband. the prices are up now on nba.com in the league pass link
With the exception of Miami, there isn't another team/owner/GM in the NBA right now that wouldn't trade their entire roster straight up for the entire OKC roster - and that includes the Lakers, Mavs, Clippers, whomever. Those teams would love to have a nucleus of Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka all under 23 years old. Those teams would love to have a championship window that 1) just opened last year, and 2) will probably stay open for the next 10 years.
With Westbrook's contract negotiations ongoing, and Harden and Ibaka coming up for extensions next year, I'm OK with not bringing in high profile free agents right now. Presti always seems to do better around the trade deadline.
Doesanyone know when we might get our season tickets?
@Crownme
My Rep called me this morning and said the tickets are being printed and should be mailed in 2-3 days. She said the tickets are in our account but they are not allowing printing yet to avoid ticket confusion.
@Crownme The email I got this morning said to print the December tickets online, and they'd have the others to us by the end of the month.
@MartzMimic thanks, I don't recall getting that email myself.
You all are so impulsive. OMG everyone is making trades. Teams are getting better. The Thunder arent making any moves. What are we going to do. hahhahahaaha Calm down. Last time I checked we were still top of the West:)
How are we top of the West? We finished second in last years playoffs and fourth in last years regular season. This years team still has to show they're the top team in the West. But I'm okay with us not making any major moves.
@Grolgar last time I checked we go to the semi-finals and lost to the NBA champions:)
@Grolgar umm no
So.... you're agreeing with me? Alrighty then.
@OkcBaby It's a strange night when you're the voice of reason. The sky is falling stuff is a bit ridiculous. This isn't NBA2k11, people need to stop worrying about names changing teams. Almost every team that matters in the West is worse this year than they were last year (at least as things stand right now) with the exception of Memphis and maybe Portland.
Spurs are older.
Lakers are worse right now.
Mavericks are worse.
Nuggets are worse.
Blazers about the same.
Hornets are worse.
Grizzlies... who knows. I would think they're better with Gay, but it might be a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type situation.
Finally, the Clippers are irrelevant until they actually win some games that matter.
Step back off the ledge.
@moriarty84@OkcBaby I'd agree most teams are worse... except the Clippers are way better, the Mavs are up in the air (depends if their new pieces can fit in), and the Lakers will get someone big (either CP3 or DH12) before it's all said and done. No way the Lakers only major move is to lose Lamar Odom.
@OkcBaby Last time I checked, Dallas was top of the West.
@Daniel Hawaii The tippity top:)
I just realized all this time I've been calling him Lazar Haywood. My bad. I meant Hayward.
John Hollinger says: How to put this gently ... I can understand Minnesota wanting to trade Lazar Hayward more than I can understand OKC wanting to acquire him
@RRRWHOAAAA Wonderful.
RT @ESPNSteinLine: ESPN sources: Nene and Nuggets reach terms on five-year, $67 million deal.
@SammyThunderer That's a good deal all other offseason events considered.
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@deleted_1998213_Don'tStoptheSergeing@SammyThunderer Great. Denver gets Nene back at a reasonable price. And according to Ken Berger at CBS Sports, they are making good progress on re-signing Afflalo. I'm annoyed.
@Daniel Hawaii Denver could end up replacing Felton, Chandler and Smith with Andre Miller, Rudy and Brewer. Even with Nene, they look like they'll take a step back IMO.
@moriarty84 Well I'd have preferred if he signed elsewhere. Let's just put it that way. Denver is better with him than without him.
@Daniel Hawaii He's a dunking machine... that's it. It's not like he's Olajuwon. He also completely disappeared in the OKC/DEN series last year. You saw that happen. And you're worried about Denver resigning him?
@moriarty84 Considering Tyson Chandler just got $14.5 million a year from the Knicks, I'd say $13 million for Nene is reasonable. True low post scorers are becoming oh-so-rare in the NBA. Nene is a reliable low-post scorer so I'd say that yes, 5 yrs/$67mil is reasonable. I didn't say great. I said reasonable.
@Daniel Hawaii@deleted_1998213_Don'tStoptheSergeing@SammyThunderer Reasonable? Five years at 13 mil+ per year is reasonable for someone who doesn't defend or rebound?
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@deleted_1998213_Don'tStoptheSergeing That ship has sailed...
Dallas gets Lamar Odom for nothing. Denver gets Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer for nothing. Clippers get Chauncey Billups for nothing. Indiana gets David West. We get Lazar Haywood. Whoop de doo Presti.
@Daniel Hawaii
Im not a big fan of Lamar and the baggage he brings. Rudy is garbage but still thinks he is a starter and i'm not a fan of Brewer. I like Chauncey but he seems out of place here .... nothing the look at keep on moving...
@PerkSmile You wouldn't take Lamar Odom for a late 1st round pick? Come on. I would in a heartbeat. Rudy is a good 3-point shooter and Brewer is a much better player/defender than Lazar Haywood. I would've taken both of them for a 2nd round pick. Chauncey is still a good player and I would've gladly found a spot for him on our roster for the $2 million LAC got him for.
@SammyThunderer My whole argument wasn't even really about Rudy. It was more about my annoyance that other GMs, particularly those in our conference/division, are starting to pull a "Presti" and acquiring quality assets for next to nothing. That's it.
@SammyThunderer He shot 40% from 3 in his rookie year and was impressive in the dunk contest two years ago (for whatever that's worth). Then Portland acquired Wesley Matthews and it all kind of went south for him. I don't think he's a bad player. Look at Daequan Cook. He had a bad year in Miami, then came to OKC and turned it around. I think Rudy can still be a good player. But none of this really matters since we don't have him. We have Lazar Haywood, so we should probably focus on what he'll bring.
@Daniel Hawaii Ok, let's remove all aspersions about his character out of this. Dude hasn't hit over 38% from the field for two years running, and his 3p% has been in free fall since his rookie year. From a guy who's main value is supposedly scoring. This is not someone worth coveting.
@SammyThunderer@Daniel Hawaii Yeah Rudy is trouble. But having him on the team would give me more of an excuse to follow Moody Fernandez on twitter. http://twitter.com/moodyfernandez
@SammyThunderer He saw they got Vince Carter, Lamar Odom and Delonte West, in addition to already having Jason Terry and saw himself being squeezed out of the picture. That's why he wanted a trade. I guess I'd agree that he wouldn't fit in here either, but I don't think he's a "douche." I bet he plays well for Denver this season.
@Daniel Hawaii Dude, he just requested a trade from the team that literally just won the championship. Because we wasn't sure he'd get PT. He pouted ever since his sophomore season in Portland about minutes, talking big game about how he should be featured more even though he was getting over 20 minutes a game and plenty of touches. He's a total douche.
@SammyThunderer Rudy doesn't care about winning? Come on. That's a ridiculous statement. If he joined our team with an eye on a championship, I guarantee he'd care about winning. If Denver offered us Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer for Daequan Cook and Lazar Haywood, I would do it in a heartbeat.
@Daniel Hawaii Rudy doesn't give a crap about winning. All he wants is big minutes and hot Spanish chicks, neither of which OKC can provide. I'd rather play Daequan Cook than Rudy.
@Daniel Hawaii@PerkSmile We did not have the cap space (or, in DAL's case, a trade exemption) to do much with.
@Daniel Hawaii I missed the part where we had the cap space and trade exceptions to absorb those pieces. If I recall, we got Serge Ibaka, Eric Maynor, Thabo Sefolosha, Daequan Cook, Byron Mullens, and Cole Aldrich for 'nothing.'
You're right. I apologize. I'm just frustrated seeing all these teams around us making smart moves and getting better and us not doing anything except trading for Lazar Haywood. But I know you're right about all those players on our roster that we got in the past. My initial comment was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction when I first saw that we made this trade.
@Royce Young@Daniel Hawaii Another thing we have to realize. This is OKC, and some players just won't want to come here if they have the choice. I don't think we were even on Battier's list of possible teams. Not getting down on OKC. Presti talks about getting players with the "Thunder DNA." I would think part of that player profile includes willing to play in a small market with a slower-paced lifestyle.
@gnaygg Uhh... if the Mavs land Dwight Howard next Summer, they are going to be a huge problem. And Dwight has already listed Dallas as one of the places he'd sign long-term.
@Daniel Hawaii@Royce Young Don't worry even if they get Howard/Paul/Williams, they will only have 35 yo Dirk + 30+ yo Marion/Haywood. I think Thunder can beat them.
@Royce Young I know and I agree. I guess I'm just frustrated that teams keep making smart "Presti-esque" moves. I'm also annoyed that Dallas is in position to compete this year, but will also be $20-25 million under the cap NEXT year to go after Dwight, CP3, Deron Williams, or whoever is out there. Dallas just won a title and was supposed to get older and fade away, but they're going to be right there with us for the foreseeable future. The Clippers and Grizzlies are also going to be right there with us in the coming years.
@Daniel Hawaii What could the Thunder really do? I guess they could've pursued Battier, but it was cost-effective. Miami gave him $6 million. He's not worth that to OKC.
There was really no place for any player on this roster that was available, other than maybe a scorer to bring off the bench like maybe Vince Carter or something like that. But again, you're not going to want to pay what it takes to get someone like that. I did like the idea of Tracy McGrady at the veteran's minimum though.
@Daniel Hawaii It's cool. There's nothing going on in the OKC FO because there's nothing worth doing. Our cap's in good shape and our roster fits well with no gaping holes. Not another team in the league that can say the same.
@Daniel Hawaii Class response.
@Daniel Hawaii
Exactly...
@Daniel Hawaii Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.....