Come at me, Olympics

 @KoolKeith3000  Lebron's bulk and skill-set gives Spoelstra a lot more flexibility than Brooks. 

 @dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! Brooks hasn't exactly embraced playing that style of ball the way Spoelstra has though.  He's been less willing to think outside the box with his lineups, most notably at the center position.

 @KoolKeith3000 I think we'll see it replicated but never duplicated because nobody outside of Miami and OKC has that kind of talent.

 @thelaughingwiseman Thats a no brainer

 @jdstorm  @Old Man Game  @TaoMaas Oh, I'm not disagreeing. I'm just warning you that there's a lot of people who, upon seeing his comparatively poor performance in this year's summer league, are ready to cut him and move on.

 @ou_sas  @Old Man Game  @TaoMaas  I haven't seen anything in Cole's game to suggest that he wouldn't be solid, if he was given unlimited minutes on a lottery team. 90% of making it in the NBA is opportunity. 

Also batting 1.000 with top 5 picks is like batting 1.000 in teeball. its pretty hard to screw up

 @jdstorm  @Old Man Game  @TaoMaas lol, careful how you throw around the words "Cole Aldrich" and "solid player" in the same sentence together. There's a lot of people on this board who consider them fightin' words.

 @Old Man Game  @TaoMaas you only need to bat around what i assume is .400 because you're only looking for a third or fourth option.  You also have another first rounder just in case.

If you combine that with a good in house developmental system it's quite hard to miss. Especially if you have a top 3 to 5 pick.  Worst case scenario you get Cole Aldrich a solid player who is a worse version of somebody you already have. The pick is still a cheap rookie scale roster filler for the next 5-6 years 

 @ou_sas  This brings me to another "point," this livefyre comment system really needs an edit feature. 

 @jdstorm  @TaoMaas That would work great so long as you bat 1.000 on your picks. 

 @Old Man Game  @jdstorm  @TaoMaas I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you misplaced the decimal point on that one. ;)

 @Old Man Game  @TaoMaas I'm not sure what presti does here.  If it was me, this thunder team would keep trading pieces for top 5-10 picks when they were about to leave.

So greg monroe would be its center (jeff green trade) with Harrison Barnes and john henson killing it in summerleague (serge ibaka + other pieces)

 @TaoMaas  Well reasoned, well supported analysis of a logical position. We can therefore be sure Brooks won't be following this. 

 @jdstorm  @JimboSlice   This summer's contract negotiations with Ibaka, Harden, and Maynor might determine which of the new guys gets minutes.  If we're going to lose Maynor, then Reggie ought to get more playing time.  If we're going to lose Ibaka, then Jones needs to get some minutes.  I think Thompson might get some playing time regardless because we still haven't found someone to spell KD and give the second team some scoring power.  I like Daequan, but he's too spotty.

 @JimboSlice  @jdstorm Yeah, Brooks doesn't seem to get that you sometimes need to see what you've got on that bench even if it means you lose a game in January or February. Pop does that better than anyone. 

 @JimboSlice I'm fine with a 10 man rotation +garbage time. I would just like to see some veteran guys out of that rotation in the beginning of the season if there are rookies with potential. 

However i think at this point Presti has brooks proofed this lineup

 @jdstorm of course you don't regularly stick with an 11-13 man rotation (although Brooks stayed with a 10 man rotation for the majority of the last 3 years... ugh) but early in the season, sure you can. For one, because we have very little player movement, it can be expected that we SHOULD theoretically get off to a smoother start than many of our opponents. This should leave some garbage time for players 11 and 12. Other than that, run a 10 man rotation, maybe even cut Thabo's minutes early on and run an 11 man rotation if there are any thoughts about his foot problems returning. 

The point is, those first 20 or so games, the young guys who have shown promise should be given some spot minutes that aren't only when we're up 25. If Brooks is willing to put Lazar in during meaningful minutes and blow our leads/ comebacks, there's no excuse not to give meaningful minutes here and there to Thompson, Reggie, PJ3, and Cole since they project to be actual NBA players one day.

 @JimboSlice I totally agree, but at the same time i don't think you can have an 11-13 man rotation regularly. Players want to and need to play. And a player who sits on the bench no matter how talented loses trade value

Now Cole probably should have played over Nazr especially with the lockout schedule. but this year there are only so many minutes to go around. 

I would give thompson and Cole the development minutes as they fill a need, and reggie and perry will get better playing more minutes in the d league than they ever would in garbage time

 @jdstorm I think Brooks has done a pretty mediocre to average job when it comes to playing rookies. Rookies should be given spot minutes early in the season, when the games "matter less" and teams are still gelling. I'd like to see a hefty dose of Maynor, RJ, Cole, Thompson and PJ3 the first quarter of the season; at least enough to get a legitimate read of who will be able to contribute the rest of the season going forward. Brooks did this to a point with Harden and Maynor early in their development, but hasn't shown the willingness to continue that trend ever since the team became more about wins and losses than player development.

I consider that to be pretty short sighted and disappointing personally.

 The Contract position OKC finds themselves in thanks to this situation is just a bonus. 

Also player development is part of a coaches job and if you have a limited window to see if someone is good then you should find out rather then just discard them for someone you have more time with. especially if neither choice would hurt the teams chances of winning

 @Grolgar  @jdstorm I don't want thompson to go before Jones because his contract will be up. 

I want Thompson to go before jones because he is most likely the best 3pt shooter on this team and is probably a better fit at SF given his traditional size and skillet for that position

@jdstorm Coaches can't worry about that. They need to get guys on the court that can help the team win. I think that means giving all ose guys a look, but not because their contracts are up. So, if PJ3 looks great n practice you want Hollis Thompson to play ahead of him because his contract is up first. You have to be kidding.

 @thelaughingwiseman  @Jooseppi  I think Cole and Hollis Thompson (aka my new favourite non big 3 thunderer) Need those developmental minutes more than Jones as they are on a more urgent timetable.

Cole's rookie contract will be over in 2 years and if OKC wants to get a decent piece back for him in a trade he needs to show something more than what he has.

And Thompson's deal also expires before jones'.  so given the available minutes and time pressure it makes more sense to send reggie and Perry to the DLeague. 

BTW with 

Russ, thabo,KD, ibaka, Perk, maynor, harden,thompson, nick and cole getting minutes that would give OKC a 10 man rotation something most coaches won't go beyond in the regular season unless there is an injury

 @Jooseppi  @jdstorm What you say is very belieable.  That is because Scott Brooks is very strict with his rotations, he doesn't bend unless he has no other option.  I'd like to see the person who needs playing time get it.

 @thelaughingwiseman I think that the role you are suggesting Jones play is what KD will be doing. And Most nobody would play jones over KD. the minutes just aren't there this year. though that might not be a bad thing. 

Apparently Jones has a fixable issue with his running and jumping style that is putting undue pressure on his knee/meniscus. If he were to spend most of this year working on fixing that so it wasn't an issue for the future i would call that a good season. that and being a KD emulator for the second unit in practise

 @jdstorm I want him taking PF and C minutes.  That way once Nick and any C is gone, he'd be a big, versatile center who has had time getting used to every type of PF out there (i.e. stretch like Battier was).  What would be better of PJ3, playing the PnR with Jackson or Maynor?

 @jdstorm  Those are what are realistically available, and why I don't think he can realistically get 10 minutes a game.

Theoretically, Perk's minutes should be cut, Nick could rest for the playoffs etc. But I don't think that's likely, hence not thinking PJ's going to get much of a run this season.

I agree with you that Thompson, should he still be with the team, get the backup SF minutes in a 9-man rotation. Better fit right now. 

 @jdstorm  @thelaughingwiseman Oh, if we're talking SF minutes, then no, I don't want him play many / any of those.

spelling

 @Jooseppi  @thelaughingwiseman Given KD's success at PF over the playoffs, His Playing PF and some C for Team USA. i think he has the Combo Forward role on this team locked up.

Which means the only real open minutes right now are Backup SF ( somebody has to be better than cook) and Backup C AKA Nazr's old minutes

 @Old Man Game  @Lost Ones Good game, good effort.