The team made it official with a press release late Tuesday, Scott Brooks will remain the head coach of the Thunder as he has signed a multi-year extension.
Said Sam Presti in the release: “Continuing with Scott as our head coach is extremely significant for the future of our organization. As we have continually communicated, he has been integral to our success and we have a deep appreciation for his tireless dedication to our players’ development. His experiences and core values are invaluable to our players as they continue to grow and improve and we are thrilled to continue our partnership.”
Brooks is said to have signed a four-year deal worth somewhere in the $18 million range.
“I would like to thank Clay Bennett and Sam Presti for the opportunity to continue with the Thunder,” said Brooks. “Oklahoma City is a special place and I’m eager to build upon the foundation and culture of this franchise for years to come.”
A press conference to announce the signing will be held Tuesday morning.
You guys think we could give serge and a piece or two for big al? I've always been a fan and something tells me we are not gonna be able to keep serge.
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/07/tuesday-bolts-7-3-12/
KOCO.com is going to live stream Brooks press conference today
For all those people that want to play the really thinking outside the box game...
With Atl trading Johnson and Marvin Williams they have freed up enough space to sign Dwight and CP3 next year. However, in order to accomplish that they would need to trade Al Horford to clear enough space. The question for this audience then becomes: Would Horford become a better long term asset than Ibaka and/or Harden... AND what would it take to make such a trade (keeping in mind that Atl couldn't take back more than a certain amount of salary since they need as much salary as they can to sign both Dwight and CP3).
@Prye05 There's only been about 1.6 million words written in the comments of this blog about what we should do with Harden/Ibaka. I realize that's because there are dozens of options available, but let me tell you what I expect to happen.
We keep Harden and Ibaka this year. We try to sign Harden's extension first. If he asks for more and won't sign, we go to Ibaka next, and try to get him to sign an extension. My gut tells me that we'll find a deal with Harden. Then, the owners set their limit, and we let the market set Ibaka's value by letting him become a restricted free agent. Depending on the offer that comes in, we either match it outright, or we move pieces to free up some money and then match it. If the offer is out of reach, we do a sign and trade and in the process, obtain some draft picks and an expiring contract that comes off our books. I think it's possible that we amnesty Perkins while trying to match Ibaka's offer, but I don't think it's likely. I think the chances that we trade Perkins are better than the chances of us amnestying him.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct I'm not saying trading BOTH of them for Horford... what I am saying is that under such a scenario ATL will be trading Horford to clear space for Dwight AND CP3. The question I asked was... IS Horford a better player than Harden and/or Ibaka? If the answer is Yes... would it make sense to trade Ibaka plus _________ for Horford? If the Answer is NO it's a moot point anyway.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct @Prye05 I was about to try and type something really long to try and change your estimate, but then I realized I didn't have 100,000 words to say about Harden/Ibaka.
Howard to Nets for M. Brooks, Humphries, Lopez and 3 first rounders.
lmaoooooooo if Orlando agrees to that. It would show their hatred for Howard if they're willing to deal him for scraps.
@C-Wil Anytime you trade a superstar your never gonna get that back in return.
@C-Wil Yahoo confirms Berger's report that the Nets are far from bowling over the Magic with this offer.
http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/220149818763378689
@C-Wil What are you expecting them to get... Most teams don't have a lot of options on what they can give to Orlando to both have talent left and equal out the contracts. It also doesn't make sense for a bad team like the Bobcats who have the Cap space but know he wouldn't sign to offer all their good assets for.
Letting Fish goes Frees up 3.4 milli
Well minus whatever you have to pay whoever fills the spot on the roster. So assuming something like .6-1.5 Mil you're saving 2 Million by letting him go.
@Prye05 You don't have to fill all 15 roster spots, technically. And Presti may pull another "reward the D-Leaguer" to save money.
Good news for all the people that don't want Fisher to return... other teams are interested in Fisher.
The Bulls have contacted the representative for unrestricted free agent Derek Fisher.
Chicago will explore all of its options in the backup point guard market before making a decision on who to sign. The Chicago Tribune also reports that the team has kept an "open dialogue" with John Lucas III as well as their reported interest in Kirk Hinrich.
@Prye05 I wonder if Fish will be the back up or the third string pg behin the ones they have including teague
@MrRaysian Lucas is a FA... and other teams are looking at taking him. With Rose out that pretty much only leaves Watson and Teague so he would be the 3rd string. Although they use Watson at SG sometimes so it's kind of a mixed up rotation without Rose around. I'm sure there are other teams that have interest in Fisher as well. This was just one team that was mentioned in the news.
Despite shooting 7 3's a game, he hit 40% of them
http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3412/ryan-anderson
@Daniel Plainview You think OKC can actually afford "The Most Improved Player"... especially since Orlando has the right to match any offer?
My last two posts are independet f each other
How I like to imagine other owners after Presti gets done talking to their GMs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1taOoI66J4&feature=relmfu at 4:28
I think we need a center that can score more than 5 points agame
@Daniel Plainview Why? The offense isn't really the problem is it? Last I checked the Thunder didn't really have a problem scoring on anybody. While it obviously is nice to have a low post offensive threat... the Thunder's offense isn't exactly designed to just give the ball to the low post player.
Now if you had a center who can score more points because of offensive rebounding and put backs that is a slightly different topic. Not sure if this is what you meant.
@Prye05 I just want a big man that can catch/cut and dunk...like nick collison...
@Prye05 @Daniel Plainview Well, I do remember some horrifyingly slow starts to our offense last season...Also, we have so many specialists or people that do things "not found in the box score" that it is too easy for defenses to cheat off of our guys.
We need a big that demands a defender around the basket, it will make defenses honest, and help make KD, Russ, and Harden open more often.
Basically, beyond KD, Russ, and James, we have quite a few offensive liabilities...
@Eggs_Benedict What team though is going to trade one big for another big if they think it is similar value?
For example, say you go to Detroit and ask for Greg Monroe. If they think Monroe and Ibaka are similar values why would THEY make the trade? IF they think Ibaka is better sure they make the trade but it still puts OKC in a position where they'll have long term financial issues trying to keep the big. IF they think something else needs to be added in addition to Ibaka is it still a good deal?
a @Prye05 I also might have made it sound dire earlier, but I think if we did make any addition, it should be a big. I think our guards are solid.
@Prye05 Just talking out loud, but if we realize that Ibaka is going to demand too much while his stock is high, we could try to replace him with a scorer if it seems like we're going to have to lose him in the future...not sure who tho.
@Eggs_Benedict I'm not saying an offensive big is a bad thing. However, they are hard to acquire for a reason. Also if they're not going to be a major part of the core of the team or the design of the offense then acquiring one for a couple possessions a game doesn't really seem like the best use of money.
m @Prye05 I'm not asking for us to get an All-Star, nor do I expect us to blow everyone out in the opening seconds - although, I'm not opposed to that :). I just don't want us to go down by double digits minutes into the game.
I guess, I just want a scoring big to even out our offensive schemes. I wonder how our team would be if we had the opportunity to dump the ball in the paint and play a traditional inside-outside game sometimes if we're not in transition.
@Eggs_Benedict @Daniel Plainview The Heat's other players are made better because of their Big 3. Battier for example doesn't normally get 5-10 wide open 3 pt looks except on the Heat where people would rather he try and beat them than Lebron and D-Wade. It's not that he's great offensively... it's he understands his role. You take any player on the Heat and put them on the Bobcats for example though and they're not nearly as effective because you don't have to help off Kemba or Gerald Henderson.
The Thunder are at a point where they are in a similar spot where they need to get people to understand a very specific role. That's why 3pt specialists are always in demand around the league is because most teams just drive and kick.
@Eggs_Benedict Also slow starts are a problem... however, you can't expect to blow every team out in the first quarter of very game. But I would like to see the Thunder have a bit more structured offense early in the game even if they just scripted out like the first 10 possessions or something like that. At least that way they could generate some good offensive looks hopefully for multiple players and get an idea for how the other team is planning to defend them.
@Prye05 @Daniel Plainview I wouldn't say the Heat have too many offensive liabilities. Battier and Miller proved you couldn't sag off of them.
Also, before this season, I didn't think Battier and Miller were going to underperform for most of the season. Haslem had a pretty consistent jumper, Chalmers proved he can knock down the 3. The Heat's liabilities were mainly their front court.
@Eggs_Benedict @Daniel Plainview That's like saying beyond Lebron, D-wade, and Bosh the Heat have a lot of offensive liabilities. No team is going to have a 15 man roster full of all-stars. It's finding the best value and blend possible.
Also it's not necessary to have all offensive players... you just need to have players that understand certain things. For example, Perk needs to learn to address those issues when people are leaving him by cutting to the basket and getting wide open looks right there. It doesn't matter who it is though IF they aren't getting the ball when the defense leaves their man. So part of it isn't necessarily on Perk or people like him but also on KD, RW, and Harden to get the ball out of their hands.
h @Daniel Plainview This.
I feel like an Ibaka trade is coming up in the next year and a half.We've seen the FA market so far and there is no way our team can last unless the luxury tax is substantially raised in the next 2-3 years.
We'll sign Harden for slightly less than his worth and maybe keep Maynor too, but Ibaka won't be affordable and we'll trade him for some mediocre talent and a lottery pick or two. Hopefully we get lucky and it turns into a high one.
Fingers crossed we get a decent return on a (perhaps defensively overrated) premier shot blocker in today's NBA. Maybe we wind up with a top 5 pick?
Turning a 24th pick into a decent player and a high draft pick would be a good get, wouldn't it? I just can't see OKC keeping their current roster unfortunately. I also think Ibaka won't develop as well for another team, that's why I think he will be the most likely to be moved.
@Stringer Bell You seriously think we're gonna get players and multiple lottery picks for Ibaka?
@dollarbillrussell Not really, I would hope for a decent mid level player and one or two mid round lottery picks.
I don't think that's out of the question.
@dollarbillrussell @Stringer i know some people like to call him an over-rated defender as a whole, but what he brings to the table can not be over-looked either. Shot blocking does alot more than just stopping their offensive possession
@Stringer Bell Got it. I think he could bring us a pick in that range, but no way we get two. Unless of course he takes the mythical leap this coming season. My biggest concern is that Perk becomes completely worthless without an explosive shot blocker like Ibaka coming off the weak side.
@dollarbillrussell Poorly explained on my end, I was thinking anywhere between 7-15 area.
@Stringer Bell What is a mid-round lottery pick?
@Stringer Bell or we just pay the tax, our ownership is rich, in the upper half of nba ownership, more than mark cuban.
@f5alcon If this happens then that's great and I will be extremely happy, but as pointed out by Royce in his article yesterday, it's unlikely the Thunder travel into the luxury tax for more than a year or two because of the upward swing it takes.
Also, Longer term, how do we keep all four of IDurant, Westbrrok, Harden, Ibaka in 5 years? no chance when Westbrook and Durant and (probably) Harden are looking at larger deals...
@f5alcon I'm just hoping that the luxury tax level has risen high enough by then we can afford some decent players.
I know everyone (including myself) hope that we can just amnesty Perk and let Cole carry on, but then Cole will need to be resigned too. And if he is above average, as a center he will be demanding at least $5,000,000 a year.
It sucks, but i just can't see a way to keep this team together.
@f5alcon @Stringer Bell never looked into that. looks promising
@Stringer Bell Perkins contract ends before we would start paying repeater tax, and so does thabo
e @f5alcon @Stringer Bell Let me ask a question that might be completely idiotic. But, is the ambivalence to sign Ibaka the fact that he'll demand so much or that the amount he'll demand isn't worth his skill set (or maybe both)? If our ownership turns out to be willing to go over the cap and pay him his market value, why not just sign and trade him for a more talented piece that may be worth a similar salary while Ibaka's reputation is so good (if we think Ibaka isn't worth the amount he'd demand)?
@Prye05 @f5alcon Absolutely. I'm just wondering aloud, I guess, if we would spend over the cap for Ibaka (and potentially pay him more than he's worth just to keep him), why not look around for other opportunities to potentially over pay a player that will at least offer more in the long run?
Again, I'm not saying we should do any of this, I was just trying to figure out how much we value Ibaka and how much we're willing to spend. The latter of which, I realize, no one here can answer.
@Eggs_Benedict @f5alcon I don't really see any scenario where the Thunder trade a 22 yr old who would get more money for an older player who would get more money. Not saying that it couldn't happen. Just saying if the Thunder aren't willing to pay Ibaka why would they pay another for another player? Also acquiring a "more talented big" is going to require giving up multiple assets which if you're taking away multiple rotation players to fill one spot in the rotation you're creating another whole that needs to be filled.
@f5alcon I don't have anyone in mind, unfortunately. I'm just trying to find out where the logic is before we decide to trade Ibaka. Basically, are we looking to rebuild with something cheap (picks) or if we're willing to spend, can we swap him for another potentially more talented big who also demands a hefty paycheck.
I'm not sure who possibilities are, but I guess it depends on what we need. Should we go after a big time agent and package Ibaka with pieces? People talked about Harden and Ibaka for Dwight (yes, I know he won't come here, but just for discussion purposes). Or depending on how little we value put on Ibaka in regards to how much money he could demand, maybe a scorer like Nene (if he gets amnestied or something - his contract is awful), or.. I don't know. Nothing is jumping out at me. But, I think it all depends on if we're willing to go over the cap. If so, we have a lot of opportunities.
@Eggs_Benedict @f5alcon This is my current thought. Ibaka is a fantastic shot blocker, decent rebounder and abover average mid ranger shooter. This doesn't equal 4 years $45 million to me.
I would rather trade him and see what we can get back, unless he shows a willingness to stay for less and want's to be a part of the core of this Thunder organization.
@Eggs_Benedict Who do you have in mind?