Oklahoma City ranked 28th on Steve Aschburner’s top free agent destinations: “Oklahoma City: The talent on the 
roster, and the brainpower in the front office have lots of admirers, and the Ford Center fans can be among the league’s most active and loud. But there’s no cachet to being the first franchise in, at the big league level, and the Thunder will need to win soon to convince young players to stay or come aboard.”
Darnell Mayberry with some great analysis about the Paul Millsap rumor: “He’ll create a logjam. Where will Millsap play? The Thunder isn’t really worried about positions right now. The team is playing Green out of his customary small forward position at power forward just to get him the most minutes as possible. But acquiring Millsap will either move Green to the bench (highly unlikely) or mean Millsap will continue coming off the bench (making him one of the league’s most expensive reserves). Add to that, Green already plays 37 minutes, mainly at power forward, and Durant plays 39 per game, mostly at small forward. There is little wiggle room in the rotation at those positions (unless you want to move Durant back to shooting guard, Green back to small forward and cut off minutes for Thabo Sefolosha and third overall pick Harden. Again, highly unlikely).”
Layup Drill on the Harden pick: “James Harden was not only one of the best talents available, but fits well into the Thunder’s plan. The pick solidifies Russell Westbrook as their Point Guard of the future and gives them a solid scoring punch at the Shooting Guard position. Harden is one of the more NBA-ready prospects, and will be able to contribute immediately. The lefty can shoot well, uses his solid frame to rebound and has been praised for his highly unselfish game and ability to feel out the game. This again fits well for the Thunder, who have a lot of options in Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Westbrook.” Keep Reading…
that Oklahoma City might be preparing to make a push to sign Paul Millsap as a restricted free agent. Former Jazz director of player personnel Troy Weaver now is an assistant general manager with the Thunder. The Thunder unsuccessfully tried to sign away C.J. Miles from the Jazz last summer. They are expected to have $11 million in salary-cap space and could offer a contract in the neighborhood of five years and $65 million to a free agent. Detroit and Portland also could be potential Millsap suitors.”
Onward and upward: Looking towards free agency
And now for the next trick. But don’t worry, I don’t think free agency is near as stressful and draft time. Especially when you’re a team that’s got very specific needs and the market doesn’t have a whole lot of drop-everything-and-sign-him type of players. So what’s the plan for free agency?
Sam Presti isn’t looking for the quick fix. He’s still looking to build long term. Which is something you may not appreciate next year, but you will in five. Reader Chas said it perfectly: “One playoff run is nothing compared to 8-10 stellar seasons where we are always in contention.” I think Presti and Co. have that exact same mindset. There’s no pressure to win and win big now. Everyone knows it’s a process and this organization is in no huge hurry. Which is a smart way to build.
The free agency signing period starts at midnight and with a little money in the piggy bank, some feel like this is a chance for Sam Presti to prove his worth again. There’s some good players out there that are looking to get paid – Trevor Ariza, Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Lamar Odom, Hedo Turkoglu, Ben Gordon. There’s not a ton of top-tier talent, but there’s enough to pay attention to.
But I’m not so sure Presti will be doing much of anything. I’m sure he’s got his eye on a few players, but right now, he could live with the current roster. Of course it could and should be improved, but Presti appears to be the type of guy that likes to do that through the draft and through smart, sensible trades. Look at his summer free agent signing history:
That’s it. That’s all he’s done in summer free agency in two years as GM. Now he’s pulled a bunch of small signings like Chris Alexander and Derrick Byers for training camp, signing Kyle Weaver, inking guys like Eddie Gill and Ronald Dupree for 10 days and also of course signing Nenad Krstic last winter. But he’s not the type of GM that’s shown to jump into free agent waters and make a big splash. At least not yet. Keep Reading…