Let's be real, the OKC front office deserve to lose Durant this off-season

[Black and White]

Sam Presti has done a great job in the draft and getting pieces to build organically, no doubt.

But this stingy front office deserves to lose Durant the way that they have been running this team recently, their obsession with avoiding the luxury tax has crippled them in being able to surround Durant and Westbrook with proper support.

They should have made a move to get a reliable shooter/scorer as a third option before the trade deadline or the last off-season, but they have stayed put, look at the way Cleveland is run, they make moves because they know that standing still won't help their championship chances.

I would love to see an owner that is prepared to invest and allow the GM to have free reign with this roster.

Thoughts ISH?

[Legends66NBA7]

Durant to Toronto.

[Funktion]

Durant to Toronto.

:lebronamazed:

[keep-itreal]

Maybe because Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook don't make their teammates better like Lebron and Curry do?:confusedshrug:

They have a great supporting cast, it's just they rarely ever get the ball to show how good they are

[La Frescobaldi]

Maybe because Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook don't make their teammates better like Lebron and Curry do?:confusedshrug:

They have a great supporting cast, it's just they rarely ever get the ball to show how good they are

tbh thread title should be:

Let's be real, the OKC front office need to lose Durant this off-season

[Cocaine80s]

http://cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/KD-LBJ-Cavs.jpg

[Stout]

http://cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/KD-LBJ-Cavs.jpg
LeBron has no shame. I can see him recruiting Durant.

[JohnFreeman]

I can see Durant signing with Houston

not sure why

[CuterThanRubio]

Agreed.

Keeping Scott Brooks around past his expiration date was a big mistake as well, KD should have a championship by now, but he might not get one when all is said and done. (He definitely won't get one if he signs with D.C.)

[Angel Face]

Durant should go to Chicago.

[JohnFreeman]

Agreed.

Keeping Scott Brooks around past his expiration date was a big mistake as well, KD should have a championship by now, but he might not get one when all is said and done. (He definitely won't get one if he signs with D.C.)
KD loves Scott Brooks

[Cocaine80s]

Durant should go to Chicago.
Lol he'd be downgrading from Westbrook to another chucker in Rose


He needs a pass first point guard

[pastis]

I can see Durant signing with Houston

not sure why

harden and durant need the ball in their hands to be productive, especially harden. i dont think it would be a good mix. what about defense in this rockets team?

[SexSymbol]

Maybe because Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook don't make their teammates better like Lebron and Curry do?:confusedshrug:

They have a great supporting cast, it's just they rarely ever get the ball to show how good they are
lol

[buddha]

Durant to Utah and he gets a chip as the main option.

Dante Exum / Shelvin Mack
Gordon Hayward / Alec Burks
Kevin Durant / Rodney Hood
Derrick Favors / Trey Lyles / Trevor Booker
Rudy Gobert / Jeff Withey

let's look at what he would have..

- best defense in the league (what a great compliment for the best offensive player in the league)
- great second option (Hayward)
- great third option (Favors)
- scoring off the bench (Hood and Burks)
- one prospect with all-star potential (Exum)
- one prospect with starter potential (Lyles)
- living in a religious city (apparently faith is important to him)

the size of that starting lineup would be ridiculous, if Exum developed into a decent player or at least just being a good defensive player that team would easily win a championship.

[pastis]

Durant to Utah and he gets a chip as the main option.

Dante Exum / Shelvin Mack
Gordon Hayward / Alec Burks
Kevin Durant / Rodney Hood
Derrick Favors / Trey Lyles / Trevor Booker
Rudy Gobert / Jeff Withey

let's look at what he would have..

- best defense in the league (what a great compliment for the best offensive player in the league)
- great second option (Hayward)
- great third option (Favors)
- scoring off the bench (Hood and Burks)
- one prospect with all-star potential (Exum)
- one prospect with starter potential (Lyles)
- living in a religious city (apparently faith is important to him)

the size of that starting lineup would be ridiculous, if Exum developed into a decent player or at least just being a good defensive player that team would easily win a championship.

would be very fun to watch. but KD played (nearly) his whole career in oklahoma city.....does he really wants to play in salt lake city, utah? i rather see him in a big market (NY, LA....)

[BlakFrankWhite]

he's staying

[La Frescobaldi]

Lol he'd be downgrading from Westbrook to another chucker in Rose


He needs a pass first point guard

minnesota

[SamuraiSWISH]

Lol he'd be downgrading from Westbrook to another chucker in Rose


He needs a pass first point guard
Rose has been killing lately. Where have you been? And he plays smarter than Westbrook by far while also being less ball dominant. And don't firget Jimmy Buckets.

Rose
Butler
Durant
Gasol
Portis

That team can beat the Cavs.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Boston or Utah would be the best choices in terms of fit but no way he goin to those white @zz cities:lol :lol they make OKC look like the hood:lol :lol :lol

[bdreason]

All signs point to him signing a one-year deal with OKC.

[Cocaine80s]

Rose has been killing lately. Where have you been? And he plays smarter than Westbrook by far while also being less ball dominant. And don't firget Jimmy Buckets.

Rose
Butler
Durant
Gasol
Portis

That team can beat the Cavs.
Rose is just as big of a ball hog as Westbrook, maybe even more

[IncarceratedBob]

he's gonna sign a 2 year deal with an opt out after one. then he'll make his move next year after westbrook signs with miami

[BlazerRed]

Maybe because Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook don't make their teammates better like Lebron and Curry do?:confusedshrug:

They have a great supporting cast, it's just they rarely ever get the ball to show how good they are
:roll: :roll: yeah they should be giving the ball more to Robe0rson, Adams, Waiters, Singler etc

[imdaman99]

Lol he'd be downgrading from Westbrook to another chucker in Rose


He needs a pass first point guard
:rolleyes: Yeah, he needs a pass first point guard like Kyrie. Am I right? :roll:

Durant is not some guy that needs to be set up, he can create his own shots and he likes doing it as well. Which 1 on 1 as unstoppable as him doesn't like showcasing that talent? Is he not scoring enough? :biggums:

[Cocaine80s]

:rolleyes: Yeah, he needs a pass first point guard like Kyrie. Am I right? :roll:

Durant is not some guy that needs to be set up, he can create his own shots and he likes doing it as well. Which 1 on 1 as unstoppable as him doesn't like showcasing that talent? Is he not scoring enough? :biggums:
Iso ball gets OKC nowhere you ****ing baffoon :facepalm

And yea, he was scoring 32ppg two years ago compared to his 25 ppg now

[Kvnzhangyay]

Durant to Utah and he gets a chip as the main option.

Dante Exum / Shelvin Mack
Gordon Hayward / Alec Burks
Kevin Durant / Rodney Hood
Derrick Favors / Trey Lyles / Trevor Booker
Rudy Gobert / Jeff Withey

let's look at what he would have..

- best defense in the league (what a great compliment for the best offensive player in the league)
- great second option (Hayward)
- great third option (Favors)
- scoring off the bench (Hood and Burks)
- one prospect with all-star potential (Exum)
- one prospect with starter potential (Lyles)
- living in a religious city (apparently faith is important to him)

the size of that starting lineup would be ridiculous, if Exum developed into a decent player or at least just being a good defensive player that team would easily win a championship.

Why not just Boston then?

[InsanityKills]

KD to Miami! Get it done Pat!

[CuterThanRubio]

KD loves Scott Brooks

Who wouldn't love a guy that gives them the freedom to play iso ball and shoot any shot they feel like taking? Doesn't change the fact he wasn't even capable of out-coaching Eric Spoelstra lol

[DMAVS41]

Presti has made some great picks and some decent moves...and also some terrible moves.

His biggest mistake was in 14 when he failed to address the 2 guard position and let a title contending team...perhaps the best team in the league...run with Caron Butler and Fisher playing a ton of minutes in the playoffs.

There were so many moves out there to make with the assets he built up...and his failure to move on them was honestly just a disgrace.

The Kanter stuff is bad, but I don't hate it as much as most. Adding Waiters was just stupid.

Just little things like....if you are going to trade Reggie Jackson...go get guys that make sense. They have badly needed a 3/D perimeter player to play the guard and sf positions...

Think about how easy it would have been to get Crowder and Wright from the Mavs for Reggie Jackson. Those two make so much more sense on the Thunder team than Kanter/Singler....and you don't have to worry about breaking the bank to keep either of them if they work out.

Anyway...it's also been a bit unlucky...the injuries in 13 when they were the best team sucked. Ibaka getting hurt in 14 sucked...Durant getting hurt...and now they happen to be in the league with 2 all time great teams in their own conference and a loaded Cavs team in the other.

So it's been a bit of bad luck...and a handful of stupid decisions and some missed opportunities...

I don't know what Durant does though...if he's about winning....there just aren't many better teams for him.

Golden State and Boston...probably the only two situations I think give him a better chance to win than in OKC. And in Boston it would take adding Durant and another solid rotation player to trump OKC imo. Durant and Ezeli (assuming health) probably makes Boston better than the current OKC team. Not sure if Boston can add both, but I think they have a lot of cap because they can decline the team options on Amir and Jerebko.

Then the Celtics could trade the Nets and Dallas pick and a guy like Sullinger for a nice player or two as well. Damn...the more you think about it...this Celtics team really is an appealing place for Durant. Bradley and Crowder are perfect for him. They would be able to have an elite defense and offense around him...without making him work too hard on defense to be honest....and would be able to destroy teams by going small with Durant at the 4.

So this will be really interesting this summer.

[BlazerRed]

Iso ball gets OKC nowhere you ****ing baffoon :facepalm

And yea, he was scoring 32ppg two years ago compared to his 25 ppg now
Erm, he is averaging 27.7 now.

[LARRY BROWN]

druant for klay:coleman:

[SwishSquared]

What's crazy is that if OKC instead traded for JR and Shump instead of Waiters and Kanter last year that this team could be really legit this season. In that case, they'd need somebody to provide Kanter's frontcourt scoring punch off the bench, but that'd be a lot easier to find than trying to find a 3&D wing for the third straight year.

[SwishSquared]

druant for klay:coleman:David Thorpe mentioned this on the Lowe Post. He said GSW wouldn't, and shouldn't, hesitate to flip Klay for Durant.

[Black and White]

Presti has made some great picks and some decent moves...and also some terrible moves.

His biggest mistake was in 14 when he failed to address the 2 guard position and let a title contending team...perhaps the best team in the league...run with Caron Butler and Fisher playing a ton of minutes in the playoffs.

There were so many moves out there to make with the assets he built up...and his failure to move on them was honestly just a disgrace.

The Kanter stuff is bad, but I don't hate it as much as most. Adding Waiters was just stupid.

Just little things like....if you are going to trade Reggie Jackson...go get guys that make sense. They have badly needed a 3/D perimeter player to play the guard and sf positions...

Think about how easy it would have been to get Crowder and Wright from the Mavs for Reggie Jackson. Those two make so much more sense on the Thunder team than Kanter/Singler....and you don't have to worry about breaking the bank to keep either of them if they work out.

Anyway...it's also been a bit unlucky...the injuries in 13 when they were the best team sucked. Ibaka getting hurt in 14 sucked...Durant getting hurt...and now they happen to be in the league with 2 all time great teams in their own conference and a loaded Cavs team in the other.

So it's been a bit of bad luck...and a handful of stupid decisions and some missed opportunities...

I don't know what Durant does though...if he's about winning....there just aren't many better teams for him.

Golden State and Boston...probably the only two situations I think give him a better chance to win than in OKC. And in Boston it would take adding Durant and another solid rotation player to trump OKC imo. Durant and Ezeli (assuming health) probably makes Boston better than the current OKC team. Not sure if Boston can add both, but I think they have a lot of cap because they can decline the team options on Amir and Jerebko.

Then the Celtics could trade the Nets and Dallas pick and a guy like Sullinger for a nice player or two as well. Damn...the more you think about it...this Celtics team really is an appealing place for Durant. Bradley and Crowder are perfect for him. They would be able to have an elite defense and offense around him...without making him work too hard on defense to be honest....and would be able to destroy teams by going small with Durant at the 4.

So this will be really interesting this summer.

I would love him in Boston, as you say we would have to get another player to go next to him in order to trump OKC, but if you get a player like Durant I have no issues trading the pick for an established star to pair with him, suddenly the team will become attractive to key veteran players too.

Addressing what I mean by this thread however, I'm talking about the unwillingness to make trades and moves that would put them over the luxury threshold, they could have made a move before this trade deadline but instead made a small trade to save some money (surprise surprise), thing is, when you have a core of a Durant and Westbrook, you need to be aggressive and invest, look at Cleveland, small market, but they have an owner who has the balls to gamble and reap the benefits of a possible championship because they acknowledge the opportunity that they have.

Make sense?

[BlazerRed]

I would love him in Boston, as you say we would have to get another player to go next to him in order to trump OKC, but if you get a player like Durant I have no issues trading the pick for an established star to pair with him, suddenly the team will become attractive to key veteran players too.

Addressing what I mean by this thread however, I'm talking about the unwillingness to make trades and moves that would put them over the luxury threshold, they could have made a move before this trade deadline but instead made a small trade to save some money (surprise surprise), thing is, when you have a core of a Durant and Westbrook, you need to be aggressive and invest, look at Cleveland, small market, but they have an owner who has the balls to gamble and reap the benefits of a possible championship because they acknowledge the opportunity that they have.

Make sense?

OKC are in the luxury tax.

[Black and White]

OKC are in the luxury tax.

Yea but previously they have held back making moves to avoid that threshold, make sense? One would think that if the GM had free reign without having to worry about that figure...... just imagine, the roster could look alot different.

[BlazerRed]

Yea but previously they have held back making moves to avoid that threshold, make sense? One would think that if the GM had free reign without having to worry about that figure...... just imagine, the roster could look alot different.
Yes they definitely tried for too long to stay out of it, which made them miss better players than they ended up with. I don't think it ended up mattering too much due to injuries to Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka. Maybe they'd have a better team now though.

[La Frescobaldi]

David Thorpe mentioned this on the Lowe Post. He said GSW wouldn't, and shouldn't, hesitate to flip Klay for Durant.
That would be a mistake if GSW made that deal.

[raprap]

I'm 80% sure he's going to bolt. Best decision of his career if it happens.

[SwishSquared]

That would be a mistake if GSW made that deal.I agree. I was surprised he acted like it was a foregone conclusion that they would, unless he knows something we don't.