2013-2014 NBA Thread - IND @ WAS and OKC @ LAC on ESPN

[tyonenine]

Beasley cut his hair. He means business

 

[ill steelo]

What exactly is unique about the "OKC way"?

Nothing

So why call it the OKC way?

they're just the only small market team who built a title contender strictly through the draft and player development

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Best way to build a team if you're not in a big market with this new CBA, follow the OKC way

What exactly is unique about the "OKC way"?

Let's face it, the OKC way is lucking into Durant.

But credit is due to them for identifying, drafting and developing Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden.

Agreed

 

[awwsome]

Cause they did it best or got the luckiest, which ever you prefer but it was just an example my man

 

[ill steelo]

Hey_

Hearing: Suns are trading Marcin Gortat to the Wizards. Okafor on his way to Phoenix. More details to come
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) October 25, 2013

Proposed deal will send Gortat, Shannon Brown and Kendall Marshall to Wizards and Suns on course to receive Emeka Okafor & at least one pick
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) October 25, 2013

Julius F. Wrek

Nice upgrade for Washington.

Miami could be the biggest winner of this transaction tho.

Cause they did it best or got the luckiest, which ever you prefer but it was just an example my man

iight man

 

[datznasty]

Plenty of teams are annually in the lottery and don't get any better though. To improve from 23 games to 50 and take the champions to 6 hard fought games (one boxout from 7) without any major trade/fa signing/or draft pick (Harden was added but hadn't yet become a factor) was amazing though; just internal development, great draft scouting, and retaining your own players (until they get "too expensive" of course) and a free agency policy that mitigates the risk involved. OKC, and many other teams/cities, are never going to be free agent hot spots so that puts a premium on your drafting and shrewd small tweaks here and there via trade.

Although ever since the Harden trade, Presti has looked extra human. You could point out other oopsies here and there like drafting then trading Quincy Pondexter for the chance to draft Cole Aldrich 2 spots ahead of Larry Sanders and drafting Eric Bledsoe then trading him so that we could sign Royal Ivey instead and certainly extending Kendrick Perkins for 36 million before even seeing him play a game and refusing to amnesty him, also getting bullied or even I might say punked into giving Scott Brooks 4 yrs ~16mil when the original offer was like 3yrs 11.

I'd still put his talent as a GM right up with anybody and alongside Buford and Ujiri. He is being handcuffed by the owner. Put him or any of the 2 aforementioned with a bottomless wallet owner and I wonder what happens

 

[certifiedflyboi23]

OKC got lucky, they have 3 consecutive seasons with a top 4 pick. It's not like they had this great strategy or plan lol

 

[certifiedflyboi23]

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[jjs07]

I'm not a fan of giving up the pick. Gortat is a FA at season's end, so who knows that the big picture is beyond this year. Obviously, it's playoffs or bust for the Wizards, but losing that pick in a stocked draft may come back to bite this team in the ***. If there is a silver lining, Grunfeld will be done if this blows up.

 

[shoeking2101]

OKC got lucky, they have 3 consecutive seasons with a top 4 pick. It's not like they had this great strategy or plan lol

Thank you man

The KD pick? Luck

The Russ pick? Gutsy seeing as at the time it was high for him, but no one including OKC expected him to turn into a top 7 player

Harden? He was the consensus 3rd pick of that draft and OKC...had the 3rd pick

 

[rook]

Just saw Wizards plan on waiving brown, Marshall and lee

 

[jjs07]

According to Yahoo, the Wizards are getting a 2014 1st round pick from the Suns...

The Suns traded starting center Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, Kendall Marshall and a 2014 first-round pick to the Wizards for the expiring contract of Emeka Okafor and a protected 2014 first-round pick.

Link

 

[statis22]

So, the lesson really is: tank, but don’t accidentally draft three superstars unless you’re in a big market.

[russellwestbrook]WHAT?!?[/russellwestbrook]

 

[pmatic]

According to Yahoo, the Wizards are getting a 2014 1st round pick from the Suns...

The Suns traded starting center Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, Kendall Marshall and a 2014 first-round pick to the Wizards for the expiring contract of Emeka Okafor and a protected 2014 first-round pick.

Link

Probably a typo.

 

[do work son]

god damn you quincy pondexter you bum

 

[noblekane]

Magic Johnson - Lakers
Doug Collins - Michael Jordan
Kenny Smith - Hakeem Olajuwon

sean elliot - lebron james when elliot was doing national televised games for abc

 

[do work son]

dwight standing up for pat bev

 

[100027]

they basically sucked as much as you could for 3 straight seasons, and lucked into durant, drafted westbrook and harden. smh seattle got dicked

I don't think you can call it luck when you draft 3 superstars in 3 drafts.

That said, I hope they're cursed until we get a new Sonics who can beat their *****.

 

[datznasty]

Harden wasn't consensus #3. Everybody thought that was a reach and were calling him a bust (including Bill Simmons) until a yr and a half in after the Green trade when he started to show talent. People thought they should have gone Tyreke Evans(who won R.O.Y) or Stephen Curry, until it became clear Harden just needed the opportunity and both of the 2 previous had flaws in their own game and in potentially meshing with Westbrook and Durant

 

[jjs07]

Everything worked out so favorably for the Thunder. It was pretty much luck to draft 3 players who all eventually turned out to be in the top 10-15 players in the league. A LOT had to go right for Durant, Westbrook, and Harden to fall in their laps. Luck and good scouting goes a long way. The latter more so than the former.

 

[100027]

People thought Westbrook was a reach too. That was great drafting . Ibaka as well.

Although Curry would have fit that offense even better as a starter.

 

[do work son]

they basically sucked as much as you could for 3 straight seasons, and lucked into durant, drafted westbrook and harden. smh seattle got dicked

I don't think you can call it luck when you draft 3 superstars in 3 drafts.

That said, I hope they're cursed until we get a new Sonics who can beat their *****.

i only said they lucked into durant. remember he went second because of oden?

i give them props for westbrook and harden. they just drafted well there.

 

[jjs07]

Probably a typo.

 

[dt43]

Lucking into Durant is what made the whole thing work though. Westbrook and Harden were great draft picks, but they lucked into the historically great MVP-caliber player, that's why they are what they are

If they had taken say, Al Horford instead of KD they would still be a great team but not the juggernaut they were the past two seasons.

 

[duba169]

what does lebron do better than bird?

Deflect blame

 

[alphawolf]

Wade is in mid playoff form