2014/15 NBA Thread pelican and okc bitches

[doh]

This is ridiculous

Kanter will take up a lower % of the cap through his contract than harden would have.

There, i ended that part. That's all i was saying before this clown show came on the air

Huh? They went over the luxury tax to keep Kanter but wouldn't with Harden is kinda the a funny point. Plus with Harden they could've moved around salary because they would've had a year before the extension kicked in. Or they could've just played a year with him then let him walk and at least tried to get back to the finals.

Instead they not only traded him for nothing but also to a conference rival who have become a very good team.

 

[OU11]

Huh? They went over the luxury tax to keep Kanter but wouldn't with Harden is kinda the a funny point. Plus with Harden they could've moved around salary because they would've had a year before the extension kicked in. Or they could've just played a year with him then let him walk and at least tried to get back to the finals.

Instead they not only traded him for nothing but also to a conference rival who have become a very good team.

Barely tho if they shed a few guys. Only real loss would be augustine but that puts them under the 5M threshold iirc. And again it's only one year where theyre pretty strapped whereas harden's deal would have been under a lower cap. All I'm saying is comparing the two financial decisions is dumb because the environment changed so much. If you want to drone on and on about trading harden being one of the dumber lopsided trades ever, go on. The financial side of the deal has way too many different factors compared.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Yeah because they should have anticipated a player who's never missed a game being put out for the season. I'd have rather Presti spend those millions having somebody break Patrick Beverley's kneecaps than pay Harden with it.

 

[evil1]

Had Seattle been allowed to keep the team, they never would have made such a glaring mistake and then try to rationalize it afterwards.

 

[Reel]

How many games has Harden missed tho?

I don't like his on court antics but dude can flat out shoot when he's on and by some of y'alls admission, the offense stagnated a lot under Brooks if both Westbrook and Durant were out the game. Harden's 16 pts would've helped no? And that's just what he averaged. Everybody here knows he could light it up for 30.

I see people keep honing in on that he was a sixth man but if he is finishing the game with Durant and Westbrook, why does that even matter?

Randy
-New Orleans

 

[OU11]

Had Seattle been allowed to keep the team, they never would have made such a glaring mistake and then try to rationalize it afterwards.

I cant speak to the rationalization, i cant fathom why most thudner fans defend that decision to the death. No matter how you look at it, it was handled poorly. Even if you trade harden they did it the worst way, they made it known they had to trade him so they could drive his price down. Dumb.

Still tho, comparing 15M for 4 years then to 17M for 4 years now means there is a lack of understanding of how a business works here. That's what this is, completely a business move.

 

[doh]

Why are people so obsessed with the cap and flexibility? The point of the NBA is to get as many gr8 players as possible and keep them. Yes the financial situations are different but OKC easily could've moved players around to make it so the luxury tax hit was much less when the Harden extension kicked in. They had a year to try and figure it out. Also the tax penalties were lower back then and you're talking about KD/RUSS salaries being lower. They basically chose extending SERGE over Harden because their salaries aren't too different.

The only argument for trading him is the owners would lose some money. I guess you can think SERGE is better than Harden too.

So OKC would've been stuck with a 3 top 20 players surrounded role players? That'll never win a title...

 

[GuyIncognito]

I would much rather have Serge than Harden on this team, and the same was true back then. And the point of sports is to make money. For the players, for the coaches, for the owners.

As for the Heat, if the Thunder got to skate to the finals in the Eastern Conference ever year, it might be a different story. But that's not the way the world works.

 

[OU11]

They didn't want to pay the tax for 3-4 years, the team was already super light back then. It's actually ridiculously deep now compared, if you can imagine that. What I'm guessing the decision came down to is

Do we keep harden and travel super light the next 4 years? We would have no support at all for them. Just Dleaguers strewn about. Those vets looking for ships would choose miami over oklahoma city in a heartbeat so I guess they could have got the leftovers. Would have been tough.

I still think they made the wrong call, or at least made the call they did in a terrible way. But now their team actually has a second unit, it is stronger overall IMO if they are healthy. So going in the tax for one year before the cap hits 82M or whatever it ends up being isn't as bad. It isn't as bad to Presti who will have possibly 100m to work with in 2018. It isn't as bad to the ownership group because they have the new tv money. It isn't as bad to either because KD's deal is expiring this year and with Kanter they are better than without since they can't sign anybody anyway. If the projections are right and this cap ends up jumping like crazy, it's role player money

 

[doh]

They didn't want to pay the tax for 3-4 years, the team was already super light back then. It's actually ridiculously deep now compared, if you can imagine that. What I'm guessing the decision came down to is

Do we keep harden and travel super light the next 4 years? We would have no support at all for them. Just Dleaguers strewn about. Those vets looking for ships would choose miami over oklahoma city in a heartbeat so I guess they could have got the leftovers. Would have been tough.

I still think they made the wrong call, or at least made the call they did in a terrible way. But now their team actually has a second unit, it is stronger overall IMO if they are healthy. So going in the tax for one year before the cap hits 82M or whatever it ends up being isn't as bad. It isn't as bad to Presti who will have possibly 100m to work with in 2018. It isn't as bad to the ownership group because they have the new tv money. It isn't as bad to either because KD's deal is expiring this year and with Kanter they are better than without since they can't sign anybody anyway. If the projections are right and this cap ends up jumping like crazy, it's role player money

IF they opened up the pocket books, they would've been able to keep Serge. So that's 3 top 3 at their position guys plus probably a top 15 big man.

If they didn't want to go crazy into the tax, I think you could've gotten some vet minimum guys to fill around. They got FISH (@Brick) last year. Used the MLE to help. Hope you hit on some late 1st rounders who could get nice guys who can play minutes. Reggie Jackson just got a huge contract so he can't be that bad. Between PERK and Thabo's contracts for 13-14, you could've moved them to stay under the tax I think. I bet they could've used a 1st to attach to PERK and sent him to somewhere like Tankadelphia and cleared that salary. I mean there were options there RUSS would've had even if they were capped out and didn't want to go super deep into the tax.

I think from a pure business perspective long term, it wasn't a wise move too. What if they have to blow it up in 16-17 because KD/RUSS leave?

 

[OU11]

IF they opened up the pocket books, they would've been able to keep Serge. So that's 3 top 3 at their position guys plus probably a top 15 big man.

If they didn't want to go crazy into the tax, I think you could've gotten some vet minimum guys to fill around. They got FISH (@Brick) last year. Used the MLE to help. Hope you hit on some late 1st rounders who could get nice guys who can play minutes. Reggie Jackson just got a huge contract so he can't be that bad. Between PERK and Thabo's contracts for 13-14, you could've moved them to stay under the tax I think. I bet they could've used a 1st to attach to PERK and sent him to somewhere like Tankadelphia and cleared that salary. I mean there were options there RUSS would've had even if they were capped out and didn't want to go super deep into the tax.

I think from a pure business perspective long term, it wasn't a wise move too. What if they have to blow it up in 16-17 because KD/RUSS leave?

Again, I don't care about arguing whether they made the wrong move with Harden. I hated it and still do. Don't want to go through that. The financial decision is much more acceptable now, no questions asked. That's all I'm saying. They keep a deeper team and pay the tax one year, it isn't anything like what would have happened with Harden on a solely financial level

 

[zoltan]

Kanter is dope.

Harden is a beast.

They're both damn good. I think harden would have got tired of coming off the bench tho and I doubt that he would have been as effective as his is now with Westbrook and Durant all on the floor at the same Time. Kanter is a better fit and he compliments the team nicely. If Durant can stay healthy they can make a splash next year.

 

[dirt]

Zoltan should be the only one allowed to post in here until it's August

 

[dirt]

IS IT AUGUST YET?

 

[Orlando]

What happens in August? Return of the EPL?

 

[DeadMan]

What happens in August? Return of the EPL?

NFL preseason and fantasy drafts. @dirt will remove hisself from this thread until February after that.

 

[dirt]

Every year I have explain to Orlando what happens in August... lawd

 

[Orlando]

wat.

 

[zoltan]

Zoltan should be the only one allowed to post in here until it's August

 

[silverwheels]

I remember the discussions back on Flufftopia; it was basically OU-11 vs me and Mak, with the two of us being in favor (or at least accepting of the business side) of the Harden trade and OU against it. No, OKC didn't get even a decent return on it immediately as far as personnel goes, but not being in the tax at the time allowed OKC to build the bench that they have now. Imagine a small market team with 4 players at or near max contracts and what kind of supporting players they would have because of how little money they had left to spend (keeping in mind that at the time the cap was much smaller). It would have been Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, and a bunch of basically D-League scrubs because that's all OKC would have been able to afford. Look at where they are now, with last season derailed because of injuries to Durant and Westbrook (and Ibaka after the deadline), but the personnel is there for a title contender this season and next. I've only ever contended the point that trading Harden allowed OKC more flexibility and saved them some money that could have (and has been) used on more players that meet specific needs at different positions.

Obviously, in a perfect world, OKC would still have Harden and he'd still be okay with being the leader off the bench, while OKC had enough money to spend on role players for other positions. But this isn't a perfect world and things didn't work out that way. I just know that the Thudner are set up right now for a serious run at a title, regardless of what people thought the window should be, and they're still set up financially to keep both KD and RUSS once the cap goes up. It's easy to play hypotheticals about the past, but this is the reality right now, and I and many other OKC fans are more than okay with it.

 

[Reel]

Srs question but what is this bench you all keep referring to?

I'll wait for a response before I go on

 

[GuyIncognito]

Srs question but what is this bench you all keep referring to?

I'll wait for a response before I go on

Well, they aren't handing out major minutes to Kendrick Perkins, Hasheem Thabeet, and Derek Fisher anymore, so there's that.

 

[OU11]

Srs question but what is this bench you all keep referring to?

I'll wait for a response before I go on

It is the group of players that come in to relieve the starters

 

[Bmack]

It should be called "chairs." Gone are the days where substitutes sat on the sideline on wooden benches. I can see reels confusion.

"We've built a pretty good set of chairs."

 

[OU11]

A lot of people call them the second unit. It is my fault for using an antiquated term

 

[Reel]

nah b... @Bmack, i mean, i've read a few times that the bench has gotten better/deeper or whatever.

Who are these players that you are referring to that are a direct result of the thunder letting Harden walk.

@GuyIncognito, gave his two cents about it, which made me lol, b/c its true, but who are these players that have made the second unit better?

Dont include Morrow.

 

[OU11]

nah b... @Bmack, i mean, i've read a few times that the bench has gotten better/deeper or whatever.

Who are these players that you are referring to that are a direct result of the thunder letting Harden walk.

@GuyIncognito, gave his two cents about it, which made me lol, b/c its true, but who are these players that have made the second unit better?

Dont include Morrow.

nobody, well actually I guess everybody. Idk what this means.

They have 5 all-nba players coming off the bench compared to when Harden was here.

I lol'd at "Reggie Jackson must be good, he just signed a big contract" tho. You didn't say that I don't think, but it gave me a chuckle.

 

[GuyIncognito]

The big rotation is the difference. The Perkins/Collison/Ibaka/Thabeet unit has been replaced with Ibaka/Kanter/Adams/Collison/McGary.

If you didn't watch the Thunder often, you can't fully appreciate how excruciating it was watching an offense without anybody who can play near the basket (and only three guys who can play away from it).

 

[OU11]

And why can't I include Morrow, they might have had the cap space to sign him but probably not. I'd have to go back and look at the numbers compared to what actually happened with the cap.

Lets see, Dion fucking Waiters is an upgrade at the 2. If we could keep Augustine, he's a 10x better fit than Reggie was. Whoever between Kanter/Adams is on the bench with McGary is 10x better than Collison and Thabeet.

I never said they were all world or the best bench in the NBA, but for people who have watched this team this is an actual bench for once. Now that we have a corch who will keep one of Russ/KD in at all times, it makes it even better.

lol, forgot perkins. Yes, huge upgrade there

 

[Reel]

thanks guys

and no OU, i didnt say that about Reggie Jackson. I wouldnt waste a trap on that

 

[OU11]

There are two sides to this Harden coin here, and maybe I am a mouth breathing homer for saying that. I honestly don't know, I trust evil probably the most on here when it comes to opinions so if he says I'm a homer I probably am. I don't mean to be.

Again, let's set aside the decision to trade Harden and the return they received. Are the Thudner better today than they were back then? I'd say yes, but it is definitely arguable. They definitely have a more complete team, a better fitting team. I don't know if that trumps 3 GOATs and an Ibaka in a 7 game series though. That's something for someone else to argue about, but I think Presti has done a pretty damn good jerb after that massive failure. I really honestly think he was forced into it. Not only into trading Harden but how quickly.

[xtable]
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{td=right}225{/td}
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{td=right}1{/td}
{td=left}Marquette University{/td}
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{td=center}PF{/td}
{td=right}6-10{/td}
{td=right}220{/td}
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{td=right}2{/td}
{td=left} {/td}
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{td=left}Royal Ivey{/td}
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{td=right}7{/td}
{td=left}University of Texas at Austin{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
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{td=left}Reggie Jackson{/td}
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{td=right}6-3{/td}
{td=right}208{/td}
{td=left}April 16, 1990{/td}
{td=right}R{/td}
{td=left}Boston College{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}6{/td}
{td=left}Eric Maynor{/td}
{td=center}PG{/td}
{td=right}6-3{/td}
{td=right}175{/td}
{td=left}June 11, 1987{/td}
{td=right}2{/td}
{td=left}Virginia Commonwealth University{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}8{/td}
{td=left}Nazr Mohammed{/td}
{td=center}C{/td}
{td=right}6-10{/td}
{td=right}221{/td}
{td=left}September 5, 1977{/td}
{td=right}13{/td}
{td=left}University of Kentucky{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}5{/td}
{td=left}Kendrick Perkins{/td}
{td=center}C{/td}
{td=right}6-10{/td}
{td=right}280{/td}
{td=left}November 10, 1984{/td}
{td=right}8{/td}
{td=left} {/td}
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{tr}
{td=center}33{/td}
{td=left}Ryan Reid{/td}
{td=center}PF{/td}
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{td=right}232{/td}
{td=left}October 30, 1986{/td}
{td=right}R{/td}
{td=left}Florida State University{/td}
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{tr}
{td=center}2{/td}
{td=left}Thabo Sefolosha{/td}
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{td=right}215{/td}
{td=left}May 2, 1984{/td}
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{td=left} {/td}
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{td=right}3{/td}
{td=left}University of California, Los Angeles{/td}
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[/xtable]

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{td=colspan:8}TEAM ROSTER{/td}
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{td}NAME{/td}
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{td}AGE{/td}
{td}HT{/td}
{td}WT{/td}
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{td}D.J. Augustin{/td}
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{td}27{/td}
{td}6-0{/td}
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{td}Texas{/td}
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{/tr}
{tr}
{td}4{/td}
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{td}Kansas{/td}
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{td}6-9{/td}
{td}240{/td}
{td}Texas{/td}
{td}$20,158,622{/td}
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{td}9{/td}
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{td}25{/td}
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{td} {/td}
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{td} {/td}
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{td}Baylor{/td}
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{tr}
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{td}Enes Kanter{/td}
{td}C{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-11{/td}
{td}245{/td}
{td}Kentucky{/td}
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{td}6-10{/td}
{td}255{/td}
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{td}2{/td}
{td}Anthony Morrow{/td}
{td}SG{/td}
{td}29{/td}
{td}6-5{/td}
{td}210{/td}
{td}Georgia Tech{/td}
{td}$3,344,000{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}6{/td}
{td}Steve Novak{/td}
{td}SF{/td}
{td}32{/td}
{td}6-10{/td}
{td}225{/td}
{td}Marquette{/td}
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{td}20{/td}
{td}6-3{/td}
{td}185{/td}
{td}Murray State{/td}
{td}$2,021,520{/td}
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{tr}
{td}21{/td}
{td}Andre Roberson{/td}
{td}SG{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-7{/td}
{td}210{/td}
{td}Colorado{/td}
{td}$1,210,800{/td}
{/tr}
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{td}Kyle Singler{/td}
{td}SF{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}6-8{/td}
{td}228{/td}
{td}Duke{/td}
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{/tr}
{tr}
{td}23{/td}
{td}Dion Waiters{/td}
{td}SG{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-4{/td}
{td}225{/td}
{td}Syracuse{/td}
{td}$5,138,430{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}0{/td}
{td}Russell Westbrook{/td}
{td}PG{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}6-3{/td}
{td}200{/td}
{td}UCLA{/td}
{td}
$16,744,218{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]


I mean what squad do you pick?

 

[Reel]

@OU11,

asik's contract breakdown. just FYI

$44M guaranteed (4 yrs)
$5M unlikely incentive-based ($1M/yr)
$9M non-guranteed (yr5)

 

[OU11]

@OU11,

asik's contract breakdown. just FYI

$44M guaranteed (4 yrs)
$5M unlikely incentive-based ($1M/yr)
$9M non-guranteed 9yr5)

so 12m per for 4 years? What's your cap situation like?

 

[OU11]

Ah hell, I forgot about that disaster of a contract you'll signed Gordon too. Pels will be fine

 

[Reel]

Ah hell, I forgot about that disaster of a contract you'll signed Gordon too. Pels will be fine

well..they did the same thing OKC did with Kanter

I know you not changing the narrative now are you?

Plus, word on the street is that between Tyreke and Gordon, they've lost a combined 22lbs this offseason. Take from that what you will.

Also, those unlikely incentives were based on things he wasnt able to do last year and the probability of him doing those are pretty non existent, so, $11M p/yr

 

[NML]

Here's my issue with the last two pages and some discussions we've had before: benches do not win championships. Stars do.

Benches are GREAT for the regular season, which is probably why OKC has still done well there. GS's was pretty good, but certainly not amazing. The best thing they had was a cycle of big men they could go through to rest legs.

The bench is even less impactful once you get past #8, because they aren't even seeing the floor in the playoffs. You have your starting 5, one guard, one wing man, and one big man come playoff time. Even then, those players have limited minutes.

So that's the whole thing - having a great bench isn't going to help you win a title in the same way that having a third star will. Kanter just isn't a difference maker in that aspect. It's a second discussion that I've brought in here, but Kanter has been unbelievably average for his whole career other than 25 games or whatever with OKC. But he's definitely young, so maybe he's figuring it out? But I wouldn't put a max contract on a guy based on that small of a sample size.

So I have two issues with the logic to defend the move - one on how it impacts their title chances, and one on how good Kanter really is.

 

[GuyIncognito]

As the ESPN article pointed out: OKC didn't offer Kanter a max deal, Portland did. At that point it becomes a simple calculus: are we better with Kanter or without him over the next couple years?

Even if you think his entire tenure in OKC has been a fluke thus far, I still think the answer is "with him."

 

[NML]

In addition, even if you buy that the team is better, that doesn't mean you are more likely to win a title. Because you've got three loaded teams in the west plus Lebron in the finals.

 

[NML]

As the ESPN article pointed out: OKC didn't offer Kanter a max deal, Portland did. At that point it becomes a simple calculus: are we better with Kanter or without him over the next couple years?

Even if you think his entire tenure in OKC has been a fluke thus far, I still think the answer is "with him."

If that's really the way you are framing the question... I mean lawd

 

[GuyIncognito]

That IS the question. Are they a better team with Kanter? Can they make a more appealing offer to Durant/RUSS/Ibaka with Kanter?

I think the answer is yes.

 

[OU11]

Here's my issue with the last two pages and some discussions we've had before: benches do not win championships. Stars do.

Benches are GREAT for the regular season, which is probably why OKC has still done well there. GS's was pretty good, but certainly not amazing. The best thing they had was a cycle of big men they could go through to rest legs.

The bench is even less impactful once you get past #8, because they aren't even seeing the floor in the playoffs. You have your starting 5, one guard, one wing man, and one big man come playoff time. Even then, those players have limited minutes.

So that's the whole thing - having a great bench isn't going to help you win a title in the same way that having a third star will. Kanter just isn't a difference maker in that aspect. It's a second discussion that I've brought in here, but Kanter has been unbelievably average for his whole career other than 25 games or whatever with OKC. But he's definitely young, so maybe he's figuring it out? But I wouldn't put a max contract on a guy based on that small of a sample size.

So I have two issues with the logic to defend the move - one on how it impacts their title chances, and one on how good Kanter really is.

It isn't a great bench, 1. 2, how many stars did Golden State have? They had two. How many does OKC have? 2. So I'm not really sure where the difference between GS and OKC is other than if KD is healthy he is much better than Curry and Westbrook is better than Klay. Maybe that's not the popular opinion anymore since KD's been out, but if his foot is right they have the second best player in the league. If it isn't, then yeah they aren't going to win anything.

In addition, even if you buy that the team is better, that doesn't mean you are more likely to win a title. Because you've got three loaded teams in the west plus Lebron in the finals.

Right, I never said they are more likely to win. Just said they are a better team. Like I said I don't know if that trumps 3 GOATS and an Ibaka in 7 games, but I'm fine with their squad right now compared to the other teams in the West.

 

[NML]

That IS the question. Are they a better team with Kanter? Can they make a more appealing offer to Durant/RUSS/Ibaka with Kanter?

I think the answer is yes.

You are bordering on insane here, dude.

The question is definitely "is Kanter worth this contract to us?" He was to Portland. If they were that worried about losing him for nothing, they should've signed him to an extension earlier. Apparently the answer to this question is "yes" too.

For years, it's been "these are business decisions" and now all of sudden you are reframing the argument to "are we better with him?"

Can't just go moving the goal posts. Maybe you could've said the question is "does matching give us a better chance of keeping KD?" but it's definitely not "are we better with Kanter?"

 

[Southpaw]

The Thunder can just sell their 2nd rounder next year and pay for the Kanter contract.

 

[OU11]

You are bordering on insane here, dude.

The question is definitely "is Kanter worth this contract to us?" He was to Portland. If they were that worried about losing him for nothing, they should've signed him to an extension earlier. Apparently the answer to this question is "yes" too.

For years, it's been "these are business decisions" and now all of sudden you are reframing the argument to "are we better with him?"

Can't just go moving the goal posts. Maybe you could've said the question is "does matching give us a better chance of keeping KD?" but it's definitely not "are we better with Kanter?"

Well to be fair, Kanter was a business decision too.

 

[NML]

It isn't a great bench, 1. 2, how many stars did Golden State have? They had two. How many does OKC have? 2. So I'm not really sure where the difference between GS and OKC is other than if KD is healthy he is much better than Curry and Westbrook is better than Klay. Maybe that's not the popular opinion anymore since KD's been out, but if his foot is right they have the second best player in the league. If it isn't, then yeah they aren't going to win anything.

Right, I never said they are more likely to win. Just said they are a better team. Like I said I don't know if that trumps 3 GOATS and an Ibaka in 7 games, but I'm fine with their squad right now compared to the other teams in the West.

Well a big issue at the heart of this and all other OKC-related arguments is that their fans, more or less, think KD and RUSS are the 2nd and 3rd best players in the game, and it's just not true anymore. They are definitely both really good, but you never know how someone will come back from an injury, though I'm sure Durant will be fine - maybe not second best player in the league fine, but still top 10.

I didn't say you specifically said that, but others have, including silverwheels last page. It's just not true. They could win it all, but they are, at best, the fifth most likely team to do so.

 

[NML]

Well to be fair, Kanter was a business decision too.

Oh I know. I said that myself when I outlined my opinion of the whole thing a few pages back.

Mak just moving the goal post saying the question on whether to match or not is "are they better with Kanter?"

 

[OU11]

Well a big issue at the heart of this and all other OKC-related arguments is that their fans, more or less, think KD and RUSS are the 2nd and 3rd best players in the game, and it's just not true anymore. They are definitely both really good, but you never know how someone will come back from an injury, though I'm sure Durant will be fine - maybe not second best player in the league fine, but still top 10.

I didn't say you specifically said that, but others have, including silverwheels last page. It's just not true. They could win it all, but they are, at best, the fifth most likely team to do so.

If he is healthy I don't see how he wouldn't be. I guess memories are short. We'll see though, he has to play first.

Oh I know. I said that myself when I outlined my opinion of the whole thing a few pages back.

Mak just moving the goal post saying the question on whether to match or not is "are they better with Kanter?"

Well that's kind of the point though. Given the situation the correct business decision is to make the team as good as possible going through the contract year. Again, this is different because the cap is different meaning they won't be paying as much tax as they would have been. You can't guarantee that the Thudner would have made the finals with Harden, that revenue is only possible. You can guarantee that with the new money this contract won't hurt them long term even if KD stays. I guess the TV deal could be revoked, but I doubt it.

 

[GuyIncognito]

You are bordering on insane here, dude.

The question is definitely "is Kanter worth this contract to us?" He was to Portland. If they were that worried about losing him for nothing, they should've signed him to an extension earlier. Apparently the answer to this question is "yes" too.

For years, it's been "these are business decisions" and now all of sudden you are reframing the argument to "are we better with him?"

Can't just go moving the goal posts. Maybe you could've said the question is "does matching give us a better chance of keeping KD?" but it's definitely not "are we better with Kanter?"

I'm pretty sure Presti isn't insane.

Whether they're better with Kanter and whether they have a better chance of keeping KD are the same question.

And again, the context in which the business decision is being made is different now than it was 4 years ago. Why does everyone get this but you?

 

[NML]

If he is healthy I don't see how he wouldn't be. I guess memories are short. We'll see though, he has to play first.

Well that's kind of the point though. Given the situation the correct business decision is to make the team as good as possible going through the contract year. Again, this is different because the cap is different meaning they won't be paying as much tax as they would have been. You can't guarantee that the Thudner would have made the finals with Harden, that revenue is only possible. You can guarantee that with the new money this contract won't hurt them long term even if KD stays. I guess the TV deal could be revoked, but I doubt it.

Well he hasn't played in an NBA game in a year. You don't always come back perfect from that, regardless of health.

I don't know why you are telling me things I know and have said already. I just pointed out that Mak framed the question in a really unrealistic way.

I'm pretty sure Presti isn't insane.

Whether they're better with Kanter and whether they have a better chance of keeping KD are the same question.

And again, the context in which the business decision is being made is different now than it was 4 years ago. Why does everyone get this but you?

No, they are different questions. Just a quick hypothetical - but why couldn't KD bring in a third "star" next season if they let Kanter walk? They only have about $38m in guaranteed money before resigning Durant, and almost $10 of that could easily be moved. Why did the move to keep Durant have to be made THIS SECOND?

That's what's so amazing about this thing - OKC ownership, and by extension their fans, have preached looking at the bigger picture and long term moves and cap flexibility. Well all of that went out the window with this one move on a player who just isn't that great.

 

[OU11]

Who is coming to OKC

Might as well lure max players to Minnesota too