B's Thunder Off-Season Wish List

My Thunder Wish List

As an individual who really wants this Thunder team to succeed, there are a few needs this team must address. Take note of this Sam Presti, WE NEED A SHOOTER! It's not that I want us to get one, we NEED one. With emphasis on need, in case you didn't catch the all caps. So, with all that being said here are my scenarios that could help this Thunder team to an NBA championship. 

 

1. Mike Miller- I know, I know, Mike Miller is old and can't play any defense at his wise old age of 34. But, do you know what he can do? SHOOT the basketball. As evidenced by his .459% shooting percentage from beyond the arc with our hated rival grizzly bears. Mikey isn't the most attractive individual for all of our lady thunder fans, but I am extremely attracted to his shot, so pretty to watch. He has had health problems throughout his career but last year, played in all 82 games. Who remembers him in Thunder games? He would be the one jacking up 40 footers and making everything imaginable. If the thunder had a mercenary out for them who they feared more than anyone, it would probably be Mike Miller. If anything, I want him on our roster just so we won't have to play him. 

2. Ray Allen- I know what you're thinking, why am I picking all the older guys? Well, these older guys can shoot. I think Ray Allen's shot is even prettier than Miller's, and that is saying a lot. Ray is comtemplating retirement so there is a good chance no one will get a shot at him. If he were to come back, he will probably sign wherever Lebron signs. Especially if Lebron goes back to the Heat. Eww. But if he feels like being a leader and mentor for young players AND have a shot at a ring. Why not come to OKC and play with KD, Russ, and Serge? I will be the first person to buy a Ray Allen Thunder shirt if that ends up happening. He is seriously one of my all time favorites. 

3. Jodie Meeks- If you're noticing a theme here, that theme being "Brandt, these are all shooters you are listing" you are correct. I seriously think that is the one piece that the Thunder have to address. Jodie Meeks was one of the last guys at Kentucky who actually played more than one year before leaving for the NBA. I remember watching highlights of him scoring 54 points in one game there. Which is more impressive in college because they don't play near as up-tempo as the NBA does. Jodie was one of the better players on the pathetic Lakers roster last year. There are rumors that the Thunder could be interested in him and I think there is good reason for that. He would provide a much needed scoring spark off the bench. Especially if Reggie is thrown into the starting lineup next year at the 2-guard. 

4. Anthony Morrow- Yep, you guessed it, it's another sharp-shooter. I've always liked this guy. He's never really had a chance to shine because he hasn't really been a good team. He shot .45% from the 3 point line last year for the lowly Pelicans and I think he could be a lethal shooter for this Thunder team. If you spread out the floor and have all the defense focused of KD and Russ.(which would be 99.9% of the time they are on the floor) I think he could pick teams apart with his range and sniper-like accuracy. 

5. This scenario involves 2 players who are already on our roster, so this will definitely happen next year. Jeremy Lamb will see a large increase in minutes and I think this will be great for the Thunder. He can shoot and score and i'm not sure why Scott Brooks waited so long to start giving him minutes. Next year, I think he will become another Thunder fan favorite. Secondly, Perry Jones III, this is another guy who should have got more playing time this year. One of the needs of this team is someone who can play the "stretch 4" position. You're seeing these power forwards nowadays like Kevin Love, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Chris Bosh who can step outside and hit the 3 occasionally. I think PJ3 has enormous potential and could eventually become on of these stretch 4's. He also has the length and athleticism to come in and defend  someone like Lebron. Which is never an easy task. 

I am super excited for next season and I hope they address some of their needs. There is no reason why this team can't win a title. I think one of these above scenarios will put this team over the top. Now, we wait and see. In the words of Linebacker Bart Scott, " I CAN'T WAIT!!!" 

2014 Thunder Draft Recap

NBA Draft June 26, 2014

    Since the season ended, all I've been doing is waiting for the draft. The Thunder had two picks in the first round, picks 21 and 29.  The draft is really what kicks off the off-season.  Sam Presti's draft past has been exceptional, so I went in knowing it would be hard to disagree too much.  The draft is really important to small market teams like OKC, because big name free agents don't want to sign here long term. So, they have to draft players and convince them to stay long term. Example: Kevin Durant, who was probably the easiest selection in the history of the draft in 07, after the Blazers chose Greg Oden number 1. He traded Ray Allen to the Celtics for the rights to number 5 pick Jeff Green. The next year, 08, with the 4th overall pick in the draft, Presti chose Russell Westbrook. At the time, the pick was scrutinized by "experts", saying his skills are too raw and he relies too much on athleticism. And now we all know how that worked out, he's one of the top 10 players in the world. Also in the same draft, with the 24th pick, he got our boy Serge Ibaka. In 09, with the 3rd overall pick, he took James Harden, who became even better than expected, which forced the Thunder to trade him. With 24th pick, Byron Mullens. LOLOLOLOLOL In 2010, OKC held 21 and 26, which they traded to New Orleans for 11th pick, which produced our toothless friend Cole Aldrich. So, we can all laugh at Presti for that one, but everyone makes mistakes. With the first pick of the second round, they got the draft rights to overseas big man, Tibor Pleiss. He hasn't played a minute in the NBA, so that one is still up in the air. In  2011, pick 24 again, we took Reggie Jackson. Still can't fully evaluate that pick, but he's given provided plenty of value for a 24 pick.  In 2012, OKC only had one pick and that was 28. Perry Jones III was the selection, and if he would have entered the draft the year before, he would have been a top 10 pick. To be determined on that one. 2013, via the Harden trade, OKC ended up with the 12th pick, which they took Steven Adams. As of right now, that pick gets an "A". He was way better than expected and played huge minutes in the playoffs, having a double double in the closeout Game 6 of the Clippers series. Pick 26 was Andre Roberson, I don't know what to say other than good defender, completely awful shooter. Also, with the 32nd pick he took a 20 year old shooter from Barcelona, Alex Abrines. He's still playing in Europe, so still to be determined.

  

  So let's grade them shall we?

2007: Kevin Durant- Is there a grade higher than A+?

2007: Jeff Green- He was my favorite player while he was here, and he was pretty good, and he was later the key piece that brought the Thunder All-Star Center Kendrick Perkins. So, we will go with F-

2008: Russell Westbrook- Whatever we decide on KD

2008: Serge Ibaka: With the 24th pick, it's considered successful if you get a good role player. Well Serge is a top 5 power forward in the league. So, A+

2009: James Harden: Evaluation gets an A+. But since he's now tearing it up for a conference rival, I'll go with a B+

2009: Byron Mullens- LOL-

2010: Cole Aldrich- Spent two years sitting on the bench making up three point celebrations. Then went to Rockets as a filler for the Harden trade, they didn't want him either, and he was cut. He spent last year with the Knicks shooting goofy free throws. F

2010: Tibor Pleiss- TBD

2011: Reggie Jackson- Like I said on Serge, you're just hoping for a role player with 24, and Reggie had his name in the mix for 6th man of the year award. Can't grade it completely until we see if we can resign him, but for now we'll go B+

2012: Perry Jones III- Showed flashes of being a quality stretch 4, but Scott Brooks really never gave him a chance to succeed yet. TBD

2013: Steven Adams- As I said earlier, developed way faster than expected and in many opinions should be starting next year. So far... A

2013: Andre Roberson- TBD

2013: Alex Abrines- TBD

  Now for this years draft. My bro and I are both going to give our opinions on these picks.

Round 1, Pick 21: Mitch McGary

D's Thoughts:

This pick was like back in the day when you were all excited about opening your stockings on Christmas, and the first thing you see is a toothbrush. First thought is: seriously Mom, you made me leave the store and go sit in the car so you can sneak a toothbrush? Then when it's all said and done you end up using the toothbrush more than anything else. Wasn't the funnest pick, and there definitely were some guys available that would be more fun. But, it fills a future need, Nick Collison is 34 and has to have surgery this offseason. Maybe he recovers fine or maybe he doesn't, but either way, McGary was drafted to fill the Collison role. He's not the best athlete, but runs the floor well, plays great in the pick n roll, a good passer for a big man, and can step out to the three point line occasionally. His Freshman year, he was the second best player on a Michigan team that made it to the NCAA championship. Overall: B+

B's Thoughts:

I watched this entire draft in pure anticipation of what the Thunder would do with these 2 first round picks. Then, pick number 21 came around and they announced...Mitch McGary. I was so disappointed. After watching the Thunder and how stagnant their offense can be when KD and Russ are struggling, I thought surely the Thunder would have their sights set on a shooter. I was really hoping they could package together some of their assets and move up and pick Doug McDermott or Nik Stauskas (youtube those guys, they can stroke it). But that didn't happen so when pick 21 rolled around, I thought someone like P.J. Hairston would be a nice pick. He had some off the court issues that had him kicked off North Carolina but he tore up the D-League and could definitely provide some scoring help. But, they selected Mitch McGary. My brother helped convince me that he can be valuable so my own personal jury is still out on the pick. I hope he and Sam Presti are right. Overall: B-


Round 1, Pick 29: Josh Huestis

D-

My initial thought was Josh Whostis?  I did a ton of studying on this draft. Seriously, you can ask B, I called nine of the top ten picks, but when they called his name I had no idea who he was. But, I did some research and watched some videos.  He's a 6'7" defensive specialist with a 7'1" wingspan. He holds the record at Stanford for career blocks with 190, great defender, great athlete, and above average rebounder for his size.  He held number 1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, to 4 points on 1-6 shooting when the faced off with Kansas.  I like the pick and he seems to have pretty good value, but it's really similar to last years 26 pick Andre Roberson. It was like Transformers 2, which was pretty much the same stuff as the first, they just put Megan Fox in sketchier situations wearing less clothes. I definitely didn't argue with that, so I'm going to keep an open mind. It seems that maybe they didn't like what they saw of Roberson last year. So, maybe he will be on the move somewhere. Overall: C+

B-

I was with D on this one. When they made this pick I had no idea who Josh Huestis was. So I also did some research. He seems to be a smart(graduated from nerd nation at Stanford), athletic, tenacious defender who I already am starting to like. I think he can be a valuable piece to their roster. I still thought the Thunder should've taken a shooter somewhere with the 2 first round picks, but they didn't. I'm hoping they have a potential trade or free agent signing lined up before the season starts, but we will have to wait and see. I like the Josh Huestis pick purely from a character standpoint. He seems like a great guy and will prove to be a great teammate for this young thunder team. Overall: B


  All in all, just kind of a so-so start for the OKC off-season. But with free agency starting today, things should start to get interesting. They will make a move or more before the season starts, or at least I hope so. I'm as big a Thunder fan as anyone, but they can't win a title with the bench they would throw out if the season started today. So, cross your fingers for a trade or free agency signing in the next few weeks.

Scotty vs. Pop

Scott Brooks vs. Greg Popovich

With The Thunder and Spurs playing each other in this Western Conference Finals, I'd like to open up a little discussion. I'm an OKC Thunder fan but i'm going to be VERY unbiased on this topic. You will hear a lot of people talking about this coaching match up and you would, obviously, give the edge to Pop and the San Antonio Spurs, and I would agree. Below, I will give you my reasons why...

Subject A: Scott Brooks

I like Scott Brooks. I think he is a great guy and a good coach. Notice I say good, not great. There are a lot of head scratching moves that he makes that I definitely question. Kendrick Perkins being a starting center and getting the playing time he always has befuddles me. But i'll save my thoughts on Kendrick for another time so back to Scotty. I'm sure a lot of people think like me and think they could coach this Thunder team to where they are now, and i'm sure we would be wrong. However, I think this team could be so much better, unstoppable actually, if they gave more minutes to certain people and less to others. There is absolutely no reason for Nick Collison to not be playing this series. I don't care if he didn't play one single minute in game 3 and very little in game 4, and both of those games resulted in victories. He still should play a very big role on this team. Jeremy Lamb should also have had more minutes throughout these entire playoffs. Now he is getting to play and I think he fits a role this thunder team has missed the past two series. He is very young but he can shoot and stretch the defense which is exactly what the thunder need. Especially when KD and Russ are struggling offensively. Basically, just sometimes I wonder if Brooks is watching the same game as me or if he's lost somewhere in the TNT universe working cases with Zach Morris from Saved by the Bell on Franklin and Bash. I'm just kidding but he looks just like Breckin Meyer(Franklin). Anyways...

Subject B: Greg Popovich

I have always respected Pop as a coach and think he is the best coach in the NBA. I really never liked the guy just because of his awkward and sometimes rude interviews during the game. But, this may be childish of me, ever since I found out that after he went to the Air Force Academy and underwent Intelligence gathering and processing training and considered a career with the CIA, he has become that much more interesting to me. I am a huge nerd for CIA/NSA/James Bond spy stuff so I kind of like him now and think his awkwardness is hilarious(Especially when he called out Dean Blevins in previous press conference for asking question with food in his mouth, that's hilarious) By the way, Dean said he wasn't expecting Pop to answer his question so soon. I've never been to a press conference and I have no extensive training in gathering intelligence. However, my intel tells me if you have your hand raised for questioning, and the guy selects you to ask your question, he's probably ready for it. So, with all that being said, here's is my conclusion...

Advantage: Greg Popovich

Our boy Serge :(

Serge Ibaka :(

  Well, not a great start to the weekend. Drives home from work on Friday are usually a time where I throw my headphones in and sing like an idiot. This is me driving home on a Friday........

Enjoying myself and getting ready for the weekend. But Serge's calf muscle had different plans for this trip home. It instead wanted me to stare depressingly at the road, and ask "why me? why us? why the Thunder?"  Of course I didn't get an answer, but I'm pretty sure it's because I didn't eat my veggies last night. Ok, maybe not, but that's all I could come up with. 

   It puts the Thunder at a disadvantage for sure. It takes away from the team defense when the best shot blocker, and best paint protector in the league is missing. But for some reason, I still feel alright about it. That is assuming Scott Brooks will make good adjustments, and not just use it as an excuse to play Perkins for more minutes. 

This is what I think needs to happen, which means nothing really, but I thought I would share anyways.

1) My starting lineup would be: Russ, Thabo, KD, Collison, and Steven Adams. Unfortunately for all of us Thunder fans, I'm not the head coach. His name is Scott Brooks and he loves Kendrick Perkins. There is a 98% chance that he starts Perk. So, with that being said.....

2) Steven Adams absolutely has to play more minutes than Perkins. He's the closest thing to Serge we have athletically and in shot blocking ability.  The perimeter defenders are taught to close out hard on shooters, because they have Serge as insurance behind them. And that's how they've played defense for three years, so they're not going to be able to break that in three days. That means they need big Stone Cold Steve Adams to at least try to alter some shots. 

3) All of Perk's minutes need to come with Tim Duncan in the game. That's the only time he needs to play is when he's guarding Duncan one on one. But that definitely doesn't mean he needs to equal Timmy's minutes. I'd be happy with about half of the minutes Duncan gets.

4) When Perk is in, the rest of the lineup needs to be small.  When Perk is in, the offense loses alot of firepower. The opponent essentially doesn't even have to guard him and can double Kevin. 

5) Give Jeremy Lamb a chance. He was really good this season up until the All Star break, but went into a slump after. And with the signing of Caron Butler, he's been phased out of the rotation. With the third best scorer out, the offensive struggle will be there. Kevin and Russ get zeroed(is that a word?) in on as it is, so take away Serge and it gets even tougher for them two. JLamb can spread the floor with his shooting ability and drive if he has space. 

6) Go small as much as possible. Big lineups at the beginning of the game are fine, because you need to make sure KD doesn't get in foul trouble too early.  But if he isn't in foul trouble he needs to play the 4 with Collison or Adams at the 5.

7) Perry Jones needs significant minutes.  I know everyone is thinking "Well, if he doesn't play then there must be a reason".  But in the regular season when Russ was out he was really good as well. He's 6' 11" and the second best athlete on the team behind Russ.  He can guard almost all positions and has a good outside shot.  So, unless he just falls on his face, he needs big minutes. Seriously though, if you ever get time, YouTube some of PJ3's dunking. It's really fun.

8)  The final thing is the biggest one, and not really an adjustment because it's been this way all year. But ride KD and Russ to the end.  You can count the Thunder out if you want, but with these two guys there is always a chance. 

  My solution to the injury itself?  Take one of his 57 abs and replace his calf muscle. 

 You're welcome ladies.  But, seriously, I think he could stand to donate one.