If OKC had put Westbrook instead of Harden on the market 2 years ago...

Wth... so you think we would have had to give up Chandler Parsons, Kevin Martin, Jeremy lamb, Terrence Jones The Toronto pick (12th), the Dallas pick(20th), our pick, the bobcats second and two more unprotected first!!

 

The Thunder should have traded Westbrook on two occasions.

1) for a New Orleans based Chris Paul.
or
2) for an Orlando Magic based Dwight Howard.

The Thunder package alone would've trumped both winning trades for those two players.

Kevin Durant playing with a PG who will dictate the game in a good way and give him the ball when and where he needs it.

Or a C who scores down low and provides even better D than they get from their big men.

Either trades would've made the Thunder much better since it would've allowed them to keep Harden.

Presti seriously done goofed.

 

I don't think it's close Lebron is a better defender, passer, arguably rebounder, bball iq and more offensive versatility.

Durant didn't know what to do when he got doubled - he looked lost. He also didn't post up, when he had a small mismatch (doesn't have a post game). LeBron often finds the open man.

People need to prop someone else up to top dog, because 1 dude dominating ain't no fun.

 

They obviously undervalued Harden. I've been saying that the "6th man is not a demotion" thing is bogus. The fact is, a bench player is not valued as much as a starter, fair or not. They could have gotten more by trading Westbrook. And Harden would have helped them win about the same as Westbrook.

 

That's a fair criticism, the Thunder are probably the most selfish team in the league but KD's talent is undeniable.

 

Ibaka too

 

WB is a rich man's Steven Francis.

 

Starburry 2.0

 

Agreed, KD is a beast, still needs some work on his game though with his size and reach he could be a great defender.

 

If we had to give up more than what we offered for Harden to obtain Westbrook, I'd say no thanks and attempt to draft for a better player. If Westbrook figures out how to balance distributing the ball and scoring he'd be much much better than what he currently is now. Problem is that his game will decline as his athleticism declines. If given a choice I think Harden still makes this team better vs Westbrook, not to mention I doubt Dwight Howard would want to play with WB over going to the Thunder to play with Harden/Durant/Ibaka.

I think the Parsons' news is really creative (although not too surprising, being the best move they can make regarding Parsons) because it allows Morey to get his star player (if possible) via trade or signing outright. Then Morey can resign Parsons to a 7-8 million contract for 3 years with a player option on the last year. Bosh and Melo are the only players that stick out in my mind to be able to sign outright but you can never doubt Morey's methods.

 

I remember saying the same thing. I would have traded Harden and Perk for Dwight and Westbrook for Chris Paul.

A frontcourt of Dwight and Ibaka is unbeatable defensively. And Paul running the point with those two and Durant? Thats insane.

Alternatively, they could have traded WB like they did Harden, get a solid replacement and some bench players.