How do the Rockets prepare for Durant's exodus from OKC? We sign him and form a big 3. Westbrook leaves to the Lakers, takes the mantle from Kobe. OKC is ****e until Seattle gets a team. Then I bless them to be good again. A guy can hope right?
Don't worry for them. If KD comes back healthy, I think they have plenty to win big in the next or next next season.
Assuming everyone stayed healthy and OKC still made the trade for Kanter, would OKC be the 1 seed right now?
No, but they'd be in the thick of things for the 2-6th spot and we wouldn't be worrying about stupid things like division winners deserving top 4 seeds.
They DO need it. Presti has had 3 years now since the Finals and done nothing but surround his stars with a big ass heap'o'trash, while losing the most valuable player in the league in the process
the cheap ass owner messed up. reggie jackson/westbrook/harden/durant/ibaka would've been going to the finals year after year and they broke it up. should've just paid up and terrorized the league, durant and westbrook will probably eventually leave since the owner has proven he doesn't want to pay to win
http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/746808 Report: Thunder to evaluate Scott Brooks before committing to him next season
nope because it remains to be seen how kanter and waiters would fit with ibaka, kd, and wb. looks decent on paper but kanter and waiters looked like horrible fits in okc.
Assuming EVERYONE stayed Healthy and they still acquired Smith and Brewer it's just as plausible to imagine the Rockets as the #1 seed. Clearly their role players are vastly superior to the Thunder, who couldn't even get to the playoffs, while an injury riddled Rockets team is sitting at #2.
I think they resign Kanter. Letting him walk would not send a good signal to Durant heading into the final year of his deal. Then just pray for good health(Rockets fans know all about that). The problem is the uncertainty over Durant's foot injury.
I'm actually surprised Presti is still in power, If I'm being brutally honest. You don't disband a team of Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka to save money. You just don't. This isn't even with the hindsight of Harden now being the MVP. The first move should have been to amnesty Perkins. Congratulations, you did that a couple of years after you should have. A team who went to the NBA Finals, with 3 players all under 24 years of age no where near their primes....... Just LOL at that decision. He doomed that team before he even gave them a chance.
Then here is what you want to happen: 1. They bring back the same coach. Nuff said. 2. They give Kanter a huge contract extension. This would blow up hope of retaining KD, WB and Ibaka long term. At least one of those guys would have to go. Otherwise, it would make the Harden trade look even more stupid.
I could go either way on firing the coach. It's easy to say that if they get rid of him they would be upgrading, but that's often easier said than done. Who are they hiring to replace him? Mark Jackson? Mike Brown (lol)! Phil Jackson isn't walking through that door. Jeff Van Gundy isn't walking through that door. Rick Adelman isn't walking through that door. Stan Van Gundy got a job. George Karl got a job. Budenholzer got a job. They could just as easily make a terrible hire to replace Brooks that would be a disaster for the team and make the players want to revolt.
