Now we have reached tbe point where g-money is just flat out lying. Presti became GM on June 7 2007, Durant was the absolute no brainer consolation prize to the Oden derby on June 28 2007. He had nothing to do with putting the sonics in position for drafting Durant as he was working for the spurs at the time. Allen was traded on draft night andLewis left a month later. But yeah sure this and a time machine got them Durant!
Not the offseason. I've said the whole time that at the trade deadline. Not the offseason, at that point then he truly has no leverage. I said at the trade deadline then it's a whole different situation.
Gotcha. Presti still made the right move trading Harden when he did. Don't forget that OKC had championship aspirations this year. By the time the trade deadline arrived, OKC would've had one of the best records in the league. Do you really think that's the best time to shake up the roster? 2 months before the playoffs start? Also, to preserve the continuity and dynamics of the team, I'm guessing that Presti was looking for a 6th man who was a perimeter player and also had an expiring contract or a cap-friendly contract. How many teams had that kind of player and would've been willing to trade him at the deadline?
Harden would have been a restricted free agent. Presti would have had tons of leverage as he could match any contract offered to him. It's no different than when Joe Johnson was a restricted free agent and the Hawks gave the Suns Diaw and two #'1s to not match his contract. It's no different from last summer when the Suns and Rockets were rumored to be willing to trade something to the Hornets so they wouldn't match Gordon's contract offer. I'm sure the Suns would have happily given up their pick in this draft this summer to land Harden.
Did you even read my post? It's very different b/c Presti wasn't going to match a max contract offered to Harden.
Yes I read your post. You said OKC would have lost his Bird rights, and had no leverage. That isn't true. They would have had tons of leverage on a restricted free agent, whether they wanted to sign him or not. A team willing to sign him would have had to give assets for them to not match, similar to the 2 examples I gave you (one happened and the other was rumored to happen).
You clearly didn't read my post b/c I said multiple times that Presti wasn't going to match a max contract offer, and your entire leverage argument is based on Presti matching a max contract offer.
You don't have to match to use your leverage to acquire assets for letting the restricted free agent sign elsewhere, similar to the examples I gave you. The Hawks weren't planning to match Joe Johnson either. My leverage argument is based on the ability to match, similar to the example that I gave you.
You mean Suns, right? Your leverage argument is based on the ability AND WILLINGNESS to match. With both your examples (Joe Johnson/Eric Gordon), the original team was willing to match. Presti wasn't willing to match a max contract to Harden. That's the difference. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2120105
Of course they "said" they were going to match, until they got the deal they wanted. That bluffing thing you swear pro GM's don't do. But I guess you think negotiations for Diaw and 2 picks just happened out of the blue one day.
I know GM's bluff, but it only works when they have the capacity to follow through on the bluff. If Presti bluffed, do you really think other GM's would've taken it seriously? Think about it. If Presti did match Harden's max contract, he would've set himself up for consecutive years of luxury tax payments under a particularly punitive CBA. And its not like we're talking about New York or LA here. We're talking about Oklahoma City.
It's not about capacity to bluff. It's about the other team giving up something to ensure they get what they want. As far as Presti locking himself into lux tax payments, that isn't necessarily the case. OKC can still amnesty Perkins and the cap is going up this year. Everyone was aware of these possibilities last summer.
The rest of the Knicks bench is trash and I don't believe in Smith. Smith is only a slightly better player than Martin and much less efficient.
I think Riley was told by Wade that Bosh and LeBron would come. I don't think Danny Ferry has one of his players doing that work for him. But of course that is just speculation. I think both GMs have been very impressive but I give the edge to Presti because he has made good both picks both early and late in the draft to build his team. He did have the benefit of having top 5 picks which is something Morey has never had but I think he did as well with those picks as anybody possibly could have. Harden wasn't a gimmie max player prior to this season but he was definitely a player that was worth risking the max on. I'm sure plenty of teams were willing to trade for him on that max contract but I don't think they were willing to give the Thunder good value back because of the risk involved with giving a career bench player max money. Ibaka is not overpaid based on what he brings to the table. They weren't a lock but they were the favorites and definitely a contender.
What're you talking about? It's ENTIRELY about the capacity to bluff. Let's go back to your Joe Johnson example. The only reason the Hawks sent Diaw/picks to Phoenix was b/c Phoenix said they would match the Hawks' offer to Johnson. At that time, the luxury tax wasn't nearly as punitive as it is now so its plausible that they would indeed match Johnson b/c they already had a competitive core of Nash/Stoudemire/Marion. Since the Hawks believed that Phoenix would match, they traded Diaw and draft picks to the Suns for Johnson. So yeah, it all comes down to the bluff of matching the max contract offer. IF the bluff has teeth, then there's going to be a sign and trade. If the bluff is empty (like Presti's would've been), it would've been called, and OKC would've lost Harden for nothing. If Presti were able to amnesty Perkins and find a way to surround Durant/Westbrook/Harden/Ibaka with role players good enough to win a title without paying luxury tax, then he would be undeniably the best GM in the league. Those 4 guys alone would've taken up $60mm of the salary cap. Everything I've said here is something I've already said before. I'm tired of repeating myself. I feel like I've thoroughly rebutted just about everything you've said. If you're able to offer a new perspective, I'll respond to it, but if you keep recycling your beaten arguments, don't expect me to answer.
So, does that mean you admit to lying since page 2, since your 'Imma gonna get a list' is filled with inaccuracies? Stop trolling, bro.
I posted a link to an article via SB Nation - if there's inaccuracies so be it. Here's Real GM"s listing. http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Oklahoma-City-Thunder/33/Transaction_History Happy dude? Presti's last 4 years of personnel ****-ups speak for themselves. And he keeps Brooks around to muck it up.
