I posted a link to an article via SB Nation - if there's inaccuracies at the margins so be it. Here's Real GM"s listing. http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Oklahoma-City-Thunder/33/Transaction_History Happy dude? You really think getting Daequan Cook at a lower price point is the savign grace that's being neglected? Daequan cook? Presti's last 4 years of personnel ****-ups speak for themselves. 3 epic fails with Perkins/Ibaka extensions and losing Harden that compounded each other, followed by role player adds that have been mediocre on the whole.
You're saying you posted something inaccurate and you were not lying? So, what did we learn today, class?
I copy pasted an article about Presti's last 4 years of failure , if it's wrong as to some details so be it (OMG THE DAEQUAN COOK TRADE, YOU CAN'T IGNORE THE DAEQUAN COOK TRADE!!!! PRESIT IS A GENIUS!!!! ) and duly apologize. That's slightly different from me fabricating a story in which Presti took over teh Sonics and used his shrewd acumen to clear the decks in order to enable them to draft Durant. It's also slightly different from spinning Nick Collison and Kevin Martin as an A-list bench. The Thunder's bench is dogsh-t. As are most of their players outside of the top dudes, and of course, the single worst starter in the NBA.
Your list even had its very first transaction incorrect. I'm sorry you are too ignorant of Presti's short career too realize you posted what you consider to be from a "liar". Why would you post a liar's list? Your words, bro. Not mine. You owe gmoney an apology.
If every time you quote something that's wrong makes one a liar - then I guess I'm pathological because I've been posting gmoneys silliness repeatedly. Mea culpa benny. So now that the slap fight is over and we've kissed, why don't you make the case for Prestos lateral move circus that's been in town since 2009? Or can you?
I could, but why should I bother? I don't care if you think he's overrated. But, I do find it questionable that you either don't care enough to look into his history or are purposefully being obtuse to post that scurrilous list, yet somehow turn around and call someone a liar for getting mixed up. It is OK to be wrong and to disagree, but you do not have to insult at every gotcha. That first transaction is like saying we Traded Marcus Morris to Phoenix. Full stop.
You reposted one inaccuracy that I had about the Durant draft year which I admitted to being wrong about. Posting one year where JR Smith has had a slightly higher PER does not make him a more efficient player than Martin.
It did for the year he was on the Thunder, doesn't it? Which also happens to be right now. Why is his performance in Sacramento relevant? And why isn't JR Smith's current state relevant? But since you're saying that we can use people's past careers to evaluate present bench strength, rather than what's relevant now, the claim that the triumvirate of Collison-Martin-Jackson is one of the best in the league gets even more ridiculous. There are future HOF'rs & dream teamers etc ridign pine throughout the league. Hell the Knicks have a devastating studs in Stoudemire, Kidd, Kenyon Martin & Camby
KMart still killed JR in TS% and this is probably the first year in their careers or at least in a long time that JR has had a higher PER. When the difference between the two in PER is so small I think factoring in previous performance I'd appropriate. I think most analysts would still consider KMart to be the more efficient player
So when you said that Martin was better because Smith was "much less efficient" you meant that Martin is better because he is only moderately less efficient than Smith and adding that to a magical historical performance modifier - thus allows you to prop up the silly point that the great Martin-Collison-Jackson BENCH TERROR brigade that has terrorized the western conference this year, thanks to genius role-player acquirer Sam Presti Let's add this to the pile. Presti was a preternatural genius who tanked to acquire durant. Colliosn-Jackson-Martin is a fearsome bench FORCE acquired by role-player guru Sam Presti. The Miami Heat last year were just as deep as any Lakers team Kobe ever had David Robinson at his peak wasn't more productive or efficient than Olajuwon in the regular season even though he had higher numbers in most major offensive categories.
The problems are still the same. You can't pair up Harden with a ball dominant guard, hence no Rondo or Rubio. Curry would be a great fit with Harden because of his ridiculous catch and shoot abilities but his ankles are made of glass and Presti would be extremely stupid to gamble this way. The other problem is that Harden is just not a reliable enough ballhandler to function as a de facto PG in a traditional set up. Unless you are moving towards implementing a triangle offense, then Harden as the de facto PG sucks as his TO stats indicates however great the package for Westbrook could have been. The Harden trade was still the right call but Presti missed a beat by not going the extra mile and amnestying Perkins (perhaps because of cheap owners ?) to clear space and get a legit post presence. This is the last missing piece in the OKC championship puzzle.
There is nothing magical about factoring in recent historical performances. The trio is one of the better ones in the league I don't think I ever said just as deep I didn't say that.
All I could think of when you wrote that: <object width="640" height="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/obFHu7DCsEs?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/obFHu7DCsEs?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
I'm not sure why some people bring up the idea that "Harden wasn't thought of as max" as an argument FOR Presti. Isn't that the whole point of having a genius GM? So that he can determine if the guy he drafted and played 3 years is worth of a regular max(OKC didn't have super-max) contract? This isn't like the Rockets missing out on Lin. The Rockets had Lin for 2 weeks in a hectic shortened offseason where all their energy was devoted to the Gasol trade. Presti had 3 years to watch James Harden play. If Presti's knowledge of Harden is on par with the media and fans, then he is the definition of overrated.
Ibaka is an elite shot blocker and at 23 years old he is already developing into a very good post player on the offensive end. He has a jump shot that extends to near the three point line, and is getting better at the hook shot and low post moves every year. Post Players develop slower than the skill positions. Give Ibaka a few more years to refine his game and get his confidence up and he will be a perennial all-star. In essence I believe that due to money restraints by OKC ownership Presti was forced to choose between keeping Harden or keeping Ibaka. Ibaka is set to make 12.3 million next year vs the 2.2 million he made this year. You cannot let a player like Harden walk without getting something in return. Lets not forget that Lamb has potential to become a sold nba player and they have one of our first round draft picks. No question the rockets made out great in the Harden trade, but long term it wont look like a bad deal for OKC. Keeping Ibaka will pay dividends in the future.
I'll give him a couple more years. You can understand the logic behind picking Ibaka over Harden. Don't forget that this team was filthy during the regular season. They still have a big window too. Yeah, he undervalued Harden, but if Westbrook doesn't get hurt, they're probably going to the finals.
