I don't know how much Presti valued Harden, but the ownership deserves a lot of criticism in letting him go. Lucky for us, that Harden became a Rocket. I think this has been Morey's best move so far.
Here are some names I found on a blog listing the best "available" coaches: Alvin Gentry, Mike Malone, Vinny del Negro, Mark Jackson, Mike Dantoni, Scott Skiles, Nate McMillan, Avery Johnson and Fred Hoiberg. Now, maybe Tibs is out in Chicago and that puts another guy out there. I don't know, unless they are getting Tibs or Coach K wants to leave the college game behind all of a sudden, I don't think there's some scary amazing coaching hire out there for OKC to make.
Let's be reasonable. Who would make the decision to trade Harden to save money? The owner, not Presti. I think the blame has to be shared. They could have re-signed Harden and amnestied Perkins. Supposedly they offered Harden the same as Ibaka ($54MM/4yrs) and wouldn't budge. Harden demanded the max ($58-$60MM over 4 yrs). If it weren't for Presti, OKC probably wouldn't even be a relevant team. It's harder for franchises located in backwater cities to be successful. Overall, he's done a great job but the decision to trade Harden shot them in the foot. If Presti were fired, several teams would kill themselves trying to hire him. If Bonehead were fired, he'd be lucky to get a job as an assistant.
At some point OKC has to face up and admit the guy just isn't that good. They have one more season with this group. They can waste it with the same coach or they can go for broke with someone else. There doesn't have to be a "scary amazing coaching hire out there" for them to cut him loose. Obviously consider the source, but ESPN ranked him 20 out of 30 NBA coaches. That is pathetic for a guy that's been with the same team for 7 years. One last thing: The lack of discipline on that team is a huge problem. That is a coaching issue. If someone else comes in, they will have to deal with ingrained habits and attitudes that could be hard to change.
I'm not advocating for Scott Brooks. I'm just saying that keep him/fire him isn't the biggest thing a Rockets fan should worry about with them. I just don't want them to add any more talent. Firing Scott Brooks could end up working for the Rockets just as well as them keeping him. If they fire him and they hire say Lawrence Frank and the players revolt against him? Could tank their season. They hire Mike Brown? Maybe they are a disaster for a quarter of the year. When I say I want a disaster offseason, I mean they don't get better talent, maybe lose some talent, and their stars get antsy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Scott Brooks subtweeting Reggie Jackson <a href="http://t.co/rYuxTwJuOa">pic.twitter.com/rYuxTwJuOa</a></p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/588733737216516097">April 16, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As long as you have Westbrook (with his angel wings and warts both), the coach will only matter so much. He's going to have the ball a lot and do what he wants, a lot, independent of "system." Or that's my overwhelming impression after watching him a lot.
This. Too risky to bring in an unknown given Durant could bolt after the season. Say what you will about Brooks, but Durant and Westbrook are two of his staunchest defenders, so they'll be pissed if Presti fires him. I think they'll bring back Brooks, but let him be a lame duck, and resign Kanter for tons of money. You hope that a team with two legit MVP candidates, a low post threat in Kanter, a perfect 3-D big man in Ibaka and a change of pace bruiser off the bench in Adams and whatever Waiters gives you is enough to make some noise (which is very realistic).
Presto's list of player moves since 2010 is pretty terrible. Maybe they would, but when they get a guy whose most notable move this decade (which is half over, btw) is renting Enes Kanter for a 9th seed run, they would probably suffer a serious case of buyer's remorse, unless the Durant-Westbrook-Harden lotto jackpot is hit again (which had more to do with the mistakes made by the Blazer-Grizzlies than Presti's geniusnessitude)
Presti this decade: February 22, 2010: Signed Antonio Anderson to the first of two 10-day contracts. March 16, 2010: Signed Mustafa Shakur to a 10-day contract. June 23, 2010: Traded a 2010 2nd round draft pick (Dexter Pittman was later selected) to the Miami Heat for Daequan Cook and a 2010 1st round draft pick (Eric Bledsoe was later selected). June 24, 2010: Selected Eric Bledsoe (1st round, 18th pick), Craig Brackins (1st round, 21st pick) and Quincy Pondexter (1st round, 26th pick) in the 2010 NBA Draft. June 24, 2010: Traded Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter to the New Orleans Hornets for Cole Aldrich and Morris Peterson. June 24, 2010: Traded Eric Bledsoe to the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2012 1st round draft pick (Fab Melo was later selected). June 24, 2010: Purchased Tibor Pleiss from the Atlanta Hawks. June 24, 2010: Traded a 2011 2nd round draft pick (Milan Macvan was later selected) to the Miami Heat for Latavious Williams. June 24, 2010: Traded Magnum Rolle to the Indiana Pacers for Ryan Reid. July 21, 2010: Signed Royal Ivey as a free agent. February 24, 2011: Traded Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, cash and a 2012 1st round draft pick (Fab Melo was later selected) to the Boston Celtics for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson. February 24, 2011: Traded Morris Peterson and D.J. White to the Charlotte Bobcats for Nazr Mohammed. June 23, 2011: Selected Reggie Jackson (1st round, 24th pick) in the 2011 NBA Draft. December 13, 2011: Traded Robert Vaden, a 2012 2nd round draft pick (Robbie Hummel was later selected) and a 2013 2nd round draft pick (Bojan Dubljevic was later selected) to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Lazar Hayward. December 19, 2011: Traded Byron Mullens to the Charlotte Bobcats for a 2013 2nd round draft pick (Alex Abrines was later selected). March 21, 2012: Signed Derek Fisher as a free agent. June 28, 2012: Selected Perry Jones (1st round, 28th pick) in the 2012 NBA Draft. July 11, 2012: Signed Hasheem Thabeet as a free agent. August 4, 2012: Signed Daniel Orton as a free agent. September 12, 2012: Signed Andy Rautins as a free agent. September 12, 2012: Signed DeAndre Liggins as a free agent. October 1, 2012: Signed Walker Russell as a free agent. October 27, 2012: Traded Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, James Harden and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, a 2013 1st round draft pick (Steven Adams was later selected), a future 1st round draft pick and a future 2nd round draft pick. October 31, 2012: Signed Daniel Orton as a free agent. February 21, 2013: Traded Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers for Giorgos Printezis. Oklahoma City also received a trade exception from Portland. February 21, 2013: Traded cash and a 2014 2nd round draft pick to the New York Knicks for Ronnie Brewer. February 25, 2013: Signed Derek Fisher as a free agent. June 27, 2013: Selected Steven Adams (1st round, 12th pick), Archie Goodwin (1st round, 29th pick) and Alex Abrines (2nd round, 32nd pick) in the 2013 NBA Draft. June 27, 2013: Traded Archie Goodwin and cash to the Golden State Warriors for Andre Roberson. July 11, 2013: As part of a 3-team trade, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Kevin Martin and cash to the Minnesota Timberwolves; the Oklahoma City Thunder traded cash to the Milwaukee Bucks; the Milwaukee Bucks traded Szymon Szewczyk to the Oklahoma City Thunder; and the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Luke Ridnour and a 2014 2nd round draft pick to the Milwaukee Bucks. August 7, 2013: Signed Ryan Gomes as a free agent. September 27, 2013: Signed Diante Garrett as a free agent. January 7, 2014: As part of a 3-team trade, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded cash to the Memphis Grizzlies; the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Ryan Gomes to the Boston Celtics; the Boston Celtics traded Courtney Lee and a 2016 2nd round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies; the Memphis Grizzlies traded Jerryd Bayless to the Boston Celtics; and the Memphis Grizzlies traded a 2014 2nd round draft pick and a 2017 2nd round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. January 16, 2014: Signed Royal Ivey to a 10-day contract. March 1, 2014: Signed Caron Butler as a free agent. March 6, 2014: Signed Reggie Williams to a 10-day contract. March 16, 2014: Signed Mustafa Shakur to a 10-day contract. March 28, 2014: Signed Reggie Williams to a 10-day contract. June 26, 2014: Selected Mitch McGary (1st round, 21st pick) and Josh Huestis (1st round, 29th pick) in the 2014 NBA Draft. July 15, 2014: Traded Giorgos Printezis, Thabo Sefolosha and cash to the Atlanta Hawks for Sofoklis Schortsanitis and a trade exception. August 26, 2014: Traded Hasheem Thabeet and cash to the Philadelphia 76ers for a trade exception and a 2015 2nd round draft pick. (The Thunder's acquired 2015 2nd-round pick is protected.) January 5, 2015: As part of a 3-team trade, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Lance Thomas to the New York Knicks; the Oklahoma City Thunder traded a 2015 1st round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Louis Amundson, Alex Kirk and a 2019 2nd round draft pick to the New York Knicks; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder; and the New York Knicks traded Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers. (2015 OKC 1st-rd pick is top-18 protected in 2015, top-15 protected in 2016 & 2017. Will become two 2nd-round picks if not conveyed by 2017). February 19, 2015: As part of a 3-team trade, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Grant Jerrett, Kendrick Perkins, Tibor Pleiss and a 2017 1st round draft pick to the Utah Jazz; the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Reggie Jackson to the Detroit Pistons; the Detroit Pistons traded D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and a 2019 2nd round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder; the Detroit Pistons traded a 2017 2nd round draft pick to the Utah Jazz; and the Utah Jazz traded Enes Kanter and Steve Novak to the Oklahoma City Thunder. (UTA 1st round pick received from OKC is protected.) February 19, 2015: Traded Ish Smith, Latavious Williams, cash and a 2015 2nd round draft pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for a 2016 2nd round draft pick. (NOP 2015 2nd round pick received from OKC is protected.) (OKC 2016 2nd round pick received from NOP is protected.) Highlights & Mostly lowlights 2010 *Drafted Eric Bledsoe, got rid of him for a pick in the Perkins trade, in retrospect should have held on to him. Bad move *Traded Jeff Green & Bledsoe & first round pick for Kendrick Perkins AWFUL move 2011 *Drafted Reggie Jackson Good move *Signed Derek Fisher LMFAO stopgap lazy ass because DEREK FISHER move *Drafted Perry Jones III and was WORSHIPPED for it at the time, despite Jones being a nobody in the NBA 4 years later Nothing to slighly bad move that he was somehow credited for at the time] 2012 *Harden Trade - Historically Awful Move That Has Reshaped Entire NBA Era 2013 *Had to pay to get rid of Kevin Martin Kevin Martin Rip move *Signed Derek Fisher AGAIN LOL Derek Fisher Move *Drafted OK role player in Steven Adams with late lottery pick to complete the Harden trade meh-aori move 2014 *Somehow got a 2nd rounder as part of the Philly tank job for Hasheem Thabeet Hinkie Hasheem comedy move *Acquired fire sale priced Dion Waters desperation move. 2015 *Finally got rid of Kendrick perkins for Enes Kanter Addition by Subtraction move even if Kanter is nothing How many more years is Presti going to live off the glory of 2009?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kevin Durant asked if he will watch the playoffs. KD: "Hell no"</p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/588746339787284482">April 16, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
My thoughts?? I hope Clay Bennett gets swallowed up by a sink hole after Durant and Westbrook both bolt for greener pastures.
And remember folks, drafting Reggie Jackson, a talented player who apparently didnt fit in to the OKC clique so badly that they're still trashing him, is probably the only truly positive move that Presto Geniuso has made IN SIX (6) YEARS!!!
They can start by getting Cable in OKC. No wonder KD is coming to H-Town. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kevin Durant asked if he will watch the playoffs. KD: "Hell no"</p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/588746339787284482">April 16, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Russell Westbrook also said he won't watch the playoffs: "I don't ever watch other teams."</p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/588754949095337984">April 16, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Nice summary. The one thing a good GM should be able to reliably do is deliver solid role players without breaking the team. Look how Morey got Smith, Brewer, Terry, Bev, Paps, Prigioni, Parsons, et al basically for free. Presti, on the other hand, spent first round picks (Adams, Jackson, McGary, Waiters) just to get to mediocre.
They're done. I don't think Durant will ever be the same. Sucks to say cause I'm a fan of his but just my gut feeling.
