OKC will never pay monstrous luxury taxes like the Warriors and Celtics. It's been a long while, but I've listened to a number of Presti's media lectures over the years and there were 3 things he kept repeating year-after-year-after-year: (1) culture, (2) process and (3) sustained success. With their accumulated pile of future draft picks, they won't have to re-sign every single player. I'll go on record now and say Dort and I-Hart won't be re-signed after their contracts expire and could be traded as soon as next summer when decisions on J-Dub and Chet must be made.
I had no idea he was one of the biggest cogs in the SA front office. Per RC bufford, he was the one that scouter Tony Parker for years and brought him to SA
OKC will continue to recycle their role players, hand out contracts but then trade them, and then replace them with drafted players........ Other teams have to trade players like KAT or now eventually let go of Naz Reid. That way Presti would still be ahead of the Curve......he is like in his own tier as a GM and Vice President.
More to say they are Superteam killers .....which is fine by me..... They should get rid of the Super Max while they are at it and such things as All NBA linking to contracts. Nobody has attempted to build advantages thru the deepest benches, Cers and Thunder are trying. Also why teams are hell bent on playing stifling Defense all of the sudden and go out and run, so they can mitigate the collective scoring of real Superstars. Playing Defense comes cheap at the dollar cost.
Maybe. I think teams completely disregarded the salary cap for many years/decades. CBA was a harsh change trying to get more parity and teams are adjusting to the 2nd apron. I think in a 2-3 years, teams will have their budgets more in line with 2nd apron. With a rising cap, I'm not so sure the current problems associated with high payrolls will still be there, as total player nominal salaries (i.e., before CBA adjustments to ensure a revenue split) will be a smaller percentage of the cap. I could see 2nd apron making it hard for good teams to add players. A team like OKC that has a lot of draft picks could end up as a dynasty, as it is hard for contenders to match their cost-controlled talent.
OKC winning this year reminds me of when Curry Warriors first won. They don't even look happy. Why? Because their competition was injured/weak and they just waltz into the title. They didn't have to "work" for it because their team was simply too good. Some teams try for years, maybe even a decade before they win. Hakeem anyone? Others they just rely on the GM to stack up the team like no tomorrow and they just win it all with some bad injury luck to their opponents and by just being overwhelmingly better overall. What's scary is they are so stacked on top of their draft capital being so extensive, they can easily get better in the off-season. It really sucks we keep having these ridiculous home grown super teams appear whenever we're trying to compete. First it was the Warriors and now it's the Thunder. I have no doubt OKC will be trying to break the 73 win record next season. Normally the new CBA rules with 2nd Apron would kill a superteam but when you built it thru draft, you have the luxury of having rookie extensions which are significantly cheaper. They basically have a dynasty on their hands. SGA is making 35M/year and still under contract for 2 more years. Their payroll is lower than ours this year for reference.
They're very good and are set up for the future in a way few teams have even been. That's because Presti has always known free agents will never go to Oklahoma City so he needs as many chances to hit on a draft pick as possible. But, I don't think it's fair to say they walked to a title this year. Denver was really, really good and we were saying afterward that series was the Finals because of the quality of play. Nobody expected Indiana to do this either so the Thunder did have to earn their title.
We have to see how Indiana can even replicate this, this has been a dream run from them. They came closer than Reggie Miller ever has.......1 Game, to be exact 2 Quarters Away from a Title. I do think Haliburton was at risk of a major injury regardless with him playing with that injury.
Where the extra first-rounders will pay off is in developing young talent in spaces #8–15 on OKC's roster. Players like Joe, Topic, Dieng, and this year's #14 will hang around and provide insurance against injury or decline in veterans (like Dort, Caruso, and Wiggins). But, I like the Rockets' chances on paper against SGA and Jalen Williams. Amen and Durant match up quite well. Tari and Bari could be difference makers on the frontline. The huge question mark is whether Cam and RS can handle the pressure of playoff basketball. That's a lot to ask of 20-year-old millionaires. Post-Durant trade, I think the Rockets should improve their backcourt rather than asking their young gunners to take on more than they can handle.
Pre Durant the Rox Defense matched theirs, Amen, Sengun were a handful. The Thunder are more consistent with results. Dieng or Dillon Jones, one of them might leave to make space for a new player. If Dort demands Hartenstein type of money, I am guessing anyone would flinch.
