I disagree. He didn't need to choose between Westbrook and harden. He should have amnestied Perkins instead and waited one more year on harden, or signed harden to the full max and then traded him (still bad). He could have also chosen harden over ibaka. All were possibilities even if Okc was trying to avoid the tax. The article was rationalization. This was an almost unforgivable f-up by a go who otherwise has done very well particularly in drafting.
I disagree. That train left the station 3 years ago. The only way Durant stays is if the Thunder win the championship and right now they're not even favorites to win the West. This is similar to how the Cavs lost LeBron in 2008 instead of 2010 when they failed surround him with the talent needed to win a championship. The Thunder traded a future top 3 player for peanuts and prematurely broke up a dynasty that could've won titles for the next decade with 3 of the top 5 players in the league right now. There is no comeback from such a debacle especially when the sole reason was money which makes this whole thing even more stupid considering how much money Durant generates for that franchise - a sad reality the Thunder will only realize once he's gone and revenue drops off a cliff.
I've been saying this for over a year. Durant isn't going to risk being stuck, so he bails first. Then Westbrook leaves the following year. It's brutal. Seattle fans would say it's karma.
Bit off subject but it got me thinking. I can't believe the salary cap in 1997-98 was $26.9 million for each team and yet Jordan made $33.1 million himself that year. Of course that is one of the reasons why the lockout happened the following year and why Jordan probably thought it be best to retire a second time rather than to take a paycut of about 60% http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/info/salary_cap
I can feel Presti got cocky with his good drafting and thought drafting a guard who can shoot will replace (at least partially) the loss of Harden and getting Martin on top of that will help as well. While getting Martin indeed helped some (not keeping him was dumb dumb ), Lamb showed that his a bum (at least so far). I'm sure Presti haven't envisioned in his worst nightmares that scenario likes this (Harden turning into superstar and Lamb being trash ) will happen.
The problem with that line of thinking is that by pinching pennies here, the Thunder may have potentially squandered millions in future earnings if Durant and Westbrook leave. The owners failed to realize how the NBA works as a business. Owning a team is a luxury commodity that isn't designed to earn money in the traditional sense through revenue and profits. It's a long term investment vehicle whose value dramatically increases over time especially if the franchise is a successful one and has star power. Look at the Cavs for example, since Lebron's return, it has almost doubled in value simply by having the most marketable player in the game. Owners make profit by selling a team at some point in the future if the goal is to simply make money like Donald Sterling who became a billionaire after selling his team for $2 Billion only 30 years after purchasing it for $15 Million. That amounts to an insane return on investment and that is why owning a team is such a desired and coveted privilege. Therefore, paying luxury tax to keep a potential dynasty intact was the only smart business move to be made. Imagine the value of the Thunder if the kept the team together a won a title or two.
I'm sorry OP is correct, there are no real excuses but people will try. The Harden trade was one of the worst trades in NBA history. Who's to say they would not have beaten the Spurs and Miami in 2013 with another years growth. He not only traded him but he traded him months before he had to, what a douche, lol.
I guess, but we are not Durant. Fact is right now the Thunder's option was to either resign Kanter and have the big man scoring option on their team or to not resign Kanter and NOT have that versatility on their team. That is right now. Not about Harden, that has passed. Right Now this was the only move they could make outside of making a run at West. For all we know Durant could be loving this move. I don't think they have to win the championship but they have to get close. In order to do that letting talent leave is not the answer.
Any one who who b****es about Presti's draft record is an idiot. He hits on early picks late picks. The problem when you hit on so many many picks is you have to pay them.
Somebody needs to slap the taste out of Clay Bennett's mouth if he ever talks about the woes of being in a small market. I wish ill-will upon that franchise purely because of him, and the mob job he and David Stern pulled on the city of Seattle.
People act like Harden was a sure thing. The Rockets package wasn't even on top of Presti's list. He wanted Bradley Beal or Klay Thompson instead. Just imagine a Curry/Harden backcourt for the last two years. Given those years budget were tighter than they are now, I don't know many other GMs that would've had the sack like Morey's to max out on a 6th man. Other teams could've easily nickeled and dimed like OKC once there was a suitable package in place.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Celtics will be acquiring Perry Jones, a second round pick and cash from Oklahoma City. Not really giving up anything. Tax deal for OKC.</p>— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveBHoop/status/621022796743716864">July 14, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thunder will trade Perry Jones & future second round pick to Celtics. (via <a href="https://twitter.com/royceyoung">@royceyoung</a> & multiple reports) <a href="http://t.co/Jxz5dp3nza">pic.twitter.com/Jxz5dp3nza</a></p>— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/621036462658686976">July 14, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I could be wrong, but this makes me think more moves are coming. Jones isn't terrible and is essentially on a $2-million expiring deal, yet the Thunder were willing to trade a future 2nd and cash to get rid of him immediately? Reading between the lines, that feels like a front office that is VERY aware of its precise tax figure and under a mandate to get under a certain level. Hopefully Augustin is next...
It would be nice if they dealt us Augustin, but I figure they'll either hang onto him or trade him to the East or a lousy Western team.
I don't think playing Durant, Harden, and Westbrook all at once would work efficiently. Westbrook would continue to have the ball in his hands. Harden would continue to be the 6th man and would never become the player he is. They had to decide between Westbrook and Harden who they wanted to be their primary play maker.
No they didn't, that's a post-hoc rationalization that only the most ardent Thunder fans will push. They could have just as easily slept on the decision for another year or done any number of other things, and been better off for it Solving the dilemma of playing "efficiently" with 3 top 10 caliber (then, an now top 5 caliber) players on the court at once is an eminently better problem to have than giving up a top 5 player for pennies on the dollar; particularly when you're as inept as Presti has proven to be in finding cheap role players.
