I mean, OKC has been steadily improving, and is now pretty good. They’ve got just as good of a young core as we do if not better. And they can beat out any team in the nba in pursuit of any available player. Add a super star to SGA, Chet, and Williams…that’s all they need. I like our young core but outside of those two Brooklyn picks, we’ll have to dig into our core to make a trade for a star. And even after OKC shoots their wad on a franchise changing trade, they’ll still have a ton of picks to keep helping themselves for years. I know folks think Presti is going over board with the pick hoarding, but picks are the currency of the NBA (even more so with the new CBA). I think Presti has done a great job putting okc in a place to compete for a championship over the next decade. You could maybe argue that he maybe took a year too long to get them where they are now, but that’s about it. think about how many 2nd rounders we just wasted this offseason for no return. All those seconds to move Christopher, Garuba, TyTy, and KPJ. Now think about the four 2nd rounders Presti picked up taking on just Olidipo’s contract. A master class in asset MGMT. stone and Presti aren’t remotely in the same league.
What I heard is..... we are flipping Oladipo and Robinson Earl for this dominating PG and this rim running big man. Quite the haul I would say!!
Koreen: Kevin Porter Jr. trade is a step back in sports confronting domestic violence https://theathletic.com/4971642/2023/10/18/kevin-porter-jr-trade-rockets-thunder/
I find it ironic that DD had issue playing on the Beavers with this tunnel vision pass last point guard yet had no issue with KPJ doing the same. I guess KPJ never affected his touches.
Didn't you guys make a whole thread on how KPJ was unmovable and how stupid trying to trade him was? Welp, can you ever give Stone credit? Or is he just not your GM of "preference"?.
He was an absolute stud at Villanova. I’m a Xavier fan and hated the guy (which means he was really good)!
Spoiler https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/lists/2022-23-thunder-player-grades-jeremiah-robinson-earl/ https://nbadraft.theringer.com/2021/ 44. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl SHADES OF Chuma Okeke, Grant WIlliams, Donyell Marshall PLUSES Versatile defender with the strength and size to handle bigger players and the lateral quickness to comfortably switch onto smaller ones. He has excellent technique, staying in his stance and reading opponents’ moves to contain dribble penetration. Savvy off-ball defender who rotates well and communicates. Skilled at attacking closeouts and getting to the rim. Contact doesn’t bother him in the paint. Flashes shot-creation upside but he needs to improve his pull-up jumper. At this stage, he already has smooth footwork closer to the rim. Now he needs to expand it outward. Great cutter and off-ball mover who can relocate behind the arc to get open for 3s. Versatile player in the half court who can operate from all over—spotting up on the perimeter, being active on the baseline or in the low post, or setting screens for a pick-and-roll. Good passer who can be trusted to make the right play from all areas of the court. Excellent rebounder for his position who constantly hustles. MINUSES Streaky shooter who struggles to convert when contested. He’s also better from a standstill and not much of a movement shooter. Lacks above-average athleticism, which hurts him as an interior defender. He’s sometimes too active of an on-ball defender and falls out of position in one-on-one situations, leading opponents to blow by him. https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2021/07/21074551/2021-NBA-Draft-Guide-1.pdf 30. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl F | Villanova | Birthdate: Nov. 3, 2000 (Age: 20) | 6-9 | 230 LBS | Hometown: Kansas City, Kan. Background Parents are Katie Robinson and Lester Earl. Lester was a McDonald’s All-American who started his college career at LSU before transferring to Kansas due to an NCAA investigation into his recruitment stemming from a $5,000 payment from a booster. He never quite reached the lofty heights that his high school standing promised due to knee injuries, but he did go on to play professionally in Spain. Jeremiah started his career in high school at Bishop Miege outside of Kansas City and started immediately as a freshman while playing a critical role on a state champion team. Robinson-Earl won two more state championships and in his junior year averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Decided to transfer to basketball training powerhouse IMG Academy for his senior season. Was a member of what was basically the best team in the country during his senior year, pairing with Jaden Springer, Armando Bacot and former first-round pick Josh Green. Won the GEICO Nationals Tournament and scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the title game. Won just about every honor you can win in 2019. Was a McDonald’s All-American, was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit and was a Jordan Brand Classic honoree. Was a five-star recruit and a consensus top-20 player in the country. Committed to Villanova over his father’s alma mater of Kansas. Also considered Arizona, North Carolina and many others. His freshman season at Villanova went well as he won the Big East Rookie of the Year award while helping Villanova to a conference title. He considered going pro but decided to return for his sophomore year, which was the right call as he would have been a clear second-round pick. Robinson-Earl won co-Big East Player of the Year honors in his second season and was a late season finalist for the Wooden Award. He was a finalist for the Karl Malone Award as the top power forward in college basketball. Carried a short-handed Villanova team to the Sweet 16, where it lost to eventual champion Baylor. Robinson-Earl then decided to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft with representation, forgoing his final three years of eligibility. Strengths Everything Robinson-Earl does is fundamentally sound. Can’t emphasize enough how strong his polish and feel for the game is. Catches almost everything. Keeps the ball high as a finisher. Puts himself in the right spots. Offensively, extremely smart in finding open spaces. Smart as a roller in pick-and-roll. Can short roll into space, put the ball on the deck to finish or make a high-level passing read on the move. Great feel for when to slip a screen and dive toward the rim to finish. An underrated scorer at the basket because he has underrated bounce off two feet. Made 67.7 percent of his shots at the basket in half-court settings, most of which were off rolls or from sitting in the dunker spot. But also has some game as an advantage creator. When Villanova didn’t use him as a roller, it often used him as a high-post scorer at the elbow or top of the key. Can put the ball on the deck and get to the rim. Loves to face a guy up, drive and then use a back spin to get back to his right hand. Can also pass it because of his understanding of how defenders play. Excellent at reading help on the backside and diagnosing which of his teammates are open for a kickout. Showed some live-dribble passing with both hands. He’s going to be solid as a great team player who keeps the ball moving while also being enough of an offensive threat to finish inside. Went from struggling defensively in space as a freshman to being a legitimately impactful switch defender. One of the most technically sound defenders in the 2021 NBA Draft class. Does a good job of containing in switches against guards due to the balance he plays with in his defensive stance. Plays with great bend. Doesn’t have the most lateral quickness in the world, but he plays angles exceptionally well and has great feel for when to be aggressive and disruptive with his hands. Gets big and uses his length well when he can. Does a good job of squaring his frame and getting his feet set after a first slide, which cuts off driving angles and forces contact while he’s in a legal guarding position. Will be able to play any coverage that a team asks of him with ease. Off the ball, seems to read complex actions well and diagnose defensive situations with ease. Not a shot blocker but uses his strength and the principle of verticality to be an impactful rim protector. Does well at staying vertical while he’s on the move sliding backward. Rarely jumps into a player’s space but rather just lets his natural size and length take over. Good when accepting drivers on the ball but also makes some impactful weakside rim rotations despite lacking a ton of bounce. Has enough strength to play against fours and fives inside. Won’t get blown off the ball in terms of strength. Weaknesses Not a particularly explosive athlete. Doesn’t have much twitch. Great balance but must load up to do what he needs to, which causes issues when he gets off balance. If he comes heavy on a closeout, he struggles to get back into defensive position. Opponents drive him regularly out of that position. Also thought the game against Connecticut when the Huskies got him matched up on James Bouknight wasn’t great, as Bouknight blew by him a couple of times in a straight line. Robinson-Earl is excellent with his angles and positioning, but he just might not be quite quick enough to be anything more than a good complementary defender as opposed to a difference-maker. Can also occasionally get finished over the top of inside. Definitely not a five-man at the NBA level. Will have to play the four. Because he’ll need to play the four, he’s going to have to shoot it. The jumper looks good, but the results weren’t there. Great base and great shot prep. Had a couple of moments where he hit shots off movement this year that showcased upside. And when he’s set and can just step into the shot, there is every reason to believe he’ll consistently make them. Made his corner 3s at a 37.1 percent clip on 27 attempts. But he hasn’t had good results as a shooter anywhere else. A lot of his misses out of spot-ups come to the right and come up short. There was a bit of a regression as a sophomore. At some point, he probably makes shots because he’s a worker and there is nothing wrong with the shot. But the misses while being off directionally pose some concerns. Also, not much here in terms of upside. Not going to be a high-level shot creator. Probably not going to be a truly elite defender because of the lack of athletic tools. If the shot doesn’t translate, is there some real downside? Summary Where you fall on Robinson-Earl likely comes down to the jumper. If you think he’s going to shoot it at some point, then you should probably be a fan and have him in the late first round. He’s a smart defender who profiles very nicely as a role player on that end of the floor and will make the right reads and be in the right positions. He’s smart, finishes around the rim, plays unselfishly and profiles nicely as a rotation player at the next level. He might not be a true difference-maker, but it's easy to see him being part of effective lineups for the next decade, helping his teammates be in the right spots due to his well-rounded skill set and ability to help them be in the right spots. But ifyou think he's not going to make shots, then he profiles more as a good team defender who is inefficient offensively, and that doesn't help anyone. The swing skill is his jumper.
Eventually, again the outrage is that he wasn't waived immediately by the Rockets. WE ALL KNEW THAT WHEREVER HE WENT HE WOULD BE WAIVED. THE POINT IS TO SEND A MESSAGE THAT THIS BEHAVIOR ISNT CONDONED BY WAIVING HIM IMMEDIATELY.
I really hope we keep him and take a look, his fundamentally sound game is intriguing, we need more of that on this team. DD
His expiring contract will have to be attached with good players. TF , Stone and Ime can't afford to give up Tari and Alpi for a fading star.
Draft assets should be attached to him and other filler. I will say this though...At some point, we're going to move FVV and his massive contract. And, when we do...we need big ammo added to get the star we really want.
I don't expect anything to happen with dipo's contract. He's either going to be waived or the rockets will once again surprise surprise attach picks to dump him for even more trash
Im dumb and lazy Can someone explain to me why he couldn't be cut and his salary waived for this incident?
AGAIN, that was done by saying he wouldn’t play for us again. Whether we cut or trade him immediately, he was still getting $16M this year.
