OKC Thunder 2016 off-season news

[dankrutka]

The bitter KD posts are embarrassing for a person who committed to this community... including $1 million after the Moore to tornado.

I'm disappointed on a sport level, but not personal one.

[soonermike81]

The bitter KD posts are embarrassing for a person who committed to this community... including $1 million after the Moore to tornado.

I'm disappointed on a sport level, but not personal one.

Yup, agree 100%. It's pretty embarrassing how classless some of our fans are. Did not think it was going to happen, but seeing people burn his jersey and trash him like he's a POS, is making me ashamed for our city. He did a ton for this community and seemed to always be an outstanding citizen. This was a choice he had to make for what he felt is going to better his career/life. It's his life, not ours. These are probably the same fans that will disappear if we lose Russ. This is a part of professional sports, and every franchise has to go though something similar.

[dankrutka]

On a sports level, it's devastating though. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar left Milwaukee in 1975 after delivering a title and two conference titles. They've never returned and only won one division title since 1986. The NBA is a star league. OKC might have seen its best franchise moments pass by... It's a tough pill to swallow when OKC could have won a title next year.

On a sports level, I'm not sure any NBA superstar has taken a weaker career path than KD. This is the equivalent of MJ joining the Pistons or Dirk joining the Heat. No ill wishes, but just disappointment that he avoided the challenge for an easier road...

[Bill Robertson]

I'm wondering what the fan base will do if the Thunder become an also-ran. Will we see sell outs or more and more empty seats. Hopefully the former but I'm not sure. OU football has always been the most followed thing going and tickets were real easy to get in the 90s.

[Pete]

The Hornets and Thunder drew well when both teams were not very good.

And there is no reason to think the team will fall completely into obscurity. We won a lot of games when Durant was out/hurt.

Donovan can coach and we have a good front office. There will be a fall-off but maybe not as big as most are assuming and perhaps for not long.

Players come and go in pro sports . I'm as disappointed as anyone but in many ways we were lucky to have kept Durant for 8 seasons.

[d-usa]

The bitterness and anger makes our shenanigans in the Rayo/Energy threads look pretty mild.

[dankrutka]

I respect your optimism, Pete. I think the fans will still show up -- we'll see how well. Time will tell.

But everything comes down to Russ and there's no reason to be optimistic. If KD didn't stay when OKC was a top 3 team, it's tough to see Russ staying for a second tier team. I hope he does, but OKC is no longer a title contender. My previous point is that OKC could go a long time before contending for a title again... There are no guarantees. OKC lost its window... it could be 10, 20, 40, 60 years before they have a similar team. It's hard to do.

[d-usa]

We got new blood, we got cap space, we got a team that didn't play like a second tier team whenever KD was injured.

Let's see what the first couple of months of the new season brings before we write off the team.

[catch22]

I hate seeing people burn his jersey.

It's like people who only discuss the bad things about their ex-partners. You obviously saw something in them and they did bring some sort of happiness to your life for whatever duration.

Durant's decision is a huge shock and it's okay to be disappointed. Also, it's fair to criticize his decision because it was very weak. He went for the guaranteed ring, instead of a championship ring fought hard for. Thats his choice. Let's not forget all the good he did for our community, including personal donations in times of need--as well as the obvious: 8 years of one of the most talented ball players in the league. He brought awareness of our city to the global stage and gave us many great seasons of exciting sports.

Disappointed. Yes. Slightly angry..yes. Burning his jersey and cursing him out. No. We are better than that, or we should be.

[Pete]

It's ridiculous to expect fans of a pro sports team not to lash out at player that forsakes them.

It's happened to a greater or lesser extent in every single sport every single time something like this happens. And the circumstances here are unique in many respects.

Thunder fans will be better about this than most but there are still going to be some get extra angry; part of being a Big League City.

[dankrutka]

Lol. Without KD, OKC absolutely played like a second tier team. Check their record.

And that's the other problem - OKC couldn't attract free agents with KD. Free agents aren't coming here without him. Our best free agent in OKC history is Nenad Krstic. OKC won't be able to attract anyone now... It's the new reality.

I'm not trying to be overly negative, but I don't think a lot of people realize OKC may trade Russ and tank. We could be a bottom dweller for a few years...

[OkiePoke]

KD did great things for OKC, not just on the court, but off.

I honestly thought KD was a different type of person/player yesterday than what I believe now. I thought KD had the fire and drive to be the leader, put the team on his shoulders, take all the criticism and shove it back in people's faces. He was above all of it.

I can't blame him for wanting to get a ring, but I didn't expect him to do it the easy way. He doesn't want to be the star. He doesn't want to put the team on his shoulders. He is ok playing second fiddle (or third). I didn't expect this from him because everything he has said in the years prior have indicated he wanted to build a legacy.

Many people would accept a new position where your job just became 5x easier and you didn't have to do as much work. You won't be respected though.

You don't build a legacy by taking the easiest route possible.


LBJ didn't join a Miami team that just set the record for the most wins in a regular season. He did boast a lot - some would call that swagger.

KD just went from the most beloved super stars in the NBA to one of the most hated. LBJ just received his white cape.

[chuck5815]

They probably end up dealing Russell to a west-coast team that thinks it has a decent shot at getting him to resign next year. Obviously the Lakers are one option. I wouldn't mind that trade if the Thunder could get Julius Randle, D'Angelo Russell and a few picks in the highly thought of 2017 draft.

Or maybe try to make something happen with Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins and Kris Dunn would work.

[Pete]

^

Think you're being over dramatic, Dan.

KD was a great player and he'll be badly missed but his leaving is not the end of the franchise.

The Thunder front office is very well respected and it's not like we'll just have this huge, un-filled hole. It will be filled with different players in different ways over time.

The bottom line is if there was a window that was missed, it was because KD himself couldn't pass through it.

[Bill Robertson]

Lol. Without KD, OKC absolutely played like a second tier team. Check their record.

And that's the other problem - OKC couldn't attract free agents with KD. Free agents aren't coming here without him. Our best free agent in OKC history is Nenad Krstic. OKC won't be able to attract anyone now... It's the new reality.

I'm not trying to be overly negative, but I don't think a lot of people realize OKC may trade Russ and tank. We could be a bottom dweller for a few years...

I don't want to be negative but Dan has some points. OKC didn't make the playoffs the one year without KD. Since half the teams make the playoffs that put them in the lower half.

OKC either doesn't go after free agents or can't get them interested in coming here, like Gasol.

And teams do fall off the map for years. Some of the teams that owned the 60s, 70s, and 80s have seldom or never been back in the race.

[d-usa]

How many free agents have the Thinder signed since they came to OKC?

[Pete]

How many have the Thunder aggressively pursued? I mean that as an honest question because I can't remember many examples.

Seems like the team was much more concerned with drafting well, making smart trades, then spending their money on retaining the guys already on their roster.

[d-usa]

How many have the Thunder aggressively pursued? I mean that as an honest question because I can't remember many examples.

Seems like the team was much more concerned with drafting well, making smart trades, then spending their money on retaining the guys already on their roster.

That's what I thought as well.

KD leaving is certainly bad news, but I don't think that it really changes anything about the way that the Thunder have done business. The Thunder have made the playoffs, WC Finals, and a Final by being a team that focuses on growing and retaining their own talent. Pretending that we cannot be a First Tier team without attracting superstar free agents ignores the fact that we became a First Tier team without attracting superstar free agents.

Does it make it harder than simply buying your way to a championship? I think we can all agree it does. But pretending that it cannot happen requires us ignoring how the Thunder got this far in the first place.

[SoonerDave]

Lol. Without KD, OKC absolutely played like a second tier team. Check their record.

And that's the other problem - OKC couldn't attract free agents with KD. Free agents aren't coming here without him. Our best free agent in OKC history is Nenad Krstic. OKC won't be able to attract anyone now... It's the new reality.

I'm not trying to be overly negative, but I don't think a lot of people realize OKC may trade Russ and tank. We could be a bottom dweller for a few years...

I try not to be a pessimist, but often reality kinda kicks me in the head. We're going to go through all this again next year when Russ leaves if we don't trade him. This "golden age" of NBA success here in OKC is primed to take a very uncertain turn very quickly. Presti and the OKC braintrust had best put their thinking caps on.

I am bothered most of all by the fact that it seems KD timed this for maximum damage. Few if any strong FA options available to pursue. Even announced on a holiday weekend for some odd reason. Hard not to shake the sense this was a telegraphed message back to the Thunder that he wanted out. It makes much of his commentary about OKC over the last eight years ring awfully hollow. Oh well.

[dankrutka]

^

Think you're being over dramatic, Dan.

KD was a great player and he'll be badly missed but his leaving is not the end of the franchise.

The Thunder front office is very well respected and it's not like we'll just have this huge, un-filled hole. It will be filled with different players in different ways over time.

The bottom line is if there was a window that was missed, it was because KD himself couldn't pass through it.

Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I don't think so. I'm a die hard NBA fan in addition to a Thunder fan so I follow things pretty closely. OKC lost out on Mike Miller, Pau Gasol, and Al Horford over the last three offseasons. I suspect KD was frustrated that they couldn't even attract mid-level free agents (the former two) to a title contending team.

Golden State already picked up Zaza Pachulia for 2.8 million! Players are going to give up millions to play there... OKC just couldn't get those commitments much less those discounts.

If OKC can keep Russ then they can be a middle tier playoff team, but if they more than likely lose him then we could be out of the playoffs for a while. We've taken the playoffs for granted with KD, but OKC is one move from being on the outside looking in for the foreseeable future.

OKC's front office is very well respected... And that actually carries very little weight. The NBA is a player's league.

Life comes at you faster in the NBA than any other professional sport. Just look at what happened to Cleveland after LeBron left...

[BlackmoreRulz]

Thunder really haven't had the cap space to pursue any big name free agents in the past few years.

I'm bitter about his decision, like was said above, it makes all the words he has said in the past ring hollow. That being said, I don't think he is the same player he was after he witnessed the Paul George injury, then went through his own.

[dankrutka]

These cap space dreams are just dreams... OKC wont even have the opportunity at one (they're all gone this season) before Russ' fate is determined... And even then, OKC will really struggle to pull any quality free agents. Mark Cuban and his open pockets has struck out on every major free agent since their 2011 title. It's a brutal landscape.

[dankrutka]

Ugh, sorry if I seem negative, but I think some don't realize that OKC just went from contending for titles annually to, well, not. Those days are over. Without KD there's no path to a title anymore. It's just a really surprising and dramatic fall...

I still am looking forward to supporting the team that reps OKC this season.

[gopokes88]

I dk what pisses me off more kd leaving or all the dumb thunder fans telling me I shouldn't be upset angry confused and betrayed that kd pulled a 180 and left. Buring jerseys and the videos is too far but he's going to get booed and he's going to be villain. If him leaving is nothing personal against us, me booing at the top of my lungs and loathing everything about him because he spurned us isn't personal either. I am a thunder fan, not a kd fan. I hate players who hurt the thunder, and kd is now one of them. The rest was all a big lie, this is a business nothing more, the rest is just PR brand management BS.

[OKCretro]

Lol. Without KD, OKC absolutely played like a second tier team. Check their record.

And that's the other problem - OKC couldn't attract free agents with KD. Free agents aren't coming here without him. Our best free agent in OKC history is Nenad Krstic. OKC won't be able to attract anyone now... It's the new reality.

I'm not trying to be overly negative, but I don't think a lot of people realize OKC may trade Russ and tank. We could be a bottom dweller for a few years...

um the best free agent signing in Oklahoma City history is Peja Stojakovic.

the best free agent signing of the thunder might be livingston, but clearly we gave up on him way too early.