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@Sammy
Factoring in injury, he must have been rated equal to or lower than Mullens (in Presti's mind), with Mullens being the better fit. Every GM in the league passed on Blair, and they were either all totally wrong or Blair will eventually be wearing a suit on the bench for the majority of his career. Blair has already met the most optimistic expectations for his on-court performance, but the long-term view is hazy. I just wish he was here for this year's run. I don't think Presti thought the team would have a chance to win anything this soon.

@ATH
yeah i think presti took a gamble that they could develop mullens, if dleague mullens could become NBA mullens he is better then blair. In retrospect blair may have been better but at the time it wasnt as clear cut.

@justin
thats just one option, kendrick perkins, nene, marc gasol

@ATH
Blair was projected way, way higher than Mullens. Blair was a beast in college. I was praying he'd fall to us at 25 but didn't think there was a chance in hell. Everyone just got scared of the knees.

that liberty ballers "not-a-podcast" preview of the thunder is pretty darn funny.

@f5alcon
That's true. If Mullens and Blair were projected closely, Mullens was a much better fit. So it was poor scouting on the organization's part, or Presti was scared off by Blair's knees/weight issues or he didn't like him for some other reason. If, in three seasons, Mullens has developed into a solid role player and Blair is regularly on the injury list, Presti made the correct pick. He probably didn't plan to contend until that time.

Vega :Pleiss is the massive wild card in the big man discussion. Personally, I expect Presti to pass on free agent bigs and bring Pleiss over instead.

LOL! Pleiss over Horford, yes please!

@ATH
well we didnt have pliess or aldrich at the time and probably wouldnt if mullens had been NBA ready.

we had collison, ibaka, green, DJ and etan as a tweener. PF would have been just as crowded, would blair have played in front of green or collison, probably not, maybe ibaka. but probably would not have seen anywhere near the minutes he saw in SA. brooks still only would have 9 man rotation, mullens goes and sits in the dleague doesnt affect the rotation at all

Blair would be such a beast here. He's the type of PF you'd ideally pair with Krstic at C. Blair is a rebounding machine, and a legitimate post threat. If he can stay healthy he can potentially have a nice career.

@f5alcon
Mullens is a center, and so are Pleiss AND Aldrich. Blair would be less redundant right now and far more productive. Plus we could have let DJ go without a second thought. The Mullens project is soon to become the Pleiss project. That pick was wasted.

(Please prove me wrong, BJ).

f5alcon :there were pieces we could have gotten and we would be in contention this year. Al jefferson has done well in utah and was basically given away.

Don't disagree there, he'd be an interesting fit here. But Big Al is a gamble for a number of reasons. Presti doesn't need to gamble yet, so he won't.

@Sammy
yeah i think he will spend time in dleague get acclimated to the US

there were pieces we could have gotten and we would be in contention this year. Al jefferson has done well in utah and was basically given away.

From what I've seen, Pleiss isn't anywhere close to ready. I think it's at least two years before he makes his way on to an NBA roster. I'd be really shocked if he was rotation-ready by next year.

f5alcon :@Vegapresti would pass on the big free agents regardless of pliess. he just doesnt care for them, he went all-in on his build from the ground up approach.

Avoiding big-name free agents and super splash trades is a good idea for a team that isn't contending. We haven't seen how Presti will spend with a team that is in contention. Once the team finally does grow up, and if certain pieces aren't championship quality and it's shown by the team not meeting expectations, then I expect Presti to make a move (likely mid-season trade, rather than free agency). Until then, the plan remains organic and there's no need to make any hurried or impulsive decisions.

@Vega
presti would pass on the big free agents regardless of pliess. he just doesnt care for them, he went all-in on his build from the ground up approach.

@ATH
mullens is a center blair is more of a tweener. I really dont think blair was ever on presti's list. If mullens can ever live up to his potential of his physical gifts he will be be better than blair, now it isnt looking like that will happen.

but it brings up an interesting point of perception, a lot of people on here look at ibaka and are like he will be awesome and max potential even with some big weaknesses. Those same people look at mullens and are like he sucks he wont amount to anything. Even though mullens is just as gifted athletically. Maybe it is just the fact that ibaka has the drive and mullens doesnt.

Pleiss is the massive wild card in the big man discussion. Personally, I expect Presti to pass on free agent bigs and bring Pleiss over instead.

I just wish Green was a better rebounder. He has athleticism, strength, good hands. Just lacks instinct and drive.

Especially after the Pleiss pick, Mullens-over-Blair is looking bad right now. Despite serious health concerns and a style that could be called cheap, Blair had an NBA-ready game and could have made us better last year. I still don't think Blair would be starting over Green, and that would mean even less time for Ibaka to develop off the bench. So there's that benefit to consider. Ibaka beats Blair in potential and health, and Green is a better fit for our style (switching on defense, fast-breaking), but Blair would be the best short-term option of the three.

Preseason record doesnt matter, but it has shown us important things like
ibaka is not a center
green is the same player as last year
Collison and krstic are pretty important to the team
Westbrook and Durant have improved ball handling
Harden is a good shooter
mullens is going back to the dleague

I really hope they improved LPBB this year. It's miles behind MLB.tv in quality.

@AC regarding your LeaguePass Broadband question. You should know that if you are in FSOK's viewing area Thunder games will be blacked out. Been a Leaguepass subscriber for 3 years and have attempted to let OKC friends use the online account for access, but the games were always blacked out for them. Same with me if I ever tried to watch a Mavs game from a DFW computer when not at home. Any games on ESPN and NBATV are also blacked out no matter your location. If the streaming deal works for you, I'd think it would be more beneficial. Just a heads up.

Oh well, It will all be a moot point anyway when Tibor comes back over. He's leading the league in rebounding over there in 18 minutes a game. It will also give Homer Simpson someone to blame when he screws up.

@justin

If Ibaka doesnt becoem a clear cut winner for the four, JG MUST be traded. Sorry Kevin D.

@Ozark
Haha! Mexican team with white guys. Taht hurt my brain - annd Im white!

@justin
Lakers just won there first game. At this rate they wont make the plaoyffs

@Ozark

I'm not, but we'd have to renounce the rights to Collison and Krstic as well, only for the shot at signing a Gasol or Horford. Memphis and Atlanta could still match any offer sheet he signs, and we'd be up shit's creek without a paddle.

I think trading Jeff Green during the season would be a better idea, if they feel they are going to part ways next offseason.

justin :@Ozark
You can’t go over the cap to sign other team’s free agents. At least in the current CBA.
We would have to renounce our rights to Jeff Green or sign him to a small-ish contract to remove his cap hold if we’re going to go after any free agents like Gasol or Horford. We’d have ~$13 million in cap space in that scenario, and it’d likely take all or close to all of that to sign either Gasol or Horford away from their teams, and even then they might match.

Since when did you become so averse to renouncing the rights to Jeff Green?

@Ozark

You can't go over the cap to sign other team's free agents. At least in the current CBA.

We would have to renounce our rights to Jeff Green or sign him to a small-ish contract to remove his cap hold if we're going to go after any free agents like Gasol or Horford. We'd have ~$13 million in cap space in that scenario, and it'd likely take all or close to all of that to sign either Gasol or Horford away from their teams, and even then they might match.

justin :Even if Gasol is on the open market do you see Presti getting into a bidding war for his services?

If it's Marc rather than Pablo we're talking about, it won't be anywhere near for the max. Shed Collison and Krstic and Mo Pete from the ledger and it would be doable. If we continue to show improvement over the next 2 years, I could see us going a little over the cap to make a title run.

Memphis have Henry,so they can trade OJ in order to keep Marc.

Even if Gasol is on the open market do you see Presti getting into a bidding war for his services?

They've already maxed Gay out. You know they will max Mayo. No way they will be able to give Gasol his fair market value in Pesos.

@KingGondo

I think because they don't want to extend him.

@justin
Crawford wants out, doesn't he?

While we're at it let's hope Atlanta extends Jamal Crawford..

@Jax Raging Bile Duct
If not Memphis, I can also hope that Atlanta gets tired of handing out big contracts and lets us swoop in on Horford.

@Keith

I'm hoping they resign Zbo to a contract similar to the one he already has. Maybe between Gay, Mayo and Zbo, that will give us a chance to sneak in a Gasol trade for cheap assets.

It's wishful thinking, but it's sure fun while it lasts.

Though, I will say, I hope Memphis DOES blow all their money on Mayo and Gay and allow us to steal Marc Gasol. Plug Gasol in next to Ibaka/Green, and we've got ourselves a pretty solid frontcourt.

DXL :That Hoopspeak article is Retarded. The Thunder have absolutely not been hampered by the “harsh realities of being a small market team.”
They took on Mo Peterson and Daequan Cook, two players who are not worth their combined contracts of 8.8 millions and they bought a high second round draft choice for 3 million dollars. And they bought the Latavious Williams pick.
That’s 12 million dollars ownership spent basically buying draft picks! Rich, smart franchises (like Portland, Dallas, and now OKC) buy draft picks; dumb, poor franchises (like New Orleans and Memphis) sell their picks.
Ownership obviously has the money for Presti to sign whoever he wants. Presti chose not to sign a big free agent. It’s a strategy choice for a very, very young team, not “harsh economics.”

They are still operating well below the cap (~$7 million) and haven't shown any inclination to spend money to bring in proven difference makers. They'll have to do that eventually, most likely, if they want to contend. I think it's fair to question whether or not they will.

OK, he's just trolling.

@Ozark
What? You're joking right?

KingGondo :@OzarkI hope you’re joking, but that was FC Barcelona, a Spanish team.—Preseason doesn’t matter. Once we get our regular rotation back in and our best guys are playing more minutes, we’ll be just fine.

I know, it's just that Spain is a former colony of Mexico from back in the day, which is why they speak the Mexican language.

Speaking of Mexicans, when will be able to sign Marc Gasol away from Memphis after they get done flushing all their money away on Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo?

@Ozark
I hope you're joking, but that was FC Barcelona, a Spanish team.
---
Preseason doesn't matter. Once we get our regular rotation back in and our best guys are playing more minutes, we'll be just fine.

Preseason doesn't matter. The Lakers lost to the T'wolves and some Mexican team with a bunch of white guys on it.

That Hoopspeak article is Retarded. The Thunder have absolutely not been hampered by the "harsh realities of being a small market team."

They took on Mo Peterson and Daequan Cook, two players who are not worth their combined contracts of 8.8 millions and they bought a high second round draft choice for 3 million dollars. And they bought the Latavious Williams pick.

That's 12 million dollars ownership spent basically buying draft picks! Rich, smart franchises (like Portland, Dallas, and now OKC) buy draft picks; dumb, poor franchises (like New Orleans and Memphis) sell their picks.

Ownership obviously has the money for Presti to sign whoever he wants. Presti chose not to sign a big free agent. It's a strategy choice for a very, very young team, not "harsh economics."

And even though he's been handling the ball a lot KD hasn't turned it over much so far.

@AC

Yeah I'm not worried about losing by a ton or the record but I'd like to see progress at least somewhere. I guess the 3pt shooting has been really good, so that's something.

Wildly disappointed in what we have seen from Mullens so far, and feel strangely envious of Nawlins for signing Mbenga. Either Aldrich needs to develop in a hurry, or we need to acquire a legit center from somewhere.

So the fact that OKC is shooting under 40% for the preseason and OKC's opponents are shooting over 50% for the preseason doesn't matter at all? The scores, the outcomes, and standings don't matter but preseason is a time where coaches evaluate something. I don't know exactly what Brooks is evaluating...

The best part of the preseason has been James Harden's shooting.