[jaysmith1987Participant]

I am still trying to understand why this guy never let Lamb and Jones get pt throughout the season to further develop his team. Thabo gives okc almost nothing and for all the hype about his defense he really doesn’t make that much of a difference throughout the game and with his inability to score he’s losing his position battle more than not. Also Kendrick Perkins hasn’t been half the player he was in Boston why not let Ibaka play some center to get Jones on the floor. We all know with Durant and Westbrook the thunder were gonna make the playoffs why risk development of your young players on a few extra wins and a home court when you see how much that helped when Westbrook went down. If they develop these young players there future is scary good if not they’ll never get over the hump or will miss out on a couple title runs.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Plus one for you jaysmith. Tell me about it!

I really like Lamb and Perry Jones. I think those guys can play. They are as good as anyone coming out of this draft. They could have really used those guys against the Grizzlies. They didn’t have enough weapons and they got tired. Those two guys along with Reggie Jackson looks like their bench mob of the future.

In a recent article Bill Simmons talked about the Thunder and how trading Harden could really come back to haunt them. He also lists teams like the ’86 Rockets, the ’91 Blazers, and the ’93 Suns who thought that they would own the future and have a long window to contend, but then they never really got close again.

The Thunder need to go “all in” next year. LeBron’s not going anywhere. The Grizzlies aren’t going anywhere. The Spurs will still be there. Derrick Rose is coming back. The Pacers and Warriors are looking good. And, don’t forget about the LA clubs.

The Thunder can’t let too many chances slip away. Otherwise, they will look more like the early Nineties Trailblazers than the early Nineties Bulls.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Plus one for you jaysmith. Tell me about it!

I really like Lamb and Perry Jones. I think those guys can play. They are as good as anyone coming out of this draft. They could have really used those guys against the Grizzlies. They didn’t have enough weapons and they got tired. Those two guys along with Reggie Jackson looks like their bench mob of the future.

In a recent article Bill Simmons talked about the Thunder and how trading Harden could really come back to haunt them. He also lists teams like the ’86 Rockets, the ’91 Blazers, and the ’93 Suns who thought that they would own the future and have a long window to contend, but then they never really got close again.

The Thunder need to go “all in” next year. LeBron’s not going anywhere. The Grizzlies aren’t going anywhere. The Spurs will still be there. Derrick Rose is coming back. The Pacers and Warriors are looking good. And, don’t forget about the LA clubs.

The Thunder can’t let too many chances slip away. Otherwise, they will look more like the early Nineties Trailblazers than the early Nineties Bulls.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

… you can even go back to last year. The Thunder thought they were the “Team of the Future” with an infinite window to contend. They could have signed Shane Battier but they didn’t want to give him a longer deal. So then Miami gives him more years, and he shoots the lights out in the playoffs and helps the Heat win a title. Now, think of the Thunder. Instead of Battier lighting them up, drawing charges, and defending Kevin Durant, OKC could have had him hitting timely 3’s, defending LeBron, playing the 4 in small ball lineups, running the second unit, drawing charges, and even grabbing rebounds. I think that Shane Battier swung that series. If he were on OKC instead of Miami, I think OKC could have pulled that out. … then with Westbrook injured this year, they still could have had Shane Battier as a defender and shot maker. He is a guy who could have allowed the Thunder to play more small ball against the Grizzlies. He would have been another guy to use some extra fouls against Z Bo and Marc Gasol. Plus, he knows the Grizzlies as well as anyone in the league.

When the “extra piece” is out there, the Thunder fell short in getting it. Now, they have to play and develop their young guys and also use the Raptors’ pick wisely. And, if a key free agent is out there, they will need to eat some salary and pay up.

[AmiableBaller34Participant]

“He is a guy who could have allowed the Thunder to play more small ball against the Grizzlies. He would have been another guy to use some extra fouls against Z Bo and Marc Gasol”

Yeah, this would be helpful except for the fact that Scotty Brooks doesn’t play small ball that much.

I think the hate for the Thunder right now is getting ridiculous, and people need to step back and take a deep breath. The focal point of their entire team went down in the playoffs (Westbrook was the heart of that team, no question), what did you expect them to do? At the end of the day the Thunder still have two top ten players in the NBA, a maturing PF, and a plethora of young talent that they can groom into nice players.

The only rookie who is playing a lot of minutes on one of the remaining teams is Harrison Barnes, and he fits perfectly into that role. I don’t think its fair to think that Lamb and PJ3 could come in and do the same by being “difference makers”. I don’t mind if they don’t play this year, because when it’s all said and done it’s the second contract that matters, not the first, and when they come to that point the Thunder will just be hitting their prime years.

[AmiableBaller34Participant]

“He is a guy who could have allowed the Thunder to play more small ball against the Grizzlies. He would have been another guy to use some extra fouls against Z Bo and Marc Gasol”

Yeah, this would be helpful except for the fact that Scotty Brooks doesn’t play small ball that much.

I think the hate for the Thunder right now is getting ridiculous, and people need to step back and take a deep breath. The focal point of their entire team went down in the playoffs (Westbrook was the heart of that team, no question), what did you expect them to do? At the end of the day the Thunder still have two top ten players in the NBA, a maturing PF, and a plethora of young talent that they can groom into nice players.

The only rookie who is playing a lot of minutes on one of the remaining teams is Harrison Barnes, and he fits perfectly into that role. I don’t think its fair to think that Lamb and PJ3 could come in and do the same by being “difference makers”. I don’t mind if they don’t play this year, because when it’s all said and done it’s the second contract that matters, not the first, and when they come to that point the Thunder will just be hitting their prime years.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

… you can even go back to last year. The Thunder thought they were the “Team of the Future” with an infinite window to contend. They could have signed Shane Battier but they didn’t want to give him a longer deal. So then Miami gives him more years, and he shoots the lights out in the playoffs and helps the Heat win a title. Now, think of the Thunder. Instead of Battier lighting them up, drawing charges, and defending Kevin Durant, OKC could have had him hitting timely 3’s, defending LeBron, playing the 4 in small ball lineups, running the second unit, drawing charges, and even grabbing rebounds. I think that Shane Battier swung that series. If he were on OKC instead of Miami, I think OKC could have pulled that out. … then with Westbrook injured this year, they still could have had Shane Battier as a defender and shot maker. He is a guy who could have allowed the Thunder to play more small ball against the Grizzlies. He would have been another guy to use some extra fouls against Z Bo and Marc Gasol. Plus, he knows the Grizzlies as well as anyone in the league.

When the “extra piece” is out there, the Thunder fell short in getting it. Now, they have to play and develop their young guys and also use the Raptors’ pick wisely. And, if a key free agent is out there, they will need to eat some salary and pay up.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Yeah, I think it’s pretty ridiculous that they didn’t get much run, especially Lamb. I know they got Martin back in the Harden deal, but the bigger asset I believe was Lamb. Martin probably won’t be back in OKC, so why not groom Lamb for the position? Just another reason why I don’t like Brooks as a coach.

[hooverballParticipant]

They got run in the D League, especially Lamb, but they should have been given more minutes during the year with the big boys. I do not feel brooks is a good coach. He overused Fisher before Westbrook’s injury (talk about loosing position battles!) and appears to be “afraid” to tinker with what “worked”. Lamb is somewhat redunant with Martin available. Sefolosha is better than you are giving him credit for though. He shot close to 40% in 3’s this year and is a great defender. Jones could have been a huge asset to add offense to a terrible offensive frontcourt (except for Durant).

As i said in another post, they need to ship out Perkins and the 12th pick for Gortat. Then give those young guys some run next year. They don’t need another mid lottery talent when they already have 2 on their roster that don’t get run…

[hooverballParticipant]

They got run in the D League, especially Lamb, but they should have been given more minutes during the year with the big boys. I do not feel brooks is a good coach. He overused Fisher before Westbrook’s injury (talk about loosing position battles!) and appears to be “afraid” to tinker with what “worked”. Lamb is somewhat redunant with Martin available. Sefolosha is better than you are giving him credit for though. He shot close to 40% in 3’s this year and is a great defender. Jones could have been a huge asset to add offense to a terrible offensive frontcourt (except for Durant).

As i said in another post, they need to ship out Perkins and the 12th pick for Gortat. Then give those young guys some run next year. They don’t need another mid lottery talent when they already have 2 on their roster that don’t get run…

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Yeah, I think it’s pretty ridiculous that they didn’t get much run, especially Lamb. I know they got Martin back in the Harden deal, but the bigger asset I believe was Lamb. Martin probably won’t be back in OKC, so why not groom Lamb for the position? Just another reason why I don’t like Brooks as a coach.

[RakkiParticipant]

Hire Jerry Sloan they will win a ring for sure

[RakkiParticipant]

Hire Jerry Sloan they will win a ring for sure

[Ghost01Participant]

See, I think Brooks is a total bum. But it’s not unlikely at all that Lamb and Jones were not ready to play this year. Jimmy Butler barely played his first year. Players commonly don’t play a lot their rookie year, especially if they are on a contender. I understand Lamb was a key part of the Harden deal, but maybe he just wasn’t quite good enough yet to be in their rotation.

[Ghost01Participant]

See, I think Brooks is a total bum. But it’s not unlikely at all that Lamb and Jones were not ready to play this year. Jimmy Butler barely played his first year. Players commonly don’t play a lot their rookie year, especially if they are on a contender. I understand Lamb was a key part of the Harden deal, but maybe he just wasn’t quite good enough yet to be in their rotation.

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