[DeLaQuestParticipant]

The Bobcats had no answer for him once Stephen Jackson got into early foul trouble.

He killed the Cats all day largely with two moves:

1. Exposing any slight advantage to simply blow by people with his long strides to lay the ball in.

2. Doing his patented spin move in the lane to get near the rack and lay it up.

The impressive thing was how he could consistently finish after freeing himself up from people.

[chrislebronParticipant]

and i remember nbadraft this time the previous year had him a late first round pick
how wrong were they

[rtbtParticipant]

I remember shortly after the draft when I posted more than one message stating OK made a mistake by selecting Harden over Evans, guys jumped all over me. I tried to explain that Harden will probably turn into a good NBA player but Tyreke Evans has Super Star written all over him. I wonder where those guys are today on this issue?

[Bryant24Participant]

yeah i remember that rtbt i was always that person who was high on tyreke evans i remember this site had him mid to late first round they feel stupid now tyreke can be a superstar as much as i like brandon jennings rookie of they year is tyreke evans award

[Disrespect_MeParticipant]

Evans is a lead guard (needs the ball in his hands)
Westbrook is a lead guard (needs the ball in his hands)
Rubio is a lead guard (needs the ball in his hands)

nuff said
*not enough centers to go around
nowadays so I guess Presti gets off on that one

if u take Blair at the PF position do u reduce Green’s minutes?
hmmm

[rtbtParticipant]

I agree with much of what you said.

One of the truisms in NBA draft history is teams get relatively few opportunities to draft guys whom most people agree will be a super star in the league. When those opportunities come up you just cannot blow them as the Thunder did in the last draft.

Sam Presti is a smart GM but I think he made two mistakes in the last draft. He let Tyreke Evans slip out of his grasp and then he took BJ Mullens. I hope I’m wrong about Mullens and he turns into a killer big man. But right now I see him being very similar to another young center drafted by the OK franchise, Robert Swift, whom I believe isn’t even in the league any more.

[Disrespect_MeParticipant]

Tyreke Evans has triple double written all over him

but even Oscar Robertson who was a better shooter needed Kareem to land him 1 championship

Tyreke Evans or Sacramento rather needs a big man to win
as do the Thunder

perimeter players scoring
can only do so much to rectify bad rebounding

against primetime Rebounding squads like Lakers and Orlando

[rtbtParticipant]

6-5_PG, I couldn’t disagree with you more because I believe in taking the best player available, as opposed to filling a position on your current roster as you suggested above.

1. NBA rosters change so fast that you may have a very different team in 2-3 years.
2. You can always find a way to have a super star fit in to your team concept, but you cannot turn a good player into a great one.
3. After you draft a super star, then you can draft and/or trade players to build a team around him.

[Disrespect_MeParticipant]

2. You can always find a way to have a super star fit in to your team concept, but you cannot turn a good player into a great one.

say you draft Tyreke and keep Westbrook
the “team concept” would become creating turnovers and fast break opportunities

ala Philadelphia

[Disrespect_MeParticipant]

GM DRaft Notes:
a backcourt of Reke/Rubio and Russell would suffer in the halfcourt shooting wise

thus Presti drafted a Harden who is known for his outside shooting

[rtbtParticipant]

6-5_PG, you’re taking the short term view. Tyreke Evans will be an elite player for at least the next decade while you’re only looking at how teams are structured today. You can find another James Harden anywhere you look in the NBA, but guys like Tyreke Evans are rare gems.

If you don’t like an Evans – Westbrook back court, you have plenty of leverage. Many teams would want Westbrook, so that’s your opportunity to make a trade and build the kind of team you want around a Tyreke Evans.

[Henry25Participant]

The Thunder already have super star to build around and that’s Kevin Durant who is insanely good and I would build around Durant any day over Tyreke. I like Tyreke a lot and always have, but Harden fits in better with the thunder than Tyreke would. Tyreke and Westbrook are too similar. The Thunder made the right move and I bet u they would make the same decission today. But again Tyreke is a stud and will be an all-star quite soon as well as a franchise player, just not for OKC

[rtbtParticipant]

You said, “Tyreke and Westbrook are too similar”. That’s where having a potential super star is a huge advantage. If that’s how you feel about an Evans-Westbrook back court, you no longer need Westbrook, so trade him for a guy whom you think will make a better back court partner for Evans.

I see no reason why Durant and Evans can’t play together. Evans may need the ball in his hands, but he’s an excellent passer. Therefore, I don’t understand why you’re making that assumption.

As for Harden fitting in better on today’s team, you are also taking the short term view. When you have an opportunity to draft an elite player, you take him because NBA rosters change so quickly. You don’t know what the Thunder roster will look like 2-3 years from now when Evans will only be 22 or 23 years old.

I would bet money that you couldn’t find an NBA GM who would trade Evans even up for Harden. If you reverse the trade, I would also bet that almost every GM would trade Harden even up for Evans. Why? Because Harden has the potential to become a good player, but he’s the kind of guy you can find on almost every NBA roster. Very few teams have a guy with the extraordinary talent and potential of a Tyreke Evans.

[Disrespect_MeParticipant]

That’s where having a potential super star is a huge advantage. If that’s how you feel about an Evans-Westbrook back court, you no longer need Westbrook, so trade him for a guy whom you think will make a better back court partner for Evans.

sometimes loyalty gets in the way and besides if they get Reke Havoc they still need a big

[Author]

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