[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

do you think the thunder take harden if rubio is still on the board, or do they take thabeet?
if they draft rubio do they trade him or start him and move westbrook to the 2?
or do they draft thabeet and take a chance?
or do they take the safe route and draft harden?
trade down for jordan hill? unlikely
and do you think the thunder might forgo any trades on draft night?

[auberParticipant]

Thabeet. Sefolosha can start in this league.

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

it just doesnt seem like sam presti is willing to take that kind of dive, i see him taking harden, kristic is doing a fine job, but thabeet does make sense for them but i havent really heard any rumors about them drafting him lately

[auberParticipant]

I don’t see Kristic being long term. I know they haven’t drafted strong centers in the past, but cmon. Thabeets got more talent than Swift, Sene, Petro combined. Just think of a 3,4,5 of Durant, Ibanka and Thabeet.

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

well kristic is only 26? he fits in fine with the young core and he doesnt need the ball to be effective, hes just solid
harden can score and just be a decent SG, which is really all the need other than depth if westbrook and green keep improving the way they are. i would trade green seeing as hes playing out of position.. but. i like what hes doing
heres my proposed lineup
westbrook/livingston
harden/sefolosha – maybe sefolosha/harden if harden cant start immediately but thats unlikely
Durant
green/white
kristic/collison

[knicksfreakParticipant]

I really dont see Green as a PF.

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

i like green though, he plays well with durant and westbrook, and although hes not a dominant big man, hes solid, and hes developing really well, i dont see them trading him unless its for an above average or a rapidly rising young PF

[auberParticipant]

Green is going to be trade bait if they make Durant the 3. He’s an undersized 4 and a very intriguing player though.

[knicksfreakParticipant]

I love Green I just dont see him as a 4. He is a tough player who’s solid at everything.

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

hes really solid, but not really a 4, i think he should be traded since he’s played pretty well last season. i like maybe a trade with the GSW for maybe speights and some other pieces, maybe the can sweeten the deal and maybe somehow get randolph and speights

[knicksfreakParticipant]

Isnt Speights on Philly?

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

wow im stupid my bad, but yeah i like speights and i think he could thrive in the thunder system

[fliptonnParticipant]

thabeet, nick collison anyone?

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

thabeet seems to be what the thunder need, but he just seems to be too raw, and other than howard centers havent been too good to their teams lately

[fastdanParticipant]

Give green another year…maybe he can bulk up and handle himself at the 4…or maybe even durant can and they can switch positions =)…if not the PF class next year looks really strong and maybe a deal could get done
To me that team has 2 years to get it together before Durant and Green become RFAs, and they have to produce a good team for them to stay. Right now they should address their biggest holes obviously in C first then SG. As much as I like Harden, I’m starting to lean towards Thabeet. Kristic is not a starting C in this league and taking Thabeet might be their last chance for securing a center with starting potential . Next years centers propects are about as bleak as this years and there isn’t anyone really solid coming off FA in the next couple years that I’m aware of. Thabeet and Thabo are both excel in defense and thats what OKC needs the most. They have 3 capable scorers in russel KD and green and that’s all you need to win.

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

that is true, a starting lineup of westbrook, sefolosha, KD, green, and thabeet would be okay, but it would take thabeet a few years to really to up, (if ever), and i could see them doing kind of a trailblazer thing, where kristic pretty much starts and thabeet plays limited, just like oden and pryzbilla, any ideas on improving the bench?

[fastdanParticipant]

No matter who OKC drafts or trades for they won’t be a winning team next year, their core is just too young, and inexperienced. That’s why I think if it does take thabeet a year or two to be able to play 30 minutes it’s not going to affect them. As long as they show hope in the summer of 2011 they’ll be able to keep the team together.

As for their bench, I think it’s the same situation with their starting lineup. They just need time to develop. I would be surprised if they signed a veteran this year for more then a few million so they can keep room to resign their young guys. They will probably look to take a role player who can play the SG/SF for their later pick, and with those two picks next year fill in any holes on the bench or more likely trade for need.

[maravich44Participant]

Centers of quality come along very infrequently. With that said, they draft Thabeet. Harden would be a better fit than Rubio since they are committed to Westbrook at point guard.

[auberParticipant]

I don’t know how much more Durant can bulk up. I really don’t want to see him too much bigger than what he is. He just weighed himself at 226 recently. I think if he hit’s 245 he’s gone too far and lost some of his speed.

[KidDelicious35Participant]

I know it doesn’t make sense for the Griz to take Thabeet but if they do I think OKC will look to shop the pick and move down a couple of slots while picking up some extra picks or players (McGee from Wash or Thompson from the Kings, maybe Lee in a sign and trade from the Knicks) and then take Harden or Curry with whichever pick they end up with. I’m not sold on Thabeet and I don’t think this team needs another project center. Harden or Curry could both fill in nicely because they both can shoot which is an excellent complement to the defensive minded Sefalosha and RW0, who at this point is not the greatest shooter. Also Harden and Curry have shown that they both have a high bball IQ and have demonstrated good passing ability which also helps the team as RW0 continues to develop his PG skills. But if the Griz take Rubio at 2 like I think they should I think OKC stays put at 3 and takes Harden.

As far as trading Green goes, I don’t think he is getting traded this summer. He developed a great deal from year 1 to 2 (increase of 6 ppg, 2 reb/g, .5 ast/g, .5 stl/g and his 3pt fg% went up 13% in only 6 more min/g). I think the front office is going to give the young trio of RW, Green and Durant another year to see how they develop together before trading pieces away. I also think Durant will have an impact on Green not being traded. Clearly OKC needs Durant to stay long term if they want to compete for a title and him and Green have become extremely close in their 2 years together. Following last offseason both of them took a week off before getting back in the gym and working out together and I think because of this the front office will give Green another offseason and full year under Coach Brooks before they trade him away. Don’t forget it was only 2 years ago that he was drafted 5th overall

[THUNDERstruckParticipant]

if rubio does manage to fall to 3, maybe they could do a trade with the kings, warriors, knicks or bucks now and take a big man and a draft pick, i think the best option at this point is to draft some kind of sg and try to pick a center up. maybe like trade sac town the #3 and some other assets for the number 4 and hawes, depending on how high sacramento is on rubio, i dont think trading green is a good choice seeing his learning curve and the fact that him and the franchise player are so close
and as for westbrook.. i completely believe

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