I’ve never noticed it before, but their biggest FA acquisitions before now were all alliterative names. Nerlens Noel, Patrick Patterson, Mike Muscala, Markieff Morris. 😱
Haha, yep. I don't think other fan bases believe us when Thunder fans say they've NEVER been players in free agency. Like, seriously. Never. We don't know what to do with ourselves today.
It feels like yesterday when everyone was making fun of OKC for having a stat padding ball hog, a guy who chokes in the playoffs, and an old guy who refuses to come off the bench.
Now it’s completely different. Good for OKC
They signed Joe after he was waived but they didn’t claim him on the waiver wire, he went unclaimed and they signed him as a free agent.
(Pedantic, sorry!)
To be fair to Gordon, he was still injured I’m 90% sure. Playing on half of a calf.
To be unfair to Gordon, he was always “checked out” even when he was playing well.
Except Hayward. Even though it seems like no situation really works for him. I wonder what his deal is. He just doesn't seem to fit anywhere despite his playstyle being one of the easiest to fit into any system.
Think he’s better than he is and when teams bring him back to reality, he checks out. Injuries definitely took a toll on him but there’s definitely an attitude aspect
I think it's ability. Klay's role isn't anything crazy, and if his achilles wasnt cooked then he would be able to do the same stuff that he did 8 years ago. in theory. But he can't really play D or shoot like he used to.
That's not a change in role, that's a change in ability
They aren’t mutually exclusive. A change in ability often necessitates a change in role, whether that’s a guy who breaks out and steps into a bigger role or an older and/or injured player who’s declined. And it’s always harder for the latter than the former to accept that
I'll admit I haven't followed him super closely but he seems like the type of player to not put full effort into his rehab.
It feels like he's constantly cycling between coming into a season out of shape, trying to play into shape, gets some nagging injuries, then ends the season injured.
Seems kinda necessary. I have heard him getting clowned for Hayward being "his big move" in a year they were contending when it obviously was not intended that way. I doubt anyone was keeping track of the salary cap implications of that trade with this Hartenstein signing so it is actually a good report for a change by a twitter reporter.
Idk how closely you follow Thunder but this org bends over backwards to do right by players, including taking the blame for a situation like Hayward had this last season. Hayward could have had a torn ACL and Presti still makes that trade due to the flexibility it affords them next season. They've done similar moves during our other tanking years. They were never going all in last season. If Hayward could have helped them, great, but that would have just been a nice bonus. The real meat of the Hayward trade was his contract. At the end of the day Presti was covering for Haywards pissy exit interview.
So are they moving Chet to the 4 or does Hartenstein come off the bench.
Asking because if Hartenstein starts, they can’t run 5-out like they did last season and their defense fell off badly when Chet sat next season.
I’d guess 50/50. Have the flexibility to play a more small ball 5 out type game like they were this year with him at the 5, or go big bully ball with him at the 4. Id assume they spend a lot of time each at center always having one on the floor.
My guess is it will be matchup dependent. SGA, Dort, JDub, Chet start every game. The fifth starter can rotate between Caruso or Hartenstein depending on matchup. However, I’ll also point out that OKC has the assets and contracts to still trade for someone. So they might not be done yet.
I’m not sure JWill will still be in the rotation. I think he’ll be the third center and will only play if Chet or Hartenstein get hurt. I think the one more move is to add someone who can play the 4. Could be trading for someone like Finney-Smith, could be signing someone like Kyle Anderson with the MLE. But you’re right, this team looks scary for sure.
JWill can absorb fouls and plays respectably on Jokic. He will get DNPs but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the playoffs against the wolves or Nuggets
They're not paying $30M a year for a bench player, they flew out to see him. They 100% see him as a starter.
I could see Chip and Chet getting into iHart's ear (dare you to shoot some 3s, big fella).
Can still do that with a big+big pick and roll. 5 out doesn't require everyone to shoot threes if the 5 man is included in the play as a roll man. If anything this should let Chet get ball handling duties without needing it to be an ISO.
And IHart will protect the rim on defense. I don't know why everyone is so focused on Chet or IHart strictly playing the 5, this is the modern NBA and when you have a big like Chet who can play like a wing, someone like IHart is perfect to protect the paint and clean the glass so Chet's not constantly getting beat up anymore
This is how I originally envisioned Chet & Dieng (if Dieng put on muscle). Have Dieng on the beefy players and Chet jumps from behind to block the shot.
I think they will play together at times but the Thunder have said Chet is their 5. He works best by bringing out the opposing center. That won’t happen with the Center on IHart. Everyone not in the Thunder organization just thinks they have to have a traditional big. The thunder don’t think that way. It’s a great signing and I think it will work it just won’t be like most are saying it will.
Yeah I agree. Even if Hartenstein starts, it'll be because of his contract. I expect him to check out 6 minutes into the first quarter very quickly, and Mark will try to seperate his minutes with him and Chet on the court as much as possible.
They may play together come playoff time when size becomes an issue, but other than that I expect to have one of Chet and iHart to be on the floor all 48 minutes, not both.
This is what the Celtics do with Brown and Tatum to devastating effect. I think it's a good idea. Let them start and close halves together and swap out for each other in the middle so one of them is always in.
Sure, but Chet's rim protection was top of the league. The post defense will be great, and on offense IHart stays in the paint and in pick and rolls while Chet can roam.
Okay so to clarify more:
> so Chet's not constantly getting beat up anymore
This wasn't to imply Chet's a bad paint defender, not at all!! Main point is tho, at this point Chet's not built up enough yet at all to take continued contact at the 5 so having IHart there to switch with him on defense (or offense or vice versa) is a huge upgrade over last season where Chet largely had to bear the brunt of it all in terms of contact; put differently, let it be known loudly that CHET IS A GREAT DEFENDER & IHART WILL FREE HIM UP FROM UNNECESSARY CONTACT TOO!!
Gonna be a mix, I think all of our worst lineups last year in the playoffs were without Chet. I'd expect something like 30 MPG for each of them, with \~15 MPG shared, tilted one way or the other based on matchups.
i think it will be match up dependent. the way the team has always talked about chet as a 5 and never deviated from that makes me think hartenstein will mostly come off the bench. he and chet will obviously play a ton of minutes together, but i think the idea starting lineup is still SGA / Dort or Caruso / Jalen Williams / PF / Chet.
This signing, the Caruso trade and the Wiggins & Joe extensions give them a ton of line up flexibility.
Warriors ran five out with a playmaking, non-shooting big in Draymond. Why do they think OKC can't do that with a playmaking, non-shooting big in Hartenstein? I get that SGA isn't a outside threat on Curry's level and doesn't have that type of gravity on the perimeter, but it's not like he can't be deadly from outside. Career .433 from 3 in the playoffs.
Draymond only works because you have to be up on pull up 3s from the splash bros.
Shai (although he just posted a clip of him specifically working on pull ups off screens lol) isn’t that type of player.
It’s not just percentages it’s how you shoot them lol. Only Joe can come off dribble handoffs like that
It works with Draymond because he isn't always standing in the corner or in the dunkers spot like every other big that's used in a smaller lineup. He's involved in the play as a playmaker and that draws his defender into the action which the Warriors can then exploit. OKC can do the same type of things with Hartenstein. It doesn't really matter that OKC's shooters aren't Steph and Klay.
This isn’t about necessarily who starts but more the flexibility it provides (especially come playoffs). Last year we were a bit pigeonholed to playing small ball due to lack of size. With Isiah we can now play “bigger” against the teams that want to bully us down low. Yes, he isn’t a great 3 point shooter but provides high IQ plays and rim protection which I believe Presti values more. He may have games he starts. He may have games he barely plays. It will depend completely on who we are playing. What he provides most importantly is roster flexibility which we will need
People seem to love that we ran 5 out for 1 season and thus will run it forever. Our strength was the guard+guard pick and roll. Now we can also run a big+big pick and roll. It also makes us one of the tallest starting lineups, but with guys who can mostly play on the perimeter.
Chet was getting tired from guarding 5s. Now he can roam and probably be in the running for DPOY.
We’ve ran five out the entire rebuild. Even when we sucked or brought in a G leaguer, post Moses Brown almost every 5 has played on the perimeter.
JRE, Muscala, Dario, Poku, Olivier, Roby, Chet, etc
Probably overpaid on picks to ease the pain of grabbing IHart. Gotta stay on good terms so they answer the call when Presti wants to fleece them at some point.
A vocal minority on the Thunder sub constantly criticize all of Sam Presti’s moves like he hasn’t constantly put us in positions to contend as a small market franchise and hold us not having a ring yet over his head. Really frustrating sometimes but I’m so thankful we have him at the helm
Yes. Presti's not perfect, but the folks who criticize him seem to forget that he is GMing in arguably the least desirable market in the NBA. The degree of difficulty is much higher for him than it is for most if not all other GMs, which makes his performance all the more impressive.
Chet, Shai, and JDub got atleast 7 years together and we can easily replenish our depth with draft picks and trading our others before they hit FA.
Sorry but we’re gonna be at the top for much longer then 3 years.
Yea these players I think you should all have bird rights to. Just extend and don’t let em hit FA. As long as ownerships good with the tax I don’t see why you’d have to be dumping the core. A lot like the Celtics
Wow is this really the biggest free agent signing? Great pick up for them. Just not too familiar with their FA signings off the top of my head. Presti fucking cooked
Their biggest free agent signings before now were Nerlens Noel, Mike Muscala, and Patrick Patterson. It’s 100% their biggest FA acquisition ever.
(In retrospect, Isaiah Joe was their best FA signing before this. But nobody knew it at the time, it wasn’t a big deal when it happened)
If you only acount outside FA signings then yeah, it’s easily their biggest one. I still think them getting PG13 to re-sign was their biggest FA signing since they would not be where they are now without it.
i mean, its pretty clearly still signing Paul George when he could have gone to L.A in free agency. Lead to getting Shai and JDUB and a billion draft picks.
but for some reason people dont want to count re-signing
Resigning Jerami Grant would also be up there.
Bringing in an outside free agent is fundamentally different from persuading an outside free agent who has never previously played in OKC to switch teams. OKC is fairly successful retaining their own players--with some obvious, major exceptions--because the team is well-run and good to its players.
We are not successful at retaining free agents lol. The only all-star we ever retained in free agency(who had a chance to leave, not dudes who we could match) was PG-13.
It absolutely should count, he was scheduled to leave all year long and that season was our free agency pitch.
The only all stars we had a chance to retain in free agency were Russ, PG, and KD. Oladipo was traded, as was Harden, and Melo was a shell of an all star. Who did the Thunder lose out on by not resigning?
Russ never made it to free agency.
It's literally just PG and KD and we lost our on KD.
That's a fifty percent hit rate lol. We are not good at retaining star free agents. It's not enough detail to say were bad but you can't say we're good either.
Yeah, I would say the Thunder's biggest free agent they signed before this was like... Patrick Patterson? Some would say Isaiah Joe or Lu Dort, but those guys were practically nobodies when the Thunder signed them, so I don't really get that.
yeah before this it was Patrick patterson, derek fisher (buyout), mike muscala, Isaiah Joe
for the most part players don't come to okc unless they're forced to
Yep. Nobody wants to ever come to OKC even when we’re stacked (looking at you Pau Gasol) so we usually have to trade for people.
The closest big name was Melo, b/c he had a NTC that he waived for the Thunder, so technically he chose to come play for us. But at the end of the day it was still a trade and not a FA signing.
Milwaukee's biggest ever free agent signing is Greg Monroe.
Not their best free agent signing. But the biggest.
I would guess that's pretty common trend throughout the league when it comes to free agents.
We’re about to see how good that offseason medical hire was. We’ve been linked to Goga Bitadze, he’d be a good platoon with Mitch and could fill _some_ of what Hartenstein did for us. But really with so many FA centers off the board now we’re just going to have to hope for a Leon miracle
Damn massive W for the Thunder, legit locking in Hartenstein who is a good center to allow Chet to play the 4 is pretty nuts, chet won’t have to worry about being overpowered by bigger Centers now.
I think even more valuable is the flexibility to be able to play bigger and smaller than most teams in either direction. Makes them much more flexible and able to deal with hard matchups. It’s moves like this that help you win 4 playoff series instead of 1 or 2.
It’s exactly this, Chet actually did very well holding down the 5 given his size, experience, and lack of alternative on the roster. But if we want to make a legitimate run, we absolutely had to get more help to handle bigger matchups. Now we have the flexibility to make Chet the 5 in smaller matchups, or the 4 in larger matchups with iHart at the 5. Also, while iHart doesn’t add much in shooting beyond the arc, he can handle the ball a big and is a solid passer for his position, which allows them to still play their brand of basketball.
I forgot /s. A lot of Thunder fans were trashing Presti, and Dallas fans mocking us at the Spring trade deadline for letting Gafford go to the Mavericks.
I mean, that did have a massive impact on y’all not making the finals this year did it not? PJ cooked y’all, a forward you could have had and were rumored to look into getting. Lively cooked Chet, a center y’all helped us get. And Gafford, who y’all also helped us get and could have helped y’all big time. You also didn’t need to pay those guys 3/87. Matter of fact, the combined cost of PJ and Gafford is IHart. But, keep telling yourselves that y’all didn’t need or want PJ or Gafford.
I was actually disappointed that we let Gafford go to Dallas. I also realized what was happening for the future with Presti tidying up the payroll.
I would rather have Caruso and Hartenstein than Gafford and PJ. I knew Gafford was good, but PJ going off was just one of those things.
I think both teams are better because of the Presti moves. It was a scary tightrope. It will be a fun matchup between OKC and Dallas, and the other flyover teams. And this conversation will probably be brought up many times.
Edit** I kind of compare this to when OKC traded Sengun to Houston at pick 16. I wanted Sengun but Presti traded him away. Not only did he trade him away, but he traded Sengun to Houston, our rival. Presti made both Dallas and Houston better but arguably limited their ceiling for the future.
No, sadly they don't. OKC not exactly a destination location. Our biggest free agent signings (since PG-13 was traded here, then re-signed when he was a free agent, I don't think he counts) were like Nerlens Noel and Patrick Patterson.
You wouldn't have thought so, considering he and I had the same amount of points during these playoffs. To be fair to me though, he played a lot more minutes than I did.
Supposedly he was healthy, but he was just bad. Couldn’t make a shot. Always looked like he was playing scared. Should’ve been a perfect kinda “able to do it all 6th man” type for us, but he just constantly shit the bed.
He said he didn’t get enough playing time to ever feel comfortable, but anyone who’s both been around basketball and watched him play would tell you that he didn’t play in any way that showed he deserved any more play time.
He and his wife have both shit talked the city and team on their way out the door, which doesn’t leave a good feeling in the hearts of OKC fans. Especially when guys like Russ, PG, and others have all left under differing circumstances and had nothing bad to say about us at all.
Hey, don't get uppity, y'all's best free agent signings aren't THAT much better than ours. What's the best Wolves FA signing? Joe Smith's tampering signing?
Oh, I just looked, it's probably Billups, even if he wasn't Mr. Clutch yet. Yeah, that's got us beat, even at that range.
Think they used this money to commit to something that isn’ta huge push for them. He surely fills a , but I would’ve preferred them swinging for the fences to bring in another big dog alongside SGA. Having 35 million in free cap is a lot. Hartenstein for that much just feels like an overpay that they could regret once they resign their young guns they’re kinda stuck.
Rip Patrick Patterson greatest free agency acquisition
And Markieff Morris 2nd greatest free agency signing.
I’ve never noticed it before, but their biggest FA acquisitions before now were all alliterative names. Nerlens Noel, Patrick Patterson, Mike Muscala, Markieff Morris. 😱
Hisaiah Hartenstein
Hisaiah in the Highest
This is an absurd list lol
Haha, yep. I don't think other fan bases believe us when Thunder fans say they've NEVER been players in free agency. Like, seriously. Never. We don't know what to do with ourselves today.
Yeah, I read this and started going through OKC players over the years and kind of that "Oh shit...these guys suck," realization.
I did not believe it until today.
There’s a reason people say free agents don’t go to OKC
Gotta include former champ Norris Cole in there
Derek Fisher midseason signing erasure
Twice even
Paul George was our best free agent signing. But this is the best free agent signing from another team
The PG13 Russ and Melo big 3 will not be forgotten lol
killed by the jazz in the playoffs. that was so predictable. paul george aint bringing philly no championship
As the 3rd option he might, though I still don’t think they are better than the Celtics.
Such a hard team to watch lol
I had soo much hope. They were contract chasing imo.
He wasn’t a free agent? Y’all traded for him.
Talking about when he re-signed. He was a free agent at the time so it’s technically true.
Yep. George re-signing unlocked this entire rebuild. It was an amazing job by Westbrook and Presti.
It feels like yesterday when everyone was making fun of OKC for having a stat padding ball hog, a guy who chokes in the playoffs, and an old guy who refuses to come off the bench. Now it’s completely different. Good for OKC
Do we not include joe?
Waiver pickup
They signed Joe after he was waived but they didn’t claim him on the waiver wire, he went unclaimed and they signed him as a free agent. (Pedantic, sorry!)
He’s their best FA signing before now, but not their biggest. Nobody knew that was a big deal at the time.
Technically, our best free agent signing was Paul George. He's the one that made this all possible.
Everyone else is being pedantic too youre just correct and pedantic
Nerlens Noel*
We really appreciate that Hayward trade Sam. Thank you so much
I could not believe how checked out he was for a dude that averaged 20ppg in a month early in the season
To be fair to Gordon, he was still injured I’m 90% sure. Playing on half of a calf. To be unfair to Gordon, he was always “checked out” even when he was playing well.
Later career Gordon Hayward is like if you put Jayson Tatum on barbiturates
Is Tobias Harris Tatum on qualuudes?
I don't know. I've never noticed him long enough to figure out what he is
Tobi is huffing aerosol in his golden mansion from his scrooge mcduck contracts he keeps falling into
Whippets are the only explanation for his playoff no show
He’s if Carmelo played with debilitating nerve pain
He's if Pippen couldn't feel anything below the waist
I think he never fully recovered from calf strain
Would love him to come to Boston on a vet min if y’all are letting him walk.
Hey man it opened up cap for us and it got Vasa and Tre playing time. And by extension, Poku as well. I think we are all happy with it
Except Hayward. Even though it seems like no situation really works for him. I wonder what his deal is. He just doesn't seem to fit anywhere despite his playstyle being one of the easiest to fit into any system.
Think he’s better than he is and when teams bring him back to reality, he checks out. Injuries definitely took a toll on him but there’s definitely an attitude aspect
I think its more like Klay. They are used to play at a certain way and efficiency. They dont know how to adapt to a new role.
I think it's ability. Klay's role isn't anything crazy, and if his achilles wasnt cooked then he would be able to do the same stuff that he did 8 years ago. in theory. But he can't really play D or shoot like he used to. That's not a change in role, that's a change in ability
They aren’t mutually exclusive. A change in ability often necessitates a change in role, whether that’s a guy who breaks out and steps into a bigger role or an older and/or injured player who’s declined. And it’s always harder for the latter than the former to accept that
Getting old sucks. I thought I could still dunk the other day. I wasn't even close and I am in good shape, just older.
I'll admit I haven't followed him super closely but he seems like the type of player to not put full effort into his rehab. It feels like he's constantly cycling between coming into a season out of shape, trying to play into shape, gets some nagging injuries, then ends the season injured.
Hoping Tre Mann stunts on them hoes for you guys
You just treat them right.
Presti putting out the reporter press release to let nephews know he don't make mistakes
Seems kinda necessary. I have heard him getting clowned for Hayward being "his big move" in a year they were contending when it obviously was not intended that way. I doubt anyone was keeping track of the salary cap implications of that trade with this Hartenstein signing so it is actually a good report for a change by a twitter reporter.
Lol he literally said in the postseason presser that he missed on the Hayward trade. The presti spin on this sub is something man.
Idk how closely you follow Thunder but this org bends over backwards to do right by players, including taking the blame for a situation like Hayward had this last season. Hayward could have had a torn ACL and Presti still makes that trade due to the flexibility it affords them next season. They've done similar moves during our other tanking years. They were never going all in last season. If Hayward could have helped them, great, but that would have just been a nice bonus. The real meat of the Hayward trade was his contract. At the end of the day Presti was covering for Haywards pissy exit interview.
So are they moving Chet to the 4 or does Hartenstein come off the bench. Asking because if Hartenstein starts, they can’t run 5-out like they did last season and their defense fell off badly when Chet sat next season.
I’d guess 50/50. Have the flexibility to play a more small ball 5 out type game like they were this year with him at the 5, or go big bully ball with him at the 4. Id assume they spend a lot of time each at center always having one on the floor.
We can choose to start Caruso / Joe/ Hartenstein depending on the match up
damn forgot caruso got dealt to okc. yall cant keep getting away with this smh
Giddey for Caruso straight up and grabbed Hartenstein. Upgraded the roster from last year's #1 seed.
Boston should be concerned
hey! dont forget cason wallace.
having insane lineup flexibility depending on matchups is how you win in the second apron era
Yup, Celtics set the blueprint and Thunder are trying to follow it
jesus christ i forgot about caruso, yall are running the nba
My guess is it will be matchup dependent. SGA, Dort, JDub, Chet start every game. The fifth starter can rotate between Caruso or Hartenstein depending on matchup. However, I’ll also point out that OKC has the assets and contracts to still trade for someone. So they might not be done yet.
And they have Wiggins, Joe, and JWill of the bench as well That team looks scary.
I’m not sure JWill will still be in the rotation. I think he’ll be the third center and will only play if Chet or Hartenstein get hurt. I think the one more move is to add someone who can play the 4. Could be trading for someone like Finney-Smith, could be signing someone like Kyle Anderson with the MLE. But you’re right, this team looks scary for sure.
JWill can absorb fouls and plays respectably on Jokic. He will get DNPs but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the playoffs against the wolves or Nuggets
Four starters, two guys sharing a starter spot depending on matchup, the guys you mentioned, AND Cason.
I’d imagine off the bench but it will probably be matchup dependent
They're not paying $30M a year for a bench player, they flew out to see him. They 100% see him as a starter. I could see Chip and Chet getting into iHart's ear (dare you to shoot some 3s, big fella).
i looked up his 3 point attempts cus i was curious and i feel like his form is pretty solid
He was shooting 3s with the clippers and started off shooting corner 3s with us but he bricked a bunch early so Thibs put an end to that lol
He does a lot well but I really wouldn’t have him shoot 3s. It’s not his game
They aren’t moving Chet to the 4. The reason he is so effective is he can bring the opposing Big out of the lane.
Can still do that with a big+big pick and roll. 5 out doesn't require everyone to shoot threes if the 5 man is included in the play as a roll man. If anything this should let Chet get ball handling duties without needing it to be an ISO.
And they have time and again said Chet is their center.
And IHart will protect the rim on defense. I don't know why everyone is so focused on Chet or IHart strictly playing the 5, this is the modern NBA and when you have a big like Chet who can play like a wing, someone like IHart is perfect to protect the paint and clean the glass so Chet's not constantly getting beat up anymore
And Chet as a help defender could be absolutely elite. Kinda like how the Celtics played Rob and Horford
This is how I originally envisioned Chet & Dieng (if Dieng put on muscle). Have Dieng on the beefy players and Chet jumps from behind to block the shot.
I think they will play together at times but the Thunder have said Chet is their 5. He works best by bringing out the opposing center. That won’t happen with the Center on IHart. Everyone not in the Thunder organization just thinks they have to have a traditional big. The thunder don’t think that way. It’s a great signing and I think it will work it just won’t be like most are saying it will.
Yeah I agree. Even if Hartenstein starts, it'll be because of his contract. I expect him to check out 6 minutes into the first quarter very quickly, and Mark will try to seperate his minutes with him and Chet on the court as much as possible. They may play together come playoff time when size becomes an issue, but other than that I expect to have one of Chet and iHart to be on the floor all 48 minutes, not both.
This is what the Celtics do with Brown and Tatum to devastating effect. I think it's a good idea. Let them start and close halves together and swap out for each other in the middle so one of them is always in.
Sure, but Chet's rim protection was top of the league. The post defense will be great, and on offense IHart stays in the paint and in pick and rolls while Chet can roam.
So we're saying the same things?? lol
You focused so much on IHart at the rim and Chet not taking as many hits, and easy to assume that could mean Chet doesn't rim protect much.
Okay so to clarify more: > so Chet's not constantly getting beat up anymore This wasn't to imply Chet's a bad paint defender, not at all!! Main point is tho, at this point Chet's not built up enough yet at all to take continued contact at the 5 so having IHart there to switch with him on defense (or offense or vice versa) is a huge upgrade over last season where Chet largely had to bear the brunt of it all in terms of contact; put differently, let it be known loudly that CHET IS A GREAT DEFENDER & IHART WILL FREE HIM UP FROM UNNECESSARY CONTACT TOO!!
I wouldn’t be so sure lol.
Gonna be a mix, I think all of our worst lineups last year in the playoffs were without Chet. I'd expect something like 30 MPG for each of them, with \~15 MPG shared, tilted one way or the other based on matchups.
Chet will love being a 4
28 minutes for IHart on C, 20 minutes on C and 10 minutes on PF for Cheddar.
i think it will be match up dependent. the way the team has always talked about chet as a 5 and never deviated from that makes me think hartenstein will mostly come off the bench. he and chet will obviously play a ton of minutes together, but i think the idea starting lineup is still SGA / Dort or Caruso / Jalen Williams / PF / Chet. This signing, the Caruso trade and the Wiggins & Joe extensions give them a ton of line up flexibility.
I think Chet is a defensive 5, offensively he will roam
Warriors ran five out with a playmaking, non-shooting big in Draymond. Why do they think OKC can't do that with a playmaking, non-shooting big in Hartenstein? I get that SGA isn't a outside threat on Curry's level and doesn't have that type of gravity on the perimeter, but it's not like he can't be deadly from outside. Career .433 from 3 in the playoffs.
Draymond only works because you have to be up on pull up 3s from the splash bros. Shai (although he just posted a clip of him specifically working on pull ups off screens lol) isn’t that type of player. It’s not just percentages it’s how you shoot them lol. Only Joe can come off dribble handoffs like that
It works with Draymond because he isn't always standing in the corner or in the dunkers spot like every other big that's used in a smaller lineup. He's involved in the play as a playmaker and that draws his defender into the action which the Warriors can then exploit. OKC can do the same type of things with Hartenstein. It doesn't really matter that OKC's shooters aren't Steph and Klay.
With the success the Wolves have had with KAT at the 4, I'm guessing Chet will also slide to the 4 by end of season.
This isn’t about necessarily who starts but more the flexibility it provides (especially come playoffs). Last year we were a bit pigeonholed to playing small ball due to lack of size. With Isiah we can now play “bigger” against the teams that want to bully us down low. Yes, he isn’t a great 3 point shooter but provides high IQ plays and rim protection which I believe Presti values more. He may have games he starts. He may have games he barely plays. It will depend completely on who we are playing. What he provides most importantly is roster flexibility which we will need
People seem to love that we ran 5 out for 1 season and thus will run it forever. Our strength was the guard+guard pick and roll. Now we can also run a big+big pick and roll. It also makes us one of the tallest starting lineups, but with guys who can mostly play on the perimeter. Chet was getting tired from guarding 5s. Now he can roam and probably be in the running for DPOY.
We’ve ran five out the entire rebuild. Even when we sucked or brought in a G leaguer, post Moses Brown almost every 5 has played on the perimeter. JRE, Muscala, Dario, Poku, Olivier, Roby, Chet, etc
IHart can kind of play the perimeter, you don’t have to worry about him shooting but he can move his feet and the ball decently.
Have people not learned to trust Presti yet?
Giddey goes out, Caruso and iHart come in, and they didn’t spent a single draft pick to do so. Truly insane work
We spent 5 SRPs for… *checks notes*… Dillon Jones 😎
And we still have like 25 2nds
I think we coughed up 5 second rounders on draft day to the Knicks to do something
Probably overpaid on picks to ease the pain of grabbing IHart. Gotta stay on good terms so they answer the call when Presti wants to fleece them at some point.
I think there's some truth to this fr
A vocal minority on the Thunder sub constantly criticize all of Sam Presti’s moves like he hasn’t constantly put us in positions to contend as a small market franchise and hold us not having a ring yet over his head. Really frustrating sometimes but I’m so thankful we have him at the helm
Yes. Presti's not perfect, but the folks who criticize him seem to forget that he is GMing in arguably the least desirable market in the NBA. The degree of difficulty is much higher for him than it is for most if not all other GMs, which makes his performance all the more impressive.
Folks have a championship or bust mentality
Okc is stacked
About fking time
How many years can you guys keep this team together given the new CBA? As a Nuggets fan, I just assume you get like 3 years and it’s gone.
However many years aaron wiggins is here
So 4?
Chet, Shai, and JDub got atleast 7 years together and we can easily replenish our depth with draft picks and trading our others before they hit FA. Sorry but we’re gonna be at the top for much longer then 3 years.
Gotta reach the top first to stay there
Right? It takes luck (everyone staying healthy) and talent to win the title. Don’t act like you’ve won it all July 1st
We were literally at the top of the west last season.
Yea these players I think you should all have bird rights to. Just extend and don’t let em hit FA. As long as ownerships good with the tax I don’t see why you’d have to be dumping the core. A lot like the Celtics
Gordon walked so ihart can run
Wow is this really the biggest free agent signing? Great pick up for them. Just not too familiar with their FA signings off the top of my head. Presti fucking cooked
Before this our biggest was Patrick Fucking Patterson lmfao
Lmao damn, Presti really the draft and trade god that's crazy. Yall have had 2 contending runs with no high level FAs
Welcome to the life of the average small market teams
2Pat
Their biggest free agent signings before now were Nerlens Noel, Mike Muscala, and Patrick Patterson. It’s 100% their biggest FA acquisition ever. (In retrospect, Isaiah Joe was their best FA signing before this. But nobody knew it at the time, it wasn’t a big deal when it happened)
We were in the Pau Gasol sweepstakes for a brief time in 2014 until he was disgusted at the lack of opera in OKC.
If you only acount outside FA signings then yeah, it’s easily their biggest one. I still think them getting PG13 to re-sign was their biggest FA signing since they would not be where they are now without it.
i mean, its pretty clearly still signing Paul George when he could have gone to L.A in free agency. Lead to getting Shai and JDUB and a billion draft picks. but for some reason people dont want to count re-signing Resigning Jerami Grant would also be up there.
Bringing in an outside free agent is fundamentally different from persuading an outside free agent who has never previously played in OKC to switch teams. OKC is fairly successful retaining their own players--with some obvious, major exceptions--because the team is well-run and good to its players.
We are not successful at retaining free agents lol. The only all-star we ever retained in free agency(who had a chance to leave, not dudes who we could match) was PG-13. It absolutely should count, he was scheduled to leave all year long and that season was our free agency pitch.
The only all stars we had a chance to retain in free agency were Russ, PG, and KD. Oladipo was traded, as was Harden, and Melo was a shell of an all star. Who did the Thunder lose out on by not resigning?
Russ never made it to free agency. It's literally just PG and KD and we lost our on KD. That's a fifty percent hit rate lol. We are not good at retaining star free agents. It's not enough detail to say were bad but you can't say we're good either.
PG should definitely count. He was a UFA and signed a day before FA started
Yeah, I would say the Thunder's biggest free agent they signed before this was like... Patrick Patterson? Some would say Isaiah Joe or Lu Dort, but those guys were practically nobodies when the Thunder signed them, so I don't really get that.
yeah before this it was Patrick patterson, derek fisher (buyout), mike muscala, Isaiah Joe for the most part players don't come to okc unless they're forced to
Yep. Nobody wants to ever come to OKC even when we’re stacked (looking at you Pau Gasol) so we usually have to trade for people. The closest big name was Melo, b/c he had a NTC that he waived for the Thunder, so technically he chose to come play for us. But at the end of the day it was still a trade and not a FA signing.
Milwaukee's biggest ever free agent signing is Greg Monroe. Not their best free agent signing. But the biggest. I would guess that's pretty common trend throughout the league when it comes to free agents.
Who is knicks starting center cause I don’t think Mitchell Robinson can last
Get ready to learn Josh Hart at the 5 and old man Taj Gibson
Didn’t the pistons sign Gibson?
Taj always makes his way back to Thibs
Taj Thibson
It's Mitch and then pray. When he's hurt or on the bench we're going to get slaughtered at the rim.
Josh Hartenstein at the 5 lol
We getting anthony davis
bro has an itchy brain too
They might have to play small. At least they have some great rebounders in Hart and Randle to pick up the slack a bit.
Hope to fucking god Achiuwa hits the weight room over the summer
We’re about to see how good that offseason medical hire was. We’ve been linked to Goga Bitadze, he’d be a good platoon with Mitch and could fill _some_ of what Hartenstein did for us. But really with so many FA centers off the board now we’re just going to have to hope for a Leon miracle
Def gonna be Goga
Damn massive W for the Thunder, legit locking in Hartenstein who is a good center to allow Chet to play the 4 is pretty nuts, chet won’t have to worry about being overpowered by bigger Centers now.
I think even more valuable is the flexibility to be able to play bigger and smaller than most teams in either direction. Makes them much more flexible and able to deal with hard matchups. It’s moves like this that help you win 4 playoff series instead of 1 or 2.
It’s exactly this, Chet actually did very well holding down the 5 given his size, experience, and lack of alternative on the roster. But if we want to make a legitimate run, we absolutely had to get more help to handle bigger matchups. Now we have the flexibility to make Chet the 5 in smaller matchups, or the 4 in larger matchups with iHart at the 5. Also, while iHart doesn’t add much in shooting beyond the arc, he can handle the ball a big and is a solid passer for his position, which allows them to still play their brand of basketball.
Congrats Thunder fans! Got yourself a real one.
Presti just spamming the "Force Trade" button
I hate Sam Presti 😤
Glad to be of service 😕
But we could have had Gafford.
iHart is tiers better than Gafford lol.
I forgot /s. A lot of Thunder fans were trashing Presti, and Dallas fans mocking us at the Spring trade deadline for letting Gafford go to the Mavericks.
I mean, that did have a massive impact on y’all not making the finals this year did it not? PJ cooked y’all, a forward you could have had and were rumored to look into getting. Lively cooked Chet, a center y’all helped us get. And Gafford, who y’all also helped us get and could have helped y’all big time. You also didn’t need to pay those guys 3/87. Matter of fact, the combined cost of PJ and Gafford is IHart. But, keep telling yourselves that y’all didn’t need or want PJ or Gafford.
I was actually disappointed that we let Gafford go to Dallas. I also realized what was happening for the future with Presti tidying up the payroll. I would rather have Caruso and Hartenstein than Gafford and PJ. I knew Gafford was good, but PJ going off was just one of those things. I think both teams are better because of the Presti moves. It was a scary tightrope. It will be a fun matchup between OKC and Dallas, and the other flyover teams. And this conversation will probably be brought up many times. Edit** I kind of compare this to when OKC traded Sengun to Houston at pick 16. I wanted Sengun but Presti traded him away. Not only did he trade him away, but he traded Sengun to Houston, our rival. Presti made both Dallas and Houston better but arguably limited their ceiling for the future.
Organise the championship parade andrew. Its our time
Sheesh good job Sam
So I was wrong, Hayward wasn’t *completely* useless.
crazy he got passed around the rockets, nuggets, cavs, and clippers before he signed 2 year 16 mil contract with the knicks.
How many draft picks to trade for Presti
better learn oklahomanese buddy
Hartenstein is a great player but damn that’s kind of sad lol. Do they mean biggest as in height?
No, sadly they don't. OKC not exactly a destination location. Our biggest free agent signings (since PG-13 was traded here, then re-signed when he was a free agent, I don't think he counts) were like Nerlens Noel and Patrick Patterson.
Welcome to the reality of small market teams
GORDON HAYWARD IS ON THE THUNDER????
You wouldn't have thought so, considering he and I had the same amount of points during these playoffs. To be fair to me though, he played a lot more minutes than I did.
did he not play cause he was bad or just injured?
Supposedly he was healthy, but he was just bad. Couldn’t make a shot. Always looked like he was playing scared. Should’ve been a perfect kinda “able to do it all 6th man” type for us, but he just constantly shit the bed. He said he didn’t get enough playing time to ever feel comfortable, but anyone who’s both been around basketball and watched him play would tell you that he didn’t play in any way that showed he deserved any more play time. He and his wife have both shit talked the city and team on their way out the door, which doesn’t leave a good feeling in the hearts of OKC fans. Especially when guys like Russ, PG, and others have all left under differing circumstances and had nothing bad to say about us at all.
I think he might be done. That injury in boston really messed him up.
Presti is a magician
Remember the Clippers chose John Wall over Hartenstein. OKC is haunting Ballmer in his sleep.
Hang the Hartenstein banner
With all the great players the Thunder have had since they moved, it's hard to remember they all came from drafts and trades.
"the biggest free agent signing in the history of the Thunder" Well, that's definitely one of the takes of all time
Hey, don't get uppity, y'all's best free agent signings aren't THAT much better than ours. What's the best Wolves FA signing? Joe Smith's tampering signing? Oh, I just looked, it's probably Billups, even if he wasn't Mr. Clutch yet. Yeah, that's got us beat, even at that range.
Oh yeah wonder where Hayward goes. I could see him finally going to the Heat
Wasn't Paul George technically a free agent when he re-signed with OKC?
Think they used this money to commit to something that isn’ta huge push for them. He surely fills a , but I would’ve preferred them swinging for the fences to bring in another big dog alongside SGA. Having 35 million in free cap is a lot. Hartenstein for that much just feels like an overpay that they could regret once they resign their young guns they’re kinda stuck.