I predict the Pacers will win the championship next season w/Oladipo and Sabonis

[thunderc]

You don't know the reason KD left anymore than anyone else. Obviously the answer is what he deemed to be a better (easier, less stressful) situation. His call, but don't pretend to know why he did it.

 

[The Derski]

OKC is about the same size as San Antonio. We have OU football and SA just has the Spurs but they have been able to break through in a small market. No reason why OKC can't.

Metro San Antonio has a million more people than OKC.

 

[thunderc]

Maybe he just didn't want to live in OKC anymore, maybe he felt like he had too much pressure on himself. Maybe he doesn't deal with personal pressure well. Maybe he needed guys to hide behind. All that stuff.

 

[The Derski]

OKC is barely bigger than Tucson.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

Seriously? Pretty much every other reported offer the Pacers got was better than what the Pacers accepted.

As for the Lakers, the Pacers sent George to virtually the same situation he was in with Indy and wanted to leave.

A small town team that's good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to get past the 1st or 2nd round and not close to contending.

If they weren't getting him in a trade, this is about as good as it gets for the Lakers hopes of getting him next off-season.

Well OKC was 47-35 in a deep conference and just added a legit #2 option.

I'm just glad he's gone. Maybe we could have gotten more, maybe not. But, I was quite likely the best we were going to get in return for such a malcontent. Take off your homer glasses if you think Randle and two late first rounders would have been better.

In the meantime, enjoy Lonzo Ball, Brook Lopez, and a steep uphill battle in a deep western conference.

 

[Black Adam]

Metro San Antonio has a million more people than OKC.

NOW lol...

actually though it's been a VERY long time since i've been there and i'm guessing it's gotten bigger since then...

 

[The Derski]

NOW lol...

actually though it's been a VERY long time since i've been there and i'm guessing it's gotten bigger since then...

My brother lives there so I go there fairly often. Maybe three times a year. Their highway system is shit.

 

[trojanfan12]

Well OKC was 47-35 in a deep conference and just added a legit #2 option.

So, they added a guy who can help them get bounced in the 2nd round instead of the 1st. Not much of an improvement.

I'm just glad he's gone. Maybe we could have gotten more, maybe not. But, I was quite likely the best we were going to get in return for such a malcontent. Take off your homer glasses if you think Randle and two late first rounders would have been better.

Your dislike for the Lakers and lack of basic basketball understanding show in this post. The offer of Randle or Clarkson plus the #27 and #28 picks were definitely better than what the Pacers got for PG and what the Celtics offered was far better. Hell, Kevin Love for PG straight up was a better offer.

In the meantime, enjoy Lonzo Ball, Brook Lopez, and a steep uphill battle in a deep western conference.

I'll take the Lakers situation over the Pacers any day. The Pacers just cut off their nose to spite their face. Did they hire Jim Buss as their GM?

 

[Black Adam]

My brother lives there so I go there fairly often. Maybe three times a year. Their highway system is shit.

CLEARLY you've never been here in L.A....

 

[The Derski]

CLEARLY you've never been here in L.A....

I've been to LA but mentioning the traffic is pretty much unnecessary. Everyone knows LA traffic sucks.

I think the layout of the highways in SA are outdated and not really designed to support the current volume of traffic. It's also confusing as hell unless you actually live there.

 

[flyerhawk]

No, I'm using the reason KD left. You're trying to expand the debate to include things that aren't being debated and don't ultimately matter.

It's not a small sample size when it's close game after close game, season after season and consistently costs your team games and playoff series.

Again, what does how many assists per game a guy averages matter if he stops passing late in games and it costs his teams those games? The end result is just a loss with pretty assist numbers that are artificial because they don't happen when the game is on the line.

I just don't believe it to be the case, at least when KD was there. In fact, I think that deferring to KD often put RW in a perimeter position to shoot the outlet and that simply isn't his strength. So it would appear that RW is the ball hog but the ball was dished to him for a reason.

If you watched the games, you'd know the evidence isn't lacking. It's literally the reason KD left and it's not a small sample size. Not when it's been happening for pretty much his entire career.

Your lack of understanding, doesn't mean a lack of evidence.

It literally can't be made any clearer.

I understand your point, but thanks for the condescension.

KD left to win a championship. Simple as that. I don't blame him for that but to criticize Westbrook for that seems unreasonable to me.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Assist to TO ratio is much better metric to determine a better PG. Harden and RW were both awful with TO's last season.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Well OKC was 47-35 in a deep conference and just added a legit #2 option.

I'm just glad he's gone. Maybe we could have gotten more, maybe not. But, I was quite likely the best we were going to get in return for such a malcontent. Take off your homer glasses if you think Randle and two late first rounders would have been better.

In the meantime, enjoy Lonzo Ball, Brook Lopez, and a steep uphill battle in a deep western conference.

And room for 2 max contracts next summer? Will do.

 

[flyerhawk]

Your dislike for the Lakers and lack of basic basketball understanding show in this post. The offer of Randle or Clarkson plus the #27 and #28 picks were definitely better than what the Pacers got for PG and what the Celtics offered was far better. Hell, Kevin Love for PG straight up was a better offer.

So Randle and a late first is definitely better than Oladipo and Sabonis? Not sure there would be a lot of folks that would agree with that.

I'll take the Lakers situation over the Pacers any day. The Pacers just cut off their nose to spite their face. Did they hire Jim Buss as their GM?

So you are down on this trade because of how it affects the Lakers? That makes sense.

 

[DJ Fieri]

So, they added a guy who can help them get bounced in the 2nd round instead of the 1st. Not much of an improvement.



Your dislike for the Lakers and lack of basic basketball understanding show in this post. The offer of Randle or Clarkson plus the #27 and #28 picks were definitely better than what the Pacers got for PG and what the Celtics offered was far better. Hell, Kevin Love for PG straight up was a better offer.



I'll take the Lakers situation over the Pacers any day. The Pacers just cut off their nose to spite their face. Did they hire Jim Buss as their GM?

CL67 and I threw Short Buss off the Sana Monica Pier a few weeks ago.....we're about to take a vacation o Mexico.

 

[tlance]

OKC was a 47 win team last year as a one man show. You don't think bringing in PG will have much impact on their success?

If they stay healthy I can definitely see them as a 55-60 win team. Dunno if that means they are good enough to beat the Spurs but they might be able to.

Not without another significant move.

When they were a 60 win team, they had KD and Ibaka. Oladipo was a good player that did not fit with Russ. Let's not act like they are replacing garbage with Paul George. I think they are going to finish somewhere between 3rd and 5th in the West. I will be surprised if they make the conferences Finals, and I think it is at least possible they get bounced in round 1 depending on who they match up with. That 4-5 series could be brutal.

 

[DJ Fieri]

And that's a good thing.

LA is home for PG.

 

[DJ Fieri]

No. I'm pointing out the actual facts. He was a one man show in OKC last year. And he STILL didn't average 25 shots a game.

24 is really far off from 25, huh? It's still ball-hog numbers.

 

[flyerhawk]

Not without another significant move.

When they were a 60 win team, they had KD and Ibaka. Oladipo was a good player that did not fit with Russ. Let's not act like they are replacing garbage with Paul George. I think they are going to finish somewhere between 3rd and 5th in the West. I will be surprised if they make the conferences Finals, and I think it is at least possible they get bounced in round 1 depending on who they match up with. That 4-5 series could be brutal.

I think Adams is probably a better defensive fit for the Thunder than Ibaka. Roberson is one of the best defensive players in the league.

What they need is a 3rd shooting option. Not sure if they will have that.

 

[trojanfan12]

I just don't believe it to be the case, at least when KD was there. In fact, I think that deferring to KD often put RW in a perimeter position to shoot the outlet and that simply isn't his strength. So it would appear that RW is the ball hog but the ball was dished to him for a reason.

You clearly didn't watch the games then. RW didn't defer to KD. You can't defer to a guy that you're not passing the ball to.

RW was making crazy 1 on 4 or 5 drives to the basket and jacking up 3's when he's not a good 3 point shooter.

I understand your point, but thanks for the condescension.

You're welcome. However, your posts show that you don't understand at all.

KD left to win a championship. Simple as that. I don't blame him for that but to criticize Westbrook for that seems unreasonable to me.

He left because he knew he wasn't winning a title in OKC because of how Westbrook plays. So no, it's not unreasonable to criticize Westbrook. It's accurate.