The College Basketball Post

[johnnyredstorm]

they dont lose those games if they kept harden though

 

[IATT]

well.. kinda hard to win when the guys who got injured, got injured.. brooks' ineptitude just made matters worse

 

[B Sox]

A lot of "what ifs" for OKC in the last few years since they got rid of Harden. Not much to actually show though.

 

[hometownhero]

Ollie or Donovan would be beyond dumb to turn down the OKC job

Too much uncertainty with FA next year. And Ollie is coming off an unexpected title run so he's still the man. If he even makes the tourney next season he'll still be coveted by an NBA team; same for Billy D. 

 

[IATT]

@Itsaboutthattime- So you aren't going to say anything about the front office trading away a top 5 player in the NBA after they just made the finals with him?

was it the smartest move.. hell no

but I get why they did it.. harden wouldn't be the player he is with Houston on the thunder.. with the usage rates of Durant and westbrook.. PLUS harden being aware he could get the 5 year 80 mill max elsewhere.. I can at least understand the thinking

and harden wasn't a "top 5 player" when he was traded

@Itsaboutthattime- And you're really going to give the front office credit for drafting KD/Russ/Harden? They were all the obvious picks in the respective drafts.

I give them credit for drafting russ and harden.. it may be obvious now that those guys should have been picked when they were

at the time, both picks were questioned

 

[IATT]

A lot of "what ifs" for OKC in the last few years since they got rid of Harden. Not much to actually show though.

the "what ifs" are related to injuries..

it isn't a question of if westbrook and kd can win together.. the question is if both will be healthy during the playoffs so they can do so

 

[B Sox]

If I remember correctly, both Harden and Westbrook were consensus top 5 picks in their respective drafts, so I guess if you want to give their front office credit for not completely whiffing on them, than that's cool.

You are right, at that time, Harden was not top 5 in the league, however, you'd have to be blind to not see the potential for greatness that was oozing out of him. Especially with him being a very willing passer on a team that certainly needed it. OKC could have absolutely re-signed Harden if they chose to. However, they decided that a very good hustle player (Ibaka), was more important. I really like Ibaka, however, a player of his caliber is much easier to come by than someone with the acumen of Harden. They had their Big 3 set and they blew it.

Also, I am taking Lebron & Co over the Thunder post-Harden every single time. Spurs were a much tougher matchup for the Heat than the Thunder would've been. And going forward, do you think that this Thunder team could beat the Cavs? I certainly don't.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Happy that Kris Dunn is coming back- he's the best PG in the class next year belee dat.

Just graduated from PC and if he carries the team places- top 5.

big risk with his shoulder but he's a freak

Don't be a homer.

He put millions of dollars at stake for little upside in order to entertain you and the rich alumni at Providence. He's one injury away from a non guaranteed contract.

Just be happy but don't pretend like it's good for Kris Dunn.



also 22 year olds don't go top 5 and when they have its generally been a disaster. nba teams are more aware than ever on how age impacts upside so top 5 is silly.

 

[B Sox]

LOL ain't nobody taking Kris Dunn in the top 5

 

[IATT]

If I remember correctly, both Harden and Westbrook were consensus top 5 picks in their respective drafts

they weren't..

harden was closer to be being ranked top 5.. but people were suggesting the thunder should go with tyreke, Rubio, curry or Flynn and move westbrook to SG

 

[IATT]

You are right, at that time, Harden was not top 5 in the league, however, you'd have to be blind to not see the potential for greatness that was oozing out of him. Especially with him being a very willing passer on a team that certainly needed it. OKC could have absolutely re-signed Harden if they chose to. However, they decided that a very good hustle player (Ibaka), was more important. I really like Ibaka, however, a player of his caliber is much easier to come by than someone with the acumen of Harden. They had their Big 3 set and they blew it.

1) the decision didn't come down to ibaka vs harden for who the team would pay.. they tried signing both, ibaka just accepted his deal before harden

the team continued to negotiate with harden getting as high as 54-55 mill over 4 years... the max the thunder could offer was 4 years 60 mill

harden and his agent were aware that teams were willing to pay him 5 years 80 mill

2) what the thunder should have done was amnestied perkins if remaining under the salary cap was there concern (as you seem to allude to).. then sign harden to the 4 years 60 mill deal

3) I never said harden wasn't talented.. however, what I did say is he wouldn't have been the player he is now.. which is pretty obvious since he wouldn't get to dominate the ball like he does in Houston if he was still on okc

 

[B Sox]

We may just have to agree to disagree on this. Don't want to derail the thread with all the NBA talk...

 

[hometownhero]

know we've all said it but,

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25159355

still gotta see it to believe it. Cal is a wizard.

 

[jon4rd]

Ollie announced he is staying with uconn

 

[B Sox]

Ollie announced he is staying with uconn

Yup. Shouldn't really be a shocker to anyone.

 

[cruzair13]

Don't be a homer.

He put millions of dollars at stake for little upside in order to entertain you and the rich alumni at Providence. He's one injury away from a non guaranteed contract.

Just be happy but don't pretend like it's good for Kris Dunn.



also 22 year olds don't go top 5 and when they have its generally been a disaster. nba teams are more aware than ever on how age impacts upside so top 5 is silly.

off the top of my head evan turner is one of those 22 year olds too right? who else is up there with the none one and done peeps that stunk it up? he's a lower mid tier player

we'll just wait for the season to play out- homerism is involved but he's rondo in terms of defense and vision.

 

[アミーゴ]

Get this NBA talk outta here.

 

[jpzx]

The Gophers just landed Ahmad Gilbert SHOULD I CARE?

 

[outkast9984]

Maker down to indy and Kentucky

 

[osh kosh bosh]

off the top of my head evan turner is one of those 22 year olds too right? who else is up there with the none one and done peeps that stunk it up? he's a lower mid tier player

we'll just wait for the season to play out- homerism is involved but he's rondo in terms of defense and vision.

Besides Jimmer Fredette, here are the last 22+ year olds picked in the Top-10: Wesley Johnson, Ekpe Udoh, Hasheem Thabeet, Yi Jianlian. Hmm.

I like Kris Dunn but it's incredibly remote that he ever winds up in the top 5. But his coaches lied and convinced him otherwise.

I wish that college fans would just accept the fact they cheer for an ethically bankrupt institution whose primary reason for existing is the exploitation of the underclass

stop pretending that it's something that it's not.

 

[keel252]

we'll just wait for the season to play out- homerism is involved but he's rondo in terms of defense and vision.

 

[dacomeup]

That's why I rock with Coach Cal and Coach K.

K pushing Shavlik Randolph to the draft. 

 Get your money, playa.

 

[B Sox]

we'll just wait for the season to play out- homerism is involved but he's rondo in terms of defense and vision.

 

[User 15002]

Maker down to indy and Kentucky

You think he ends up playing for any D-I school?

 

[elpablo21]