If the rumors of Houston being the favorites for FVV, Brooks, and Kuzma are true, then it’s clear that that franchise has no idea what it’s doing. All three of those guys would start, pushing Amen, Cam, and Jabari to the bench………why? Is being mediocre really worth sacrificing the development of all your top guys?
Full faith in OKC, we have approached this the right way through and through.
Oklahoma City Thunder
• Acquired Cason Wallace (10th) and Dāvis Bertāns from Dallas for No. 12 • Selected Keyontae Johnson (50th)
The Thunder tend to love guys with great positional size, length and basketball IQ. Wallace certainly ticks the box of great feel for the game and innate understanding of how to get things done on the court. While on its face he may not tick the size box — he’s only about 6-3 without shoes — he does have a plus-six wingspan and, functionally, plays much larger than that due to his strength. Wallace is one of the strongest guards in the class, which shows up well on the defensive end. He’s able to fight through screens, dribble handoffs and off-ball actions at an exceptionally high level. His awareness and anticipation are elite skills that translate to any winning situation. He can also knock down shots and makes strong passing reads. These are all the skills NBA teams look for when trying to spot a complementary player who will thrive next to stars.
In the Thunder, he’s found an ideal fit. The team already has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as an All-NBA player, plus has potential future All-Stars in Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams. Wallace’s ability to defend at the point of attack is the exact skill set those four players needed to be able to play in a strong lineup together. Lineups with Giddey, Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Lu Dort were a plus-1.3 last season per 100 possessions, and those lineups only figure to get better as the former trio continue to improve. The only question in my mind is whether the team needed to trade up to get him, or if it could have stayed at No. 12 and still gotten Wallace.
Rumors circulated post-draft that a couple of teams had their eye on Wallace, including Atlanta and Toronto. In general, the Thunder tend to be aggressive when they feel like they have to be to get their player. They traded multiple picks for Aleksej Pokuševski. They moved up for Ousmane Dieng last year. To do so this year, they took on Bertāns’ contract in a salary dump move from Dallas, a deal that piqued my interest. Bertāns has $17 million guaranteed on his deal this season, followed by a vesting option for next season that has $5 million guaranteed. If he plays 75 percent of the Thunder’s games, the deal becomes fully guaranteed for $16 million. On the surface, that looks like a terrible deal, but I wonder if the Thunder saw value in it as a potential trade deadline chip.
The Thunder only had one deal on the books this season between the $33.4 million Gilgeous-Alexander is slated to make and Holmgren’s $10.4 million salary. That is Dort’s $15.3 million deal. However, by adding Bertāns, the team now has a fascinating combination of contracts. The team could combine Bertāns’ and Dort’s contracts together to acquire a player with a contract worth up to about $40 million per season without dealing any of their core pieces. Given that the Thunder also have one of the best asset chests in the NBA, combing the Bertāns and Dort deals puts the Thunder in play for myriad potential trade options who may hit the market over the next year. It’s noticeable that the team acquired a readymade replacement in the draft for Dort in Wallace, potentially making him expendable into the future.
The Thunder have real trade flexibility over the next year, especially given the salary relief that acquiring Bertāns could provide in a deal prior to the deadline for a trade partner in future seasons. It would be wrong to call the Bertāns deal an “asset,” but it could come in handy if the team takes another leap toward contention. The most important part of the grade here, though, is Wallace, who is a perfect fit for the Thunder.
Grade: B+
We just haven’t seen him yet, but the excitement around him seems buzz-worthy and it feels like he’s going to drastically change how we look and compete with the league. Feels like the missing piece
What is his ceiling/floor? Is he going to be Dirk/KD/KG like? Is he just a solid big? Superstar/All Star? Our second best player? Third best? Fourth? Does he ever become our best guy?
Just curious how the fan base seems him since we really only have a small sample size of summer league.
Mind you, this isn't just OKC focused, please feel free to put forward any lineup that (realistically) could be played next year!
For me though, I'm dying to see the following 🌩️ lineup from Coach D:
Chet Holgren: 7'1"
Aleksej Pokusevski: 7'0"
Ousmane Dieng: 6'10"
Davis Bertans: 6'10"
Josh Giddey: 6'9"
https://preview.redd.it/2024-line-ups-you-cant-wait-to-see-v0-rszj2vbmiy8b1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=2f587b2a248b29f4ac2ff2a16cd7b76737cc3af7So Poku's up for a new contract after this season. How much can he demand? He'll be an RFA
I hope it's just 30/4yr contract. Moveable. Great gamble because he's raw and can be a bargain contract in 2-3 years
I don’t know why but every time I’m interacted with someone on the Thunder it was a role player and it was always wholesome but kinda weird. I was at the indoor skydiving place in OKC and met Andre Roberson there, at an swat game the only player I could get to sign something for me was Mike Muscala who signed the jacket I wore, and I saw Kyle Singler in our hometown and my dad asked him to sign his Jordans. Just wondering if anyone else has any random stories with Thunder players.
I'll start: Perry Jones III
Man had handles at 6'11, a decent shot etc. Just somehow never worked out
https://twitter.com/BrandonRahbar/status/1674120227942985729
Insert heartbreaking worst person you know meme.
Jazz fan here. I'm planning to go to game on Monday. Is Chet Holmgren go to be playing in summer league?
If Embiid becomes available wouls you trade for him? A package centered around Chet.