Trade Deadline Thunderous Thoughts: OKC Thunder are too late
Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts, a weekly look at the OKC Thunder with the main topic ranging from the smartest and deepest thinking I’ve ever done to a good idea gone wrong. Today, a look at what went down at the deadline.
By the time you read this, the NBA trade deadline may have already passed. All of those “who is available?” and “who should your team target?” articles are either moot, or hours away from being so. The OKC Thunder may or may not have acquired a fellow Legend to pair up with Russell Westbrook and lead the team to a new era of consistency. Whether or not a trade was made doesn’t change the fact that we as fans certainly wasted a lot of Energy refreshing twitter every second in order to catch the latest news and rumors.
As you may have noticed, the Thunder didn’t have much in terms of assets. While other teams were dealing with diamonds and millions, OKC could only offer around 10 Bands. Sometimes you have to Know Yourself. You have to take a long look in the mirror and say, “we just didn’t have enough to get him. We have to think of the long term, not right now.” Teams know how much their players are worth, and if the OKC Thunder didn’t have enough. Then, well, they didn’t have enough. Maybes the Thunder ended up trade deadline losers.
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There’s No Tellin what actually went down in the front offices today. I imagine that Sam Presti worked the phones long and hard. He probably put on a little Madonna, brewed multiple pots of coffee, and started to tie things together like a man working a suspect board in a police office.
Presti’s hands tied?
While OKC Thunder fans saw Serge Ibaka head to Toronto to team with with the self-proclaimed 6 God, we watched our team do a whole lot of nothing. It wasn’t surprising. Presti probably had to use Star67 before dialing up other teams. “This guy is trying to offer us Kyle Singler again” other GMs said to their bosses.
As fans, we want to Preach about how, “we need to acquire this guy or that guy.” You don’t think Presti wants all of these guys? Of course he would have loved to add Jimmy Butler or Paul George. He didn’t spend Wednesday Night Interlude. It’s important to remember that Presti can’t snap his fingers and acquire everyone. And just because he didn’t acquire someone, doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a ton of talks.
The NBA trade deadline Used To be fun for Thunder fans. Which veteran were we getting that would put us over the top in our chase for the title? Things aren’t quite like that anymore. Now, most of us hoped that the team would offload their 6 Man in order to gain more cap flexibility moving forward. But, who knows, maybe Presti somehow got Paul Millsap from the Hawks.
At least we know that Russell Westbrook will remain a member of the OKC Thunder Now & Forever. The trade deadline certainly didn’t change that. The main Company around him didn’t change much either. Steven Adams is still here. Same with Victor Oladipo. And Billy Donovan is still the head coach. Is anyone else still around? Probably, but who knows for sure. We can’t predict the future.
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Imagine being the general manager. It’s not just you. It’s You & The 6 or seven other people who always have a say in the matter. Suddenly, it’s not so simple. It’s a real Jungle in that office. You can’t just do things that you think are good for the team. You have to do things that everyone thinks are good for the team. It’s a lot harder than being armchair GM from your computer.
Right now, it’s past 6PM in New York. It’s closer to 6AM and Presti hasn’t slept all night. He’s calling up rival GMs asking, “How Bout Now?” as he continues to sweeten the deal. He’s throwing in 2030 first round draft picks even though he might not even be with the team at that time. He’s throwing in the jersey Derek Fisher wore in his final game where he guarded Tim Duncan all game. “IT STILL HAS TIM DUNCAN SWEAT ON IT!” screams Presti. There’s no one on the other side of the phone. Presti needs some kind of break.
Today was a blur. Reports will leak about what really went down. You’ll hear all side. His side, her side, My Side. We’ll debate what happened. Then, we’ll crown winners and losers. We’ll grow angry about what the OKC Thunder did or didn’t do. But. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.