Thunderous Thoughts: Nothing but Thunderous Thoughts
Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts. A weekly look at the OKC Thunder where the main story ranges from nonexistent to maybe?
There’s no main story this week. I had ideas, but none of them felt worthy of 400+ words to comprise a main story. Thus, for the first time ever, this week’s Thunderous Thoughts is nothing but thoughts.
Other Thunder Thoughts
*Sam Presti’s vision is coming back into focus. The “two stars and role players” vision that he’s had his entire stint as general manager took a hit last year, but things are now back on track. This team is starting to resemble the team that should have been in the 2016 Finals. No, Paul George isn’t Kevin Durant and Patrick Patterson isn’t Serge Ibaka, but they do similar things and the philosophy is evident. Not bad, Presti. Not bad.
MUST READ: Moving on from Durant
*I care a lot about Enes Kanter’s happiness. I’m often frustrated with him on the court, but he’s one of the best follows on Twitter. He’s funny, loyal, and seems like a good guy to be around. I’m convinced that Presti made it his mission to not trade Kanter, but to turn him into the luxury player he was two years ago. We can all thank Kanter for Presti acquiring George and Patterson. Thank you, based God mustache.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
*Everyone is high on Minnesota this year, seeing them as potentially being better than Oklahoma City. I’m not in that boat. I love Minnesota’s talent, but they won 31 games last year and finished 13th in the West. Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson are supposed to help them jump from 13 to 4 when OKC added George and Patterson to a team that finished 6th? Minnesota will make the playoffs, but it feels premature to say they’re the fourth best team in the West, ahead of a team with the reigning MVP and another top-10 player.
*My favorite thing about Russell Westbrook is that he Snapchats himself singing in the car. These are the only snaps I send to my friends. These are the only snaps that should ever be sent. I like that Russell Westbrook and I have this common.
*How many of you are going to check in on Oladipo and Sabonis in Indy? I always enjoy looking at the stats of guys we’ve traded. Most of the time, I’m rooting for them. Especially you, Jeremy Lamb. Other times, I hope they flame out. Looking at you, Reggie Jackson. I’m rooting for both Oladipo and Sabonis. I hope they do well.
*I always feel dumb for doubting Sam Presti. Maybe doubt is the wrong word. I always feel dumb for being impatient with Sam Presti. We as fans are way too reactionary. That’s why we’re on Twitter and not in the front office. Someone has a bad game and we immediately want them gone. A rumor breaks, like Rudy Gay to OKC, and we immediately want it done. I think the majority of us understand that it’s not that simple, but we probably have no idea how hard it actually is.
We all hoped for Gay in OKC, but the moment Presti signed Patrick Patterson, we’re all like, “Oh. This makes way more sense. This is perfect. Why didn’t we think of this?”
RELATED: Sam Presti’s Improvement
Presti has fleeced three teams in the last year with lopsided trades. Orlando got Terrance Ross and a 1st round pick for Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, and Ersan Ilyasova. Presti got Paul George and Jerami Grant for that same package. He made a three-for-three trade with the Chicago Bulls and got the three best assets in the deal.
I feel really smart when I use the NBA 2K Trade Finder to turn a 71 overall player into a 72 overall player. Presti is turning 80 overall guys into 90 overall guys. He’s really really smart.
*Now, go get us a ball-handler off the bench, Sam.