TI Offseason Roundtable: Part Two
By Tony Heim
Welcome to Thunderous Intention’s first ever Staff Roundtable!! We would love to make this a weekly tradition. To do that, we need YOU! If you ever have anything you want answered by us, just let us know on Twitter, Facebook or the comment section below. We all love talking Thunder basketball, and we want our site to be all about you fans. Did you miss part one? Click here to catch up on all the action!
Tony Heim: What are we willing to spend on Dion?
Josh Lea: I’d offer a 3 yr 20 million deal.
TH: Oh wow, Dion would be PISSED at that. When a team like Dallas with more space offers him 4 year 60 million deal OKCs gonna have to let him walk.
Cole Hixon: I think he gets somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 years $50 million. Without digging into the numbers too much that is probably close to my breaking point too.
Piercen Trahan: Yeah, Dion would be offended by that contract offer. That’s what we’d offer Morrow or Foye. I’d be fine with 4 years 50 million. That’s more or less what he’ll get. Teams aren’t hot on him still. He has potential but had never been a positive until this year.
TH: Am I the only one that loves Abrines? That kid can play and his contract would be tiny compared to Dion.
PT: Abrines is not a quality replacement for Dion; too small, can’t pass, create off the dribble, and isn’t a good defender because he is small AF. He could be a good replacement for Morrow though.
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Heather Koontz: I definitely think, for what it’s worth, that Waiters would laugh at a 20 million 4-year offer. He’d easily get more than that elsewhere.
JL: I agree Heather, it is low. And this is all based on IF KD resigns.
TH: KD’s not leaving this year.
HK: Very true on the KD part. I am one of those who believes Dion is already out the door, offer or no offer. I just don’t think he’s sticking around. Granted, I’m also a person who strongly believes KD is sticking around.
JL: Yeah, he’s gonna money chase. He wants to get paid. And the Thunder aren’t going to pay him what he wants. Dion is a solid player who could start for other teams in the league. Someone is going to offer him more money plus a starting nod and he’ll take it.
PT: Dion was a top five pick and has already made more money than most players after four years with 20+ million. Dion doesn’t have a need to chase the money. The most likely scenario is he’ll sign a two year with OKC and try to win a title before really cashing in on an even higher cap.
CH: They all have a limited time to earn this money, so I would say they all have an incentive to chase money to some extent.
JL: Kwame Brown was a top five pick too, doesn’t mean he’s played like one. And none of these guys really need to chase the money. But if someone puts a 60 million contract in front of you, you’ll sign.
TH: Then they can decide to decline Anthony Morrow’s team option for 3.5 million more space! Great to play with in 2K, but that’s about all he’s good for. The potential is there, but I don’t think he’s got the juice to be a great NBA sharpshooter.
JL: I think you look at dealing Morrow, McGary, Abrines AND Singler if you can. Get some guys that can contribute.
TH: Why does OKC need a ball handler like Dion? He just takes away from KD and Russ. I think they are better off with someone who can create space so the two superstars can go to work.
CH: Well the team is in desperate need of a third ball handler. Dion isn’t that guy, but he can help until Cameron Payne proves he can be that guy.
TH: I should have prefaced that with my belief in Cam Payne. I expect Payne to take a HUGE leap this summer and so does the organization. I think they trust him to take over the backup point guard role full time next year. Eventually the young guys have to get PT and it’s Cam’s turn to step up like Roberson did his second year.
PT: Tony I know you’re a big fan of them singing Jamal Crawford, but players like that are the exact thing OKC doesn’t want. Iso handlers lacking defensive talent. The Thunder have the potential to be the best defensive team next year, but that will come from keeping the aggressive athletic group that OKC possesses.
TH: Everyone wants Dion to be this big-time bench scorer; that’s Crawford. Crawford on OKC would give them the scorer off the bench that you’re asking for. He’s better than Dion, and he’s gonna get less than Dion because of his age. When KD and Russ are on the floor, he’s fine with standing on the side because he does it with LA!
PT: I just know that he is gonna make more than 6 million. I don’t know, you could be right with that; I just think he goes against everything Billy has tried to install.
TH: Before Billy, Dion did too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I just think shooting has to be the key this offseason. That’s what this league is turning into; just look who is in the Finals. Penetrating would be easier for KD and Russ too if the floor was more open.
PT: Either way, Dion or Jamal, I don’t think either would play in crunch time when Roberson is healthy.
TH: Would we have been saying that before these playoffs started? It’s incredible how the tide can change on a player in the matter of months.
CH: I’ve had a Roberson cape on since he got the starting job.
PT: Ohh, I’ll be honest I thought Dion should’ve started until about halfway through the season because I didn’t think Roberson was good enough defensively to outway his offense. But he kept getting slowly better so I thought he had Thabo potential and deserved a shot. His shot is just so ugly that I didn’t think he could actually make threes.
TH: He honestly only did that in a seven game stretch, other than that he was the same old Roberson.
Next: OKC Offseason: Alex Abrines
CH: They also started to use him as a short roller which I expect them to try to incorporate more into the offense next year.
PT: Totally agree. His handles aren’t great, but he’s young, lanky, and athletic so I think he has great promise when they run that.
We hope you enjoyed out two-part roundtable!! Remember, if you have anything you want answered by the TI staff, just let us know! We will be more than happy to answer any of your questions.