Thunderous Thoughts: Trade Deadline Reactions

Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts, a weekly look at the OKC Thunder. Where nothing happens.

The NBA trade deadline came and went. Did Sam Presti notice?

Just kidding. Fans should understand that it takes two to tango in the NBA trading underground. It is not as simple as “Find Trade” and then have 10-29 teams coming back to you with their best offer. Every team has a different motivation for making a trade and no one wants to look stupid three months from now.

Presti himself has his own motivations. He wasn’t going to overpay for the wrong player. Fans take chemistry in the NBA for granted. We can all look at what the Cleveland Cavaliers did on Thursday and say, “Yup, they got better.”

And on paper, they most certainly did. But they also changed their entire starting lineup around LeBron James. Oh yeah, they traded his best friend to boot. In NBA 2K, those are moves you make 100 times out of 100. In real life, emotions come into play and the process of “figuring it out” is a real thing. Thunder fans know all about that.

Here’s how you may have reacted to today’s lack of movement.

Happy

You’re optimistic. You saw that performance against the Warriors on Tuesday and it made you forget all about the prior week. Alex Abrines and Josh Huestis are your guys. They’re ready to step up. You didn’t want to see them go for a fix that may have failed.

You believe in what the team has built this season. It’s been a trying year for Thunder fans, but the highs have been extremely high. No one else is undefeated against the Rockets, Warriors, Cavaliers, and Raptors. No one else blew out three of those four teams. You know what this team is capable of when they deem a game worthy of their time.

Yes, Andre Roberson is missing. But they got along just fine without Roberson on Tuesday. Oh yeah, Carmelo Anthony barely played in that game as well. And Steven Adams missed most of the first half.

More from Thunderous Intentions

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• 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

You’re happy that they stood pat because you’re still high from Tuesday.

Realistic

You didn’t have expectations heading into the deadline. The Thunder were rumored to be after Rodney Hood, Courtney Lee, and Avery Bradley. All three made sense in their own way.

But, what did Oklahoma City have to offer? They didn’t have a first-round pick. Teams weren’t going to take a second-round pick for those players.

Presti was not moving Terrance Ferguson and was unlikely to move Jerami Grant. In fact, it would be stupid to trade Grant given his play this season. Would Abrines or Huestis and a second-round pick be enough for either of those players?

In the case of Rodney Hood, probably. Cleveland got him for Jae Crowder. But, Crowder is a low risk option who is more established than Huestis or Abrines. Can you blame Utah for liking Crowder more than Huestis or Abrines?

You believed in Presti because he’s pulled off magic tricks his entire career. Funny thing about that. When organizations know that a guy has a reputation for swindling other executives, they are less likely to do business with him.

Hopeful

Alright, so no trade happened. It’s not the end of the world. The buyout market is now open for business. Joe Johnson, Tony Allen, Joakim Noah, Brook Lopez, Derrick Rose, Derrick Favors, Marco Belinelli, and more are rumored to be available prior to March 1st. You wanted Allen and Belinelli on Thursday, right? Now, Oklahoma City can acquire both without giving up anyone. It’s a win-win.

You’ve moved past the deadline and are now hoping the Thunder can pluck a veteran to help fill a role or two.

Disappointed

You don’t think this team is good enough. Tuesday’s win against the Warriors meant very little. Look at the week prior. The team is going to go into the playoffs with Ferguson, Abrines, and Huestis as their starting shooting guard?

You knew this was their last chance to make a real move and get the player that they wanted. Yes, there is the buyout market. But there is no guarantee that anyone bought out wants to sign with Oklahoma City.

Maybe they want to go to Golden State and get a guaranteed ring. Maybe they feel Houston or Boston has a better shot at making the Finals. There’s not even a guarantee that the player you think is going to get bought out, will get bought out.

You’re disappointed that the Thunder did nothing to improve their roster, knowing that this roster is not Finals ready.

Angry

You spent the last week certain that Presti would make a move. “He always makes a move,” you told yourself. All afternoon, you were refreshing Twitter. In the final hour, with no word out on the Thunder, you were not concerned. Presti gets it done in the finals minutes.

10 minutes left.

You were waiting for that notification that said, “Thunder acquire (player you wanted) for (player you wanted gone).”

It didn’t happen.

You smashed your phone on the table. You picked up your broken phone and still fired off hundreds of angry tweets directed at the official Thunder account. How could they disappoint you like this? They had to make a move. HAD TO. There is no way the team can win as currently constructed.

Tony Allen? He’s washed. Joakim Noah? Washed. Anyone else on the buyout market? Yeah, they’re not coming to Oklahoma City.

The Lakers cleared out all the cap space they need to make a run at LeBron James and Paul George. The Thunder made no commitment to George by not furthering their “all-in” motto.

You just smashed your phone again.