Thunder fans react to poll: What Blazers WCF berth means to OKC

Hindsight is 20-20, but moving forward one would hope the Blazers success would translate into some lessons learned for Sam Presti. At the top of this list is the absolute need to add depth.

In the absence of available salary cap this means the Thunder absolutely have to develop their assets and do a better job of adding low cost depth (and/or make a trade).  That also means those youngsters have to be parsed out consistent playing time in order to gain experience and build chemistry which can translate to utilizing these players in the postseason.

This also means looking deeper at whether it’s time to move on from Billy Donovan (yeah, I’m still on that soapbox). Despite being an NCAA coach his absolute refusal to utilize our youngsters is perplexing.

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And, if they aren’t playable that’s either an indictment on Presti for not doing more to add playable assets or Donovan and his crew for not developing them quickly enough or again providing them with enough time on court. Younger players need those minutes to gain experience, build chemistry and so they can become usable in the postseason.

Regardless of where you stand on the above debate, there are clear examples who’ve done a better job in these areas. Daryl Morey added Austin Rivers and Gerald Green for peanuts and both became part of the shortened Rockets playoff bench.

Terry Stotts and GM Neil Olshey offer the greatest lessons though. By adding Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood the Blazers increased their depth and more importantly have both players performing at a higher level than they did with their former teams. Even with a separated shoulder, Enes is in ‘Can Play Kanter’ mode and Rodney Hood (who unfortunately got hurt in Game 7) is producing at a level most expected when he was drafted 23rd in the deep 2014 Draft.

While I agree with the majority of the poll respondents, the overriding takeaway is this falls on Sam Presti and Billy Donovan for not delivering. Sure, it’s up to the players to deliver but without depth, variety in the offensive system or commitment to playing assets the onus is the GM and whoever the coach is or will be to take measures so the team improves next season.

Let’s hope that happens this offseason since another poor postseason simply can’t happen especially with two superstars on the team and the salary the OKC Thunder are committed to paying out for the foreseeable future.