NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

[Jukeman]

Hell no it's not.

Who's the biggest competition for the Thunder in the West? The Lakers. Who did the Lakers just get? Dwight Howard. Who is one of the few players that plays Dwight well? Kendrick Perkins.

Getting rid of Perkins now would be an incredibly stupid decision.

I know I am not the only person who read that in Black Dynamite's voice

[iAM-IncReDiBLe-]

There's a ton of quality big men in the league, especially at PF. There maybe only 5 really good SGs in the entire league an only two really good young ones in Eric Gordan an James Harden.

[BlueNGold]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

There's a ton of quality big men in the league, especially at PF. There maybe only 5 really good SGs in the entire league an only two really good young ones in Eric Gordan an James Harden.

Sure there's good PFs, but how many good rim protectors of Ibaka's level are there in the league? Not many at all.

[Drewski]

Is there some unwritten rule OKC isn't allowed to dip into going over the soft cap and looking at the luxury tax, or are they going to be the first team over the last decade to win a championship with cap space to spare? Having a hard time understanding why so many believe they won't have both players. OKC has great attendance and support at home to boot

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[CMH]

Is there some unwritten rule OKC isn't allowed to dip into going over the soft cap and looking at the luxury tax, or are they going to be the first team over the last decade to win a championship with cap space to spare? Having a hard time understanding why so many believe they won't have both players. OKC has great attendance and support at home to boot

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I think it's that there's this belief the owner doesn't want to pay luxury taxes.


Sent from my mobile device.

[DukeC]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

OK, I'll spell it out for you.

Is it harder to find a quality big man which was the leagues leading shot blocker or is it easier to find a guard?

If OKC can't sign Harden, the player they bring in probably won't be as talented but I feel like that guy can still compliment the team.

It's harder to find guys like Ibaka that can't block shots and hit 20 foot jumpers.

It's easier to find a quality big man who can rebound and play solid post defense. Who do the Thunder have that fills this role? Nick Collison. Who, by the way, can also shoot the 15-20 foot jumper you just mentioned....who also happens to be Harden's favorite target. There is a reason they get subbed in at the same time.

Now, is there a shotblocker like Ibaka? No. But...Ibaka is also extremely susceptible to fakes and he loses track of his man easily if he's not in the paint with him. Which is why Battier kept getting all of those wide open 3's..... But, make no mistake, if Ibaka is guarding someone who has no faceup game or range to speak of? He's an excellent defender. When he's up against Bosh, Dirk, or a team going small ball (like the Heat)...he's not giving you anything.

I'm not sure you're going to find another shooting guard that's going to give you 17, 4, and 4. Off the bench.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

No there isn't.

Seriously, if these guys are so commonplace and cheap, please send them over here to Chicago.

[phenom1990]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

They need to keep Perkins for at least a year to see how the changes played out for the Lakers. But after this year some type of move with Perkins will probably OKC their greatest flexibility to improve.

Going into 2013-14, OKC will have around 46 million committed to Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka. When Perkins is thrown in that number jumps to around 55 million. Amnestying Perkins would be stupid because if you re-sign Harden, your around the soft cap number anyway.

[BigDofBA]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

It's easier to find a quality big man who can rebound and play solid post defense. Who do the Thunder have that fills this role? Nick Collison. Who, by the way, can also shoot the 15-20 foot jumper you just mentioned....who also happens to be Harden's favorite target. There is a reason they get subbed in at the same time.

Now, is there a shotblocker like Ibaka? No. But...Ibaka is also extremely susceptible to fakes and he loses track of his man easily if he's not in the paint with him. Which is why Battier kept getting all of those wide open 3's..... But, make no mistake, if Ibaka is guarding someone who has no faceup game or range to speak of? He's an excellent defender. When he's up against Bosh, Dirk, or a team going small ball (like the Heat)...he's not giving you anything.

I'm not sure you're going to find another shooting guard that's going to give you 17, 4, and 4. Off the bench.

Don't get me wrong, I love Harden and don't want to lose him.

With that said, I understand why they went ahead and signed Ibaka. If we can keep both players, I'll jump for joy, but I understand it's going to be tough.

At least I know we will for sure have one of them. It was a good move to sign him early too. I think the Thunder got him a little cheaper than they would have had they waited.

Also, Harden seems to love playing here. Maybe he will take a little less to stay here and try to win a ring.

[Chrisksaint]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

Monty Williams gets a 4 yr extension with the Hornets

http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2012/08/new_orleans_hornets_coach_mont_65.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

This offseason couldn't have gone much better, glad they rewarded him and looked beyond the W/L

[RedSceptile]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

And yet it's still better than what they got. Why are we even still talking about this?



They just overpaid for Asik AND Jeremy Lin in the same offseason and were willing to take Dwight without an extension. Nobody is in position to say what Houston would or wouldn't do cause those poor bastards don't even know at this point.

We didn't have a Center and we got rid of both of our starting Point Guards. We've got Chandler Parsons, Lamb, Terrence Jones, Morris i.e. a glut of players that are wings or can slide over to SF.

Why would we want Deng when we've got all that.

[b2tha2ndpwr]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

Is there some unwritten rule OKC isn't allowed to dip into going over the soft cap and looking at the luxury tax, or are they going to be the first team over the last decade to win a championship with cap space to spare? Having a hard time understanding why so many believe they won't have both players. OKC has great attendance and support at home to boot

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They will already be over the soft cap once Westbrook's extension kicks in ($13.67 million in 2012-2013 putting them at $70.3 million).

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/oklahoma_city.htm

Soft cap number is around $58 million. OKC's payroll in 2012-2013? $70.3!!! (Presti knows what he's doing!)

Someone said earlier that OKC would go over because of great attendance and support. They might want to read over the new tax penalties that begin 2013. If the Lakers keep the team they have together next year ($99 million dollar payroll), they will actually be paying over $200 million ($99 in salary, $102 in "repeat offender" tax territory) for their roster next year as a "repeat offender".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_salary_cap#Tax_levels_from_2013.E2.80.9314

Long story short, instead of a dollar for dollar tax (which still doubles a payment), owners will now pay between 150% and 425% for every dollar they are over the luxury tax depending on how much they are over and if they have done it before.

There will be a final exam on this Monday October 29th.

[Drewski]

The luxury tax doesn't kick in till 70 million, and they will be non repeat. Okc can cut the fat on the roster a bit, Maynor, Daequan, and Thabo just an example of casualties I foresee while they retain Harden, and barely touch into the Lux tax at the 1.50 rate as non repeaters (has to be 3 years straight). In the end you have to pay to play, and OKC shouldn't penny pinch when they can legitimately contend with the Harden, Ibaka, Westbrook, Durant core.

I understand OKC "does it right" or whatever, but look at all of the teams who have won the title, or been in the finals, over the last 5 years or so. Pretty much all in lux tax territory. Youth and talent isn't cheap, OKC is emerging away from all those rookie contracts that made it so cheap.

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[b2tha2ndpwr]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

The luxury tax doesn't kick in till 70 million, and they will be non repeat. Okc can cute the fat on the roster a bit, Maynor, Daequan, and Thabo just an example of casualties I foresee while they retain Harden, and barely touch into the Lux tax at the 1.50 rate as non repeaters (has to be 3 years straight). In the end you have to pay to play, and OKC shouldn't penny pinch when they can legitimately contend with the Harden, Ibaka, Westbrook, Durant core.

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The example I gave IS based off money only taxed after 70 million. And if you trim the fat with guys like Maynor, Thabo, and Daequan, you still have to replace them. Thabo's actually a great value for what his role is and Maynor has a relatively small contract. They could save a little money finding a cheaper 3 point specialist than Daequan however. But you still have to take into account Westbrook and Durant's sizable annual raises. Without unloading Perkins they're realistically looking at the $80-85ish million dollar salary range which puts their total number at about $96-$114 million for a couple of years, and $106-$136 million thereafter if they decide to keep them together.

Whether they're cool with paying that we'll all see. And I agree with you, in today's sports world you do have to pay to play.

[Drewski]

Re: NBA Movement Central 2012 (All Transactions 1st Page)

The example I gave IS based off money only taxed after 70 million. And if you trim the fat with guys like Maynor, Thabo, and Daequan, you still have to replace them. Thabo's actually a great value for what his role is and Maynor has a relatively small contract. They could save a little money finding a cheaper 3 point specialist than Daequan however. But you still have to take into account Westbrook and Durant's sizable annual raises. Without unloading Perkins they're realistically looking at the $80-85ish million dollar salary range which puts their total number at about $96-$114 million for a couple of years, and $106-$136 million thereafter if they decide to keep them together.

Whether they're cool with paying that we'll all see. And I agree with you, in today's sports world you do have to pay to play.

I don't see where you have them at 80-85 MIL in salary next year if they retain Harden. I'm taking into account their raises, no doubt. I'm not discounting the value in Thabo/Maynor et all. But they'll be at a crossroad where it's like, ok, we can pay for Thabo/Maynor/Cook players, or we can keep our CORE player James Harden. At that point I think OKC will retain Harden and work around that. Point being is, they definitely have some fat to trim, and if they are the "great" front office many project them as, I expect them to figure this Harden thing out.

They can pay their guys, dabble gently into the Lux tax, and see what happens. If it doesn't work out, they have a ton of tradeable assets where they can scale back $ going out. They have an amnesty up their sleeve. They'll be receiving their revenue sharing. Just doesn't seem like the first conclusion about the Ibaka extension is Harden aint coming back. I think he'll be back, and I think OKC knows that too, or they wouldn't have inked Ibaka so quickly without weighing options longer.