Picker, You are a fool. The Thunder brass brought us Ibaka, Harden, and Westbrook. Not to mention, they traded midway through year one for Mayner. Look how we played against Dallas or Memphis pre trade and look at us now. By all accounts the trade has made us better....

They let Chandler go, because he couldn't pass the dang physical.

I find it funny you are suddenly an expert on the NBA and Thunder when you didn't cover it worth 2 Sh**s during the regular season.

You are a tool. Stay in Tulsa and cover minor league football..

SoonerSkins gets it, why can't you?

Nagging Media. Yes.

The Knows "picker"...

Not only is the media nagging(is this supposed to be some revelation?) they are very choosy...I wouldnt get on any of the Thunderkids, we are getting bonus hoops right now and whatever happens is a great season. BUT, why is it ok for KD to lay an egg about every 3 games and nothing is said but if Westbrook doesnt play like Stockton, Magic, and Chris Paul all in one, he gets ripped. KD had 2 horrible games vs Memphis and was brutal Sat night. If it hadnt been for Westbrook Sat, the Mavs wouldve gone ahead and blown em out.

allowing, more....

%@*# typos....

You people still amaze me. Didnt he have 30 points and was really the only offensive hope we had Sat night? Years from now there will be a book about how, in Westbrook's 3rd season, the 12 time all star and now HOFer had to endure the stupidity of local and national media who could only find something negative in his marvelous skill set. OKC will offer him the max and he'll take it. Besides Derrick Rose, what young guard would you rather have in the league? Translation: they aint tradin Russell Westbrook.

See, what you numbskulls don't understand is that the picker is 100% correct on Sam Presti being HIGHLY OVERRATED.

First of all, Harden is a decent player, but is not great and won't ever be "great". Steph Curry is going to be a multiple year all-star and that's who Presti passed on to take Harden. Anyone who calls that a good move is a fool.

Secondly, drafting Kevin Durant was one of the bigger no brainers ever after Kevin Pritchard spit the bit and took Greg Oden number one. When you get a guy like KD, you're gonna win 50...the great front offices are the ones that can build around KD.

Third...Presti basically gave Roddy Beaubois to the Mavericks. I realize that most of you are NBA newbies, but Beaubois is a stud and would be ripping the Thunder up had he not been injured in the final week of the season.

Fourth...flunking Chandler on his physical was no small mistake...that was freaking huge.

Finally, the Perkins debacle...it's one thing to make an ill-advised trade, but the real crime here is that he gave this guy a long term, big money deal. That was stupid and here's why...with the pending collective bargaining agreement up for renegotiation, teams are no longer going to be able to carry two max guys.

One of the most non-informed comments on this list came from dcood...there will be no opportunity to offer Westbrook a max deal due to the new CBA, so you can bet your bottom dollar that Westbrook's time is short in OKC and, if there is no season next year, he is likely playing his final games for the Thunder.

As a result of the new CBA and the signing of Perkins will preclude the Thunder from re-signing Ibaka and the mentioned fiscal circumstances make it a pretty safe bet that Westbrook is gone in 2012 as well.

Funny thing is...a lot was made of this being the Mavericks last good look at a title, but the reality is, time is short for the Thunder as well because the core of this team will be impossible to keep together and one of the big reasons for that was the rush to give huge dollars to Perkins.

Presti is trash, he's over-hyped, just look at what he's done, smoke & mirrors, nothing but an illusion that entire NBA world fell for, that's not the THUNDER playing the MAVS, it's actually the Spurs, but everybody is too stupid to see it....

I'm glad that there are persona's like the Picker & Golden Hurricane out there to shed the light of truth on this shameful facade of deception....

JG78,

No one will really know until the new CBA is agreed upon, but with KD already receiving a max deal and big money committed to Perkins, something has to give and, in my opinion, that will be Westbrook.

I absolutely think the Thunder can continue at a high level without Westbrook. He is a freak of an athlete, no question, but as the facilitator of an offense, he's simply not reliable.

It took you til the last sentence there Pick but that last fact seems to be lost here. The Mavs are very good and their best player was out of his mind in the 4th quarter. The way he scored, even with solid defense, has been seen by only a few in the last 30 years: Jordan, Wilkins, Bryant. Youre right Hurricane about the CBA but it is not settled and there is a good chance these prima donnas are going to strike just like the ones in the NFL. So to act as if Im some moron, there is no definitive way to say what will happen with Westbrook. My OPINION is that they will find a way to keep him. And unless Sam Presti is consulting you, it's all your post is also, opinion. Funny how it continues to be ok for Durant to have horrendous stretches of turnovers, bad defense, and bad shots but he keeps getting a pass...

Golden Hurricane,
You are talking out of both sides of your mouth. Did you realize that Presti offered Perkins the same deal that they offered Green? Green bauked and was going to test the open market. So, as a part of the grand plan we committed no more money than we were willing to pay Green. In addition, we locked an inside player without commiting more money than we were willing to spend on Green and took zero risk. Odds are we could have had just lost Green after the season and had nothing to show for it. Instead, we greatly improved our defense and made our team tougher no matter Perks offensive inability.

One last time... WE HAVE THE ROOM AND THE MONEY TO PAY BOTH WESTBROOK AND DURANT MAX DEALS. WE WILL OFFER WESTBROOK A MAX EITHER UNDER THE CURRENT OR NEW CBA...

Westbrook may not accept... If he does, we will have a tough time keeping both IBAKA and HARDEN. We will also loose Cook. If Westbrook doesn't accept, we have room to sign and lock up IBAKA,HARDEN, COOK AND HAVE ROOM TO LOOK AT THE FREE AGENT MARKET.

So, to recap the moron Presti has done a terrible job putting this team together and having the foresight to have flexibility with our core players:0

Lets recap the moves that Presti nailed:

Westbrook - Many thought he was crazy to take him and then to try and convert him to a point guard

Maynor - Sleeper deal for Earl Watkins in year one

Ibaka - Out of left field and a homerun of a late round pick

Harden - Not as sexy as Curry, but a great fit for our team... Do you really think we would have enough shots for Curry, Westbrook and Durant playing our isolation offense? Harden is better defensively and what he lacks in accuracy he has made up for by having the ability to take the ball to the hole...

And lest we forget the massive unloading he did in Seattle by trading Allen and freeing up space and stocking up on draft picks...

So, to recap, Pick and Hurricane need to stick to the Talons and the Drillers and leave the decision making to the PRO's in OKC.

JG78,

Your last two posts so grossly inaccurate it's beyond funny. You obviously have no clue about the fiscal challenges that are going to be facing NBA teams or you wouldn't be saying the things you are.

Do you understand that there is going to be a lockout? Do you understand that one of the big reasons for this is that the majority of the owners want a hard cap to prevent multiple max contracts on one team in order to avoid another 2011 Miami Heat scenario?

Further, do you understand that Kevin Durant already has a max deal and will need another one just three years after Westbrook would sign? Say whatever you want, but you are wrong.

People from okc are so minor league...you guys are freaking NBA rookies who clearly don't understand the sport.

Jeff Van Gundy was right when he said, during game 4, that the okc crowd deserved a technical for being the least educated fans in the league. I thought it was hilarious when he said it, but upon thinking about it, it's one of the most accurate pieces of analysis we've been offered in the playoffs so far.