Serge, Thabo...one of those guys from over the pond

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blah blah only 3 players can score blah blah blah jump shooters blah blah blah [/chuck]

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I know you're just poking fun at chuck's constant criticism, but you have to admit that he's really got a point. Our brand of basketball doesn't exactly excel in the playoffs. Not saying we can't win a title with this team, but I'd much prefer to have at least one guy that can get on the block and do something with the ball when the game grinds down to a crawl.

We've opened up a 4.5 game lead for 1st in the west...would love to spend some time experimenting with Russ and KD playing down low.

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Brian Schmitz: Magic have talked to OKC but Thunder balks at giving up Ibaka and Harden to rent Dwight

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If they were confident that they could convince him to re-sign, I would make that deal. It would give them a scorer on the block that they desperately need, while not losing any defensive presence. Depth would take a hit though.

You don't add a post guy like Howard to this team because it chokes down Durant and Wesbrook's biggest strengths. This team, as currently built, will not work with a low post scorer, people just need to face that.

Conversation probabyl went like this...

Presti: hey what does it take to get dwight?

Otis: harden, ibaka and more

Presti: k thx bye

Let me get this straight.

You seriously think orlando wouldnt ask for durant or westbrook for howard?

And the better part is....you think OKC wouldnt do it, if on the miracle that they didnt ask for the obvious choices.

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You seriously think orlando wouldnt ask for durant or westbrook for howard?

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no, they wouldn't, because it's a stupid ****ing question, just like everything that comes out of those little sausage fingers of yours on this website.

If they did they are even crazier, better to get something than nothing, which is what they get if he doesn't resign. It was all in jest anyhow whatever otis smith asks for is gonna be too much for presti to accept

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You don't add a post guy like Howard to this team because it chokes down Durant and Wesbrook's biggest strengths. This team, as currently built, will not work with a low post scorer, people just need to face that.

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Complelty disagree. We have the best record in the league with Perkins playing center. Dwight does the exact same type of things perk does....only 100x better.

This notion that dwight wouldn't mesh with KD and russ is ridiculous.

And all this is multiplied by 10 once post season rolls around, defenses tighten up, and our middle school ISO offense bogs down. That is when us not having a low post scorer comes back to haunt us. I know people like to say DAL won a title last year shooting jump shots, but their offense is much better designed than ours and dirk would actually post up every once in a while.

The fact that obi agrees with you padz means you should rethink your argument. Since he clearly knows nothing about basketball

If OKC could pair westbrook and durant with howard....they would do damn near ANYTHING to do it.

Orlando would nevet consider OKC as a trade partner without getting westbrook or durant. (Durant is the only off limits. Orlando would ask for westbrook and ibaka)

Your last paragraph is why this argument is a colossal waste of time. Presti will not pay that price for a rental (no way Howard would stay).

simple, your point is that if orlando were to call okc, they would ask for westbrook or durant (+ others).

my point is that phone call is so stupid that it would never happen in the first place. orlando wouldn't even waste a second of their data plan on asking. okc is winning games at an 80% clip. they don't want howard.

They dont want howard?

Every time has inquired about howard. Literally.

I'm sure they inquired, and then when they heard the asking price hung up the phone.

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Could've been worse. Could've lost to Cleveland at home like OKC did

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Damn Kobe. He's clearly worried about OKC come playoff time

OKC signs Fisher

Biggest pro for me is he doesn't go to a competitor. Actually, I don't really find any problems with the move at all.

Finally, a pg in the nba the lakers are better than.

I doubt fisher gets pt. If he does the thunder are in trouble

Here's the deal...

For one, he's not starting (obviously)

Two, I'm still not sure he'll see the court before Reggie Jackson does. It'll probably be a case by case basis on who sees more minutes behind Westbrook and Harden as the primary point man.

He's not going to be asked to start at the point like he was in LA, so if Brooks is able to use him in certain situations, it's a win win for both parties. What was the deal in LA, did they just not think he'd accept NOT being the starting PG there?

One....bad contract next year.

Two....rip off the bandage. Better to deal with chemistry change issues now than him riding the pine.

Three...They got Sessions. They tried to dump Blake for Beasley, but when that fell through, 3 PGs was too many.

one thing you can't argue about you is you'll stick to a point until it totally chokes you out. once fisher was traded you were going to be determined to **** on him no matter where he went. much like how you view westbrook (since you openly admitted you'd love him in LA)

it's a very low risk move for OKC, he's not here to start or play huge minutes. he's here to share back up PG duties with Jackson (who has a lot of things to improve on...you don't "rip the bandage off" a rookie PG he's barely a PG anyhow when you're trying to make a title run). when Eric Maynor went down there was a huge void on this team for a backup PG who can come in and slow the game down when the teams needs it. that's what fisher will provide when the situation calls for it.

Maynor is coming back.

And i said the lakers weakness was the pg. Fisher. Sessions is already immensely beyter.

I don't think next year was taken into account when this went down, so I can't really speak to that or the contract details.

Why did LA trade Fisher when Kobe is obsessed with him, why didn't they trade Blake?

The team may also feel Maynor may not hang around for a backup role, I think that's why they drafted Jackson anyhow (although he's not near the player, nor do I think will he ever be).

welp, Fisher's on before Jackson...this'll be interesting

#37? All I can think of when I see that number is Larry Centers

you'll be wishing Fisher was benched shortly. watch this...

1. Point guards will go OFF. they will blow by Fisher. he can't guard anyone.

2. he absolutely is the worst finisher around the rim (even according to Synergy). he can't complete layups.

his strength...good glue guy, will hit a big shot late in games. other than that, he's pretty terrible. Lakers fans have wanted him gone (wanted a new PG, for several years).

You think I don't know he can't guard anyone? Even though the Lakers did beat us 2 seasons ago in the playoffs, I did watch that.

I think that's the disconnect between your opinion on Fisher and a Thunder fan's. Fisher was starting and getting majority minutes at the point in LA, which was a problem. We don't need that, and the positives you listed about him, are the reasons he was signed here.

i dont like the move if i'm a thunder fan. their biggest advantage over other teams in the NBA is the ability to get out in transition. youth. run run run.

Fisher does the exact opposite of that. he can't run a fastbreak. and allows the other team's PG to penetrate the lane and create easy sots for the opposing team.

big mistake IMO.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree, and I'm gonna go with Sam Presti on this one. Everyone *****es and moans that in the playoffs, the game slows down and you have to be better in the half court set. Fisher provides some stability there that we lost when Maynor went down. His defensive liabilities can be masked by the presence of Ibaka under the basket, but yeah no one here is pretending he's gonna lock anyone down (we've seen what Westbrook has done to him).

I dont know enough about Reggie Jackson to tell you if Fisher deserves to be playing over him. but probably not.

I can however tell you the thunder would be idiotic as hell to play Fisher over Eric Maynor. I hope Fish gets a ton of minutes against the Lakers if the Thunder meet the Lakers in the playoffs.

What is Maynor's timetable for return? I heard he was almost back. If Maynor is pretty much done for the year, then maybe Fisher's rental for the final 20-40 games makes sense.

If Maynor is back tomorrow....then it was a huge mistake by the Thunder. Don't need a logjam at backup PG. that job should be Maynor's easily. Fisher's intangibles don't outweigh Maynor's tangibles, ones that clearly mesh with the style of the Thunder's play.

Maynor is done, I don't know where you've been hearing that, next year before he returns unfortunately. Fisher would absolutely not play over Maynor, that's correct.

Jackson is a nice player, but he's kinda like Westbrook in that he plays fast, and looks really uncomfortable dribbling (sounds weird, but teams turn up the pressure big time on him when he's in).

I may have just misunderstood then. Kind of in the context of "when he returns"....eventually, i guess.

for some reason i didn't realize it was ACL surgery out for the year.

In that case, im not sure how the Thunder were dividing up their backup PG minutes.

I just think that Fisher's negatives outweigh his positives, especially in the style of play that is key to success for the thunder

[This message has been edited by Simplebay (edited 3/21/2012 8:12p).]

Harden was playing some PG, which I don't think is his best role on the team. I think he's more valuable on the wing, not being the primary facilitator.

Maynor's injury was a pretty bad ACL tear.

I can' believe Fisher already played tonight. That was quick.