Nice article on how the OKC Thunder were built

[stb]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7599274/nba-oklahoma-city-thunder-become-legit-nba-contender-thanks-analytics-espn-magazine

Scroll down to the important stuff  "LESSON 5: THE TOUGHEST MOVES CAN BE THE BEST ONES"

[Jon]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant.  

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all.  

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success.  

[snively]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant. 

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all. 

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success. 

Luck and prolonged putridity: top 5 draft picks in 3 consecutive years.  They could have just as easily had Kevin Love and Steph Curry to pair with KD as Westbrook and Harden.

So much easier to build a great young core when you are picking at the very top.

[Moranis]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant.  

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all.  

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success.  

Honestly, I'm not really sure Durant is a top 5 NBA talent.  He is a great scorer without question, but a sub-par defender, rebounder, and passer.  I mean they were still bad enough the next two years after adding Durant to get top 4 picks, which led to Westbrook and Harden.  And frankly I don't really think they would be much worse with Al Horford (the pick after Durant) and everything else on the team remaining the same.  I mean seriously is a lineup of Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosa, Horford, Perkins with Ibaka, Cook, Collison, etc. not a favorite in the West right now.

[PosImpos]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant. 

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all. 

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success. 

Luck and prolonged putridity: top 5 draft picks in 3 consecutive years.  They could have just as easily had Kevin Love and Steph Curry to pair with KD as Westbrook and Harden.

So much easier to build a great young core when you are picking at the very top.

Bingo.

Easiest way to rebuild is to be very bad for at least a couple seasons and pick well.

[Fafnir]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant.  

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all.  

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success.  

Honestly, I'm not really sure Durant is a top 5 NBA talent.  He is a great scorer without question, but a sub-par defender, rebounder, and passer.  I mean they were still bad enough the next two years after adding Durant to get top 4 picks, which led to Westbrook and Harden.  And frankly I don't really think they would be much worse with Al Horford (the pick after Durant) and everything else on the team remaining the same.  I mean seriously is a lineup of Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosa, Horford, Perkins with Ibaka, Cook, Collison, etc. not a favorite in the West right now.

Is being the 5th best rebounding SF on rebound rate really being a sub-par rebounder?

[PosImpos]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant. 

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all. 

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success. 

Honestly, I'm not really sure Durant is a top 5 NBA talent.  He is a great scorer without question, but a sub-par defender, rebounder, and passer.  I mean they were still bad enough the next two years after adding Durant to get top 4 picks, which led to Westbrook and Harden.  And frankly I don't really think they would be much worse with Al Horford (the pick after Durant) and everything else on the team remaining the same.  I mean seriously is a lineup of Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosa, Horford, Perkins with Ibaka, Cook, Collison, etc. not a favorite in the West right now.

No, it isn't.  KD is an MVP candidate.  Period.

[Jon]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant. 

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all. 

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success. 

Luck and prolonged putridity: top 5 draft picks in 3 consecutive years.  They could have just as easily had Kevin Love and Steph Curry to pair with KD as Westbrook and Harden.

So much easier to build a great young core when you are picking at the very top.

Bingo.

Easiest way to rebuild is to be very bad for at least a couple seasons and pick well.

But you also have to draft in at least one great draft. 

Look at the 2008 draft, really only 1 transcendent player in that draft, Derrick Rose. 

Had OKC had the #5 pick in '07 and the #2 pick in '08 (Michael Beasley), they wouldn't be where they are now. 

So it's partially tanking, but also getting the high pick in great drafts. 

[2short]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant. 

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all. 

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success. 

Honestly, I'm not really sure Durant is a top 5 NBA talent.  He is a great scorer without question, but a sub-par defender, rebounder, and passer.  I mean they were still bad enough the next two years after adding Durant to get top 4 picks, which led to Westbrook and Harden.  And frankly I don't really think they would be much worse with Al Horford (the pick after Durant) and everything else on the team remaining the same.  I mean seriously is a lineup of Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosa, Horford, Perkins with Ibaka, Cook, Collison, etc. not a favorite in the West right now.

No, it isn't.  KD is an MVP candidate.  Period.

who do you choose over durant for mvp? 
lebron
rose
hey for giggles we'll add in dirk & chris paul
any other names? dwight howard?
Kevin Durant has to be considered #2 mvp right now behind.....  sorry just threw up in my mouth, second to lebron

[Celtics4ever]

Kevin Durant would make anyone look smart,  he can flat out play.   There is no strat to getting high in the lottery it is luck.

[get_banners]

Yeah, OKC isn't really a realistic model for teams - they were terrible, got very high picks (lucking out a little in the draft lottery, esp. the Durant year) in very good top-heavy drafts...that combo is  very unlikely. They've had nothing but great luck (including trading Green before anybody knew about his heart condition), which is ridiculous for a team that completely screwed over the city of Seattle and whose owner is a xenophobic extremist. I really enjoy their team in that I really like KD, Ibaka, Harden, and obviously Perk, but I also really hate the fact that they've gotten every break possible. Maybe karma will come back to bite them in the rear sometime soon.

[birdbrady]

OKC is not the model.

They had three poor years, but got fortunate in the lottery.

OKC moved up in the lottery in 07, didn't  lose any ground in 08, and moved up in 09.

They came away with Durant, Westbrook, and Harden in those three lotteries right there.

Compare this to Memphis who fell back in 07 (which was the key because that was the Durant lotto), fell back in 08, and moved up in 09.

They came away with Conley-Mayo-Thabeet.  And Memphis has themselves a nice team, but they are the early 00s Celtics all over again.  Borderline playoff team with not much room for improvement and in a few years they are going to have to blow it all up and start all over again and go back to lottery irrelevancy.

[PosImpos]

It's not a bad article; however, the only reason that the OK Thunder C are contenders and not just a good team is that they happened to get a very high pick in a very good draft and got top 5 NBA talent in Kevin Durant. 

Had they picked in another draft or even drafted one slot later, none of the other stuff matters at all. 

And that's why luck is a very, very big part of NBA success. 

Luck and prolonged putridity: top 5 draft picks in 3 consecutive years.  They could have just as easily had Kevin Love and Steph Curry to pair with KD as Westbrook and Harden.

So much easier to build a great young core when you are picking at the very top.

Bingo.

Easiest way to rebuild is to be very bad for at least a couple seasons and pick well.

But you also have to draft in at least one great draft. 

Look at the 2008 draft, really only 1 transcendent player in that draft, Derrick Rose. 

Had OKC had the #5 pick in '07 and the #2 pick in '08 (Michael Beasley), they wouldn't be where they are now. 

So it's partially tanking, but also getting the high pick in great drafts. 

Timing and luck absolutely play a role.

[PosImpos]

OKC is not the model.

They had three poor years, but got fortunate in the lottery.

OKC moved up in the lottery in 07, didn't  lose any ground in 08, and moved up in 09.

They came away with Durant, Westbrook, and Harden in those three lotteries right there.

Compare this to Memphis who fell back in 07 (which was the key because that was the Durant lotto), fell back in 08, and moved up in 09.

They came away with Conley-Mayo-Thabeet.  And Memphis has themselves a nice team, but they are the early 00s Celtics all over again.  Borderline playoff team with not much room for improvement and in a few years they are going to have to blow it all up and start all over again and go back to lottery irrelevancy.

The Thabeet pick was just plain awful.  Even at the time it was considered bad.  You have to make good decisions when you draft high.

[TripleOT]

Honestly, I'm not really sure Durant is a top 5 NBA talent.  He is a great scorer without question, but a sub-par defender, rebounder, and passer.  I mean they were still bad enough the next two years after adding Durant to get top 4 picks, which led to Westbrook and Harden.  And frankly I don't really think they would be much worse with Al Horford (the pick after Durant) and everything else on the team remaining the same.  I mean seriously is a lineup of Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosa, Horford, Perkins with Ibaka, Cook, Collison, etc. not a favorite in the West right now.

Is this satire?

I would like to know the five NBA players you rank above Durant.  I consider KD the third best player in the league, after LeBron and Kobe, and on the same level as Rose.  

As far as KD being a sub par rebounder, he leads the team in rpg and is the leading rebounder at the SF position in the league with 8.2, a hair better than LeBron.  

Defensively, he looks much improved this season to me.  He's not a big assist guy, but his job is to be a big time scorer, not a passer.  He isn't afraid to move the ball, but his role is to be a scorer, not passer.