Thunder and Westbrook in contract extension talks~

[Moranis]

I think the main issue with Boogie is the kings are so starved for even making the playoffs I think they'll want trade pieces that can help them win now rather than picks and young guys.

I don't.  Once they decide to finally move off Boogie, it will be for youth.  The reason they're keeping him is because they're playoff starved.  If they decide to trade him, it will be that they concede they're not getting there any time soon.  Joerger gets half a season to get the current roster to win, and then when it can't, a total gutting of the roster will occur in February.  Their signings this offseason largely reflect that.  Afflalo and Tolliver both are signed to Amir/Zeller style 1+1 deals, for instance.  Gay is certainly opting out this offseason, just to get out of there.

But they're certainly going to try first.  Joerger has himself some gritty wings in Barnes and Afflalo in an effort to change the culture of the team.  He's a good coach -- it's not inconceivable that team wins this year.  I don't find it likely, but Memphis had no business making the playoffs last year, and he got them there.

If Boogie plays the way he did last year, only with some actual effort on defense, it wouldn't shock me to see them win 40ish games and make the playoffs as an 8th seed.

I hope you're right, though, and they have a firesale.  Maybe the Celts can trade for Cousins and part of the inducement will be taking on Gay's money as well.  Perhaps something like Bradley, Amir, Jerebko, Brown, and a pick for Cousins and Gay.  Might be worth it.

They won't have to take on Gay if they don't want to.  His contract isn't terrible enough that he's a negative asset.  He's getting 6th man money under the new cap, and will probably opt out of next year.  If he doesn't get traded he's for sure opting out.

I don't expect the Kings to be successful.  Joerger deserves serious award consideration if they are.  Management has completely poisoned the well for the players who remain.  This interview that Gay gave last week was incredibly candid, and not in a way that comes off as intentionally bashing the organization.  Just one of abject frustration.  And with Boogie's tweets, you know he feels the same way and wants out -- it will be incredibly difficult for Joerger to walk in and fix things, especially when players who want to be traded know that losing makes that more likely than winning.

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2016/7/26/12283364/sacramento-kings-rudy-gay-frustration

On paper the Kings look like they should be pretty good.  If Joerger is any sort of calming influence and can unite the lockerroom, I think the Kings could be pretty darn good. 

[mctyson]

We were not going to get him anyways.

I am not so sure this re-signing means that he won't be traded.  Quite the opposite, it actually enhances his trade value as he is locked up for at least one more year with an option for another.

It was reported that he is tradable before the deadline next year.  If OKC is no good (8th seed or lower) I expect him to be traded.  The Celtics might very well be on the receiving end.

[PhoSita]

On paper the Kings look like they should be pretty good.  If Joerger is any sort of calming influence and can unite the lockerroom, I think the Kings could be pretty darn good.

Eh, I think it's tough to be especially good when your primary ballhandler is Darren Collison, with Malachi Richardson and Garrett Temple as the backups.

They're pretty average on the wings, and they'll more or less have to play really big a lot of the time just to get WCS and Koufos playing time behind Cousins.

[saltlover]

Looks like it just got done.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/761058155111391232

So does an extension put any time limit on trading him like signing a new contract does, like December 15th or January 15th?

EDIT: I still don't necessarily think this means that he plans on staying or they aren't going to end up trading him.  They apparently couldn't get anything near his value due to his contract situation beforehand, so maybe this opens things up now. Or at the very least he's now much more tradable in the middle of the season when they're on the fringe of the playoffs and look to be nothing more than a first round exit.

Just noticed your question, but due to the extension, he cannot be traded for 6 months.  So if he signs today, February 4th.  That's in time for the trade deadline, although I expect a trade to occur no earlier than next summer (but I do expect it.)

It all depends on the season up to the trade deadline. If they're merely fighting for a playoff spot, which is most likely, then it makes much more sense for them to trade him then than in the summer, which would put them right back into the issue that they had this summer with trading him on essentially an expiring contract.

They could have around $20 million in cap room next summer.  I wouldn't expect a trade until after their top free agent targets have said no.

[Moranis]

On paper the Kings look like they should be pretty good.  If Joerger is any sort of calming influence and can unite the lockerroom, I think the Kings could be pretty darn good.

Eh, I think it's tough to be especially good when your primary ballhandler is Darren Collison, with Malachi Richardson and Garrett Temple as the backups.

They're pretty average on the wings, and they'll more or less have to play really big a lot of the time just to get WCS and Koufos playing time behind Cousins.

Afflalo, Gay, and McLemore is a pretty solid 3 some on the wings.  Barnes is a nice 3 and D guy as well.  Back-up PG is an issue, but not one that should cause too much effect on the win total.

Obviously Cousins is the guy that will drive things there, but I think they could be a high 40's win team if it comes together well.  I don't think they will get there and will more likely be a high 30's low 40's win team, and frankly it wouldn't surprise me if they totally imploded and were on like a 25 win pace at the deadline and they blow it up.

[straightouttabahstun]

Enes Kanter's tweets for all this are hysterical.

[RJ87]

I know things change, but nothing about this press conference sounds like he has any interest in leaving OKC.

[snively]

This is a big blow to our short-term contending options. Russ was one of the very few talents who could have bridged a good sized portion of the gap between us and the Warriors. One of the few talents legitimately worth the BK pick in 2017.

[greece66]

We were not going to get him anyways.

I am not so sure this re-signing means that he won't be traded.  Quite the opposite, it actually enhances his trade value as he is locked up for at least one more year with an option for another.

It was reported that he is tradable before the deadline next year.  If OKC is no good (8th seed or lower) I expect him to be traded.  The Celtics might very well be on the receiving end.

Exactly, he might well be traded - as SL explained a trade will have to wait 6 months until the signature but that's all.

I just hope he won't come to the C's - together with Curry, Thompson and the versatile, athletic big with the unresolved phallic-stage fixation, Westbrook is among the players I dislike the most in the NBA. Even if Stevens worked his magic and convinced him to play according to a system, I would still cringe every time I see him pretending to be a fashion designer.

PS tbh I do not rly dislike Green, it's just so hard to leave unmentioned all his recent faux-pas involving genitalia.

[Irish Stew]

This team is going to be one of the best in the East next year... and that's about all we can really hope for regardless if we luck into a couple guys like Westbrook and Blake Griffin.   As long as that Golden State giant lumbers over everything, being one of the best in the East is about the best anyone is going to do.

Our big hope right now is that we land some prospects that develop into the superstars of the next generation.   We have those Brooklyn picks.  We should have our eyes set on teams like Minny and Philly... not Golden State.   We'll have a solid team that will be fun to root for, but our direct competition are the teams that have potentially elite prospects that will shine years from now.  The Warriors should own the next 10 years.  We should be eyeing 2026 and beyond.

People say this same thing all the time, and every time they say it they're ultimately proven wrong. In the last six years, this same thing was said multiple times in 2010 (Miami), 2014 (Cleveland), last year (Golden State), and now once again (Golden State), and every single time that team has not won the championship that year. No team is unbeatable. You would think that this would be fresh in everyone's minds after the greatest regular season team of all time literally choked away the championship. They were "unbeatable" just four months ago, and now look at the narrative - the former MVP had to join up with the current two-time MVP on the greatest regular season team of all time because they couldn't get past Lebron.

If you try to build a team upon this type of overreacting philosophy, then you'll always be looking to the future and never accomplish anything in the present.

This. TP. If the actuarial charts are accurate, I'll be dead by 2026. In addition, I am bewildered by the the opposition of many posters to a Westbrook acquisition for on court reasons. I must be watching different OKC games.

[jpotter33]

http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/08/04/russell-westbrook-on-if-durant-leaving-for-warriors-stung-more-sting-for-who/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

When asked if KD leaving for the Warriors of all teams provided a bit more sting to his departure, Westbrook asked, "Sting for who?" Lol

I find it funny that most people, including me, pegged both KD and RW so wrong, especially since we suspected the opposite motivations of each player.

I've always been a big Westbrook fan, and I've always thought KD and him were both better off without each other. I still think they'll be fighting for a playoff spot ultimately, but I'm guessing Westbrook is going to come out and put up MVP-like numbers again without Durant.

Id absolutely love to see a first round matchup between OKC and Golden State, who would actually matchup pretty well with GS. And let's not forget that Westbrook is virtually unstoppable at times, and that could prove to be a good series.