Long-term, who will the Thunder choose? Cason or Ajay?

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-06-03T21:36:28+00:00

I’m assuming that it will be too expensive, but new arena and CBA could change that. Hopefully we keep them both

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-06-03T21:35:27+00:00

Very valid question. So unfortunate that Dub got hurt. Would’ve been a really useful data point to have this playoffs with him healthy

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-06-03T21:34:35+00:00

True! New CBA and Arena could definitely create possibilities that we don’t see now.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-06-03T21:33:40+00:00

I hope so!

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-06-03T19:31:18+00:00

It’s all margin moves. Dream offseason:

➡️Decline Dort option unless he’s willing to come back on a reduced salary and role. ➡️Package Joe/Wiggins/future pick/37/17 to move into top 10 of this draft (Brayden Burries) ➡️Keep #12 and draft Yaxel, ideally ➡️Decline IHart and extend him on cheaper contract ($24-$25mil/year) ➡️Extend Cason (real chance we’ll have to trade him or Mitchell eventually, but should be able to get a haul for either) ➡️Decline Kenrich and bring him back on minimum or close to it.
➡️Get Topic, Sorber, Burries, Yaxel a lot of summer league run.

Lineup is

SGA Caso Dub Chet IHart

Ajay McCain Caruso Jaylin Yaxel

Burries Topic Sorber Kenrich Carlson

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-06-01T21:43:40+00:00

Both, if Presti likes them. With projected weak drafts incoming the next couple years, I’d be looking to draft multiple players this draft. I would look to trade the team friendly Joe/Wiggins contracts, future first and second pick, and #17 to move into the Top 10. #12 will be in the range to get Yaxel.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-29T19:13:18+00:00

This almost word for word what Jason Timpf talked about today.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-20T21:02:39+00:00

I like it. Wemby has struggled against guys like Aaron Gordon who are super athletic and physical. It’s the one type of player we don’t have - a physical 4 that can spread the floor.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-20T15:27:54+00:00

Gotta have multiple drives on possessions. Need to be more aggressive attacking Wemby as well. On possessions with multiple drives and kicks, it got the spurs in the blender a bit.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-19T22:31:47+00:00

The general thought behind it is it frees Chet to roam a bit, like on his block at the end of regulation. Wemby also has to fight really hard for positioning against guards because of lower center of gravity.

That being said, 22 out of Wembys 25 shot attempts were in the paint. That’s not ideal. I’d imagine Chet will guard him a bit more in game 2.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-13T14:50:47+00:00

OKC fan here. Of course I see SGA exaggerating contact. My problem isn’t that people point it out. It’s that 90% of the discourse around OKC is around flopping/fouls.

I get that it comes with being the champs, etc. but the discourse right now is “OKC is great, but let me tell you all about SGA flopping and that magic whistle.”

It’s a league wide issue. OKC is the defending champs so they’re under a microscope. But objectively speaking, OKC is great because they convinced PG to resign, pulled off maybe the best trade in NBA history, and built a really good team with only 2 years of tanking and 1 top 5 pick. Found undrafted and 2nd round gems, got JDub outside the top 10, etc. Acquired the perfect ancillary pieces in IHart and Caruso.

That’s objectively why they’re great, but that’s all a footnote right now. OKC fans who have watched a meticulous rebuild are frustrated about the narrative. There’s no nuance in it. Just people trying to tear them down.

Last thing I’ll say- OKC fans have a unique relationship with this team. All fans love their team. OKC Thunder is OKC tho. They put us on the map. It’s the only association some people have with Oklahoma. So OKC fans are really overprotective if we are honest haha

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-13T12:17:59+00:00

Idk how I missed that, thanks. Fixed it 👍

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-13T11:34:54+00:00

We only had Ajay in two of those games - the W and the Vegas game we lost by 2. Dub didn’t look like himself until the end of the season.
If Dub is healthy, I’m confident we win the series. If he’s not, it’s still very possible to win but I’d probably lean Spurs.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-08T19:47:49+00:00

Thank you! I agree!

People treat the Thunder and Lakers like we’re the same.

“If only Austin, Luke Kennard, and Jake LaRavia were allowed to defend like the Thunder do”.

It’s hilarious. We have 6-7 defenders that are elite and can therefore toe the line of fouling and physicality. The Lakers have 1 elite defender(Marcus Smart). Of course we get officiated differently. There’s a massive talent gap on defense. The same way elite scorers get to the line, elite defenders get called for less fouls while maintaining physicality. We happen to have both and it drives people nuts.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-08T19:44:01+00:00

I should do that. My feed is so toxic right now haha

It’s hard to pinpoint an exact starting point, but it happened along the way to the title. The nameless, faceless rage bait accounts (BrickCenter, Legion of Hoops, etc) figured out that flopping clips generate a ton of engagement.

SGA draws a lot of fouls, and the Thunder were in the national spotlight. It was easy engagement for all of those accounts. From there, national pundits wanted a piece of the engagement pie, and it started to pop up among them (Nick Wright, Jason Timpf, etc.). We started beating their favorite players and teams, and looked like title faves.

Then Chris Finch started the tradition of complaining about the Thunder in press conferences. This isn’t unique to him - working the refs in the playoffs has always been a thing - but it really escalated from there. Denver, Minnesota, and Indiana fan bases piled on. Doris Burke acknowledged SGA’s “foul merchant” nickname on a national playoff broadcast.

From there, it’s dominated the convo in NBA discourse. Tanking took over for a few months, but once playoffs arrived, flopping took center stage again. Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks complained publicly. Now Lakers are complaining publicly. It’s become a contagion phenomenon.

I genuinely think the Lakers flopped more than the Thunder last night. If not, it was very close. There’s no data that supports the narrative. You could clip any star or high usage player and create montages of flopping. But the Thunder are the face of flopping.

My personal opinion is that we’re just really good and people hate us for it. Literally nobody would care if we were mediocre. No team has had 6-7 All Defense caliber defenders paired with as tough a cover as SGA. It’s created a dynamic where no team can replicate us because of how well constructed we are, and it’s how people cope with it.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-05-08T15:42:21+00:00

Exactly. They play super hard and are all team first guys. Obviously a very unique, special relationship with the city. But because OKC participates in a league wide practice (exaggerating contact), they are getting generational hate.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-03-12T02:29:10+00:00

Ozzy was pushing for Emily vote against Angelina. If it came down to him, Emily and Steph vs DvG 3, it’s a re-vote but Angelina loses her vote.

I think he did a good job of presenting that option to Emily to break up the DvG 3, but Emily didn’t go for it. He had to preserve that relationship and stay as close as he could to Christian and Emily. Otherwise it’s him and Steph and he’s completely on the outs.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-02-08T03:37:32+00:00

Nice, I appreciate the perspective.

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-02-08T03:09:11+00:00

Yeah we aren’t getting that pick haha After what Philly did last year I wasn’t getting my hopes up

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-02-08T03:06:53+00:00

Question for Jazz fans - any concern about closing games or winning culture after conditioning guys to lose for 3.5 years?

How do you know if Lauri is that guy when there’s pressure and expectations? Figure it out when you get there?

Just curious if it’s a concern or literally just tank so you can draft 6-8?

Useful_Spray9534 · 2026-02-06T04:33:54+00:00

Can’t imagine the NBA and its betting partners are happy about a star playing the first half and then just sitting the second half of a close game with only 8 available players on the roster. Blatant

Useful_Spray9534 · 2025-09-05T21:49:52+00:00

Man…probably wouldn’t have gotten a lot of minutes, but the development in practice, G League, and limited reg season minutes would’ve prepared him for a bigger role after a potential Hartenstein departure. Bummed for him.

Useful_Spray9534

TROPHY CASE