LOL.

Yeah.... Hahaha.

Interesting moves that the Rockets are making...I like the acquisition of Robinson but it feels like they're really ****ing themselves over with regards to depth, dealing guys like Patterson, Morris, Douglas, etc.

They aren't close to contending now, depth serves them no purpose.

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Ridnour and Barea should both be moved and the TWolves have a great fantasy schedule so I am watching that situation like a Hawk (see what I did there). Wishful thinking, and not likely. Pek is rumoured to be semi-available as well.

I am not a Perkins fan. I think he had way too much playing time last year in the playoffs. His slow rotations and foot movement at the top of the key may have cost them a championship. Perkins not getting amnestied, and the subsequent Harden trade because of it, cost the Thunder a prime opportunity to have a dynasty. That and the fact that the front office only gave Harden an hour to mull over their contract offer. All those events really piss me off to be honest, but what is done is done.

I would much rather have the Polish Hammer. He and Serge together would block an average of 5-6 blocks per game, and cause countless offers to be poorly shot or rushed to avoid getting blocked. He is not as soft as history would have you believe. He is also a better rebounder and scorer than Perkins.

I guess we disagree haha

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" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

Ridnour is definitely a commodity to be dealt and a lot of teams would benefit from landing him. Even more valuable than Redick I believe even though his contract isn't expiring. Barea probably sticks in Minnesota, they can't get rid of all their point guards even if Barea isn't necessarily a point.

Look, I'm not Perkins' biggest fan but there's no questioning the role he had in helping the Thunder grow from plucky upstart to championship contender. Obviously the growth of Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka had more to do with this but Perkins helps that growth by bringing the toughness, leadership and championship pedigree they needed. Maybe they don't need him for those reasons any more as their stars have now developed that level of toughness to call their own but that doesn't necessarily mean Gortat is the answer.

Like I said, I've no doubt Gortat is the better player but he doesn't necessarily do the things the Thunder need. For one, Perkins offers incredible value as a one-on-one defender, and is also respectable when switching out on guards. He blows up pick-and-rolls quite a bit. This ability allows Ibaka and his still middling man-to-man defense to continue to play rover.

I don't think it's at all fair to contend that Perkins cost the Thunder a championship. Nothing cost them the championship. They simply weren't ready. Between the coaching staff and all the players they weren't ready and more importantly the Heat (Lebron) were just an unstoppable force.

You can certainly argue that Perkins is pretty much useless in any series against the Heat because of how little he offers offensively and how relentless that Heat defense is in swarming everyone else but I think the coaching staff has done a much better job of acknowledging Perkins' limitations and have found a way to use him against everyone but the Heat. Against the Heat he simply clogs up spacing and isn't a good enough offensive rebounder to beat up the Heat on the glass the way he should be able to against their small lineups. Other teams are able to abuse the Heat on the offensive glass but not the Thunder with Perkins. Now part of that is because the Heat take it up another gear against the Thunder but certainly part of that is Perkins simply having no lift.

The Heat also do a great job of bodying up on the Thunder players when Perkins has the ball. One of the ways that the Thunder have made Perkins effective on offence is by making him a passer but the Heat have such quick, physical defenders that they remove all the space and cutting lanes from the Thunder players.

And finally, it's just far too easy to rotate off of Perkins to provide help and the Thunder simply have not learned to make that series of extra passes off of the drive-and-kick that the Heat force you into. The Heat rotate so aggressively that eventually they get themselves into trouble but it's never that first kick-out that gets them, it's the second and with the players the Thunder have they just so rarely get that second drive on possessions.

But that's a problem they have against one team. That may be the team they have to go through to win in the Finals but there are other teams they have to go through just to get there and I think that having Perkins is valuable against the likes of Memphis, San Antonio, the Lakers (assuming they could play to their billing), Utah and the Clippers.

Don't underestimate some gamesmanship by the Thunder with regard to their games against the Heat this season either. Both were pretty ugly affairs but somehow still contentious and this is with Perkins playing big minutes. The Thunder fully realize that their offence improves leaps and bounds with Collison in Perkins' place and also in lineups where they go small with Durant at the four and either Collison or Ibaka at the five and they've been using those lineups more and more throughout the season but not so much against the Heat. I suspect they could be saving some of those looks for a potential Finals rematch because they know that losing two regular season games against the Heat won't really cost them anything in the playoffs but giving the Heat their absolute best shots in the regular season might.

Would Gortat help the Thunder against the Heat? I think he would but I don't know that he makes the team better overall. Remember, chemistry matters and by all accounts Gortat is not a "glue" guy. From the games I've seen of Gortat the past couple years he has seemed incredibly soft to me. I mean, the guy is losing minutes to Jermaine O'Neal. Need I say more?

As for Harden... Well, as much as I'd love to have kept Harden and given this group one more chance to take a run at the title together I don't think trading him killed a dynasty. The reality of the salary cap today is that to have the flexibility to build a winner year after year is that you really can't afford to be spending on so many guys and with Durant and Westbrook already locked up it was basically about deciding between Ibaka and Harden. I think even if Harden signs an extension there's still a chance he gets dealt just because of how restrictive it is to have so much money invested in so few players because it limits your ability to make moves elsewhere.

I've no doubt there is a ton of value in having three top 20 guys in Harden, Durant and Westbrook but there's also only one ball and you could see that playing those three together limited just how much each guy could affect the play. In my mind making sure you keep Ibaka was a no-brainer so the reality is it more or less came down to keeping Westbrook or Harden and as much as I like Harden I think Westbrook is better and I think the point guard position is more important. For all his flaws, Westbrook has really developed a lot of point guard skills.

So now the Thunder have a ton of flexibility and assets going forward. If they keep Harden well they just wouldn't have the same access to those mid-level exceptions and what not that you need to add those pieces. This is about being able to sustain their dynasty, not about destroying it. Believe it or not Durant has just three years left after this season. When that contract is up the Thunder need to be in a position to say to Durant, "Here's your max contract extension and oh by the way, we also have the financial flexibility to continue to add pieces and keep us competitive." With Harden around you are suddenly looking at a situation where they not only have to ask Durant to take a pay cut but also to win without the help of veteran guys. Not an impossible task with the help of Ibaka, Westbrook and Harden but not easy either.

Now they've got some intriguing young guys in Lamb and Jones that should help them out in a couple of years as well as this Raptors lottery pick and enough cap flexibility to add pieces.

There's also an argument to be made that the steps forward taken by Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka this season don't happen to the same degree if Harden is there. With Harden there everyone kind of passed the buck. At a certain point you need guys to really establish that pecking order and take as much responsibility as they can. I'm just not sure there is room in the NBA for three perimeter oriented stars if you want to maximize the value of each of them. It's all well and good to say the Thunder passed up on having three top 20 players but the reality is that Harden wasn't a top 20 guy with the Thunder, he didn't take that step forward until he left and I'm not sure he ever gets that chance. Similarly Durant and Westbrook have improved leaps and bounds so in reality by giving these guys more responsibility you are allowing them to make weaker players better and that's why even though the Thunder didn't necessarily get a great return for Harden the deal still makes sense.

And don't discount the value of Kevin Martin that dude lights it up from deep and the ability of the Thunder to space the floor with him out there makes them lethal. And if they can convince Martin to sign a cheap extension well I'd say that the trade works out even better for the Thunder. Essentially, Martin plus increased responsibility from Durant/Westbrook = Harden. When your stars are that good sometimes less is more.

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Oh and one other thing. Don't sleep on Jeremy Lamb. It's easy to do so because he can't crack the Thunder lineup right now and the mainstream media is questioning his value but he's gaining valuable experience bouncing between the NBA and the D-League. By the time he reaches his option years on that rookie deal he's going to be ready to take Martin's spot in the lineup full time. The guy can straight up fill the basket. He's got range and a crafty ability to get into the paint and finish. It'll take him some time before he does it at the NBA level but the great news is he's part of an intelligent organization that will bring him along at the right pace.

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Hot damn, that's the best response from playing a little devil's advocate that I have ever gotten on these boards.

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" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

When do you think is the best time to stash K. Love? I have a feeling that he is going to cause a few upsets in fantasy leagues.

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" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."

Well I watch every Thunder game and read as much as I can.

I hear the dissension on the Harden topic as well as with Perkins but I have to back up the plays on both accounts. For as brilliant as Harden was/is I just don't see how you keep him. In today's NBA the shooting guard position has been marginalized and I don't necessarily think it's for lack of talent. You need to have at least one perimeter guy who specializes in defence to really balance things out. Was Harden simply going to come off the bench for the next five years? I think his star burned too brightly for that, eventually there would have been issues, especially since even with Harden this team wasn't necessarily going to beat the Heat any more than it is in this iteration. I think everyone won that trade except for the teams too afraid to pull the trigger and give up a potential young star.

(Washington with Beal, Toronto with Valanciunas, Golden State with Thompson are all teams were rumoured to at least have had discussions about Harden.)

Ultimately the Thunder got a deal that helps them now and in the future.

As for Perkins, well I don't hate the idea of trading him. I just think there needs to be a clear and obvious upgrade if you do. Gortat isn't that guy. If we are talking Pekovic or Varejao (pre-injury) to name a couple of potentially available guys then sure I'd be willing to lose Perkins.

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Oh man, I dunno. I've completely written him and the T-Wolves off ever since the second hand injury. I don't even know when he's coming back.

That's an interesting situation though because I could see the T-Wolves keeping both Derrick Williams and Pekovic at the deadline because they might trade Love this offseason.

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Bucks looking to be the front runners for Redick and Smith. Craziness.

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" You said you don't give a f*ck about hockey. I've never heard anyone say that before."