The Choice That Could Decide An OKC Thunder Dynasty
#NBA #OKCThunder #OklahomaCityThunder #NBAhighlights #basketball
The OKC Thunder are once again primed to win the NBA championship as the number one seed in the league for the third straight season and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to defeat Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama for the NBA Most Valuable Player award. The Thunder seem to be closing in on a dynasty with Shai, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren as their big three together with a core that is one of the deepest in the NBA. While it is a question if the Thunder can win back to back titles by potentially defeating Wembanyama and the Spurs, Jokic and the Nuggets, or the Boston Celtics, the OKC Thunders offseason moves will also be another interesting storyline. The Thunder will soon be facing a massive payroll because of their expensive roster and now, Sam Presti will have to make a decision regarding the future of role players and starters Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein.
OKC has a deep rotation and emerging young players in Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, and most recently Jared McCain who they acquired via trade. But let’s look into the potential options for Thunder in terms of keeping their entire core for the foreseeable future specifically with Dort and Hartenstein.
For similar content, please search for:
NBA, OKC Thunder, Oklahoma City Thunder top seed, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama MVP case, Shai or Wemby, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Who should win MVP? OKC Thunder highlights, Spurs highlights, Wemby, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, NBA highlights, NBA games, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, NBA trades, Hansen Yang, Michael Jordan, NBA analysis, NBA statistics, Chicago Bulls, Josh Giddey, Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA season predictions, Bulls at Thunder, Anthony Edwards, Alperen Sengun, Ja Morant, Aj Dybantsa, Cam Boozer, NBA mock draft, Shaq, Tim Duncan, Sam Presti, NBA MVP race, NBA playoffs, Kobe Bryant
Check out these videos too:
This MVP Race Makes No Sense
The World’s Most Athletic High School!
Why The Entire NBA Is Terrified Of This Player
https://youtu.be/lM1Icps2RVc?si=G7qFT6g4fUq1z9lR
Every Shot You Miss, The Food Gets Spicier!
Is It Possible To Score 100 Points In An NBA Game
I Spent 100 Hours With NBA All Stars! (ft. Luka Doncic & Ant Edwards)
Guess The Secret NBA Player ft. Luka Doncic
Exclusive Tour of Nike’s $1 Billion Headquarters
The NBA’s Greatest Duo That HATED Each Other
The Craziest Trade In NBA History:
My content is inspired by creators like Mike Korzemba, Thinking Basketball, JxmyHighroller and Andy Hoops
All music are created by Riro Balls
Written by Riro Balls
Edited by Vicky Pabz
26 Comments
Keep both! Presti will find a way
Dort or IHart?
Or Both?
Dort haters will see his value once he locks up both Fox and Castle in the playoffs
I’ll keep Dort, pay Caso, let Wiggins, Kenny hustle and IHart walk. Draft Mara and Mullins⚡️
The answer is Thomas Sorber. It's hard to picture Jwill as a backup rim protector which is why we need Sorber to get healthy.. I would let Ihart walk unless he takes no more than 20 million per year which is impossible
Excellent analysis I have to say! But I just don't see both getting extended this summer because you can only pay so much for a starting five even if its for a champion team.. Boston had to let go of Jrue and Porzingis, Golden State had to let go of Klay, we have to let go of at least one of Dort and Hartenstein
Let Caruso walk or trade him
Extend Cason
Trade Dort to a team in the east that thinks they are a piece away for a haul
Resign IHart so that our Big Man depth stays elite with Ihart, Chet, JWill, Sorber
IMO, best way here is to decline IHart and then resign Dort to a long term deal.
I believe Dort's impact is way too important compare to IHart and we saw how JWill emerges this season.
OKC is not good rebounding team with just JWill on the court, but with Chet and JWill, it improved "almost" the same with double big line up with Hart.
And J will can shoot threes as well. The disadvantage here is JWill isn't a lob threat.
And then, when Caso extension kicks in, we can decide on whether continue Caruso's contract for 1 more year and endure some tax and 2nd apron, or trade him to extend Caso's contract.
By that time, we can get something before Caruso's performance to declined.
We can also use our pick this year to draft a PF and Center, or get another center with a cheaper value in FA.
I would let Caruso go before either one of them, personally.
Fantastic video. Love them both, personally of the two reckon Dort is the more likely to be on the move this off season. The rebound numbers without IHart this season have been stark so I think he slightly harder to replace. Love Lu and his moon shots though 😂🏀⚡
IHart going to lakers will be crazy especially since that would actually be another ring for him
Is gone be hard to replace that's paying as a big
In presti we trust 🙏
Gotta let Dort and Hart go. Draft bigs and develop Sorber. Must pay Cason Wallace, must pay Ajay Mitchell
In Sam Presti We Trust
We will extend I-Hart. Let Dort hit free agency. And draft 2 bigs in the lottery. 🎉🎉🎉
Moves I like:
Let I-Hart walk
Trade Caruso, Wiggins, and Kenrich for J. Grant
You've trimmed the redundant parts of your wing lineup, shored up the forward spot and shaved 29-30 mil to spare to re-sign Dort and Caso. Grant's contract should expire before the 2nd apron issuea kick in. If need be, you can still trade his expiring contract when the time comes.
The players I want to keep are Dort, Cason, and AJ Mitchel. Still, would be very sad to let IHart and Caruso go. I wish we could keep all
Edit: AJ is still on a rookie contract for Thunder.
I think the best choice is to resign IHart and trade Lu for future 1st round pick
They'd probably resign both (If possible). I think ihart would most likely take more money than the estimate you have, and they would just take the team option if they fail to resign him. Then trade them a day before shai's super max sets in (if both signs). This way, they can have a test run of sorber.
Caruso would most likely be traded, if not this summer, or the next. The only way for the thunder to keep him is for a restructure and have him in a vet minimum, which he will decline. Krich might likely be resigned to a vet minimum. Topic might be traded (most likely since they already have AJ) this summer.
They would probably try to draft another 5, and maybe another caso/jdub archetype, then wait and see if sorber would work.
Spurs will be in the same boat in a couple of years too
As an OKC fan (I live in OKC, too), It'd be sad to see them both go, but the League is ever changing and even SGA will age out at some point. Overall, I think OKC has a good eye for talent and a culture for developing that talent. Losing experienced players that already fit well into OKC's system would most likely drop the team's performance numbers, but I think it could rebound back after new players get more time and opportunities to improve and adapt to OKC.
I genuinely think that they both might consider a pay cut. Bcuz both of them are huge locker room guys, they both love the team and fit so well, they might not want to leave unless a team gives them an absolute ton. Though that could be completely wrong also you never know 😅. In sam presti we trust
I feel like they sit Ihart out a lot and don’t give him big minutes in preparation that he might have to go next year. I think they need size with Denver and San Antonio.
In Presti we trust. If anyone can navigate this, it's Sam. He got us here, on the verge of back to back Championships, and I trust him to lead us into the future. There will be some tough decisions to be made. Someone's favorite player/players won't be here when the dust settles. That's the nature of today's NBA. Luckily, the Thunder still have so many draft picks over the next few years so I'm sure we will add a few studs along the way. I'm not worried at all about our future because we have our Big 3 locked in till 2030 and that's something that most teams could only dream of. Pair that with a GM that is GOATED when it comes to recognizing complimentary role players and that makes all my worries melt away. All we have to do is sit back and watch. Will the Thunder become a historic dynasty that rivals the greatest teams of all time? Who knows? Will we win a couple more championships and be perennial contenders? Probably. Either way, I'm super happy with this team. They brought home a ring last year and they've made me fall in love with basketball again. If they never hoist the trophy again, I'd be disappointed, but I feel like that's extremely unlikely when you look at all they've built and continue to build. THUNDER UP! ⚡ ⚡ ⚡
IN SAM PRESTI WE TRUST!!!