I have seen various posts about the Thunder still being in player development mode (sometimes as a defense to rotations, poor level of play by a player,etc). Obviously, a team to some extent is ALWAYS in player development mode. A team always wants its players to play a little bit better, get better at free throws etc.

The Thunder have been in “mostly tank mode” which I supported. In fact, I think that they should have tanked a bit more shamelessly, lol, but I digress.

I believe that the Thunder have started shifting to maximizing wins as opposed player development. As evidence of that fact:

  1. The bottom of the roster guys are, quite simply, not playing much (or at all). Tre Mann and Poku are mostly decorations for the bench.

  2. The team seems to be giving playing time (mostly) due to performance, with a few notable exceptions. (Giddey still starts but his minutes in crunch time have been cut.). Lindy Waters game is another notable exception.

  3. I don’t think that the team is in “win now mode” and will be hell bent on bringing in a player to help stack wins (but maybe they SHOULD be considering it if the cost/benefit is right).

  4. The team seems to be shortening its rotations to about 10 players and playing to win games with what we have.

  5. If this were strictly a development year, I think Giddey would still be closing out games.

  6. I think the days of “it’s ok if we suck because of whatever” are over.

  7. I can’t figure out why the team would have Lindy Waters on the roster, unless it’s just as a placeholder for a player that may be elevated at some point from the Blue or a player that we will trade for on down the road.

  8. Also, Bertans, seems to be merely a salary at this point. He really hasn’t played remotely well to any degree so far.

  • CaptainStanbericaBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago
    1. True
    2. There is a big difference between the public perception of “performance” and that of the team’s. The issue with analyzing something from a metrics standpoint is that you will start to see that there are wild anomalies throughout the league. From a +/- perspective, LaMelo Ball is “better” than Desmond Bane, Paulo Banchero, Bradley Beal, Mikal Bridges, Jimmy Butler… that’s just through the B’s in the alphabet, but I think it makes sense to say that BPM isn’t the end all, be all of NBA analysis. I mean, Klay Thompson is 158 on the list, Wemby is 151… yes, seeing that your posts regarding performance are typically about Josh Giddey (163 on the BPM list) should Golden State trade Klay, or should San Antonio trade Wemby? I would argue no. So, if you believe solely on metrics for performance, there are All-Star level players who are in the same boat. Hell, Dort is a negative player…trade him!?!?! It would just appear that the only player here that you hold to that standard is Giddey, which is poor, biased analysis. This is also pushed aside by those who state “he got that dawg in him,” which is a dumb statement. The dude is having a bad start, much the same as he has had in the past.
    3. This is a contradiction. Every team should be evaluating what available talent would make their team better.
    4. True.
    5. Good coaches make situational changes/rotations to play to strengths. Giddey is replaced on close defensive possessions the same way Wiggins is replaced on offensive situations, typically for one another. That is good coaching.
    6. True
    7. Lindy Waters being in the rotation at all blows my mind. I would rather see what Micic has than Waters.
    8. True. He is intentionally on the bench for financial reasons. He is an asset that most teams would request the Thunder to pay out his salary for taking him on.