I’m going to be brutally candid because I can on here, that’s why it’s the Underground per se. I don’t have to kiss ass for a media pass. We’re at the midway point of this season and with the exception of Barry Tramel from the Daily Oklahoman– the coverage I’ve witnessed from the rest of the local media has been soft. The Oklahoman’s Erik Horne and Brett Dawson are covering the team like interns.. I’m hoping they’ve just been saving themselves to this point. Royce Young at the beginning of this season tabbed Alex Abrines as the most improved player coming out of camp this season. Really? For a guy with as much inside space and off the record access he should be more in tune to the nuance of the team. He should be the conduit of objectivity since he’s employed by ESPN not Clay Bennett. Nick Gallo, Matt Pinto, Brian Davis, and Michael Cage are all homers to varying degrees. I respect Matt Pinto’s takes though. Antonio Davis…ummm—I agree with what he’s saying at times, but it all is now coming across like the Peter Finch character in Network. But here’s the thing…’We’re all mad as hell at this point.” This team’s performance has been bullshit.
So I’ll grade our local media first before I get to the team, Billy Donovan, Sam Presti, and Clay Bennett.
Barry Tramel A
Erik Horne B-
Brett Dawson C+
Royce Young B-
I’ll go roster first in the order I rank the team:
Russell Westbrook: B+ This is his team. Russell needs to be a better defender and needs to bring down the really bad turnovers which at times cripple this team.
Paul George: B- At times it doesn’t really look like he cares. He seemed to care when he played his old team the Pacers and he seemed to care when he was in Los Angeles in front of family and friends. He also seemed to care when the Thunder were in the national spotlight games against the Warriors and Rockets, but otherwise Paul George has been vastly inconsistent. I’d rather have Oladipo and Sabonis back with their youth, manageable contracts, and upside growth. But would Westbrook have extended his contract without this gesture from Presti and ownership? Probably not.
Carmelo Anthony: B Carmelo was never on my wish list for this team. Truth be known, I hadn’t paid much attention to Carmelo Anthony during his massively underachieving period with the Knicks. This move didn’t bother me though because both Kanter and McDermott are one way players. In retrospect, I think the calibrated risk Presti took with Carmelo was worth it because Kanter is unplayable against certain teams in the West. Plus, I like Carmelo’s smile.
Steven Adams: B- When I’m paying my center $25 million a year I would expect him to emerge as a player who plays like a $25 million dollar player every night, not just three out of four nights. Steven needs to rachet up his game and be more consistent.
Andre Roberson: B- I would have given Andre an A, but if an NBA player can’t make a free throw I can’t go any higher than a B-.
Jerami Grant: C- Jerami started out great, but has regressed after the early season leg injury. His game needs to settle back down. He looks like a young player who’s about to become a free agent and pressing.
Raymond Felton: B I have no problem with Ray Felton. He’s not why this team is 22-20 and the most disappointing team in the league.
Patrick Patterson: C- Big let down for me. I expected way more from Patterson. I even had him pegged to start before Presti cut the Carmelo deal. I’d much rather have Sabonis playing those minutes and more.
Josh Huestis: C- He shows some flash of athleticism here and there, but really hasn’t shown me enough to have complete faith in him.
Alex Abrines: D-. I mean, do I really want to give anybody an F? I’m thinking for some players Europe isn’t the wrong choice. Seems like he’d be more happy playing a guitar in Spain.
Terrance Ferguson: C Not enough playing time to go higher or lower.
Nick Collison: Not enough playing time to grade.
Kyle Singler: Not enough playing time to grade.
Daniel Hamilton: Not enough playing time to grade.
Billy Donovan: F Here’s thing, this team for the most part has stayed clear of serious injury issues. This team has had a cupcake of a schedule. I went back thru OKC’s first forty-two games and in those games–OKC was either a Vegas favorite or in a pick ’em position in all but four of the first forty-two games. Those being, at San Antonio, Warriors at home, and Timberwolves on the road twice. I repeat…OKC is 22-20 and clearly the most disappointing team by an expansive margin. No other team in the league has been this much of an underachiever. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Also, keep in mind, the Thunder had a charmed first half in that almost every team in the West was going thru spells with key injuries and difference making players missing substantial man games. Not the case with OKC.
I mean…it’s an F. If this were the end of the season and I were the owner…Billy Donovan would already be fired even if he is a really nice guy—which he is. When your team isn’t mentally ready to play at the beginning of a game or the beginning of the second half — what other grade could you possibly give a coach. Hey…it didn’t work for John Calipari with the Nets and he seems fine making lots of money coaching in the SEC. Nothing wrong with that. Same thing with Lon Kruger–I love that he’s the OU coach. He didn’t make it with the Atlanta Hawks. Know your wheelhouse as a coach. Not everybody can manage four guys making over $20 million on the same team.
Sam Presti: I have to wait till the trade deadline to grade him. I’m assuming he had an escape plan of some sort. Surely…he had an escape plan. Right now the two things hanging over Sam Presti’s legacy are that Kevin Durant is a world champion in Oakland and Brad Stevens is coaching the Celtics. Two major what ifs. What could have beens. Did Billy Beane in Moneyball ever win a ring?
Clay Bennett: I’d give ownership an A. They ponied up. I mean, fuck, at this point you can’t expect a bunch of older white neo-Conservatives to suit up and actually score the ball and grab rebounds. They did their job.
Others need to do their jobs. Pretty simple.
Sam Presti have lunch with Nick Collison. What could it hurt? You have a team which seems to be okay with losing.