Presti Signs Jerami Grant to Three Year Deal for $27 Million

What a twenty-four hours for Sam Presti! He signs Paul George to a four year deal for a $137 million, then signs Jerami Grant to a three year deal for $27 million.

If only Carmelo wasn’t there with that just under $30 million of payroll attached.

For those not keeping track…OKC now has a projected payroll of $156 million dollars with around another $130 million in luxury tax attached. This sets an NBA record for tax implications.

OKC is very close to becoming a $300 million dollar team which can’t get out of the first round.

But Presti had to do both of these things.

Now he has to somehow figure out what to do with the elephant in the room.

The elephant being Carmelo’s thirty million dollars and piece of shit attitude.

Note to Carmelo….you’re not at this point in your career as effective as Eric Gordon or Andre Iguodala. Come off the bench and play around 24-26 minutes a game and fucking thank the basketball gods they have been this kind to you for an opportunity like this.

You can’t knock OKC ownership for not spending money to field a team.

Maybe Presti can somehow get rid of Carmelo and bundle him somehow to the Lakers to join LeBron. Maybe Carmelo’s agent can pull this off with Magic Johnson.

You take Carmelo off that Thunder roster and you have a fairly nice ball club.

Westbrook, George, Adams, Grant, Roberson, Felton, Abrines, Ferguson, and Patterson. That’s not a bad team. They’re not going to beat Golden State, but who is. If fucking Carmelo would just come off the bench and add offense he could actually help. Sixteen points a game off the bench would not be a bad thing if you can limit his defensive liability.

So far, Presti has done what I wanted him to do. Now only two thungs left on his to do list. Align Carmelo with reality and replace Brian Davis on the play by play broadcast. You don’t have to fire him. Let him be the sideline reporter and and let Leslie McCasland do the post game show.

I feel like Presti is following my template so far.

I’ll talk to Carmelo for him if he wants me to.

Paul George to Remain in OKC

So Royce Young and Adrian Woj had it right it when they cited the chances of Paul staying with the Thunder at 85% with a new four year deal at a $137 million dollars. I guess in the world we live in a $137 million dollars tops the Pacific Ocean and having a bunch of David Duke wannabees in your fanbase.

I’m glad this is over. Another Fourth of July will not be ruined as was the case in 2016.

I have no idea where Sam Presti goes with this team considering the presence of Carmelo Anthony, but for the moment a disaster was averted. That disaster would have been sending Oladipo and Sabonis to the Pacers for a one year rental of Paul George.

From a basketball standpoint this really doesn’t change much except now on paper OKC could still possibly be a team in the West with a chance to win the Northwest Division instead of being a team viewed as one fighting for an 8th seed in the West.

Obviously, they need to get rid of Carmelo Anthony’s huge salary and resign Jerami Grant.

But again, this was big for OKC in that if Paul George had left–the Thunder organization would have looked like fools for the second time in a three year period.

Instead, on paper, the Thunder emerge as a franchise with Westbrook, Paul George, and Steven Adams heading into the future.

That’s obviously not enough to unseat the Golden State Warriors, but it is a viable core to give pro basketball the look of a franchise which will not crumble and go away.

Now the Thunder have to figure out what to do with Carmelo’s absurd salary this season and figure out a way to keep Jerami Grant.

Plus…Billy Donovan needs to figure out his basketball team and pray Andre Roberson can play defense like he did before the injury in Detroit.

From an overall overview this in a sense ends the Durant Era in Oklahoma City. There won’t be another bummer on the Fourth of July. A top twenty black free agent for the first time in the history of the franchise besides Russell Westbrook decided Oklahoma City was an okay place to play pro basketball.

I would think this is a big deal for Russell Westbrook. If Paul George had left two years after Durant left for sure thing rings in Golden State the comments about Westbrook’s style of play would have been obvious.

I would also think Sam Presti just exhaled in a big way. He won’t be the guy who traded Harden, lost Durant, and then lost Oladipo and Sabonis for nothing.

Instead, he now has a respectable roster heading into the future even with Kevin Durant in California.

A decade of NBA basketball has now gone by in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant has been gone for two seasons and yet the Thunder sustained as an organization.

A good day for basketball in Oklahoma given where this could have gone after Durant’s departure.

The Pacific Ocean, David Duke, and Paul George

All this drama by the Okies in regards to where Paul George plays his basketball next season. All the guarantees by the Royce Youngs and Adrian Wojes as to why Paul George would stay in a God forsaken faux faith based market like Oke City when the Pacific Ocean is calling you home.

Paul George should go home. Go back to the ocean and get away from a place which gave the guy David Duke endorsed a 70% mandate in 2016.

He should take his son and go home.

Paul George…go home.

If I were a black dude his age with that kind of coin and a young son…I’d get the hell out of this place.

Kind of negative…I know, but that’s what I’d do if I were Paul George.

The fishing is good though. Maybe the fishing will be a factor. There’s great fishing in Oklahoma’s seventy-seven counties.

Count the black faces on the other side of the chain linked fence last summer at Will Rogers Airport.

Just saying….if I were Paul George my ass would be back by the Pacific Ocean and by people who don’t vote for guys David Duke endorses.

Just me.