Your thoughts on Jeff Green's future in OKC?

[HoyaAtHeart]

I hadn't seen OKC play too much this season prior to last night (NBA package isn't bad I guess) and I noticed that they had Green playing the power forward position and Durant at the small forward position. I thought that the plan was to have Durant play the shooting guard and have Jeff at the small forward spot. I took the liberty of looking up Durant's numbers since changing positions and they are a drastic improvement but doesn't this sort of creates a log jam now at the position? Is it possible that Green is better suited at PF similar to how Durant is better at SF or is that marriage going to have be broken up eventually. Just looking ahead but what if OKC wound up with the 1st pick and Blake Griffin was the consensus #1? Wouldn't that create another log jam?

[757hoyafan]

Once Brooks took over, he said he prefer to use Jeff as a PF. Not that this matters much, but when he was the asst hc, he was the one always working w/Jeff, so that might help regarding keeping him there.. I hope Jeff is traded as I ordered the NBA tix to watch Jeff & Roy--- Westbrook is a damn ball hog.

[jgalt]

If i were a GM (and im not, and dont have near the ability to be) i would keep the young core of this team (jeff, KD, westbrook, etc.) together until you at least have a full line up of solid NBA guys. I dont think you can look at OKC's performance and say, well the young guys arent good enough, you have to look at the whole team and i dont think there are enough good role/backup players on the team yet. of course if a really juicy offer came along you would have to take it.

[HeartAttackHoya]

if i were the GM i would trade off Durant while he is still a hot commodity. I know he had a great game last night but I just dont think he is someone you build your team around. Trade Durant, Watson and Wilcox. Keep Jeff and Westbrook and Collison.

[hoyarooter]

Dec 9, 2008 12:53:34 GMT -5 HeartAttackHoya said:

if i were the GM i would trade off Durant while he is still a hot commodity. I know he had a great game last night but I just dont think he is someone you build your team around. Trade Durant, Watson and Wilcox. Keep Jeff and Westbrook and Collison.

I wonder if Bill Simmons still wants to have Durant's baby. If so, he may come over to your house and burn it down.

[DudeSlade]

Brooks supposedly really likes Jeff. He's the type of player I can't imagine a coach not liking -- he's just a great guy, a hard worker, and a very unselfish player, plus he's blossomed this year and is a lot better than he was at Gtown. The pairing of Jeff and Durant at the forward positions is starting to pay off as Presti (the GM) had hoped. Westbrook will develop into a good guard in this league and he and Jeff will be potential All-NBA Defensive Team players in the near future.

The problem for Jeff's future at OKC is if the Thunder get the 1st pick. The obvious 1st pick right now is Blake Griffin. He is a clear #1 right now -- he's not an Andrew Bogut or Andrea Bargnani, but closer to a Derrick Rose, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson type lock to be a really good player in the league. The Thunder simply won't be able to pass on him and he's natural position is PF. If they try to put him at C with Jeff at PF, it will resemble their current alignment with Wilcox/Collison playing up a position. At best, I see it resembling Atlanta's situation with Horford at C, but that just won't get you very far in the playoffs in the West (it may not even get you to the playoffs, actually). I just don't see a great outcome for Jeff if they draft Griffin, cuz at the least he will take some of Jeff's minutes at PF as they play Collison with him or someone similar.

Jeff's situation will be bright if the Thunder take a C or SG and leave Jeff at PF. This will be a threat for Jeff for the next few years, because there seems to be 1 or 2 really top players at the PF position in the draft each year and as long as the Thunder struggle, they will continue to get top picks each year. His best bet would come if they took Thabeet or DeRozan and were able to contend for a playoff position next year, removing them from the top of the draft where the talent to knock Jeff out of his position might be. Later in the lottery, there simply isn't a Griffin type talent that could knock Jeff out of his starting job. As Jeff gets comfortable in the PF position (especially if he can get a great defensive/rebounding C, like Thabeet), he will end up averaging around 18 ppg, 7 rpg, and 2-3 apg, plus a steal and a block a game. He probably won't be an all-star, but he'll be one of those really solid pros with a decade-plus in the league. Someone in another thread compared him to Rashard Lewis and if he keeps improving his shooting stroke, I could definitely see it.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

They could always trade their #1 pick if they do indeed get it, but with the lottery system there's no guarantee they would even get it. They need to pick up a good center and a good SG then they'll be set.

[nashvillehoyas]

What is unfortunate with OKC and other franchises is you never know the plans of the stars. When Durant's contract expires will he exit for an opportunity to play in a big market, NY, Chicago, Philly, LA, etc?

[royski]

The Thunder would absolutely not even consider passing on Blake Griffin if he's available. Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma Sooners. Duh.

[SFHoya99]

I don't really see an issue. I prefer Jeff at PF right now, frankly, since he's go so much interior talent at rebounding, shotblocking and post game that I think they were wasting him.

But it's fairly clear that the Thunder are rebuilding around three players right now, and it'llbe four after next season. If Griffin has to play center, fine. How many PFs play center right now? There are only about six real centers in the league, so it is a lot. Plus, the team could always swing back.

Add in that Jeff is the perfect player to keep on an uber talented team because he will defend, can pass, and won't grumble. They aren't going to deal him for straight positional reasons until they get two more players, not just one.

[vcjack]

The Thunder should continue to only invest in players from the state of Maryland. Therefore when they eventually pick up DaJuan, Chris and Austin they combined with Jeff, Durant and Wilcox will become an unstopable force

[jgalt]

Dec 9, 2008 15:26:37 GMT -5 vcjack said:

The Thunder should continue to only invest in players from the state of Maryland. Therefore when they eventually pick up DaJuan, Chris and Austin they combined with Jeff, Durant and Wilcox will become an unstopable force

Here here! and then when it is only players form the dc-bal area and they are playing better than the Wiz, the two cities can just trade teams straight up (and i mean everything: name, history, etc.) and everyone will be happy because the whole team will be from the area and theyll win!

[RBHoya]

I have no basis for this but I wouldn't be shocked if Jeff was moved this upcoming offseason. Why? Well, for starters, Griffin is essentially a must get for OKC. Local guy, born in OKC, and playing at OU. One of very few guys who'd probably be excited if the Thunder were the team to take him. Also, at this point he is pretty clearly the best player in the upcoming draft and it isn't close, unless maybe Rubio comes over. Guys like Mullens and DeRozan haven't knocked anybody's socks off. At this point--and there's a lot of time left in the season so it could change--Griffen is head and shoulders above everybody else and the clear #1 pick IMO. Plus, the honeymoon is more or less over in OKC. Fans there are eager to support their new team and the only game in town, but it's tough to rally behind a team who literally almost never wins. They already axed the coach. But the combo of a strong young nucleus and a budding local star will be enough to keep people interested.

The thing is, even though OKC is the worst team in the league, they aren't guaranteed the top spot. Lowest I could see them ending up is 5th (worst case, they are 2nd worst in the league and the balls dont bounce their way). Very rarely does the team with the worst record actually GET the #1 pick. And since Griffin is pretty clearly the top player in this draft (again unless Rubio comes in which case, they are 1-2 in either order) I think OKC really NEEDS the top pick.

What I'm get at, I wouldn't be shocked to see OKC send Jeff + Pick #3/4/5 to whichever team lands the #1 pick in order to move up and take Griffin. If you're thinking "Green + 3/4/5 is too much to give up to move up only a couple slots", I'd say, maybe in an ordinary situation. But OKC MUST get Griffin, and in a situation where there is a pretty big drop off in talent between the top player and everybody else, you're going to have to compensate somebody for moving up those few spots to #1.

Other considerations... Jeff and Durant are probably both NBA small forwards in the long run. Jeff at PF is cool in spells, and COULD work long term, but I dont know that it's ideal... Also, you have to consider that there is no way OKC is going to be able to sign all these guys down the road. After next year we're talking about 4 Top 5 picks under the age of 24 on the same team... That's a looot of money to be paying out down the road, so I think somebody's going to have to go eventually. And if 2 of 'em are best suited to play the same position, then one of 'ems going, and it ain't gonna be the one whose jersey everybody is wearing.

Of course if they can find a way to get Griffin out right either by getting lucky in the lotto or by acquiring the first pick in a different way (they do have an additional 1st IIRC), then it's happy days in OKC with a Durant/Green/Griffin front court, at least for as long as they can afford to keep it together.

Regarding Jeff's overall play, I'd say it's been solid (I try to watch as many games as possible and always at least check his stat line). However, I think whoever it was that mentioned him as a potential future all star the other day, I'd say that's surely premature (and I know it was something like "borderline all star in a few years" or something, but still). I am still Jeff's #2 fan (right behind his mom) but he's not in that category yet and I wouldn't say he's on pace to be in the future either, though he'll get better of course. Being an NBA all star is pretty damn hard, there's a lot of talent in the league, in both conferences. As of right now Jeff's play in his second year is comparable to other second year players like Wilson Chandler, Thad Young or Al Thornton, which is to say good but not overwhelming. I think he's the kind of guy who is a nice complimentary starter on a good team, but I don't ever see him being an all-star or a Scottie Pippen-level player as somebody mentioned the other day. Just my opinion.

[GIGAFAN99]

I think you keep Jeff. There are so many free agents coming up, it's insane.

Check out OKC's position right now.

hoopshype.com/salaries/oklahoma_city.htm

So in that summer before 2010-11 when everyone is available, OKC essentially could have the core of Durant, Green, and Westbrook and 80 bajillion dollars (estimated) to blow on free agents. I think they're in good shape and this would likely be their plan.

[seaweed]

Granted I've been drinking...

Pass on the hometown kid (cmon, this is the post-LeBron NBA), grab Greg Monroe at #1 and build yourself a Hoya (dropout) frontcourt. Who knows, maybe Detroit will trade Westbrook for AI.

[HoyaChris]

Much to my surprise, I am pretty convinced that Jeff's NBA future is as a 3. He has been an extremely effective defender against small forwards, but tends to get physically punished by fours. Moreover, he hasn't shown much ability to rebound on the offfensive end, although this might just be the OKC offense. Durant is a natural 3.

I think he would be a much better player in an offense with more structure. While Westbrook is a great athlete, it is unclear that he is a point guard at all.

Jeff might be better off playing someplace else.

[hoyainspirit]

I've only seen OKC play parts of 3 games. They are so terrible that I found it hard to judge individual players. The change in coaches can only help Jeff, and all of their players. As HoyaChris said, I believe Jeff's talents will show in a better designed offense. Perhaps that can still happen in OKC.

[rammajamma]

I have season tickets to the Thunder and would grade Jeff's play at this point as a "6" on a 1-10 scale, but improving. He has appeared overly tentative at times and needs to continue to gain strength - gets the ball knocked out of his hands a lot - and needs to work on his free throws. That said, he plays with the energy you would expect and is quickly becoming a fan favorite. If he can get more aggressive, he will be a solid pro for a long time. Not sure at the 4 though...may have to be the 3 which makes it tough with he and Durant in the same position.

[hoyalove4ever]

Dec 9, 2008 15:26:37 GMT -5 vcjack said:

The Thunder should continue to only invest in players from the state of Maryland. Therefore when they eventually pick up DaJuan, Chris and Austin they combined with Jeff, Durant and Wilcox will become an unstopable force

Wilcox is from Whiteville, NC- a looong way from Maryland.

[JimmyHoya]

But he's a twerp the area still loves.