Are the Thunder favorites in the west after adding Isaiah Hartenstein?

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[@pullupthen5073]

The crazy thing is that OKC still has a couple of mid level salaries and a million picks that they could use to potentially go for another high impact player in a trade

[@darthquaider54]

Elsewhere in this pod Bill mentioned they STILL have stuff coming in from the Clips from the SGA deal, which may start looking pretty good without PG there. Insane

[@FreeBandz658]

Filling the two weakest positions without giving up any picks, having the luxury of being able to gamble on Topic who was projected top 3-5 pre injury(perfect long term Giddey replacement) and resigning Joe and Wiggins on great deals is unbelievable from Presti. I think if they wanted to they could easily go for someone like Lauri but i don’t think Presti will gamble on losing Dort+2/3 role players and picks for a possible one year rental. I think this team is good enough to win it all without any further additions

[@marquezrich5083]

Yes okc did they rebuild perfectly in my eyes

[@devxplayerdevelopment]

Nah, their roster is set to win a chip right now.

[@BWalker9313]

Caruso and Hartenstein might be the best acquisitions this offseason. A year 2 Chet, Shai, J-Will and Dort is a SCARY team. They can hurt you in every single way

[@donaldw12318]

“Minnesota we’ll see” is doing a lot of work here.

[@Hrogthar]

Because Minnesota only has Ant that will improve. Rudy and KAT are who they are. Meanwhile OKC has a team full of guys that WILL improve.

[@donaldw12318]

@@Hrogthar you said it wrong. Conley kat and Rudy are unlikely to make big strides. Ant, Jaden, naw, naz, dillingham, Shannon, Clark, minott and Miller are more likely to improve. Ya know like the thunder roster

[@Hrogthar]

@@donaldw12318 None of those players have the potential of OKC's roster. You're grasping at straws to make a false equivalency.

[@donaldw12318]

@@Hrogthar lol you’re trolling. What a waste of time

[@Hrogthar]

@@donaldw12318 No, you're just an incredibly biased Wolves fan drinking your own Kool-Aid. The wolves have little to no growth opportunities when compared to the sheer magnitude of OKC's roster construction, assets, and pure talent that is at its weakest state for the next decade, but still won the west.

[@morgan2552t]

They were right there with dallas if PJ Washington doesn't play the series of his life!! Pj Washington turned into curry, klay, Reggie Miller, and Ray Allen all into 1 against okc.

[@chay770]

Lmao kyrie averaged like 12ppg that series, now they have one of the best shooters of all time. Luka played his worst series up to that point in his career

[@morgan2552t]

@chay770 . Well, dort was on luka, that's why he didn't play well.. lol! Now, okc got rid of giddy. There are starting 5 can all play defense!

[@stackntax1308]

Obviously Chet will be better and stronger but the key to me is how much better J Dub will be if he’s playing at a legit allstar level OKC going to the finals

[@eliyarrows2456]

I think he will be. His progression in his career has been that of a future all star. I’m honestly just curious who will be better out of Chet and J-Dub because Chet still has the highest ceiling on that roster.

[@SpecOpsCM]

Solid take. Why, you may ask? SGA- Runner up MVP JDub- all star player incoming Chet- runner up ROTY, unicorn Dort- grit and defensive menace IHart- Helps solve the rebounding and interior size issues that got them beat last year. Caruso- Defense and shooting, champion Cason Wallace- defensive menace and shooting Isaiah Joe- pure shot maker Wiggins- saved basketball JWill- solid rotation player Western champs 2025.

[@joeshmoe8134]

Found the OKC fan.

[@SpecOpsCM]

@@joeshmoe8134a very happy OKC fan!

[@eliyarrows2456]

@@joeshmoe8134as a non-OKC fan let me tell you that this dude actually under represented some of the guys on this list. They have the best roster in the west, and deepest roster in the league.

[@joeshmoe8134]

@@eliyarrows2456 hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[@Mr.Byrnes]

@@joeshmoe8134OKC beating your team by 30

[@michaellebreton4294]

Between the trades and the natural improvement of the young players you have to think so

[@therzathegza]

First Things First has been and is the best "sports talk" show running. Love me some Wildes and Broussard. They make even Nick Wright likeable

[@SuperDB43]

@thezathegza, are you kidding me? That show is seriously terrible!

[@eliyarrows2456]

As a Celtics fan I think there’s a decent chance we get OKC-NYK in the finals. Could be some championship hangover with the Celtics, along with them not making improvements might leave them in a similar spot to Denver last year, where you don’t expect them to lose until they’re eliminated earlier than anyone thought possible. On top of that the Nuggets and Mavs undeniably got worse in my eyes (so far), the bucks haven’t done anything, the 76ers haven’t done enough yet, and Minnesota just went all in on a rookie. OKC and NYK have the deepest rosters, likely the best defensive personnel, Along with #1 stars who perform in the playoffs. That’s the recipe to win in the playoffs. Star power + defense + depth.

[@nodice9227]

Dillon Jones, Ajay and Dieng are killing it as well

[@SuperDB43]

Better watch out for Minnesota! They're the team to beat

[@blablablaa14]

OKC is 100% the favorite in the West. This is a young team that is now ready for everything, and has such a strong roster

[@ChristopherPorter-n7r]

No, they are not

[@chay770]

lol, jdub is not proven in the playoffs same with chet. Reg season sure but there’s a huge difference in the playoffs

[@Vic-Vega]

Did we already just forget that Minnesota beat Denver?

[@maxdubs222]

As a Knicks fan I’m pissed he didn’t stay but I understand he would’ve made like 10 mil less. Thats a lot to leave on the table.. he’s fucking good. A great rebounder and very very underrated passer

[@richschneiderman613]

It's good to know that all you have to do is have one winning season and win a few playoff games and average 30 and now your top five..lol

[@donaldhorsman68]

Where’s the full interview?

[@mikehuly4208]

its the bill simmons podcast

[@odonah]

the suns this season are becoming what the clippers were the past couple seasons. "maybe they just figure it out? but somehow i doubt it?"

[@qthe6thman]

OKC doesn't move me at all lol theyre good not tough enough

[@eliyarrows2456]

“Not tough enough” ah yes it’ll be hilarious for you to pretend you never said this after you watch Luka being guarded by dort, then switched to Caruso, and then he drives to the paint only to see Hartenstein and Chet waiting for him 😂 This roster is legit. On top of that J-dub and SGA thrive off of hard drives to the rim lmao “not tough enough” pay attention 😂

[@chay770]

@@eliyarrows2456luka faced the number 1 defense minnesota and torch em

[@Ricky-Spanish]

OKC should be the favorite to win the title next year, full stop. As good as Boston is, OKC was arguably as talented or at least nearly as talented. Youth and inexperience deterred them from a long playoff run, but now they're a year older, more experienced and patched the relatively small holes in their already quality roster.

[@Sportsbreak149]

I swear i can see OKC being Sacramento of this year.

[@Henry_Smith_862]

Yes

[@FOodieBoOjuee]

OKC is very good but very young… Hartenstein is more vet presence but I still think they are immature. They have a lot of tough teams to get through in West but from an O/Defense perspective they are about as tough as it gets. I do wonder how Dallas beat them and made it through I thought here were better and would only lose a game or 2 to them. I see more tough sledding ahead kind of like the Durant/West/Harden team.

[@shorewall]

That durant/harden/west team made the finals.

[@accordingtodrew7302]

Immature how? They’ve shown they can stand toe to toe with any team on any given night. They’re one of the most disciplined teams and they just got their first taste of playoff experience and playoff hurt. They added size with IH, guys like shai, Jalen, Chet, Cason are improving every year. They have an arguably top 5 coach. The addition of Caruso. This team is gonna be scary next year. Not even to mention the picks they barely used yet. So anything can still happen

[@heisenberg2966]

Wow, what a Surprising Take, by Bill Simmons. OKC gets a member of “ The Tribe “, and now They are “ The Favorites in The West “?

[@shorewall]

Lol

[@SpaceGhost92]

Are you gonna act like they weren’t a fluke foul call from nearly going to the finals last year? They were by far the youngest team and they are somehow gonna get worse?

[@accordingtodrew7302]

To be fair, bill has been on the okc train for awhile now, he’s been advocating for them to get a guy like hartenstein and now they did.

[@TimCarter1]

A fluke call from a game 7 at best so no they are not​@@SpaceGhost92

[@Vic-Vega]

​@@SpaceGhost92Nearly going to the Finals, or the Conference Finals?

[@jc0257]

Denver gonna smash everyone next year. Everyone doubting them already

[@superman10501]

A 44 second video? That’s all you have to say?

[@GymLone]

okc bill simmons? more like the zombie sonics

[@christianmoreno7390]

Crazy how Dallas is being treated like a fluke just because they lost. Dallas will be back. Grimes, Naji, & Klay makes Mavs WAY better

[@dukelukas5965]

$30MM a year for 7.8 pts a game? 😅

[@accordingtodrew7302]

Small market teams have to over pay sometimes. But this is worth it for them. He fills in so many needs for this team also his contract doesn’t interfere with Chet or Jalen Williams future rookie extensions.

[@wilmaso]

I hart was bullied by myles turner.

[@benholt06]

Bill is a reactionary. How are they gonna play Chet and IHart together? Where are they standing on offense while SGA pounds 18 seconds off the shot clock? Good collection of talent, far from a finished product.

[@WHlSKYtx]

Mavs will body OKC again. They don’t have a second scorer

[@joeshmoe8134]

Lmfao……Bill really has lost it. OKC got manhandled by Dallas and adding a backup quality center makes them the favorites? Gtfoh. Edit: Lmfao….Dallas (Kyrie) fanboys are really angry at objective facts. Nothing personal, kids. You’re not being paid to be fans.

[@DANIEL-up8ws]

You are ignorant man. Manhandled? They lost by a point in game 6. They won the point deferential for the series lol. Dallas caused them some problems and earned the Win, but they also simply shot terrible from 3 after leading the league all season. Nearly their entire roster will improve, simply off how young they all are, and that is what young players do....they get better as they move towards their prime with more experience. Now they also added the perfect team first role players that filled their needs to a T.

[@kelvinlee7351]

I mean they added two significant players and their core is young and growing. Why wouldn't you pick them?

[@maxdubs222]

Trust me Hartenstein is gonna be worth that contract and then some. As someone who watched damn near every game he played I can tell you he’s better than most of the starting centers in basketball

[@jameshillarybalonda1222]

Prove mavs is better than okc unless its a blowout win compare to game 6

[@Vic-Vega]

​@@kelvinlee7351Because they only have one scorer, and there are arguably three better teams in the same damn Conference?? 😅😂🤣☠️