Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander be the greatest in OKC Thunder history? | Defend The Take

Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander be the greatest in OKC Thunder history? | Defend The Take

All right guys welcome back to the greatest show on this side of the internet where you get to defend takes you may or may not believe in today we have Dave deor and Andrew schle and we are back with defend the take Oklahoma City Thunder Edition um guys Oklahoma City Thunder

Have been pretty good this season and not bad yeah yeah we got we got some interesting takes for us um but to decide who gets which side of the take as always we got a trivia question and the trivia question today is the Oklahoma City Thunder are named after the

Thunder how many average days in Oklahoma City according to Wikipedia does it rain every year wow that’s a tricky one so Andrew since you are the guest in in Oklahoma City too this feels unfair it did rain today you you you get to take the first

Chance at this how 87 87 87 oh W okay all right Dave what is your guess 88 the correct answer is 84 oh 84 I was so close like I mean like a a quarter of the Year basically it Reigns there yeah is that is that more than the average place in

America no I mean I don’t think so you know it’s the Great Planes though yeah it is it is kind of more Aid I don’t know man that’s that’s a little bit more rain than I would have thought yeah yeah it does sound rain get some

Rain out here we we a lot of times we say the phrase we need some rain we could need some rain that’s right shout out to Texoma you know um the before you choose the pro or the con side the three takes we have today are number one the

Oklahoma City Thunder would make the NBA Finals if nicoa yic played in the East number two Shay gilis Alexander will win MVP this season and number three Shay will end his career as the greatest in Thunder history so Andrew do you want the proide or the conside to all of these

Arguments I’ll take the con side oh wow oh wow wow we got we got a local hater here wait I can’t believe we didn’t get a curveball there wow uh on the opening question he he normally hits me with a curveball I but he didn’t this time make

It simple I just wanted to make it I you know what I see I see your game here it’s it’s new year new Sam yeah I’m just straightforward today that’s it that’s it um so the way it works guys as always is the pro side will get 60 seconds to

Give their take then the con side will get 60 seconds and then it’s an open discussion trying to convince me who is correct um so again the first take today the Oklahoma City Thunder would make the NBA Finals if Nicole yic played in the East Dave since you are the pro side you

Get to begin your 60 seconds starts now I got to admit I’m a little bit jealous of Andrew here because the conside is going to be a little bit more fun because it’s going to be all from your imagination if Nicole yic was on the Oklahoma City Thunder today they might

Not have lost a game at this point in the season I mean does that not put everyone at their perfect position and give you another you know Creator ball handler the best player on the planet that’s pretty the question is that that’s not the question right they win

The TI Chad holgren as the four next to nicoa yic I mean that’s excellent defense in the interior sh just Alexander coming off dhos I mean I this is uh kind of like a dream scenario I would think for the Oklahoma City Thunder if they could land the best

Player in the sport and add them to a team that’s you know currently looking like one of the two or best three teams in the west I mean I think that that’s a no-brainer run to the finals right there maybe a 16-0 run when you get to the

Playoffs I mean you know we’ve seen joic do it this is a two-time MVP should be working on his fourth MVP right now time time time time yeah it’s a title before Andrew begins we’re giving off some negative points to start negative Point Andrew negative point to Andrew for interrupting cannot interrupt cannot

Interrupt but also negative point to Dave Dave that’s not the question it was the question where they win the title even the question that’s why I interrupted it wasn’t even the question it doesn’t matter you cannot interrupt for any reason Andrew so that’s an automatic negative one Dave The Prompt

Is the OKC oh wow in my head I said oh if he was on the Thunder no no if he played in the East all right so negative one negative one oh my God only negative one you what’s no that’s that’s actually that’s fair that’s how the game works I

Read this I went to the gym and I was like oh thinking man if jokic was on the thunder so I read this like two hours ago oh no what a disaster yeah okay what a disaster Andrew your 60 seconds begins now so here’s the deal this is is the

Second youngest roster in the NBA it’s of of course they’ve been really good their net rating is really good I’ll point to the Cleveland Cavaliers who had both a top five uh ranking in offense and defense last year lost in round one to the Knicks who are not that that’s

Not a very good team okay and they lost because of their age and experience the amount of playoff the person who has the most the most playoff experience on this team his name is Davis bans that’s it nobody else has really any playoff experience at all

Lugan St he played in one series Shay has played in two series both as like the third and maybe like fifth best player on the roster he didn’t have playoff experience you have to go through the fire a little bit and there’s still some good teams in the Western Conference despite the Nuggets

Being completely off the table there’s a lot of good teams the Timberwolves are really good they’ve been time time time all right man incredibly embarrassing here but I mean look man it’s so obvious to me that the Oklahoma City Thunder this is the 2014 2015 Golden State Warriors that we’re

Watching right now I I think that you know this is a team that if they didn’t have that roadblock of Nicole yic in the way whether he was on the team or in the East I think that this team is just it’s it’s their time they’re on the way up

There’s no perfect team right now and I actually think that that’s a perfect time for a young team to come in and surprise everybody The Scouting Report isn’t even out for all these guys I mean Chad holgren shows us something new almost every single game he’s one of the

Better defenders in the league already as a rookie it’s kind of incredible I think they just have all of the right pieces I mean Andrew if I can quote you they don’t even need a guy they like where they’re at they like how they play they don’t even need to make any trades

To make this run in my opinion if joic is out of the way glad you agree I mean it’s it’s not about whether they about if to make a run it’s like they don’t want to make a trade until they know what they have and they have a

Team that would make the finals if not for Nicole they’re really good I watched I’ve watched every single minute multiple times this season they’re really good they’re they’re a really good team I just think they’re too young do play does that matter like does playoff experience actually matter I

Know something we say and we always do this thing well we need to see him do it there’s a bunch of I mean we said that about the nuggets and then the Nuggets did it but nothing changed with the Nugget they just did it that’s the only

Thing that changed and I think that with the the Thunder we’d say the same thing they haven’t done it yet but they could it yet I’m not saying they can never do it I just think like for a team who’s never done it together to go to the

Playoffs and to do to do the whole thing that’s that’s that’s a lot to happen you don’t count last year’s uh play fan experiences playoff experience oh no no because I mean the thing about the playoffs is like they’re a completely different animal like you get you get

Multiple games of an entire coaching staff like poking and prodding at the things that you do worst and Mark dagot though probably Coach of the Year front front runner I mean that whole coaching staff is excellent so they’re gonna have a little bit of a coaching Advantage even on some

Of these matchups in the playoffs I mean it just when it comes down to it I I think I just trust those players Trust coach and if nicoa yic isn’t out there this that’s an easy run to the finals if nicoa yic is in the East

Andrew who does win the west then if it’s not OKC if it’s not OKC I mean I know that the the Lakers are not in great shape but the Lakers got to the Western Conference Finals off of a playin run and they’re going to make some changes here at the trade

Deadline I think the Clippers have been really good lately like if the Clippers are healthy that’s a team that can do it the Dallas Mavericks have made a run to the Western Conference Finals with less Talent than they have today you know like that there are there are teams out

There that are really tough Phoenix I’m not a phoenix believer but Phoenix has got some guys you know the Timberwolves you know there’s a lot of different teams that can do it you know outside of of OKC there’s a there’s a lot of different teams that that also

Posed some like pretty tough matchups for the Thunder in particular even even Sacramento like I like Sacramento there’s there’s a lot of like good teams in the west and and they’re I believe that they’re it’s more likely there’s a surprise team that comes out of the West

Than it is the thunder so it’s not the Nuggets without yic no no no no I don’t think so no that’s more play in range I think yeah they barely play in actually I think there’s a there’s a case depends on who the center like if you were saying a

League average Center that’s a that’s yeah they’re in the fight for the player yeah I like them less than Houston maybe without joic yeah I mean you know he’s just it would be such a gaping hole for them okay so for some context this is definitely some recency bias but this

Past Saturday I was playing basketball with a friend Okay and like any hoopers do we were just listed names of basketball players that we remember and we randomly were talking about Matthew delova Lin sanity run in in the NBA Finals yeah and with that in mind playoff experience does not matter

It does not matter it does not matter he made the NBA Finals without ever playing a playoff game in his career and so Dave gets the point this this is the greatest game ever ever invented ever from from complete embarrassment to Mi like from misreading the

Question to success wow wow what a game what a game Andrew welcome to my arena delova being the reason wow the reason we were talking about him was because my friend was trying to buy basketball shoes but he wanted like meme shoes like he didn’t want like an actual

Like signature like player shoes and so he’s like whose shoes could I buy that could be like a meme I’m like knees though like that’s the problem right like meme shoes Is MeMe knees I like I care too much about my miniscus to trust him with uh some random shoes I saw off

The internet I I my friend bought Matthew delova one time and they looked so ugly but also he was so bad at the game so I don’t know maybe there’s a uh prompt number two sheay gilgas Alexander will win MVP this season Dave you are the pro side your 60 seconds begins now

I mean I think this one there’s a lot of traction with this number one they’re going to be one of the two or three best teams in the west I think that you know it’s all about a regular season so forget the playoff stuff number two Shay

Is compelling and he’s been excellent he was an all-nba first team player last year so voters know who he is he’s got a lot of good positive press he continues to show up in Prime Time big moments I mean this game against the Celtics I mean he just he is always

Present when the Thunder are playing and winning and especially like that that run they had over the holidays where they sort of beat everyone you know they beat the Nuggets they beat the Celtics they beat the Warriors um those sort of things matter for voters especially the

East Coast folks that aren’t staying up to catch all the Thunder games so I think Shay is on his way there they want voters want a new MVP I think after all the years of of repeats and Joel embiid who’s kind of been in the mix Shay is a

Perfect guy to fit that bill need another guard MVP anyway so yeah I think Shay is going to win MVP this year time okay Andrew your 60 seconds begins now the only team that Thunder that the only good team that Thunder have not beaten is the Philadelphia 76ers who have Joel

Embiid who’s scoring 34.6 points per game 11.8 boards six assists and a steal with two blocks holy smokes it’s going to Joy lmb their management has Contin ually just torn apart what could have been an amazing team over and over and over again and yet Joel embiid continues to

Show up and he creates just something amazing out of something very little and this season he’s doing it again he’s been unbelievable he just just endered a massive streak of 30 and 10 games he’s been the best player in the league he’s in his prime the Sixers team they still

Have a lot to Pro prove themselves as a team but as far as regular season goes DBI is the best regular season player and I don’t think it’s particularly close scoring there he’s first in points per game time time time all right before we discuss Andrew you’re getting dock

The point um you made this claim that the only good team they have not beat is the Philadelphia 76ers they also have not beat the Orlando Magic this season because they have not played a game and they are a good team and so that good team we’re talking like top half of the

Conference you’re Gonic magic you want another negative one 21 and 15 all right minus one again we’re at negative3 this is like technical fouls being handed out over here he hit you with the tech yeah you cannot be making claims like that uh but discuss I I’ll say this uh and Joel

Embiid is going to be in the mix especially because of the scoring but jool embid has overwhelmingly this season been a bum Hunter you go and look at his biggest performances it’s been against some of the worst teams in the league and let’s not forget this guy

Dodged Jimmy Butler in the Miami Heat on Christmas day just dodged him he doesn’t like to show up in these big moments and Shay gilis Alexander is a man who has yet to back down from a challenge constantly showing up and constantly showing out on his Instagram account

When he puts the moves on you when he gets you on that Baseline and backs you down and hits you with the fadeaway you better know he’s posting about it right after the game this is what I’m saying about Shay He is building the MVP narrative with the heads of Fallen

Greats at his feet he embarrassed Steph Curry everywhere on the court on Twitter on Instagram and I’m telling you this sort of stuff matters when the Oklahoma City Thunder start putting out their packets for MVP and Andrew Schleck he’s gonna take the photo he’s going to put

It on Twitter he’s going to have it on his desk’s say sha for MVP and now he can sit here during this this game and play by the rules of the game and pretend like Shay guilis Alexander is the MVP the rightful MVP but we’ll all know what he feels in his

Heart Shay hilders Alexander SGA MVP uh mbid didn’t duck Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler didn’t even play in that game and in fact gobi’s best game this season it was after he found out flag oh he’s interrupting here wolves this the ban Timberwolves 51 12 and three two steals in a block

Against the best team in the Western Conference and also against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a four-point win 3511 nine assists one steal four blocks this guy is not somebody who’s just putting it on bad teams this guy’s doing it against other teams every single night

He’s one of the best players on one of the best teams Joel embiid has been amazing this season I’m G get laptops banned from this game got to get these stats out of here uh I I I will I was going to mention but Dave does get docked the point because Jimmy Butler

Did not play in that game wait wait wait now hang on Jimmy Butler decided to sit after embiid was already announced his out so I’m just thinking it as that Jimmy Butler saying I’m not gonna play on Christmas if if Joel isn’t playing I’m not playing doesn’t matter you’re

Still Dr the point uh I do have a theoretical question though um so in Major League Baseball there’s two MVPs every season one for each leag MH do you think that NBA should also do two MVPs where there’s one for the East and one for the West nah I you know the the

Thing with baseball number one is a lot of games and number two they were doing the the NL and Al were totally different they were different leagues and then you just played in the World Series and I think that as a matter of fact there might be an argument now with the you

Know inter league play just being a part of baseball now like constantly they should maybe get rid of it um but they’ll keep it because I mean there’s so many players NBA though so Five Guys on the court at a time per team like Five Guys one guy makes a huge

Difference and I think having one MVP because it’s really 150 guys and out of that list it’s what 20 guys that really have a shot at winning MVP who make that much of a difference so I don’t think you’ll ever see him switch East and West

I don’t think they should Shay is good enough like he’s the best player in either league so yeah we’re already the participation trophy generation we’re going to start two MVPs I mean giving out clutch Awards and we’re giving out all kinds of stuff that that we already don’t care about I

Think with the MVP you know we because what you don’t want is to devalue the MVP which happened in baseball I mean I bring this up all the time the year that Alex Rodriguez won MVP for hitting 52 home runs for the Texas Rangers on a

Team that won what did it did they win as many games as he hit home runs that year I can’t remember it was pretty close that’s not good right like I I understand that baseball is an individual Sport and you’ll never get that in basketball because we do value

Winning but the Russell Westbrook season which by the way amazing season for an individual player to have carried that team to that sort of record but traditionally the MV NBA MVP has been from the top two teams in either the east or west I actually like that it

Should be the most impactful or best player on one of the best teams because individuals can impact a game so much Andrew do you agree that like does winning matter like how much does it matter I guess know MVP award I think it depends on the context of the season so

The amount of value that Russ was bringing to that 2017 Thunder was immense like that team was not good you look at some of the names like ol adipo oladipo’s not was not good that season he had a really rough year they didn’t have anybody that was really worth

Anything except for Russ That season and you look at his clutch numbers he didn’t win it based upon the triple double the triple double was a part of the conversation he won it on the fact that he willed that team to win night after night after night and so I do think like

You can look across the league that year and say wow like I don’t think there’s anybody more valuable to their team than Russ now that is a special year it would it takes a special year for that to be considered so I don’t want to say like

Winning is the only thing that needs or one of the only things that need but he did win though that’s the thing he won specifically he he did there was a highlight reel of him winning games like with not only just with game-winning shots but with shots in the clutch I

Mean he was crazy that year yeah but like seventh in the west you know like that is not typical um but it it does come typically from one of the best teams and and I think that that should be how it happens typically but I think

You need to widen your scope a little bit for these like special historic moments that happen through through the history of the league yeah another followup do you guys think MBA MVP voting should take place after after the playoffs like it’s a regular season award it’s a regular season award and I

Know that a lot the thing is it I actually think these Awards should tell the story of the Season which is why Russ winning that year it doesn’t it doesn’t bother me NE as much as it it maybe used to right because it does tell the story of that season That season I

Had Kawai as the MVP I mean he was the best player on the best team and two-way guy and all this stuff um but in hindsight I actually am totally fine with the russ MVP uh I do think that the the the narrative stuff matters quite a

Bit so the narrative for you Dave is that Shay is going to make this OKC team I mean I I think he’s made this this is the next step for Shay too I mean let’s not pretend like he hasn’t been you know incrementally moving up the ladder in

His career I think now you know it’s funny I’ve been teasing Seth part now because he does his annual tears well since his tears came out I think that Shay has moved up a whole tier um you know this is my opinion of his tiers but

I I just what he has done this is sort of the path that these guys take and they become MVP candidates and it’s perennial I think this is the the we’re entering the five to seven years of Shay gildas Alexander being in the mix for you know all NBA First Team MVP

Consideration that sort of stuff I mean he’s just that level of player all right final question before I run under my judgment uh this was for you Andrew but if Joel embiid let’s say sat out the rest of the season and was not eligible to win the award

Then is Shay the winner if there is no jo Joel embiid for this season I think that you could declare that it is Shay I think that’s why I side with embid as like my only guy because it’s like really like Shay versus the field but I honestly

Think it’s going going to be Shay versus embiid I just think that the Nuggets don’t care enough about this regular season and then it’s kind of everybody else because of the performances that Shay has had both on the offensive and defensive ends yeah I think it’s probably Shay but embiid’s statistical

Impact on one of the best teams in in the entire league is why I would lean embiid in this scenario all right Andrew you were a little soft on your take could have could have been a little harsher and said Shay is not in second place and so Dave will get the

Point to be fair I cut a promo that um the Thunder should actually pull and use when they do Shay’s MVP promo real because I mean I actually believe I think that he is number one what what Andrew just said he’s in the mix for sure um I just think that the

Narrative stuff matters so much and if the Thunder are the second best team in the west I’d put my money on sh yeah headed into the final take we got a score of one to negative3 um but it was winnable it is entirely wable it is winnable because

It’s all arbitrary and no no no no no no it is very objective there is an objective set of we of rules that we live by um but the final take uh probably the most interesting but SGA will end his career as the greatest in Oklahoma City Thunder history Dave deor

The floor is yours well as I said he’s going to win an MVP this year that that’s just let’s mark that on the list he’s going to win an MVP this year um we’re g to get Nicole yic out of the Western Conference so they can make the

Finals this year and then he would have matched all of the accomplishments of Kevin Durant as a as a thunder right Kevin Durant is the greatest Thunder ever right now I I think that there’s no question about that it’s him or Russell Westbrook R Russ being there longer also

Won an MVP you know kind of did the same thing um I I just happen to think Durant is such a better player that he he’s higher in the echelon I sheay is on that Kevin Durant path to me all NBA first team as I mentioned going to be an MVP

Candidate he’s already an MVP candidate likely to win the MVP or at least be in the top three in voting this year I think he’s a future MVP candidate going to win a title probably here with this very good team so I think if he sticks around for a long enough yeah greatest

Thunder ever he’s gonna have the he’s gonna have the resume for it Andrew can take the floor I think people discount both Russ and Kevin when we think about this conversation and we rush to judgment like can he be this can he be that boy it is a lot to accomplish what

Both Kevin and Russell did in Oklahoma City I think Russell Westbrook is the best Thunder player of all time I think longevity I think what he meant to the fan base I think what he’s meant to the city puts him over Kevin the the way that Kevin left like you Kevin can’t be

Named the best player in Thunder history because of some of the stuff that he did however they both have accomplished a lot they’ve been both been to the Western Conference Finals multiple times they both have won MVPs here they both have actually done all of the things now

Shay could do those things he hasn’t done any of those things yet he hadn’t even won a playoff series let alone been to the NBA finals like both of those guys he has to actually do it now does he have the potential to do it sure but

He hasn’t done any of it he’s not done one of those things yet he’s going to time I will say no hold on Dave you’re getting dock the point Kevin Durant is not the greatest in Thunder history because he didn’t go to UCLA but Russell Westbrook did and so that’s a minus

Point and Andrew gets a point for correctly naming Russell Westbrook as the greatest in look look at how look at how fast the tides have turned 0 to2 now but uh keep going I’ll say this look um o over the weekend or right before the weekend some news came out that the

Orlando Magic are going to retire Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey he played there for four years Shaquille O’Neal is a greatest magician ever I think maybe he’s in the mix uh and he only played there for four years I I would give it to Dwight Howard because I go to the longevity thing Shay

Gilders Alexander has to play there for a long time right like he needs to be there for a decade to even be able to sniff this and so like me just knowing how the NBA works I would say it’s unlikely there’s just there’s a myriad

Of reasons but if he does I do think he is going to have the sort of career and the team success which is the most crucial part of this you look at how good this team is already I think they’re going to be even better next

Year and probably the year after that I mean we’re talking perennial finals Contender as long as they can keep this squad together he’s got a really good shot to win a title or two in Oklahoma City so even if he doesn’t hit that decade Mark I I think that the

Accomplishments that he can that he can pull off in a very short run here with the talent that’s around him and the shift in the league he may have an argument there the the long ity I I I I will admit the longevity is the hardest part I mean

That’s that’s the hardest part for any player though is to stay in one place for for a long time I mean if the Thunder ran into some bad luck he has very little control o over whether or not he he sticks around or not you know there’s a world in which the Thunder

Could say oh well we could get uh you know a herel Walker trade if we move on from Shay gilders Alexander I mean I know they would love to have him in Toronto they’re trying to collect the whole setup there so you you know you always have to worry about a player not

Being in a place for a long time but I think if he’s there he he should pull it off four Western Conference Finals runs one NBA Finals run for Russ and KD like as a Duo like to reach those Heights what Shay needs is a a running mate that’s going

To be as good and I think that Thunder have guys that have potential to be as good but boy those are those are high high stakes there and like getting getting there actually getting there like we can all use our imaginations this is all theoretical at this point

And it’s great like we can look at the West oh this team that team back I think back whenever Russ and KD were there we thought hey they’re going to get multiple titles they’re goingon to win multiple titles and then the Golden State Warriors of 2015 came along boom

That’s all gone because of one team and so it could just take one team to kind of blow this all up for the Thunder 2 and that that’s what happened and so you can’t you can’t control what’s going to happen outside of there could could this happen for SGA sure but it’s all

Theoretical at this point and to say that he’s going to reach the Western Conference Finals four times the NBA Finals one time man those are that’s a high Watermark that is that is tough stuff to do there aren’t many players in league history that could do that and so

To me it’s theoretical it’s the the Mark is too high at this point for a for a guy like Shay who just hadn’t really even done anything he had won one play series yet here’s a question and then this is I mean you know if they win a

Title how many Conference Finals runs is that worth do you know what I mean like I mean win a title Infinity it doesn’t matter exactly so so this year if they were to win a title he already has equaled what those guys did by winning a title which neither of them did now

Again hard to win a title and even more difficult to win a title when you’ve got a young team right no experience as we’ve mentioned before yeah Shan Gil just Alexander wins a title with these guys wow how good is he and so then that’s that’s what I’m saying for him

Like even if he doesn’t have the Longevity if he has that the the peak if he has a good three fouryear run I mean does that move the needle for you or does it have to be both because I mean think about like LeBron James in Miami

For four years they win two titles that’s that’s a hell of a career for a lot of players and he did it in four years so this is kind of I mean this is sort of like how do you feel about accomplishments and whatnot but I do

Think that he’s got like he’s that level of player that he could have a three or four year run where you say wow he’s one of the best we’ve ever had I mean he he already is gonna be one of the best you’ve ever had but I mean a three or

Four year run where he is one of the three best guys in the league you can accomplish a lot yeah I I think that if that were the case the answer would absolutely be no that would never happen because like the Raptors don’t consider kawh lard the best Raptor of all time I

Right well as one season although they maybe they should actually LeBron LeBron is not considered the best Heat player of all time you know that’s that’s just not how it works like you have to have the longevity you have to and like for Russ to have stuck around for as long as

He did until it was just like time to go you know that that to me is going to be a tough one to surpass and and to be the guy that stayed right and to be the guy that put the team on his back mean that

2017 year I don’t think people that are outside of Oklahoma City can understand like the impact that that had not only on the team but on the community of Oklahoma as as we know it like that to me is going to be so difficult to surpass there there are people’s entire

Online personalities that are just about Russell West Brook still that are Liv in Oklahoma City like that is like their only thing there are guys here in the media that still ride Russell Westbrook’s back to like 3,000 retweets because of Russell Westbrook like they’ll just tweet something nice about

Russell Westbrook and then just like boom everything blows up this dude is a living legend there will be a Russell Westbrook statue outside of the new Arena SGA has a long way to go before he can do that and he he has to be able to

C capure the hearts and minds of the citizens of Oklahoma before he can even be thought of as somebody better than Russ is there a chance there’s a chance of everything that’s all we needed I got a question uh so for both of you guys so let’s say shay only stays

With the Thunder two more years he wins a title one of those years is he he’s he’s not the greatest at that point if he leaves no no what if he wins back toback in two years and then leaves is he the greatest in OKC history and he’s

He’s clearly the Cornerstone of the team at that point yeah at that point it’s longevity still is King in it’s Spirit right like it’s does he feel like a thunder yeah you know what I mean like when you think about the guy’s career see I’m with Andrew on this like I I

Actually don’t like player negative one well now we’ve just get into a different thing we’ve been going on too long I can’t fake it anymore but but because I I think that uh rooting for just laundry sucks yeah and um like I actually personally I I want the guys and the

Players and the community to have a relationship that stuff is important you know um otherwise what’s the point you know who are you rooting for you’re rooting for the Thunder like okay but I you want to root for the guys on the thunder so I’m with I’m with Andrew win

Two titles cool if you don’t stick around ah hey man it was nice to have you but we’re not putting a statue up this against the Shaquille O’Neal Jersey retirement and this is why I’m against all the tribute videos listen man tell the guys hey man good to see you we’re

Glad to see you and and that you’re still working we don’t need to interrupt the uh you know that interlude between quarters or whatever with a tribute video for a guy that didn’t do anything yeah if Shay won two titles and left and then they played the tribute video for

Him when he came back people be cry people would be crying because he left right not necessarily because of what he meant dude was there when they played the Westbrook tribute video there I mean thousands of people had tears in their eyes because of what

That man meant to this city for so long again Shay is a great player but he the the road to become what Russ was to this city is long and arduous and it is going to you have to stick your neck out for this city like Russ did to get there

And if he and if he leaves on any of his contracts that’ll be enough for people to say all right because like right now I haven’t said Kevin’s name once and is Kevin better player going to go down as a better player in the NBA history of

Course he is of course Kevin actually won titles Kevin actually did the thing that Russell’s never been able to do but like nobody even will sit and try to argue that Kevin was better no one will do it because Russ meant that much to this city well what Jersey is Kevin G to

Go into the Hall of Fame in dude he can that’s the thing right because Russell Westbrook is going to go in as a thunder as a th yes and I think Kevin Durant has has in a lot of ways tarnished his own legacy I mean for for a myriad of

Reasons but when you’re one of the greatest players of a sport ever and he is um to have worn four different jerseys is kind of weird you know I I feel the same way about LeBron Ian this is and and a lot of this is um more sport sensibilities than life right like

It’s this is more rooting for the guy and the team than just the laundry that he wears so I I mean I’m with you there but Russell Westbrook is absolutely going to go in as a thunder and that’s without question I think that that’s what it is what what team will Shay wind

Up entering the Hall of Fame as right like like what team is he a member of when he’s going into that and I think it’s it’s way too early to tell with the way players move for sure but I get that with with Russ matter of fact that

Thunder should play a Russ tribute video every time he comes back yeah people would people would love it people would absolutely love it he when he comes people stood up and cheered for him this season when he he got a standing ovation in fact he got two standing ovations

Because when Russ came into the game there was a timeout and people were cheering for him before then and then after the timeout they announced him got two standing ovations this season would they ever bring Russ back see um that’s a I I honestly I honestly don’t think so

Because I just don’t think it like quite lines up like timeline wise with what they want and Russ isn’t what if Russ was like their I don’t know man what if he’s like their monu job uh and can be a sixth man for them you know next season

D Russ Russ Russ I mean this team is all about guard to guard screening Russ only sets screens on accident so I just it’s true that’s true [Laughter] uh what do you think is like the percentage chance that Shay spends the majority of his career at least in

OKC I mean you have to bet against it at this point right with just the way that players move and want to move and want to try new things I mean you have to bet against it now this team would probably have to do something pretty special for

Him in order to for him to stay for a long time but at this point if you have a superstar in a small Market in the middle of the country you have to bet against it and the new the new CBA is extremely punitive once you get into

That um above that first tax apron so it is almost by Design going to end in one way or the other the the issue is you know as these contracts start to unravel the rookie deals start to go away that team’s going to start to get it very

Expensive very fast and I I don’t know what the appetite is going to be like there we’ll see what the numbers the projections look like on the new Arena deal um because I think that that’s going to factor into how competitive the Thunder can be from a salary perspective

But I’m I’m kind of with you at this point I think banking on player movement unless it’s you know like Steph Curry right how how rare is it to have a guy like that um and a team like that that isn’t ever going to trade him you know

And I can’t say that about Oklahoma City with with Shay yeah because we’ve seen them do it like they’re they’re a little bit I would argue one of the more shrewd operating teams in the league doesn’t mean they they I’ve never heard that they treat players poorly but certainly

You can get shopped around very easily so um and Shay is going to be a full like absolute max player in every sense of the word so um those guys are also cheap though for what they what they give you for the salary so you find a

Way to keep that guy and you try to keep the stuff built around him so I hope he stays you know it’s a good story that the upand cominging teams all play in the same division which means they play a lot you know you’ve got Memphis New Orleans Dallas like that whole little

Section of the country there with Oklahoma City I think having those teams clustered together is good we’re going to get some really good basketball some epic playoff series as long as we can keep these team together and I think Shay being Shay versus Luca is the

Future of the NBA I think it’s the next six seven years and I want to keep those guys as close to each other as I possibly can geographically because I want them playing a lot okay so after some thought and consideration uh we have a first in defend the take history Dave

Dfor has been disqualified for blatantly saying that he has faked an argument there is nothing fake about this show we believe everything that we say and so by a final score of -2 to DQ Andrew schle wins man does that count as a loss yes of course it counts as a loss

You qualified yourself that’s all right it was worth it it was worth it it was a good take it was a good take you can’t blatantly come out and say I’m faking this take it was worth it it was worth it all right well worth it

It was it was a good take listen man rooy for laundry Stakes that’s the take well thank you guys for listening thank you guys for watching uh let us know who is correct and it’s never Dave because he’s always cheating or something if you’re not cheating you’re not trying fine

Dave DuFour and Andrew Schlecht discuss on Defend The Take:

0:00 Intro
2:51 The OKC Thunder would make the NBA Finals if Nikola Jokic played in the East
11:51 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win MVP this season
24:26 SGA will end his career as the greatest in Thunder history