Thunder Sign Isaiah Hartenstein + Keep Joe and Wiggins

Thunder Sign Isaiah Hartenstein + Keep Joe and Wiggins

welcome to down to dunk I’m your host Andrew selector part of the athletic podcast network with me as always on Mondays is my good friend Mel barar Mel what’s up well I’m not in my usual recording spot um very far from it but uh we’ll we’ll give it a try you can hear crickets cars storming and screaming kids and if we go way too long uh which we could tonight yeah a storming wife so so it’s uh it’s what it can happen but it’s uh it’s a day for the ages in Thunderland so I think um any place will work I guess yeah it’s it’s an unbelievable day for the Thunder I mean this has got to be outside of like the Paul George mellow summer this is probably the best summer they’ve ever had and and the best summer had when they have a contending team like already in place because they yeah they just were they were never able to get those guys like you heard I I just vividly remember the Summer where you started hearing the pow Gasol rumors and you just thought oh like that guy would help so much and you started hearing stuff about hartenstein and like for me for the most part I just couldn’t get myself there for for a number of reasons and I was wrong about so much of it but I would say that like a lot of it was I just didn’t know that they would want to pay a cent that wasn’t a shooting center um he does fill that role well will fill this role well for the Thunder because of his passing and he does have touch out to like 15 feet pretty pretty good um I also just didn’t know that he would want to leave New York even for the pay raay you know that’s that team and there and it’s been well documented and reported by New York uh writers and beat riders that he had a hard time with this decision like this wasn’t a simple decision from what I understand it wasn’t just the money which money is a huge part of this but it was also just the situation and the fact that it’s a winning situation it’s a situation where he gets to play like the style of basketball that he knows is is good and that fits the way that he likes to play and so I think he’s he’s obviously a tremendous upgrade for them I mean he’s one of their best five players now and he’s like to be able to essentially you take away giddy you add kuso and hartenstein you get a you get topic who’s like this highlevel first round pick you get Dylan Jones um you get AJ Mitchell which are both kind of Flyers of like maybe they work maybe they don’t but that is a ridiculous week for the Thunder to be able to add that many I guess couple weeks we’re talking about Caruso just an unbelievable outcome for them they have upgraded their roster and a tremendous way and in a way that is so functional which is I think is like the main thing is that this doesn’t take shots away from anybody all this does is accentuate all the things that the best three players do and like that to me shows the commitment level that they have to those three and this really working and for it working for a long time and so hartenstein great screen Setter rebounder passer play finisher Caruso Elite defender on wings and then the other guys are you know the guys that they drafted are just like if any of them work out like you’re in the money like they they’ve done a tremendous job and I and I think it’s it’s pretty easy to say right now that if if you think that they’re the best team in the Western Conference next year you’re not crazy they’re not crazy mainly because they were last year and they improved so much with um with what they did I mean let’s start with the the Caruso deal because I think it’s functional to understand where they went with arenstein and I love the fact that you point out the hey you’re not even getting you’re not basically taking shots away from anybody gy was taking I think 12 shots kuso will not reach that number uh but kuso helps you in a very defined weakness that you had in the playoffs which was hey can we add another shooter that doesn’t that we don’t pay when the opponents have his best five five guys out yeah and Isaiah Joe even if Isaiah is extremely good in terms of shooting and he improved so much in terms of defense is not that guy I mean Dallas could exposed expose Joe a little bit Wiggins kind of the same ballpark not the same shooter uh by gravity I would say a little bit better better Defender not a guy that you can slide on Luka and say okay this is your guy now with kuso you have a great shooter I would say a good enough shooter where you have to really be mindful about where he is especially if he goes into the corners um or or if he’s open and then you have a guy that can be your best point of attack Defender yeah um the other glaring issue that OKC had in terms of every Advanced metric that you want to find is when we get when we Face a guy that is big or when we play in general without chatom on the court what is our answer and the answer was Jay will mhm by any metric this was a high negative for ok especially in the dollar Series in the D Ser the nonch minutes were abysmal and not because necessarily Jay will is some sort of bad center it’s because OKC needs something else on offense uh when chat is not there and the gravity that they that J Will had was basically none so yes if you make shots those counts but in general you don’t have the space to operate hardenstein will not help in in that regard because he’s not a shooter even if he had like a few seasons where where where he was attempting a couple which I think it will come back to be honest uh but it’s not the the case the case is screening the case is positioning being a very good passer a guy that you can basically unlock as a as a as a guy who can really pass off short rolls and stuff like that maybe ignite your Shooters and defensively defensively can really help you both against guys like a beat and and also in general to to be a better rebounder to be an anchor defensively a guy who talks a guy who knows how to play defense at a very high level and can protect the rim decently so I really do think that if you just cut in half the difference between how badc was without chat um and basically split a little bit the difference thenc already this season could have been in the finals arenstein I think can do a little bit better you can do positive lineups without Stein as your as your big man especially if you find a good pick and roll partner uh that you can pair him with knock knock topic is there like he will not play next season but he is a pick and roll guy and and and I do think that one of the Avenues to maximize gidy was hey stting Off the Bench play him in certain units where you really need a little bit more of playmaking and maybe have some chemistry with the center now you have also a blue for what uh comes next yeah I I and I’ve seen some people talking about the price tag and it’s like guys like you can’t have it both ways you can’t say oh my gosh we never get free agents here we’ll never get free agents here and then when you get them say oh my gosh we’ve overpaid for them one it’s essentially a two-year deal this is it’s not dissimilar to what was done with Bruce Brown where like that that deal and not to say like hartenstein is going to be a vehicle to get another player he could be but I I don’t I think that they actually want him to play um but man like you can’t have it both ways like this is the best free agent the Thunder I’ve ever gotten just to get the meeting with him and then to actually get him to come here it was going to take a balloon payment to get him he was in a great situation with New York the Knicks are going to be one of the best teams in the NBA next year and to pry him away from that is going to take a lot and it’s not not only like the Thunder can offer a lot for him in terms of like winning and the quality of the the basketball and a good role like he’s going to be offered all of that but he had that in New York too and so listen he is going to help this team quite a bit next year and you can’t look at the stats the people that are just looking at the stats like they’re not going to save for just like with Caruso like neither one of those guys their raw stats don’t tell you the whole picture they don’t tell you that these guys share the ball well that they play outstanding defense that they fit into a system like they don’t tell you those things you know you could have gotten somebody like Valen chunis is a much more productive player at times but the difference between those to with the price tag is probably Fair yeah because of the impact and so I just I can’t get there with people saying like Jonas was a SE what the price tag is like I just can’t I can’t get there against the Thunder I mean the reason why I mean I still believe that Jonas was not the worst player against the thunder in that Series yeah but I mean giddy hooked him at The Rim let let’s repeat together y giddy cooked them yep he did so he did and giddy could not do anything at rim with Gafford and Lively yeah I’m not saying that this should be hey I mean Valena terrible Gafford superb Defender no live Lively is um but it tells you how much of a difference a big man can make and hartenstein is not R go bear but by many defensive metric is a good enough he’s above average in terms of defender in the paint and in general Defender so and a better offensive player oh yeah so this is this is the the center that OKC is going to pay I I I don’t know if there are already details about the how much of a of of a year one balloon this is uh I didn’t see it before starting the Pod but I was doing other stuff I haven’t seen I haven’t seen the exact numbers yet um okay but I mean honestly it could be starting over 30 around 30 maybe yeah but the entire top SP yeah no no the west and you just added to your your stockpile of of players and I know that you don’t care I’m just talking about people in general I’m not I’m not but we need to help like people understanding the the meaning of this money so yeah sport Trak has it at 30.1 million is what great apape in the chap says so yeah 30 30.1 uh and then decreasing by two three millions a year um something like that that would be my guess and then but the third year was reported to be non- guarant gued yeah so like right now you can consider the first two years as a signing bonus forste um and the point is if you have a great place to live in and they pay you $72 million to live there in order to make you move somewhere else you really need to get an incentive winning like the the potential of winning because you never know I mean you you think you find like a great solution for your job to to maximize your talents and then it doesn’t happen that way so like it’s not automatic that winning is something that makes you move um but then like this financial investment should be really seen as hey we really want you here yeah and and 30 this year uh yes they may have done some other move like they they could have signed yonas and a wing I I don’t think that OKC really needs to increase their Rotation by another four or five guys and I’m not sure that that like fifth starter is out there I mean we all seen how much po George has made in in contract contract wise I’m not sure that OKC is an appetite to to sign a guy like George for four years at that those numbers right um other wings I mean if you are a in the mood of hey the summer does not make any sense if they don’t sign like a why am blanking on the J Walker uh if you don’t sign J please reconsider he was great in the gag let’s not harp on rookies that may make sense I mean Jus Walker has has the same uh chances of success in OKC than Usman Jang has next season so we got that we already have that OKC has them has uh who in the roster the the point is you have one shot to get the player that you know can really work in your system that fix a lot of stuff and doesn’t really doesn’t move your cap sheet in the future because if hartenstein is Sensational with OKC they will just try to extend them and the fact that they paid him a lot already makes it even easier makes it really they yeah if it’s terrible if it’s terrible uh okay in two years you have all the Aven to say okay uh Isaiah we tried um and it was not u a great success so it is it is in so many ways the perfect contract yeah I mean it’s it’s just it’s just the cost of doing business at this point too and I I don’t people are asking about starting lineup I honestly just don’t know I my my sense is that Chad is still thought to be like the center of the team but I think har Stein’s a player that he can play next to and I think that he’s a guy that will certainly take the backup minutes from chat yeah and then I think that you it’s just it’s something they didn’t have last year and something that Mo my colleague mod dequ talked about a lot is like just having like different looks to throw at teams in the playoffs is really important and this is a way for to get there like they have the ability to go really small they have the ability to go really big you know you could you could play Shay Caruso jdub uh hartenstein and Chad together I think that is a starting un by the way it very well could be it very well could be you could also put Dort in there you can also put K Wallace in there you I mean they just have a lot whoa who whoa yes isah Joe Wiggins like they have tons of options now that they really didn’t have they could really only play the one way and they had Jay will to come in and play those minutes and and I think Jay will Jay Will’s still really young and like Jay will can still develop but he’s he’s 21 years old you know to bring in somebody that’s two guys that are ready to to play and can contribute and you basically you basically took one dude away in Josh giddy that was in your top 10 minutes played and added two guys that are going to be heavy rotation players for the Thunder like the you your roster was going to improve no matter what if they just ran it back and did nothing this summer besides draft these guys and basically Dylan Jones is the only playable rookie that they have if they ran it back they were going to be better like period they would have been a better team the fact that they brought in two guys that are two-way players that are low usage that accentuate what the team does the the the sky is the limit now for this team and on top of all of that they didn’t use any first round draft picks or future first round picks as capital going out to make these moves and they still have everything and now that Paul George has left the Clippers not only can you be excited about what the Thunder have done in house but the fact that these picks are looking more valuable by the day that are in LA because they are still just trying to hold that hold that thing together for the Clippers moving into this new building and those are the kinds of situations that blow up and those are the kind of situations that that lend to I mean it feels very Brooklyn nssh right now with what happened with what’s happening there with these older guys still trying to Cobble things together and keep it and then it just blows up now they may not get the number three pick you know like the Celtics did but if they got another top 10 pick next year would you be stunned like I would not be stunned no I would not I would be stunned probably afterwards but uh but that’s another story um it’s before getting into the Clipper land um this was like hartenstein was the shiniest uh of the thing that uh president staff did but I think that the other two signings are such a high value moves oh my gosh that I I can’t even start I mean if you think that the hartenstein is expensive take this peak of what pry did today with 50 Millions you have hartenstein yeah Isaiah Joe and wigs yeah like this is nuts yeah this is like incredible value these are three guys that will play in your top nine top 10 rotation um and probably top nine and and you have extremely controllable long-term deals for qualities they are that are a premium in the NBA shooting uh and like just being a versatile Wing in Wiggins that can also shoot the basketball like these two deals to me are something else in terms of why they were signed I I really believe that and the more I see um see weed and listen to what prey and his team and and Mark digold and the and the the players say that they are doing something in a very different way okay see um something in terms of character paradigms uh a view of their lives it’s different it’s not really common to see um an organization work with such chemistry and such unique goals and and I think that uh both Joe and wigs could have gotten maybe maybe Joe could have gotten 60 over four years and maybe wigs um something like that over five they got less uh 10 Millions 12 Millions less to stay in on a team that gave them purpose gave them really real opport unities and and trust them like Isaiah Joe had that one game in in Dallas for many players it’s hey you do that and then it’s a no show for the next four or five five uh games because there is this other guy that should play Above you OKC is not about that and it’s clear it’s about giving real opportunities to their guys and and if you take the opportunity you will be rewarded and I do think that this is real for OKC and so those two are just a testament of what a great organization OKC is and it’s uh it’s just uh inspiring to be honest uh as a worker like how can I replicate that into my day job is it possible to rep how can I learn how to do that and to me those two deals which are maybe simple um in in the ground scheme of things that pry did this offseason are to me one of the best thing that he did yeah just locking those guys in long term on outrageously reasonable deals they’re those deals are going to look so good in just a couple years they look good today but they’re going to look even better as time goes on and you you lock in I mean the guys that played key rotation minutes in the playoffs last year the the top your top eight guys I mean all you lost was giddy you it’s Wiggins and Joe are seven and eight Wallace was fifth he’s another guy that we haven’t talked a lot about but I think some of these moves really help push like the development of ques Wallace and Chad forward quite a bit because they’re just gonna have more touches and more you know creation opportunities with gting not there um and then same for I think that hartenstein is going to help jdub so much if like if those guys are running the second unit like jdub is running a dho with hartenstein like there’s there’s not a lot you can do there because they can both make a play and I think I think JB is gonna be lethal next year I think like he has a chance to really make a jump he’s going to year three yeah you he already made a jump and I think he’s gonna make another one I think hartenstein screening is gonna help him a ton yeah yeah and and his passing can unlock something that I think jayb should and probably will work on this offseason I was I was like texting with you about this earlier today uh I was looking I was looking Paul George and his three-point rate over the years he started off a little bit higher than than JB at around 30 31% earlier in his career and and now is at more than 40 I do think that jaab which is at 24% can really grow because he had a steady shot and and sometimes in the second unit the issue was hey who can really unlock jayab well in this in this second unit with kuso and hartenstein pretty like like the chances are pretty high that both can unlock jab as a shooter a little bit more he can play on ball he can play dhl’s he can play picking rolls uh with JB but he can also be the guy who stands in R’s um outside of the three-point line ready to cut ready to dunk and ready to take shots if you really leave him open so I think that also this is a is um is something that can unlock the second unit in so many ways and and it’s doable I mean he has a great shot so I really think this could be also another thing that uh we look in two years like this is just this is just sick yeah yeah I think that that helps a ton and just to Circle back on the deal in general the thing that set this whole thing up to even be possible is the fact that they were able to clear so much cap space by train for Gordon Hayward thank you Gordon if you this is this is Gordon’s biggest contribution to the Thunder is just having this big fat contract that expired but if you don’t make that trade you have to do some work in order to get off of those contracts yeah to make it work and it’s not that easy right now this is not I mean take a look around New York would have loved to offload more money in order to not be hard caed but they haven’t been able to do it and they’re still working to do it but man they haven’t been able to do it and it was a really good time to add flexibility at the trade deadline and we all know Gordo didn’t work out here it was a disaster in many ways but I ultimately he didn’t hurt the team that much no and then also he helped the team tremendously just by having a big expiring contract that allowed them to go after hartenstein and I mean essentially you’re replacing Gordon Hayward with hartenstein and you’re replacing Josh giddy with Caruso like those are two pretty big upgrades I would say and I mean those if you look now at those updates um you can also see why prey didn’t go for Gafford and PJ Washington I mean he really could have done both deals but now I do think that if you look now at those would you really prefer lose to the Celtics and have those two guys for many years or now having a real chance to get two guys that play your way that you can trust in high stakes games because they both played there um I mean hardenstein was amazing last year in the playoffs and kuso has Championship pedigree so I mean you can you you also see now a better picture of what patient patients bring you um and what the plan was and clearly if hartenstein doesn’t say yes and he loves New York more than uh all the other things that hoki can offer I mean this is um this could have been a loss yeah but you have you gave yourself a real opportunity and you just put in the work to maximize your your your odds and I mean today we’re we’re sitting here and and saying wow this really paid off but let’s go back to the to the Clippers which is the future I want to read just this this this tweet from Stephan Bondi um who uh works for the New York Post he said I heard from multiple people how tough a decision it was for hartenstein to leave the Knicks he really wanted to stay he loved his time with the Knicks the difference in average salary is almost double though plus the cost of living and is cheaper in OKC all that’s true and press must have made a heck of a pitch yesterday yeah to get him to come and and obviously money is a big part of it and it’s it’s fair to recognize that but I do think that from what I understand basketball the kind of basketball matters to him and if that is true man I would have loved to be in the room to hear that just the basketball pitch in general I bet it was tremendous I bet it was a tremendous pitch so uh okay let’s talk about these juicy picks that the Thunder have now so next year the Thunder have swap swap rights with the Clippers unprotected unprotected so yeah just just look at what happened in the lottery this year you just don’t know what’s gonna happen because the Atlanta Hawks jumped up to the number one pick in the draft yeah and they were not the worst team in the league so you just don’t know you give yourself a chance if you’re there they have swap rights there then you move to 2026 Clippers unprotected pick in 2026 they just get it handed to them and then 2027 they have swap rights again with the Los Angeles Clippers unprotected that that is they have three consecutive years of control over this Clippers pick and if you’re looking at what’s going on in La Paul George leaves for nothing kawii Leonard can’t play in the playoffs due to injury James Harden God bless him is you know resigned with them on a really good deal I think he’ll help them but boy oh boy like that that is getting juicier by the day and not only that you look at the Western Conference aren’t you aren’t you by the way scared about the picture that Kawai posted on Instagram which one the why wait explain to me why you’re scared I mean he’s such a weirdo I think he can like just stop playing basketball tomorrow and I would not be I’m not scared about that that’s no scared scared if you scared if you the Clippers I mean yeah he looks he looks kind of lost uh and like wow like it’s uh it’s some I mean I’ve seen people like going into wild places like Chris Bosch but he looked like an NBA player doing that uh K is a he’s he’s a real weirdo he is a strange guy that’s there’s just no doubt about that and I mean listen they lost Paul George who had a really nice season last year yeah like Paul Paul played really well last year and they’re gonna have to replace his three-point production they’re gonna have to repl his point rebounds normal normal guys no you can’t I mean he he had a tremendous season and so trying to replace that I mean you want to give James Harden more usage you want to give the ball to Norman pal I mean the the canary and the coal mine to this whole thing for me is the fact that they were willing to sign Kevin Porter Jr to a deal who was a tank commander in Houston and a felon and a guy that is just a a complete disaster of a person it’s like why why would you be willing to do that like why are you willing to do that that to me just makes no sense whatsoever I don’t I don’t get that they’re going to trade Russ apparently the Denver Nuggets didn’t learn the lesson the Lakers learned and that they said you know what after kcp leaves why don’t you know what kcp for Russ like we do that kind of deal I don’t get y with Y yic passing the ball to us he he surely will shoot B from three and will play defense Fair Y is pushing 82 games yeah I don’t I don’t know I I mean that the NBA is hilarious in so many ways and this is definitely one of them but if you’re looking at what’s going on with the Clippers you know you you can’t guarantee that these are going to be lottery picks because they I mean they won 51 games last year but they lose their best player a guy who played 74 games last year scored 22 points per game and don’t have the means to replace him I mean it’s it’s gonna be tough they did get n Nick patum back they did sign uh Derrick Jones Jr and they s they signed kpj that’s just that’s just not gonna do it um so I’m I’m very that’s something to watch for if as a thunder fan not only is your team going to be outrageous this year but do you think that bulmer signed on uh kpj because they just said him uh we we’re going to sign KP can is called pop that’s that’s that’s nice yeah go for it yeah exactly uh well there was a time when um there was this uh name kind of uh fiasa with the I don’t remember who was the player with the with Brooks yeah with the Brooks uh Theon and Maron maybe it’s the same thing that’s true that’s true getting Brooks nice nice fine I can sign off on that that oh Bashan what oh yeah he I mean and and maybe they just showed him his raw stats 195 and five hey we can work with that that’s that’s our Paul George replacement kpj is this the thing that uh finally makes tyou regretting his position and maybe looking elsewhere there are like many coaching gigs the Detroit one oops no that that that has been solved in a very weird and way oh my gosh they signed Tobias yeah this just like same old Pistons it’s like what’s going on here I was I was so into langon like very brainy kind of player he used to play in Italy I loved them um and chess guy big chess guy yeah um so I said okay this is something new and then Tobias and and I mean JB I mean it’s it’s okay JB is a great coach why do you have to go five years like why everyone needs to have five years I don’t know like it’s uh I I have no idea but anyhow the Clippers and their Treasure of picks that they owe to the thunder it’s a it’s a nice addition um because they they are currency if if somehow the Clippers are semi bad next year but not horribly bad you the the 2026 pick has an immense value no matter where it will land oh yeah because because like people can really Pro will project the value and the Clippers can do anything they are in La so but if like by the middle of the year they are atrocious but not that atrocious like maybe the 10th worst team like now that bullet that you have at the deadline is such an incredible bullet yeah and guess what any any contract that you still have on the books like L Dort kenri Williams one of the two contracts that you just signed those give get you in the 35 million territory with that pick you can get to anything so I’m not saying I’m not advocating for that to be uh necessarily A pathway to what OKC has to do in the future but but it’s an opportunity like a sensational opportunity even is a as a trade chip yeah yeah the the flexibility that they have moving forward is still there yeah um and just like having the draft Capital there I mean Heck if it’s going to be a top five pick in the draft add him to the team yeah sure add him to the team you have a long Runway with cost control and you could probably bring them off the bench and if they develop I mean like shoot especially in next year’s draft like the way that people talk about next year’s draft if somehow I mean it would it would feel a little bit like the the Pistons when they got when they got the second pick in the draft you know so back in 03 so I just think that they hope hopefully they just don’t take the big European guy you know just well they already have it uh so it’s not or european is uh in the in honstein so it’s um that’s fine mostly fine let’s uh let’s take a break and then we’ll we’ll come back I haven’t talked to Mel about the draft so we’ll talk about the draft a little bit we’ll be right back crickets a lot of insects and we’re back after that quick break mckel we haven’t talked since the draft on a podcast wow yes it’s true yeah last uh Wednesday and Thursday the first let’s just talk about topich the thunder took Nicola Topic at the 12th pick yesterday uh what were your what were your thoughts what do you think about him um I think that there weren’t other guys that I would picked in that spot uh ahead of him because I I do think that the plan with gidy was a good plan um and to has some things that can work a little bit better for see some something a little bit less for example the rebounding and uh uh the body strength it’s a it’s in favor of gidy right now um but he is a talent and and I know that the two games at the red star were not really great games but it’s the the simple size is so slim and and in in Europe it’s not that you you get from to Euro league and it’s uh and it’s a two game adjustment period it’s almost like uh if you evaluate jdub for from his first two games in the playoffs or in the playing last year I mean it’s it’s a different brand of game so I I’m not really here saying okay those two games were terrible and blah blah the the stuff that we saw at Mega are extremely interesting and and connect to what I was saying before that in the second unit if you have a unit with Caruso topic jayob hartenstein Isaiah Joe or KAS Wallace I mean that second unit has defense has size has passing has shooting and like a premier Peak and roll player that hartenstein can really drive off and and you’re resting your main guys you’re giving like another look and topic is a 88% three uh free throw shooter yeah which shows an extremely high touch which BS well with also with his finishing he’s a great finisher durm granted in a lower level competition uh compared to the NBA so I I really think that topich can work on his three-point uh attempts and um and looks and stuff like that in terms of location in terms of like spot up versus of the drible but he has the potential to be a decent enough shooter so for me um I know that McCain would have fit extremely well but since we we have seen what prey has done it makes sense to get something different because you have already a lot of players that can feel with McCain which I think will be a great fit in Feeling by the way uh Awesome Fit um I do think that this is actually a great pick for KC from you can say okay why not big man you’ve seen it now and you need to give those guys development minutes toic will not need that next year of course which is a plus because he can get into the system by not playing and just learning and and being around the team and then who knows what happens next year the the roster with the with the draft pick picks that they will have that we just discussed uh it can be like completely sorry I have insects all over me so um it’s uh again it’s a different look that I have here uh so it’s it’s it’s great I really think it’s um it’s a pick that U that will pay dividends for Cas yeah if you if you know you’re G to keep Isaiah Joe like if you know that you can get him on that contract you just don’t you don’t need to take yeah you know a smaller shooting guard like you just don’t and so those kind of guys were available but if you have that in your back pocket that you think that that is a possibility or Devin Carter you have you have Dort you have many guys Wallace yeah you have you have that archetype of player and so I do think that You’ you know we we’re working with a very limited amount of information especially when it comes to the draft in many ways we’re working with a very limited amount of information I lost Mell we’ll see if we can get it back in here um but we’re working with very little amount of information and so trying to distinguish like between what player has what value not only that but then what is the Rost how does the roster take shape and if you believe you can get Isaiah Joe and you believe that that’s a possibility then you probably don’t take Jared McCain because I don’t think that he’s like a huge upgrade over what Isaiah does and Isaiah’s you know Isaiah Works in OKC he’s the plus he’s the plus minus King you know you know that it works and so so you might as well just hang on to him you get a high upside player in topic that is shoot past dribble that can come off the bench and if he hits man like I don’t even know what you do like you’re like you’re already with this the roster as is like you are really set in a lot of ways but if that guy hits or if Dylan Jones hits or if AJ Mitchell hits like now like it’s an embarrassment of riches and plus the the Clippers picks that we were disc discing earlier I mean they right we had we talked about you know years before we got to this point today how things could get pretty overwhelming pretty fast for Thunder fans and like we’re there like they this is a outrageously good team that is just added to the roster you’re adding these draft picks you have these future this future draft Capital that seems to only be getting better I mean it’s it’s this is this is it man like this is this is the vision of what you would have hoped and like one of the best case scenarios you know of what was going to happen when the Thunder started this rebuild and had all the all this draft capital and everything and they’ve been able to I mean to be able to get hartenstein and Isaiah Joe as free agents is pretty crazy to just get those two it’s like two top eight players two top six players or however you want to say it like two of your best players that you just get through free agency I mean like you’re not you’re not necessarily counting on that especially in Oklahoma City and so this is this a very deep roster and they still have potential to get better and they haven’t uncovered what any of these young guys can do when it comes to Dylan Jones when it comes to us like who knows what those two can do on the court I’m and after talking to Dylan the other day at the inro pressor I I’m outrageously impressed with him as as a person and then he is such an unusual player that if it hits it’s like I think it’s really going to hit just because he’s a great rebounder he’s a great passer he plays really hard he thinks the game at a high level I just think like that kind there’s room for that kind of guy on the Slender roster yeah uh there is room um not much but this is this is if you find that Dylan Brooks uh Dylan Jones sorry uh serves your purpose better than a guy like Isaiah Joe in the future this is amazing like this is still an amazing thing because you can you have Isaiah Joe and Wiggins and L Dort and like you can name every player besides maybe the top three which are very hard to replicate and to think that Dylan Jones can really play better than them um but you like you can move all those guys for value for future value because if you look at the Boston Celtics this is the third different iteration of the Boston Celtics after they got their guys I think it’s the third the first one was with Kyrie then with Gordo then like this one basically and maybe something in in between and in order to do that you need to have assets this is I think the first iteration of the Thunder it can be successful it can be mildly successful it can be somewhat of a disaster if they fail to get over the first round for two years it can happen um so I really think that yes we are excited today as we should be but the The Treasure of these rookie class and of the picks it’s important even if it doesn’t pan out in one year even if Dylan Jones uh is a is just a g-league sensation and it’s not an NBA player uh maybe by playing with someone uh it will improve the chances of that someone to be an NBA player in the future so having a competitive G League team that really plays the same brand of basketball that you can see in the grown-ups it it’s also very very important important thing of whatc does so I I mean if if you want to talk about Jones a little bit more um I’m really into the fact that he is a do do all uh kind of player he can play defense not a great defender uh in at Weber State mainly because of responsibilities I think uh he has all the tools to be um a player that that can make an impact there the the grab and go is something that is so thundery and and it can really help the pace of the game just he’s a great rebounder and he’s a great guy that who can run into transition and make a pass like a wh one-handed pass which if you have Shooters like Isaiah Joe and with um with Wiggins and and players like that um that can really hit in transition open trees and you have a guy like that I mean this is such a value um so I really I really I really like the pick I I watch a little bit of uh of Mitchell I yeah is another like well-rounded guard that maybe will take one two three years to to really be ready to play somewhere and if that’s somewhere is OK see because you you had to make some consolidation trade and maybe go after uh some pricey veteran uh to fix some of the issues that will come forward in the future then you may have like a cheap Ready Player um at your disposal in the future and maybe it’s uh it’s another guy with like I know some pix for see that didn’t work out and and that that’s that is still okay to pay uh Lindy Waters and cash to get another look to a guy it’s exactly what you should do oh yeah yeah it’s it’s a small price to pay for a player that you really want to get a good look at he’s also so well spoken and just like very thundery in a lot of ways and he’s got I mean that that dude can really get Buckets AJ Mitchell I mean he he’s really fun if you’re if you’re looking for a good time this year you might go to a g-league game just watch AJ Mitchell play honestly and and get some put some oose on it get o on it um let’s go to some super chats we have uh mutumbo Dumbo asks any cap space left Batum for the vet Venom batum’s gone batum’s going to sign with the Clippers um and I think they do still have some wiggle room but I I don’t know I I really honestly don’t know what they’re going to do with it but I I look at the roster now and it’s pretty good I think they’re in pretty good shape how many roster spots do they have I think they have one left I believe they have one roster spot left so we’ll see what happens you know you can still you can bring back moose if you want him on the roster I don’t know I don’t know I don’t have any idea what they’re going to do um and then Adam loves horror says love the pickups and the Pod is chat the power forward most games I I don’t know because the thing I do know about Chad is that the advantages that he creates as the center are what unlocks so many things for the Thunder and so I do think like there’s going to be a lot of minutes with him as the center still like I can’t imagine that they’re just going to be like all right you’re a power forward now I do think there is a lane for him to defend as a big wing and as a guy that can play that position I do think like that is certainly a possibility but I do I still in my gut believe that jet as the primary Center is like the best thing for this team and the best thing for them to grow into they just now have another way of playing with hartenstein that they didn’t have last year and just have the versatility to to do a little bit more and so it was something that I I didn’t know if they would do I didn’t know if they would have the spending power to go get somebody like this I didn’t know if they would want to do that I didn’t know if I I didn’t know I just frankly didn’t know um but I can see the vision behind it and I can see how you could play those two together but you know I’m curious to see how it unfolds and and you know what Mark specifically thinks about it as we you know move into the season which we’re very far away from now on July 1 202 we know what Presley thinks about the two Center lineups he specifically mentioned that in his exit interview um and he said that we that Oki had one of the best defensive wrting of the league with with a Chad as the as the foran I think that the thing that will surely change um well there’s nothing to be sure about but I think that the what we will see is more structured playing time with with oh Mel is Frozen for me play 32 33 minutes and heart and sign probably high 20s so there is a pretty big chunk of minutes that they will play together um and I think that those lineups can be really be the starting units uh and and and that’s it or maybe a little bit more who knows depending on how it goes it is related to how much chat can become a shooter like a willing shooter because if you have dub and chat hoisting 15 trees between the two and you always have Gunners like Joe Wallace Dort Caruso that lineup can work M I don’t think that this will be a 25 minutes a night kind of lineup I don’t think that I think the chat at Center is still a lineup That OKC wants to see and also just hartenstein at Center is a lineup he wants to see with small players and Shooters all around which work to the perfection in New York with guys that like har um who can be a great guard rebounder and this is where a guy like dlon Jones may be functional in that role so I I really think that there are many blueprints uh chat being mostly a power forward I would I’m skeptical I think the chat will still play most of his minutes at Center and maybe 12 uh 1215 as uh as the power forward yeah and I think Haren Stein’s versatility gives you the ability to for them to play together like I just think that the way he moves the way he thinks game the way he passes I think that just opens things up for you and just as the defender that he is I just think that that that to me is is extremely helpful to them and they’re just loading up on guys that just defended really well yeah you know he he he’ll the rim defense from hartenstein was Elite last year yeah um I I think that hartenstein was seventh in field goal percentage allowed last year at The Rim um CH was third and so things are not going to fall off a tremendous amount when chat leaves the floor like it did last year and so that to me just having 48 straight minutes of just Elite Rim defense in a game that seems good is great it’s a great thing to have there’s no question about that and then you add Caruso to that too have like two guys that are elite elite uh point of attack Defender at all times because you have KAS W lud Dort kuso and job who is becoming a very good point of attack Defender you have four you have four and then you have guys still kuso is one of them and Shay is one of them that can be like Playmakers defensively playing the passing Lanes you don’t have any weak Link in wor team now like who’s the worst in the rotation yeah it’s Isaiah Joe and Isaiah Joe got a lot better exactly he’s okay yeah yeah there is nobody who can’t play defense in in in the top nine rotation top 10 rotation you you you would argue that besides Isaiah Joe and maybe also Wiggins who is not like a probably um plus defensive player that he’s good enough yeah he’s good enough sure yeah but you think like with the starting unit which is the the great three plus two of probably hardenstein Kus and Dort those are good to Elite Defenders your six-man is the guy who didn’t start who’s an elite Defender then you have kasun Wallace who will be and was at times an elite Defender like seven guys with extremely high level this is this is great and then you have wigs and Joe and and Jay will I mean it’s good it’s it’s it’s really good yeah yeah the defense is going to be outrageous and then offensively they have to really lean into their play style and they’ve really got to figure out how to play together how to get Shay and jdub off ball earlier so they can get the ball back in better position and I think once they do that and I think it’s I think it’s easier now that you have better shooting I think it’s easier now that you have good passing from the big position with hartenstein I think he will help with that I just think like that they’re just in such a prime position now and you have one of the youngest rosters in the league you have a team that is going to get ready for the playoffs I think that now now too like we were going into last season we didn’t know we didn’t know what they were or what they were going to be you know we had so many wrong predictions about where they were headed at the beginning of last season like we just didn’t know and now that you know like this is a playoff Contender this is a title contender moving into next season I think you you can view the team so much differently through that lens and I think the team can practice so much differently through that lens and come into the season ready to refine what they do you know ready to refine the way that they play not that they weren’t trying to do that but I think with a with a better glimpse of like what can be accomplished I think like they can grow exponentially and I also think that the the way that uh the the playoff experience is gonna help them grow exponentially and so it’s very exciting I’m I can’t wait to see these guys play I’m excited for summer league there’s a lot of fun players that are going to be in summer league now um too bad that KAS is not playing I know that was one thing that Mark told us the other day was that Cas Wallace is likely not playing in summer league which was disappointing but it just means just half just half a game Mark come on just one game just gives us more AJ Mitchell you know for summer leag which I think will be a lot of fun so yeah uh okay thanks so much for tuning in got tons of people on the live stream uh tons and tons one of the one of the biggest Monday live streams we’ve ever had so please if you could just hit the like button that’s all I want you to do is hit the like button um hope everybody’s doing well have another pod for you on Wednesday breaking down more of this Alex and I will probably talk more League wide as well um as we just uncover who this Thunder team is going to be and what the West looks like uh the Mavs I don’t know I think the Mavs got better today getting Klay Thompson um they’re at least a little bit more interesting today so we’ll we’ll discuss that and all all the moves that are made hope everybody’s doing great and we’ll talk to you guys again on Wednesday

Andrew Schlecht and Michele Berra break down the Thunder signing Hartenstein + keeping Joe and Wiggins