How good would the Thunder have been , had they obtained Chandler?... They could have kept Green for bench scoring...I think they would have been the team to beat as opposed to contenders this season.... After watching Chandler's impact on the Mavs(of all teams), I think they would have been a dynasty in the making..... probably doesnt deserve a thread, but Herrera been doing posts like these for weeks.......
Chandler. Although it may seem one sided, remember that Perkins isn't a 100% yet. He's still recovering from a torn ACL. I still take Chandler, but he does have an injury history
If they had picked up Chandler, Ibaka would have had less developmental time. And OKC probably would have dumped Chandler like Charlotte did this past offseason, because he was terrible the last 2 years (this may come as a surprise, but this is a contract year.)
I think that contract year stuff is sometimes inadequate...He's healthy now...He wasnt terrible at all the 2 previous years...But I agree, it probably would have stalled Ibaka's defensive progression
It very well may be a matter of finally being healthy, or maybe coach K flipped a switch in him at Worlds. But he still was terrible the last 2 years.
Right now Chandler is obviously better but Perkins knee is only "65%" (his own words a couple of weeks ago). It's painful to watch him play sometimes. Next season he should be back to normal. When both are healthy, Perkins is a better one-on-one post defender while Chandler is a superior shot blocker. With Ibaka at PF, I think Perkins is a better long-term fit for OKC.
It is close but I do think that Perkins is a better player. However, when it comes to Chandler & Green or Perkins, then I think that the answer is obviously Chandler/Green. Since Green is a legitimate third option (Harden looks good at times but he has been inconsistent this postseason. Green is a legit third option). But as BigBenito said, who knows whether or not Ibaka would become the player he is had they acquired Chandler, who knows that Chandler would have played as well as he has been playing for the Mavericks (Charlotte gave him away for a reason). Even had they started Chandler/Green and brought Ibaka off the bench, would their interior defense be as good as it is now? Too many variables (like any other should have/could have/would have topics). Though it is kind of funny that they pass on a healthy Chandler due to health risks and take on an injured Perkins.
Have you watched Green play? There is no way he is a legit third option for a championship contending team.
When you bring Jeff Green into the discussion, then it's a blowout in favor of Perkins. If Chandler were signed last summer by OKC and Jeff Green's presence was still hindering Ibaka and Harden, the case is closed. Trading Green was an example of addition by subtraction. Both Ibaka and Harden are better. Because he was Scott Brook's pet player (I won't go into it), Green played too big a role that was detrimental to the team. If you honestly believe Green is a legit 3rd option while Harden is not, you have no idea. Jeff Green was inconsistency personified. What kept his stats up was playing 37 mins/game. He was a poor defender (especially at PF) who was very inefficient and would go long periods of time without rebounding. His greatest attribute was being well-liked by his teammates, coach and organization. Right now, there isn't one NBA team that would take Green over Ibaka and probably none that would take him over Hardin.
Let me also add that I wouldn't mind OKC picking up Green over the summer to bring him back as a reserve to replace Daequan Cook. He plays best against reserves.
I dont think he fits in what the Thunder are tgrying to do...He's a tweener on the frontcourt...Although that isnt a bad thing offensively, it presents a huge problem defensively...Unless he goes gets Chuck Hayes to mentor him on positioning and footwork
You hit the nail on the head. On defense he got destroyed by real PFs and his offense wasn't anything special so he couldn't return the favor. On a good team, I think his role in the NBA is being a backup tweener getting 15-20 mins game. He should be about a team's 5th leading scorer. On offense, Green can post up smaller players fairly well and he finishes good at the rim. Needs to seriously work on his 3-point shot. He's almost like Josh Smith where the OKC crowd would sometimes groan when the ball was in the air. Scott Brooks never told him to stop shooting them (4 per game). His so-called "versatility" on defense was a liability, not a strength. He got toasted by SGs, SFs and PFs.
This. I'm not sure when it happened, but the tweener suddenly became popular for some reason despite the fact that almost every tweener has turned out horribly. Rashard Lewis, Jeff Green, Charlie V, David West, Shawn Marion, Beasley etc. all of them have generally became overpaid players. Derrick Williams is regarded as no 2 overall but I think he'll also struggle like these guys. OT, I'm amazed at how little Perkins has produced. It may be due to injury, but before even when he was healthy Perks didn't really have any tangible production, his rebounding was average and that's about it, you can't count on him for points, passes, blocks etc. That makes me a bit leery of the contract he signed with the Thunder, sure he provides stability and leadership, however those are intangible stuff and I'm not sure if that's worth 10M a year.
Not sure your definition of "horrible". David West is more under-height than tweener but he's a solid pro. Shawn Marion did get overpaid. But many players around the league have gotten paid too much regardless of tweener status factoring into it. Marion did actually add some "versatility" into it instead of being just a tweener.
If you watched the nba in the 80s or even b4 that, positions weren't defined as much. Most teams just played guards,forwards,and a center. Think about boston and the lakers of the 80s. Magic and nixon played together as did maxwell and bird. Later on it was worthy and rambis and bird with mchale. The position definition came later. In regards to your tweener comment,its kinda like more hybrid guys. Marion was just a great rebounding sf. Larry nance in the 80's was like that too in cleveland. Jamison is a hybrid guy also. There isn't a problem with these types as long as you can balance it out. I've always thought these were the best kind of guys to play alongside dirk.