A Tale of Two NBA Rebuilds

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on pace to be a top 4 team in the Western Conference, while the Detroit Pistons are on pace to have the highest odds at the lottery. Both rebuilds started at around the same year. However, one team is thriving, and the other is suffering.

This is a tale of two NBA rebuilds

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00:00 – Introduction
0:00:55 – Setting The Tables
0:05:36 – Seattle Savior
0:13:40 – Pistons Plummet
0:17:45 – Trio In Oklahoma
0:31:35 – Thunderstruck Losses
0:39:05 – Reggie Playoff Piston
0:42:10 – Snake Eats The Apple
0:46:32 – Grueling Griffin Era
0:52:02 – Mister Thunder Strikes Out
1:00:52 – The Presti Genius Play
1:07:08 – Weaver Outclassed By Master
1:13:49 – League Changing Draft Luck
1:17:24 – The Unraveling

Allstar starter Shay gilgas Alexander they are top five in offensive defensive efficiency Shay gilis Alexander is a player you’re going to need to start paying attention to this is a team you need to start paying attention Le I think we’re going to be a a really good team and the Thunder with the big comeback here in Denver to take down the defending champs a lot sooner than people do it was the best of rebuilds it was the worst of rebuilds it was the age of draft picks it was the age of losing streaks nine straight losses capella As Time runs out and Atlanta wins the ball game the Atlanta Hawks did not have Trey young if they get to the week a half from now in the losing streak gets to like 16 15 if like if that starts happening yeah something has get ready for the Ultimate Experience you haven’t seen a video like this one may I present to you two franchises two rebuilds first Oklahoma city where the history is a bit murky and the Super Sonics win their first ever NBA championship let the celebr begin in Seattle it is over there is something about winning a championship that makes everybody feel like they’ve had a little part to play in it here comes Sam shman with the trophy here’s Lenny Wilkins with him as they come off the plane and then there were 250,000 people in downtown Seattle for the parade it was a complete representation of who we are as a city Michael Jordan had 23 points in game four for him his lowest ever output in the finals game despite that the sonics couldn’t win and the team falls apart Shan kep gets traded the owner has a dispute with Gary Pon why to buy the team if you going to let him move are you sorry you let them slip away and you sold them I regret it I uh naively thought that uh the people who bought the team would keep it here that didn’t happen I bet he feel bad inside should feel like you know what I’m saying cuz he is a piece Schultz sold that team to Oklahoma City like that he could care less about human interaction a lot went down and we’ll get back to that now Steve Smith who was with the Portland Trailblazers when they faced the Lakers in the 200 playoffs got traded to the San Antonio Spurs and he recounts meeting a young employee by the name of Sam press who he says he was always around if you were new to the organization you really didn’t know his title he continued by saying he’d be in the video room he’d be around the coaches with the players with the general manager but the biggest thing that stood out was his eye for talent you see enter a 19-year-old Frenchman by the name of Tony Parker he goes and works out for the Spurs during draft week first tried out for the Spurs there was that story your first ever work out with the Spurs yeah that was terrible my first workout was terrible pop didn’t want to see me anymore he was like no he’s terrible I don’t want to see him anymore so thank God to RC Beford and Sam presy forcing pop to to do a second rout and as we all know he was drafted after that and the rest is pretty much history sami’s a pain in the ass he’s brilliant he’s fantastic which I knew from day one long ago this also addressed the lack of point guard play the Spurs had at the time and Parker making big impact into his second year where the team ended up winning a championship NBA champion and this is where we get to our second team the Detroit Pistons who won the championship the next year it was an upset the upset of all upsets against a juger nut of a team Pistons have just shocked the Los Angeles Lakers if sports betting was around I wouldn’t think anyone would bet on the Pistons all of you who had Detroit in five no you didn’t we also thought the Pistons had no chance no chance whatsoever people in Detroit have been screaming for a couple of weeks that nobody’s paying attention to the Pistons and all the stories are framed around the Lakers well they are going to hate this story then because the reasonable followup on this series isn’t about what the Pistons are going to do now it’s about what’s going to happen to the Lakers willon will they lose Phil Jack yes will they lose Kobe Bryant will they lose Carone and Gary pton and will Shaq out I don’t think sh and just like that everybody else has moved on since the Pistons are the basketball champions of the world our test punches that fan right in the face soon after months later the battles at the palace incident happens which forever changed the trajectory of the NBA 2005 the Pistons l in the finals in seven and they would never reach the finals after that 48 points for LeBron James he scored 29 of the last 30 but it’s another year that they’re one of the NBA’s but will fall short of their goals many say in 2008 Joe Dumar has completed the worst trade in Pistons history trading Corner storm Finals MVP chony bipss and more for Allan Iverson the Pistons That season ended up being an a seed getting swept in the first round by the same CS team that they almost beat two years prior in the Conference Finals all the while Cornerstone point guard chy bips helped lead his team to the Conference Finals in 09 against the event Championship Lakers team led by Kobe Bryant yep that trade ended up destroying the Pistons oh boy chion make it four in six years okay so to quickly recap after losing to the Bulls in 96 just super sonic signed J mcavaney to bolster the roster but all that did was alienate Sean Kemp who would get traded The Following Season years later when the Super Sonics were being sold Howard Schultz came in and bought the team in 2001 and things did not go too well as he thought he could operate the NBA team like he did his Starbucks chains when Gary pay was protesting for more pay and basically skipped out of training camp they were both going at it both feeling like they were being disrespected and yeah things just did not go well Gary pton and Ray Allen are switching teams so the Shan ke and Gary pton era ended soon after and Ray Allen was now the fix that was needed to bolster the superponics forward but the arena that they played in was pretty small and the NBA was obviously wanting them to upgrade so Schultz asked the legislature for more money and they rest Stern backed him up but unfortunately he would have to sell the team only 5 years into his tenure as owner and that’s when the SuperSonics really came to an end oh boy it’s draft night in New York and a dominant big man is set to make his official entry into the NBA so to a smooth super scorer after a year in Texas so in 2007 the draft Lottery happens and at this point the superponics will get lucky getting the second pick of this year’s draft and it seemed like the second pick was already in at this point I think that Seattle’s going to get a player that is going to be a big big time scorer for a lot of years in the future so now that Schultz didn’t own the team it was under a new ownership Clay Bennett from Oklahoma and at this point he had a past relationship with the Spurs so that’s where he hired sen prey to replace Lenny Wilkins who won a championship as the coach of the superponics in 79 and at this point the Super Sonics would enter a new era where s prey would make his first move Seattle will send Ray Allen no oh what Sonic just traded Ray Allen what happened and the Celtics will select Jeff Green of Georgetown at number five for Seattle assuming he is there at number five Jeff Green my teammate man I’ve been traded already in the NBA first day I’ve been traded to Seattle with the man over take the camera that that young man right there Mr Kevin Durant so I’m excited it’s going to be fun I can’t wait as I said previously it was a foregone conclusion who the Super Sonic would select at number two a scoring saon he can do it all we really hadn’t seen a player like Kevin Durant so of course he didn’t go number one but he was still a great Prospect and S pry now hiring a new coach one a mission accomplish getting new head coach PJ Caris one of the former Spurs assistant coaches during the championship run interesting now after trading R Allen Sam prey was again on the Move trading Sharpshooter rard Lewis in a s trade for a $9.5 million trade exception with the Orlando Magic and at this point with that trade exception money he went on to pay Kurt Thomas who the sons were trying to dump and prey also managed to nap two first round picks one being in 2008 the other were in 2010 now this rookie season for Kevin dur would be Rocky one as it would be the last season played in Seattle for the SuperSonics and of course the fans weren’t too pleased to see [Applause] that almost every home game was an emotional one especially the last game that was played against the Mavericks with the fans Serena the team the fans did all they could do to keep basketball relevant in Seattle but unfortunately the team would have to go to Oklahoma in short the guy who run Starbucks sold the sonics to some guys who weren’t from here and when they didn’t get a new gym with restaurants and Wi-Fi and all that other fancy stuff new gyms come with they left it’s unfortunate but things had to be done and the Seattle superponics will obviously have a team at some point in the future but this story will now move away from Seattle and into another city and obviously the Super Sonic fans in Seattle are not too pleased about that but in the 2008 Lottery they get the fourth pick and they would do good with that pick he says if Russell Westbrook is not a natural point guard what are you going to do in certain situations with Kevin Durant Jay ballos had Westbrook at number 10 in this year’s Rock draft and it’s interesting him jumping up so high for OKC now with this late first round pick from 2008 that they got from Phoenix sergy baka be selected at number 24 yes Serge Ibaka keep that name in mind now Oklahoma their team gets introduced as the Oklahoma City funer they were a historically bad team to start off they lost 29 of their first 32 games out of the gate Another Bad season in 2009 another high lottery pick under just won the number three pick in the draft a couple minutes ago and this will be their first draft pick as the Oklahoma City funder now and they would select Arizona shooting guard James Harden and this would be an interesting pick at number three so now you have a trio of Kevin Durant Westbrook and Harden being assembled in less than 3 years Time by S pry and the rebuild was thus basically complete at this point nobody in the world thought the OKC Thunder would win 50 games so just to illustrate the progress the thunder made around this time Sam prey took over and they were losing obviously and when the rebuild kicked in to where they got KD look at how well they started doing after 2009 and 10 oh boy they have several players in fact 10 of them 24 or under kti’s 22 it boggles the brain Westbrook is 21 Harden 21 now def funer had to face some tough teams in the playoffs obviously being a good team in the regular season is one thing but being able to win in the playoffs is another and that’s where the funer would obviously meet their match in the the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010 Lakers back on T Harden with the free [Applause] Kaboom for the [Applause] tie having 50 wins in this competitive Western Conference would put you in the eighth seed and uh you would have to face the number one seed Lakers featuring Kobe Bryant Thunder by three their largest lead of the night this this is a dog fight not it’s going to be a long one yeah you’re not going to sit I’m not going to sit here and say you series is going to be over five or six or you know we got we got to fight man we got a serious fight on here Kobe Bryant puns it in what a tough shot from Kobe Bryant is just an opinion that you thought it would be a dog fight at the start or or the third quarter did it start right from the start we knew it was going to be tough me these kids ain’t rolling over they’re here to play and they’re here to win remaining won’t use it no fouls to give here you got to double him you cannot leave him oneon-one Brian for the lead misses cassol backs it in with 5 T of a second remaining the Lakers just had counters for everything to funer through at them KD had a good game but it didn’t matter Westbrook puts it up in the buzzer off the rim and the Lakers win in advance to the second round I think it’s clear the fun to have arrived but now they may have painted a Target on their back I think the biggest question for me now is can you handle everybody coming to look for you last year you caught Everybody by stor storm no one thought you’d win 50 games and you did now KD we you’re getting double team every possession can you handle that and can the guys around ukd step their games up because now they have to if you guys are wondering I was on a break so that’s why y’all didn’t see me upload much but I’m back and I hope you guys enjoy subscribe to the channel if you want to support and also I upload a second Channel too so you better subscribe there too okay back to the video now so Allan Iverson have to get used to that look we’re in the Piston Jersey the trade that may have ended the Pistons success in playoffs well Alan Iverson may have saved them money but they still got a lot of things to clean up here as Alan Iverson would miss his first straight game at this point Allen Iverson not playing for the third straight game because of a back issue looking ahead now Iverson when if he comes back he’s coming off the bench how well can he handle that role someone that’s been a starter for his whole career now being told to come off the bench because the impactors isn’t there with Alan Iverson this season first NBA come off the bench clearly he wasn’t thrilled with this and obviously the Pistons would not win too many games they would become the eighth seed and as I said previously get swept by the Cavs at 09 yeah this season was disaster Michael Curry is out as Pistons coach after the team finished under 500 and was eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs free agency comes around and the Pistons had to scramble to get players Ben Gordon from the Chicago Bulls and Charlie villan NOA from the Milwaukee Bucks both teammates at one point in college and the Alan Iverson experience is ending in Detroit as he would sign with the Grizzlies in free agency God chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career this may be the first time a player broke the news of a free agency signing on Twitter or as it’s called now X everything fell apart in Detroit when Iverson said look I rather retire than uh come off the bench well his career average has not lined up with his recent season outings and the Pistons would draft Greg Monroe one of their many misses the new Pistons coach doesn’t like Rip Hamilton the Pistons are now sold to a new ownership of billionaire Tom gors another Miss in the draft another Miss in the coaching and it would just keep going a Perpetual cycle of mediocrity would ensue in Pistons land this fan finds out taan Prince got traded before the game Joe D Mars what are you doing they Pistons have a new head coach Maurice Cheeks he’s a player the Pistons have targeted for years Josh Smith finally a piston we’re a playoff team can’t afford fth jump away short 4950 games into his first season and he’s gone oh boy Maurice jcks fired but they also trade Brandon Knight Chris Middleton for Brandon Jennings this was such a fleece the Bucks won the trade by mile Andre Drummond is now teamed up with Greg Monroe and Josh Smith all non-shooters but the the goal here was to obviously reinvigorate the Piston’s defensive identity and of course to fix that they also hired Stan Van Gundy as a full-time head coach but not just that folks and the president of basketball operations for the Pistons as well all right now shifting gears back to 2011 green traded to the Boston Celtics as the NBA tread deadline hit 2 p.m. it was clear after the Laker series that the funer needed Center depth and so s presty training Jeff Green back to the Celtics team that origin had his draft rights for 610 Center Kendrick Perkins and of course also trading ner Muhammad but that’s not important playoff time rolls around and the story of the NBA is this upstart Grizzlies team beating the Spurs the number one seed to make it to the second round for the first time the Grizzlies for the first time in franchise history are in the second round of the NBA Playoffs this was the fourth time in NBA history in a seed had beat the NBA since the 16 team playoff format had begun and now Z rph and The Grizzlies would face off against def Thunder going into a timeout now watch this little chippy Zack Randolph words for James Harden the perfect series for an enforcer type like Kendrick Perkins to really get off but also this was a team in Oklahoma that was trying to get further in the playoffs and this game would be interesting missing the layup was Mayo coming right back here’s Durant throws it away Conley Rand foul the game was tied in overtime after this goahead gravis Vasquez free pointer wow and Kevin Durant with a chance to win the game and he misses and they go to Zack Rand and KCK in by G huge possession for the Thunder here Westbrook comes through game is once again tied in The crucial seconds of double overtime OKC again with a chance to win it final seconds here’s Westbrook with the jumper short and we go to the third overtime the funer would finally regain their composure and take the commanding lead as you possibly can and Durant hitting the basket and that may be the dagger this series is now tied two a piece man this would be an intense one for both the Thunder and the Grizzlies you got to be locked in you know for this for this tough game six we know that’s going to be loud in there going to be tough and we a hostile environment we just got to going a and you know play our game game five was a blowout OKC routing them the Grizzlies come back in game six and win puts his head down D puts it in and the eight seated grizzli magical run will continue a series like this going to seven quite intense in Oklahoma City nonetheless Harden bang Kevin Durant and they come up big with the win against the Grizzlies to end the series in seven games first for the visitors this young team their oldest player in the starting lineup is 27 they have three starters under the age of 23 you compare that with the Dallas Mavericks their youngest player in the starting lineup is 28 and this Dallas Mavericks team coming off a sweep against the Lakers team that defeated the thunder in 6 in 2010 this series would be electric featuring one of the all-time greats Durk nitzki how well they move the ball it puts so much pressure on the defense when you have willing unselfish passes and the vast array of chop making in game one by Durk was just unbelievable left you speechless at some points in the game when he gets the ball I would come in double because you’ve got kids Stevenson and Maran and Haywood the funders struggled to guard this as they would keep fouling dirt where he would make history for most free throws made without a missing a single game puts it up puts it in 44 points fory this display of offensive Brilliance was too much for the Thunder who couldn’t manage to save off Dirk’s 48 points on the playoff record 24 free throws made without a Miss in the game the game two was a different story though OKC leading by as much as 10 points for the thunder tonight vitki right back with a three two misses right there litzky on the drive nice fake puts it up puts it in spinning on Collison turning falling away oh he puts it in shot fake the step through the one leg Fade Away durk’s fourth quarters would obviously be too much for the thuner and he would obviously be able to finish them off not just with the shooting but playmaking and now still with a chance to go up three to one nitzki on the drive Allison fou him litzky kicks it out in the corner kid fakes fires a three it’s good Jason kid the Thunder now down 3-1 Durk with his second game of over 40 points this this would be a tough one for the Thunder they met their match you are definitely the MVP of this playoff wow obviously Durk was playing at an MVP level an all-time great level but they were still down four in game five to the Thunder but the older more experienced team just have what it takes to win games rebound gets knocked down and they’ll reset nitzki again for the lead bang the Mavs just had their number and the series would end at five the drive I’m pull up shot Way Off the Mark Callis at another offensive rebound throws it up shot caught luning down Marion comes away with it Marion in for the dunk and he throws it down and a foul this would prove to be a massive learning experience for the Thunder facing off against one of the toughest shot makers of all time in Durk they just couldn’t contain him and that ultimately cost the series as the Mavs just had more counters in them and the Dallas Mavericks are going back to the NBA finals the Center de wasn’t enough the added playoff experience wasn’t enough for the funer to pull through and make it to the finals they would have to try yet again The Following season I do not think he’s a great fit for Oklahoma he’s not a one-on-one Defender and so what does that mean well they need a shot Blocker in Oklahoma because when they block shots and get out and run you can’t stop them so the funer had to regroup for The Following season and in 2012 they would have added reinforcements with Sergi Baka having a breakout year but the playoffs they would face the MS once again dur coming through the trash dishes to himaka two hand and a foul just recorded his first free blocks per game season but the Mavericks were their opponent once again KD had a game winner against them this season from the top against marot Durant P jumper up the Remy oh a game winner of Epic Proportions this playoffs would be exciting the Thunder looking to outblast the Mavs this time around and this first round Durant and he’s fouled def funder having played in clutch moments multiple times byak tough shot bounes out even though the funder got better in the Mavs regress both teams were throwing Haymakers close games after close games one team needed to break on to the seams and that’s what the funder just did and for Oklahoma City this is just another step in the process as Durant Nails another three and Harden who had just won six man of the year was special kick step jump shot pretty play by Harden the penetration and the give up inside he’s 25 Harden forcing the issue the flow next dead ball Harden swings it Durant he gets involved 85 Mavericks Westbrook on a kick out Harden finds the open man Durant he’s got is down to four Harden the curl to the rim oh up front chuw is down to four Harden the drive Hardon to the hop oh he’s got it James Harden is smoking hot in the opening round of the 2012 playoffs Dallas goes down now they have to face another team that they lost to previously they blew them out in game one but Kobe Bryant had some things to say in game two oh no scen by G pick and roll B SP trying to Perkin it was the Lakers game to win and the funder what have to be clutch here and they were clutch head of the Thunder here comes the move by Harden takes it it’s Kobe Bryant all in the steel picked off by Durant here’s Kobe against Harden shot clock at four that was the great defense by Harden who comes racing the other way into plake into the hole and a world piece Bryant sixs to shoot rebound chased and retrieved by West it’s Durant switch on defense for the lead have come back down seven less than two minutes to go it wasn’t over yet wa a three no recovered by Sha and now theunder take a commanding 20- lead in the series when it was looking like they were going to lose this game too Kobe Bryant now having to go back home and try to salvage this series and we got study how to play intensely by Boy count it and a foul Ryan and [Applause] fer tough shot Kobe Bryan’s tough shot making was really the impetus of this game free Kobe Bryant again Bryant the drive lays it up and backs it in and despite all this the Thunder was still would reach Kevin Durant to go for the tie fires a three in and out iaka puts him back up blocked by V and the Lakers win now the Lakers had momentum game four the Lakers having a sizable lead is watching KOB Durant’s got 15 Kobe is chiseling and working on the SE the Synergy was back the Mojo was back this Lakers team could not be stopped game for the Lakers KOB fighting through westbr get a hoop get it right to five Westbrook guarding Bryant good in this fourth quarter with the Lakers led by as much as 13 points the thuner would save off and make a huge comeback attempt Westbrook with the N1 oh what a shot it was a six-point game down to a four-point game Kevin Durant with the ball ties it up at 96 and now the Lakers had to respond Co misses tie game who’s going to win this one Russell westbr comes back uh-uh but Kendrick Perkins is there Kobe Bryant tied the game on a couple of free throws Russell Wester turns it over the Lakers with the ball but gasal turns it over Kevin Durant with the ball holds it off for the last shot this is for the lead Kevin Durant the NBA’s leading scorer as much as 1 points up against the Thunder the Lakers could not save off the comeback attemp by the Thunder and the Thunder now with a fre1 lead over the series stretches the last two minutes that’s when the Thunder has been at their best and now the Thunder can win the series at home Lakers are up by two 30 points for Kobe Bryant but you just knew Kobe had to leave it all out there for them to even have a chance however offensive rebounds in this game game for the Thunder Westbrook held by S put it down this play right here was the turning point of this game they were now rolling Westbrook again 42 points in 40 minutes 33 shots and now just like that the funder not only beat the Mavs that they lost to the previous year but the Lakers team that they lost to a year prior to that this was looking to be the funders year in the playoffs welcome to the Western Conference Finals a heavyweight matchup pairing up a couple of power pack big three but they would have to face off against the Spurs team that were proven Championship Contender and of course OKC had a tough one ahead of them and the sanio Spurs have taken game one this is a Clash of Titans both teams at the top of the Western Conference Harden was actually a pivotal factor in the series Harden four for five 10 points and that leads to a timeout he had some spurts in the series that really made you think he could establish himself hard with the runner BS it home by Ibaka Hardon on the drive my goodness count the foul three other attempts in which he threw fouls on so AR can’t CL the shot went to the step back now the runner but the Spurs unfortunately had the game unlock and it was a 20 deficit for the Thunder but the thunder came back at home and won game free commandingly and also came through in game four to tie the series last two games mean nothing we moved on from that two days ago our focus is winning game five Thunder had a lead but the Spurs closed the Gap shot clock to five hard for three yes clutch that’s all you could say about that shot James Harden with the konas to pull up for that dagger they’ll look back at that hardened three-point shot with the clock going down as just one of the greatest shots in the history of this organization and at this point the Thunder having one game five would go home and win in six games the series and they would be the Western Champions now in the finals for the first time in Thunder history they would face off against the Miami Heat featuring the big free with LeBron James capturing it they would win game one but that’s as far as they went the Thunder losing the next three games in the series being down 31 to the Miami Heat it didn’t look good for the Thunder keep fighting we cut it down we cut it down again cut it down again keep fighting so we give you an update LeBron with 15 Wade with nine Chris Bosch with 10 and the lead is 10 and the Miami Heat just a better team blowing out this funer during the game five to win the NBA championship Kevin Durant with a valiant effort and Harden basically non-existent in the series he was traded to the rockets that same off season we were very transparent with James that uh if this was not acceptable then we were going to have to move uh towards making the best decision for the franchise Harden was traded not because of the poor play in the finals but because the funer couldn’t afford to pay the repeater tax that would be enforced if they were to give Harden the contract that he demanded and so he was a rocket assist will hang on to it puts it down drives it Scoops it scores it Harden who was having a fantastic debut for the Rockets The Following Season made people think the Thunder may have made a mistake will the thunder regret this train he backed it up and made a resounding statement that echoed all the way back to my hometown of Oklahoma City you blew it thunder the Thunder had only so much money to give and Ibaka was the bigger priority over Harden and the rockets now would meet with the thunder in the playoffs in 2014 and this would be an interesting series as Harden would now play against his former team Baka go to block the shot he’s to go to the front of the rim pick up that garbage 4241 and Westbrook hobbling away Beverly went for the steal just as the timeout was called and he actually got part of the knee of Russell Westbrook he is really upset Westbrook had never missed a game up to this point and for the first time in his career would have to miss the remaining of the playoffs now the Thunder beating the Houston Rockets in series have to face the Grizzlies team that they beat in 2011 but sadly the Grizzlies had their number this time round their starting lineups Reggie Jackson starting at the point Russell Westbrook out till after the allstar break Jackson has does a nice job as he continues to get better Reggie Jackson a point guard that they picked three years prior now giving the opportunity to play pivotal minutes for the Thunder Jackson dribble hands to Durant clock at 10 Nice bounce inside it would have been nice not to get it in his hand Durant turns inside and clck up that’s how he’s Hur him all and Kevin Durant capped off this season with an MVP award that was special and of course the playoffs now rolling the Grizzlies once again being their opponents in the first round trting launches a long three yes out could have gotten an easy one Jackson with the floater play off career high for Reggie Jackson who has been a problem all night long for the Memphis GES in the game where the team couldn’t buy a bucket Reggie Jackson was the pivotal factor and it’s over the series is tied at two a piece going back to Oklahoma City Reggie Jackson coming up big finally getting some playoff shine but it was not at the podium it was KD and Westbrook at the podium as it was still KD and Westbrook’s team Westbrook on a step back played by GRE in another West finals rematch the Spurs seem to have the fund’s number Duncan working hard to get inside a beautiful move by mind you this was the 2014 Spurs and the Thunder was just slightly outmatched by them for seven there is Duncan trying to go Glass rebounded by but a foul ber the clutch shot making the funer were known for just didn’t come I’m up in this series fires one and that’ll do it the Spurs are headed to the NBA finals but now what about Reggie Jackson’s role on the team remember in Denver earlier this season you said starting something you know you want to do you’ve been dreaming of since you were younger I mean how important is being a starter in the NBA team like to be a starter I’m not going to lie what did the coach have to say about this does he also agree finish the season with Reggie as you’re starting two guard he’s obviously more of a natural point I mean but could you Invision your going into next season with the Westbrook Jackson back court starting I know with Reggie he’s a very good player he has the ability to play both positions just like Russell does so they can play together that’s you know that’s been proven in during this series we won the two home games lost one obviously an overtime loss last night we have a lot of basketball to be talked about a lot of things that needs to be worked on and then we have a whole month of training camp the who will fight for those positions there’s obviously some positions are available very interesting non-answer but the funer would have a complicated season as KD fractured his foot and would need surgery likely out for weeks until now he has been an Iron Man missing just six in the last five seasons over that time Kevin Aran has played more games played more minutes and scored more points than anybody in the NBA and now the funder would have to start their season without their MVP it was uh unexpected but um you know but being going through so much in my life it was just another bump in the road I knew I had to get past and now Westbrook would have surgery on his face for fracture that would leave a dent on the right side of his face interestingly enough the funer made some trades at this point Deion Raiders not part of this team just under 50% for the Thunder to make the postseason in a loaded Western Conference so here’s the paycheck question for you do the thunder make the postseason in the season that was already being wasted by the funer Reggie Jackson’s role on this team would be murky with Dion waiters being on the team now Scott Brooks hasn’t shown me that he knows how to use all those Smalls Reggie Jackson now Dion Waiters you got you got Westbrook it’s a lot of firing power but is it enough defense night in and night out as we can see against teams like Houston it’s not going to work James Harden went through all their smokes the funer were in the race with the Pelicans and the Suns for that ath seed to face against the the redot Warriors and Dion Waiters was becoming more and more of a fixture on this team team leaving doubt that Reggie Jackson would ever be a starter on this team made two separate trades Thursday that gives them four players Jazz Center inis caner and pistons guard DJ Augustine in return the team traded Reggie Jackson to the Pistons Kendrick Perkins to the Jazz Jackson wanted to be traded and made it clear apparently Jackson’s desire to start for the team created tension to the point where Jackson even turned down a giant 4year $48 million offer that wants to be here is here we’re excited about our new guys it hurts to see uh perk leave but you know you know we we still going to remain Brothers Brothers until uh until we’re both gone so you know it was uh definitely a tough day but it was it was a good day as well Reggie seemed happy about the trade based on his tweets and Westbrook though he was not very happy about this Reggie Jackson tweeting crying tears of joy right now that he’s going to Detroit I mean that’s just what he wanted like I said this morning man uh you can’t force anybody to be here if they don’t want to be here um Reggie did a great job first while he was here and um you know he made the best decision for him and with that rough transition out of the way Reggie Jackson was now a starting point guard for a team that desperately needed one and oh yes plenty of O from that man Reggie Jackson now Reggie gets to be the starting point guard with a team with Andre Drummond a team whose defense has looked pretty good to start the season many have fought about the next meeting Reggie Jackson would have against his former team and Westbrook didn’t think much of it anticipation about Reggie’s return to okca how do you think I’ll handle him tonight who Reggie Jackson oh what happened there was a lot of anticipation about his return to Oklahoma City how do you think yall handle from media various people nobody in this locker room we wasn’t worried we just came out and competed maybe from y’all but just another player another team in Jackson’s first return to OKC Westbrook was nowhere to be seen it was KD leading the way to a convincing win against the Pistons but the other side the Pistons were trying to make the playoffs in this 2016 season and with Reggie Jackson they were looking pretty good Reggie Jackson in one game having 30 plus points and 15 plus assists against the Suns first piston with 30 plus points and 15 plus assists since January of 88 the greatest piston Isa Thomas did it the Pistons under Sten Gundy would have to make moves to get better around the margins Bren Jennings and eara SOA got traded for Tobias Harris’s big contract and now the Morris twins also playing against each other in this matchup with SBI Harris making his debut against the Wizards team wow Reggie Jackson got crossed up there but the Wizards would win against the Piston team that was set the face off against Westbrook this time in OKC drives right through the def defense the two-handed slam Reggie getting the better of Westbrook celebrating at home Westbrook being visibly frustrated after the game didn’t make much of it but you could clearly see on the court that Westbrook was visibly mad and obviously Reggie Jackson’s Pistons the eighth seed in the East they were on track to make the playoffs and and play against to LeBron James Le cab out a stretch it was all Cleveland and the Cavaliers take game one this was the Piston’s first playoff appearance under St Van Gundy and in this 2016 first round series they were the eigh seed so you didn’t really expect much here and the Cavs definitely had their way against the spons team welcome back to game three from the Palace of alurn Hills a capacity crowd the first game at home in the playoffs since 2009 the Pistons all there already and you can tell pregame situation the The Crow they have been oh smoke still in the building Irving to James out to Smith takes the three one dribble puts it in delova finds Irving betray oh he puts it in as if things can get worse for the Pistons they’re now down 0 three in the series against the Cavs team that was hungry to get back to the finals Jackson on him almost lost it little fade away from three no not there balls on the L daily Johnson’s got it pivotal moments here Reggie Jackson with the ball and there’s a couple seconds left in the game to tie it up let’s see 2 one Jackson the three and there goes the Pistons hopes to win a series in the playoffs trying to conquer this little stage I’m in right now which is you know get this thing right work as hard as I can in the court so yeah you know it’s it’s tough but you know I just got to be ready to uh ready to go now back in 2015 in OKC yeah they missed the playoffs this season and Westbrook was not happy about it Russell Westbrook had 37 points in the Thunder 138 113 win over the timber wolves but it wasn’t enough to push the Thunder into the postseason mean to you doesn’t mean nothing good job hoay I’m at home watching other teams play doesn’t mean and this Thunder team they were pretty bad the last six games and uh it cost SC Brooks his job actually he got fired as the head coach should he have been fired Billy Donovan will be the new head coach of the thund I mean was it his fault that this team just couldn’t make the playoffs without Kevin Durant being healthy and obviously Westbrook going through his ailments as well you know it’s unfair that he got fired they just screwed him plain and simple they got made it to the finals been in the Conference Finals three other times well now it’s Billy Donan turned to be the head coach and they would face off against the Mavs yet again in the playoffs in 2016 for the fifth time in the last six years they take out the Mavericks 118 to 104 and win the series with both Kevin Durant and Westbrook healie this would be the year right I mean this should be the year for them to win it as the Spurs take a 2-1 lead in this best of seven series that little scare here from the Spurs didn’t matter the thuner would win this series in six games and it was time to face the Warriors putting a move on Adams and he is fouled and down goes Adams once again and the funder they just had their way here straight down the lane he has been unable the Thunder tying the most points in the game in the playoffs and it seemed like they got the better of the reigning Champion Warriors Draymond Green is in the house The Nutcracker is back Westbrook for three and now the Thunder up free one against this team and they would have to responda from Thompson yes here’s Curry yes that will do it the Ser livs off play Thompson’s game that was he was just cashing out everything just could have missed just amazing an NBA record his T three-pointer don’t let the pretty shot fool you that’s hard Curry from Deep yes a three for Steph Curry brings to the front Court here’s Curry for three yes again in his sadala Thompson Fires for three yes Golden State by three Curry works it down five of the 24 makes a move on ianka baks it home in one of the Shockers in terms of a come from behind effort wow to tie the series free a piece Klay Thompson set the playoff record for most three-pointers in the game and not just that it’s a game seven against the Warriors Curry over the red yes front curry with a short C yes the winner of pces the NBA Finals Thompson for three nice SC by Curry to the ri they almost had it the funer almost had it but the Warriors are now going back to the finals yet again and he fires yes 26.8 from 0 a 10-point golden state lead the Warriors Ste it by becoming only the 10th team out of 243 to win a best of seven series while trailing three games to one Reggie Jackson he was smirking on Twitter funny guy but Kevin Durant he’s a free agent now is he going to leave OKC does not want to be Patrick Ying he doesn’t want to be one of the greats of his era who only plays in one finals and never wins a ring here are the odds for the six teams with the best shot of getting Kevin Durant interesting OKC with the highest odds here the draft will come up and San prey would be making moves yet again you’ve got damat sabonis the 11th pick along with Victor Oladipo going to Oklahoma City and how about Sam presty trading serg Baka to Orlando and now Sergi Baka getting traded wow this is a shocker for sabonis the recent draft pick and Victor Oladipo interesting stuff here now Kevin Durant he made his decision breaking news happened it’s here and it’s golden state for Kevin Durant some would say the weakest move a superstar has ever made Kevin Durant now joining forces with a team that beat him in the playoffs wow this is a shocker here Kevin Durant now a warrior it’s all kind of part of the business as we know as Kevin dur makes himself at home in Golden State p have to make moves taan Prince about to retire and they had a bad draft their selection with the 18th overall pick for Stan Van Gundy who’s not only the head coach but Henry ellenson is their pick and this is quite an interesting one the Pistons now uh wow this is bad this is really bad the Pistons not even making the playoffs in 2017 and now playing their last home game in the piles their new Arena already built you mentioned CW Pope the Pistons essentially withdrawing their qualifying off for making him an unrestricted free agent they let calwell poop walk and signed Avery Bradley off a free agency quite interesting stuff here from the Pistons front office now Avery Bradley he would prove himself to be good for the Pistons in the beginning of the Season look at this wow he locked down Carrie Irving we welcoming Adrian wowski who broke the story today the the traditional W bomb it was a big one but that didn’t matter he would be a key trade piece alongside Tobias Harrison ban marianovich for Blake Griffin wow with Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin they now have an estimated about $300 million invested into these two players Griffin Drummond together can it work I guess the Pistons are trying to mimic the Lob City Clippers of old with Reggie Jackson that point obviously this would this might work I don’t know is this the way you build a basketball team to win in this era right now the Pistons strategy here is obviously to fortify the front court so that they can match up against any other front Court in the Eastern Conference but well that matter when your draft picks are just not good enough to pair up with these two I mean what the hell are these picks because of the job that we the Pistons have done in the draft by by passing on Booker and passing on Mitchell obviously with Blake Griffin the Clippers it was a nasty divorce uh Blake Griffin clearly uh not in good terms with the Clippers he had some good things to say about this Pistons franchise it’s a it’s a you know first class organization they they uh they run very very well um they take care of their players they do like the little things they go the extra mile this was shaping up to be another Lost season for the Pistons uh mediocre at its finest losing big to the Cavaliers and being ninth in the EAS about Blake Griffin what’s about Stan Van Gundy something is not right with this picture I expected more from the Detroit Pistons well another Lost season St gy got the hook and it’s Dwayne Casey time he would be the head coach of this team and they would actually make the playoffs but Blake Griffin would be Sidelines the Blake Griffin situation is concerned Rod beard tweeting out um this quote from Griffin yet again the a seed this time facing off against the number one seed bucks here’s put it down to do defensively that’s allowed them to kind of blow this thing open here early on he is going to be so vital to their success because of that ability right there and obviously without Blake Griffin there they have no chance right Andre Drummond even got ejected in the third quarter this was a frustrating loss wow with me uh says the frustration levels a 10 and if it was just my decision I would have played I mean this series was basically lost with Blake Griffin hurt and the Pistons just did everything they could but the Bucks were way better side it was behind him Yannis down the lane scoop scor ball game 20 to 99 positive news out of Detroit Blake Griffin would actually play in game three they just they’re playing against a better team right I mean they really are they’re just this team swept them none of that mattered though the bucks now leading 3 0 in the series it was a blowout after blowout uh the Pistons players just couldn’t get it done and Giannis even had a bad game and they still won yeah had no chance in this game four here it was basically Blake Griffin with a spectacular finish here and dunk look at this on one leg he’s got a flat tire and he is he is appreciated by what he has done you could tell he was playing for that injury and it was it was hard for him and unfortunately it was over he has that type of mentality plays hurt does all the little plays and I’m sure Ben can appreciate what he has seen in Blake these last two B yet another playoff series with the Pistons haven’t won a single game oh no although um you know the organization um will be different without Kevin um the principles the values uh the things that he helped establish as one of the founding fathers of the organization remain intact oh yeah we’re back in 2016 now Westbrook getting given a big contract extension did the fact that not only Kevin left but it was to Golden State did that make it sting even more sting for who you the funer now without Kevin Durant having to play the season out and Westbrook all heroic had a historic season that’s one of those records that will never be touched what Oscar did with the triple double and that would never happen ever again a 30o triple double Westbrook had a an MVP season that was unlike many others should really be proud of him for the his accomplishments led the funder to a six seed playoff birth of course it was one of those MVPs that was controversial but Westbrook he did a lot for that team and obviously deserved that award but it was playoff time again everybody and welcome inside a boisterous a very loud Toyota Center as James averaged 20 A2 7 of Steel Patrick Beverly facing off Patrick Beverly oh boy this is going to be nasty see Pat floats it up and ends Westbrook sails inside an offensive foul this game one was a bit chippy and Patrick Beverly and the rockets actually getting the better of Westbrook this time around passes off to Pat Pat puts it up in air Pat Beverly is on fire shots here in the third quarter he also leads the rockets in rebounding with eight rebounds he’s got two steals obviously Harden was the best player on the court but Beverly actually outplayed Westbrook in this game one oh no with 37 from Harden yeah this funer team just wasn’t good enough to win the series got it what a shot of brus they’re going to obviously this was a frustrating loss and Westbrook Beverly getting chippy post game and Patrick Beverly can you talk about you know kind of what happened there oh yeah he was talking about he was first team all defense but I I I didn’t know what the he was talking about cuz I had 42 at the time um the series you know I don’t know what he talking about maybe he was dreaming of some I don’t know interestingly enough Beverly’s response was just as nasty Pat congrats on the win uh can you talk walk us through a little bit about um kind of what did wussell Westbrook say to you during that exchange that got you so you know upset no no uh that’s actually the first time we uh we’ve exchanged words this uh you know this postseason but uh he’s uh he’s a really good player he uh applies a lot of pressure just due to his athleticism and his his creating ability but now it shocked me because he said he looked up and said no what can garbage you I got 40 points I’m like that’s nice took 34 shots to get it I mean no I’m not trying to I’m not up trying to bash anybody but I mean you know man lie women lie but the numbers don’t collectively as a unit we’ve done a great job on them uh we try to make them um shoot a lot of tough shots and uh the number show and the OKC funer needed reinforcements and they got it in Paul George from the Indiana Pacers reportedly the Thunder is going to send Victor adipo and domas sabonis to Indiana that’s a steal meanwhile if you go to New York there’s a disgruntled star in CA anony that was about to get traded not just that but they’re saying that OKC and Carmelo are circling each other for the second time in his illustrious career Carmelo Anthony is on the move and now Russell Westbrook with his new deal there’s a big free in OKC Paul George even said the trade to the funer was a kick in the behind and Carmelo wasn’t happy about this question coming off the bench and the second question is who me I guess that answers that point I I mean I don’t know where that started where that came from this would be a lineup that could cause some problems in the Western Conference can this funder team go all the way and make a playoff push to the finals let’s see the way they look right now it’s bad for three and A2 quarters they’re fitting together just well but when the clutch time comes that’s when the issues kick in this funer team not exactly built for the clutch moments 5 and 10 in clutch time they’re 22nd in offense and not just that 23d in defense the big freak can’t shoot a lick in the clutch any other team in the NBA we’re seeing too much herob board you’re not going to win basketball games that way and they brought back the same old question did the thunder make a mistake right now their teams are going in opposite directions the Thunder have won five in a row and the rockets have lost three in a row will did the thunder make a mistake trading Harden and keeping Westbrook I think if the Thunder were granted a doover if Sam presty was granted a doover and in that time frame where he decided I can’t keep all three of these guys Durant Westbrook and Harden and he chose to send Harden to Houston if he could have a doover he would keep Harden and send Westbrook to Houston in 2018 they played the Jazz in the first round and it was a bit chippy actually not a bit chippy it was pretty chippy and Utah they were looking good we’ve got technical fouls everywhere and they’re being led on offense by a rookie that was up for rookie the year and Don Mitchell and they were actually beating the Thunder at their own game in the playoffs this was looking like a done deal at this point Westbrook drives miss the layup George for the [Applause] tie Westbrook like go strong don’t you have to go side Adams got it back he got it back for the tie Westbrook got go up in the air didn’t get the foul call yes a clear foul on gobert that wasn’t called but the thuner were just not good enough to beat this Jazz team in the series it wasn’t meant to be for Russell Westbrook I don’t confront fans fans confront me um here in Utah man a lot of uh disrespectful uh vulgar things are said to the players here just a frustrating series as the whole and where’s Paul though y didn’t quite get it let me say it again I’m here to stay Paul George has committed to the Thunder uh he will be back next year Paul George has agreed to a 4-year $137 million Max contract but sadly they couldn’t keep mellow as if they did they would have to pay an excess of $100 million of tax money and of course that means that he gets traded the Thunder actively looking for trade partners for Carmelo Anthony not to mention the fact that his game is regressing as a whole and he’s aging becoming more reliability and they needed more at the bench position so they traded Carmelo in the first round pick for Dennis shuder and this will be an interesting move for the funer where is he on your MVP ladder Tracy does he move up two he’s up up to two he’s number two Paul George was having the best year of his career putting up numbers on both hands that were quite Stellar but Paul George is my MVP thus far the odds makers had him both top free in MVP and dpoy that’s incredible George is averaging almost exactly the same points rebounds and assists as Durant did in OKC during the 20156 season doing this at a similar efficiency than Kevin Durant as well is actually quite Stell Steals deflections and loose ball recoveries despite having to trade Melo it seems like this was for the better as Paul George elevating his game being the best player on the court now for the thuner what does this mean for them in the playoffs we know he committed to the team and now they check out in the first round again Lillard long range three and it’s good at the B the third straight first round exit since KD left and it’s not looking what you do because you’re looking at the contract to answer your question I think only John Walls is worse 38 next year 41 44 47 and now there is more and more doubts as to whether Westbrook can lead you to a championship as a onea the worst statistically 104 guys took at least three pull-ups a game he was number 104 and of course Kevin Durant he’s won two championship since OKC still doesn’t like him Harden he’s in Houston and they’re still a good team but what will happen to OKC and their future as a whole I know that he had he he had used the term Mutual um I I you know I don’t I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that cuz that would infer that we we were wanting to to trade Paul George which I think most people would agree that that probably wasn’t on the top of our offseason priority list well Sam prey didn’t want to do it but he had to pull the trigger anyway so what did the Clippers do so right that convinced kawhai Leonard to sign with them they traded for Paul George tonight and they are sending to Oklahoma City uh essentially a record collection of draft picks four first round picks four unprotected future first round picks a protected future first round pick two pick swaps and alongside this trade they also got rookie SE Giles Alexander and denil galari and outstanding rookie point guard Shay gilis Alexander Danilo galinari for Paul George and that was essentially the first Domino to fall in the OKC’s path to a New Direction Sam prey making another move now Oklahoma City came to terms on an agreement and this was done almost as soon as this auction started what’s going to be a rebuilding project because they have all these number one picks now and now with both trades done in the off season the OKC funer own over eight first round picks over the next six years this would be interesting drafted Kevin Durant traded raay the Celtics traded rard Lewis to the magic and that that pick ended up becoming Serge Ibaka he’s been here before this in a lot of ways is maybe where he’s most comfortable and how many titles did they end up with that’s the problem you talk about Sam prey and he’s made a hell of a lot of good basketball Deals they finish with no titles and even more Nick Ferell here’s a Critic of what the funer are doing at the moment okay you got a lot of picks great what happens next the only way I think all of those picks turn into into a success is if Sam presy can do what he has done before in taking all these assets and finding a star or finding a couple Stars down the line but when I look at those draft picks I go H okay nobody knows what happens with the draft anymore and throughout the league you’re never sure what’s going to go on even when you have a boatload of picks both sides I get it it makes sense to think that s prey could pull off this rebuild knowing that he drafted this many good players in succession right over the years and you would think oh s prey he’s going to get at least one gem here and even if you do everything right if he catches lightning in a bottle once again and draft future MVPs why are they going to stay in Oklahoma City you have an owner who doesn’t want to go into the luxury tax you have a small Market where you know clearly doesn’t have the Creature Comforts that some other places do in this league and if you’re Sam presty you’re have a tough time getting free agents to come there too Von Sam like I understand he’s done a great job and He commands the salary have great negotiator you try to get to a city where you don’t have those hurdles to deal with I’d be call well hopefully watching Wizards you watching this call up Sam prey so even Dave MCM thinks prey should not be in OKC right now term who is going to choose Oklahoma City and potentially that culture over playing in LA or New York or another big Market that would be my issue now for the Thunder but hey they got the pics they got some stuff in return for those trades they gave up two picks and two swaps that’s crazy that is a crazy price for something that I’m going to say on national TV it ain’t going to work Chris Paul now is a funer okay and Westbrook is a rocket it’s going to be interesting but let’s shift to gears back to Detroit now I love being here I would love to play the rest of my career just staying the course unfortunately for Andre Drummond he would get shipped out of Detroit if there’s one thing I learned about the NBA there’s no friends or loyalty I have given my heart and soul to the Pistons and to be having this happen with no heads up makes me realize even more this is just a business I love you Detroit and over in Detroit they got a new GM here Troy Weaver who actually came from the Oklahoma City funer that we’ve extensively covered here hired by prent 2008 he’s widely credited for picking Westbrook in the draft his philosophy he says is we don’t draft players we draft people he’s also widely credited for recruiting Carmelo to Syracuse one of his best qualities s press he says is that he’s very convicted interesting with the Drummond move and this higher they’re clearly rebuilding lead back noder we’re tied up again led by Chris Paul this funer team actually managed to make it to the bubble in the playoffs and competing in the close series against the rockets for Chris Paul a 15.4 quarter in this one and OKC’s history in game sevens that’s not bad six and four all time Chris Paul being the oldest player now in the game seven to get a triple double Chris Paul Harden Falls body’s all over Paul left it short and Covington clears Dort for three blocked by Harden Dort got it back tried to throw it off Harden and missed him rocket wall tough scenes here as the OKC Thunder in the nailbiter lose to the rockets in the bubble thenis shuder would get traded in the off season for Danny Green and the rights to a 28 overall pick who else will be next Chris Paul is headed to the Phoenix Suns uh he’ll go in a multi-player deal from Oklahoma City Sam prey with another huge hul for a player in Chris Paul aging getting a bunch of players and picks now he owns way too many first round picks for me to count Chris Paul’s leadership was key in mentoring guys like Shay and lud Dort Now new head coach comes in billy dolin gets fired mark dagnal from the OKC G League team Getti now am Hoops also made a video about what the Pistons should do rebuilding back in 20120 and his strategy is quite interesting I’ll just say that much with all this cap space they should not go out and sign like a Brandon Ingram or a mantes Herold they don’t want win now players instead they should get bad contracts which I know sounds ridiculous why would you want that this might be the right strategy for the Pistons and here’s why okay there they’re not a free agency destination for teams so they’re going to have to trade their players and try to rebuild that way Bruce Brown getting traded to the Brooklyn Nets the Detroit Pistons select Killian Hayes from Lakeland Florida and with the seventh pick Pistons select killing Hayes and Weaver he traded for a bad contract in arza to get up in the draft in the 16 pick bro what the heck is going on Detroit what what are you doing Detroit okay okay okay okay okay okay hey they’re following the strategy and with that pick to get Weaver goes big Washington Center Isaiah Stewart he’s a fairly traditional big man again the Pistons they’re trying to get young again they’re trying to rebuild and Weaver is accelerating that by trading their players to get key [Music] picks you were the chosen one Clippers traded Landry Shaman to get 19 pick in the p trading blue carard to get that pick as well now tyres H was in the draft but the Pistons didn’t care that much they picked their players and that’s about it what else would the Pistons do my last trade is Al Horford and three first round picks for Tony Snell Darren M wants to get rid of Al Horford because of his bad contract and Detroit have a bunch of players that Darren M might want are the Pistons Prime to do this a clean tear of uh his right Achilles and Sam prey seeing a prime opportunity after Klay Thompson’s now offer the season goes and offers up Kelly UB that Kelly UB deal is going to get done they’re finalizing it he’s coming from Oklahoma City U coming from that Chris Paul Suns trade that prey did a few days ago actually quite interesting Daryl Mor’s wasted no time putting his fingerprints on the Sixers roster the New Philly GM traded Al Horford and his big contract along with a 2025 first round pick and a second round pick 34th overall to the Thunder for Danny Green and Harris Ferguson wait a minute so the funer did what the Pistons should have done and this time using Danny Green from the shudder trade to get more picks from the Sixers and Al Horford’s back contract to boot oh interesting San prey got some plans here Dan galinari they let him walk and at this point Ricky Rubio is going to get traded back to Minnesota what is prey cooking here the Thunder gave the draft rights of Jayden mcdel and Ricky Rubio to the Timberwolves as well as giving the draft RS quickly to the Knicks to get James Johnson the draft R to PO kevi and they traded Stephen Adams to get more picks and they also sent James Johnson who they got from Minnesota to Dallas where they got Trevor arza from Detroit and even more picks oh my God three-year deal for 60 bill for Jeremy Grant so Weaver is now signing a free agent in Jeremy Grant and Spen press season one getting bad contracts and dealing them to get more first round picks almost like the Pistons should have done that but the Pistons still have a bad contract in Blake Griffin to trade away let’s see what they can get Blake Griffin uh their GM Troy Weaver told me today uh is uh not going to be in the lineup here moving forward they’re going to look for a trade and certainly buy out discussions Now Blake Griffin is one one of the worst if not the worst contract in the league at this point his career averages have been plummeting and Blake Griffin is just not the same player he used to be he’s getting older and more entry prone Griffin and the Pistons have agreed to a contract buyou and that’s the official concession from the Pistons they couldn’t find a trading partner because of how bad Blake Griffin was falling off and the Pistons now in the lottery fortunately for them get lucky the number one pick in the 2021 NBA draft goes to the Detroit Pistons it was a forone conclusion who they were going to pick at number one it was only one player a Cunningham with the first overall pick in the NBA draft now Weaver only had one first round pick in this draft being the number one pick but they had players in the second round like Isaiah livers Luca Garza and more and this Pistons team now getting younger and getting more Talent more young Talent OKC also doing the same with drafting Josh GID at number six but you know pressy he had more first round Oklahoma City Thunder select alaran shenen and this funder rebuild he they just got another Young Piece in ALR shenon and it’s quite interesting seeing where he’s going to end up wait he’s going to get traded they will be send sending this pick to the Rockets and the rockets are sending two future first round picks to Oklahoma City golly man prey loves his picks man he was willing to trade a pick currently for more picks in the future and he still had four picks this draft the MVP over there is Sam Preston he the MVP I mean Josh giddy is great Sam Preston I don’t understand this guy’s eye for talent he drafted KD Russ Jeff Green sergy B Reggie Jackson Giddy and the list goes on and on and on this guy’s pretty damn good and I’m not going to lie to you manad this Pistons rebuild is also going smoothly K Cunningham the number one pick that’s the big winner right there the big winner and his rookie season he had a pretty good season albeit he did get hurt and the Pistons obviously losing less than 25 wins yet again they have the most cap space in the league the Thunder 14th fin the West with 24 wins the p since 14th in the East with 23 wins the Oklahoma City Thunder Oklahoma City receives this pick from the LA Clippers because of the Paul George trade here we go the lottery and OKC already has the lottery pick the fifth pick will be made by the Detroit Pistons tough luuck for the Pistons they couldn’t get a top four pick but OKC could even though they have a 12th pick in the same Lottery what is happening here apparently the Thunder are now getting the second pick of the draft so now they have two lottery picks and that gives way for Chad homeg to be picked by the OKC Thunder wow the 11 pick is headed to Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Thunder select Jaylen Williams from Santa Clara University and the Pistons biting the bullet trading Jeremy Grant for a 2025 first- round pick and more assets to boost 2022 they have three first round picks in this draft through 2027 they have 18 first round picks that’s the most in the NBA the funer already had two lottery picks traded up to get a third lottery pick not just that they also had a second round pick to boot quite an interesting draft they’re just two years uh into this rebuild and you look now at the talent they gathered Josh giddy their first round pick last year who had an outstanding rookie season and then getting ched home grin at number two uh in this draft in addition to his Usman Deng and Jaylen Williams of Santa Clara now the Pistons also made some moves drafted Jaden ivy with their fifth pick but also trade it up to get another lottery pick here Jaden Ivy from Purdue University let’s go oh on you know what I’m saying Jaylen durren from the University of Memphis the pick got tra to the Knicks then rerouted to the Pistons he’s headed to the Pistons so that’s just in uh he will be headed to the Pistons according to our Adrien W narowski Rose the Detroit Pistons won the draft the Detroit Pistons won the draft not only did Jaden Ivy fall to five something no one expected but then jayen Duren a jayen in Detroit unfortunately for the Thunder though J hram would get hurt in this little matchup that he played with LeBron playing demard de Rosen whatnot and he would end up missing the whole season with a foot injury being the latest top five pick to miss a whole season in his first year surgical repair is what will happen and then it’s a lengthy recovery you know it can be four to 6 months to get all the way back from it and the Pistons on their end they’re getting buan banovich in the trade for Kelly UB and look at their lineup let’s go Jaylen playing team playoff team what are we looking at playoffs playoff talking playoffs playoffs despite losing home though the Thunder team had some wins during the season that were quite impressive which raised the profile of this team as a whole they became just the third team in the last 25 Seasons with five 20 point scorers on their way to scoring 150 points so Shay gilas Alexander had his first All-Star season putting up numbers that were quite impressive uh he put up 30 points shooting 50% from the field and 90% from the line hadn’t been seen since curry in 2016 and MVP season Shay also being awarded all NBA first team and making it to the plane as the 10th seed appointed that will do it this overing Thunder team this is one of the most entertaining teams in the NBA because of how well coached they are the young Talent the word that comes to mind though to answer your question is Poise they just never look flustered they’re a relaxed group and they know that they’ve got the best offensive player on the floor pretty much every night they take the court Shay gilis alexand has the ability to be the best player on the floor with the massive leap he took this season he also became a finalist for most impr improved the longside Jaylen Williams who became a finalist for rookie of the year I was happy for Shay cuz he I I I was worried that you know we don’t show Oklahoma City uh at all number one however in their next playing game against the Timberwolves to make the playoffs they lost a big loss the playoff rocket is now complete t-s a nugget Sunday with the way in case he stepping down Monty Williams became the highest pay coach in the NBA now the funer team got better but the Pistons team didn’t tro Reaver even writing a letter to say that he’s going to fix this the Pistons with a worst record in the league and the thuner with a playing record now the Pistons also got the fifth pick in the draft yet again and picked assar Thompson who’s good in his own right but w b is right there man it’s tough Dallas is picking for Oklahoma City here at number 10 the Mavericks are sending out Daves Bon’s contract and the number 10 pick for Oklahoma City’s pick at 12 $22 million left Sam prey clearly wanted to go after K Wallis and didn’t want to risk losing him out in the draft my pick is really one year and one player away this is premature this team cannot contend for a title this season with a trade but just keep your eye on the Oklahoma City Thunder they have a ton of young t they getting back as presumably their starting center and their front line is now Kevin Porter Jr will get traded to the Thunder s pry only doing this to get two future second round picks because of course he is and I’m just not going to say a word about this guy oh and to see play watch him the little drop coverage stays with the ball the funer would actually make quite a statement to begin the season uh getting to the second seed early in the season wow the Pistons losing streak has now reached 15 that is a franchise single season record anytime we run up against some adversity to start the game you can just see the cence the spirit of the team start to diminish we got to fight we got to hang in there and uh we got to get that that feeling we had the first week of the Season we got to get that back cuz that’s the standard 16th consecutive loss for Detroit Nix have beat them 13 straight the frustrating streak continues for the Pistons and it looked like the Pistons were going to snap this losing streak but it lives on 18 in a row and that will do it on the other side the funer looked legit they’re legit title contenders Oklahoma City is the best story in the NBA right now and what they have done to develop this young group uh they went into a rebuild and got out of it pretty fast Chad holgren is the Rookie of the Year I mean when you look at their numbers it’s relatively comparable you know what’s not comparable how many wins Oklahoma City has compared to San anonio oh yeah the Rookie of the Year discussions were heating up and CH ham was leading the pack for Rookie of the Year and Shay was playing even better 2 seconds left to make it 131 to 123 that’s 21 consecutive defeat a point opponent opponent man maybe it is time to call it a night P him off and this one is official what proved to be a bit of a silver lining for the the 117 they given up is a is a better 9.7 left oh boy here we go sell the team they’re saying the unknown comic no yeah remember him and again the fun somehow got even better these brothers can ball these brothers can ball y’all he is doing such an excellent job I want to look on national television and apologize to that man for any questions I’ve had about how exceptional he is as an executive I’m dead serious I don’t apologize often yeah I but Sam pry on National Television I’m going to say this I Stephen A Smith owe this man an apology can’t say the same for Weaver and the Pistons there was somebody that was worse named the Detroit Pistons who had lost 28 straight how many so we have to not panic don’t ruin the the ship the boat here it’s it’s pretty good pretty good this is bad I feel bad for the Pistons fans the losing streak reaches 27 consecutive games over the last 49 games they are 4 and 45 4 and 45 it wasn’t relief it was just like thank God you know finally this team hard to believe that they’re even a championship team 20 years ago but this person team has gone through a lot and more players are getting traded this time around before the deadline and they got more players coming in uh to try to fix this rectify the situation with fonu coming in Troy Brown Shake Milton Zack LaVine was rumored to be traded to Detroit but he got hurt and so the trade never went through and the Pistons traded Alec Burks and bogdanovich to get more pieces younger and killing Hayes the seventh pick got waved unfortunately and so now this Pistons team is a bit revamped a bit new Incredible for how young um you know most of the guys are the funer did a trade as well trading uh davb T’s contract to get Gordon Hayward and now we’re in the present day and this just goes to show the contrast of two rebuilds both in which started basically at the same time but we’re seeing one bare fruit in the most beautiful ways imaginable and we’re seeing another one really just plummet to where now they’re essentially having to do this thing all over again for another 3 years or so and it’s funny cuz one GM in prey was more aggressive in the rebuild actually trading up for bad contracts and amassing as many stock piles of pcks that he could Weaver on the other hand was not as aggressive not just that but also tried signing free agents like Jeremy Grant and also trading away some of the bad contracts for very little value so the Pistons now are at this position where they don’t have the stockpile of assets that the funer have even though the funer are way better now and now the Pistons are stuck whilst the Thunder are thriving this has been a tale of two NBA rebuild thank you all for watching