[SGA] on Ajay Mitchell’s performance: “you could say he’s been our best player this series”
Sam Presti might be the greatest GM in sports history no cap
Their roster is just insane. Different role players stepping up every game. I’m so jealous
Lakers fans and envy despite 17 titles lmao
Let it go. These are Laker fans who hasn’t seen real greatness in the past 8 years
Oh god 8 years what terrible suffering
Facts you know who knows real suffering? Me. A PELICANS fan. There’s only like 12 of us.
Nah I feel this fam.
Yall sucked a long time but yall at leasy have a much brighter future than the Pels. We got no pick this yr and y’all got the first pick now
Shout out to the real ones, you got this NOLA
Shut up man, you just won 4 years ago
And the lakers won one two years before that. What’s your point? They have 17 titles. They’ve had zero shortage of winning on a frequent basis.
How many of those 17 titles has a 16 year old kid seen? How about a dude in his mid 20’s? Unless your an old head none of the titles pre 2009 have been seen by the majority of this sub and even that double was missed or too young to recall much for lots of people on here.
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Should I appreciate the Unseld title? I get what the laker man is saying. 17 titles doesn’t really mean all that much if you weren’t around for it. (Is that a really weird take? Seems normal to me)
6 years ago y’all won a championship must be hell. 😔😔
That person could very well have not been alive for any of them. That’s a lot different.
I’m the guy who he replied to. I saw 09-10 and 20. I was just giving props to how damn good OKC’s roster was and I’m jealous of how deep the roster is. I think every fanbase should want that type of depth
No if you have a historically successful franchise then you aren’t allowed to compliment another teams roster I guess?
Wow I’ve heard of fans as evil as you but I never thought I’d see one with my own eyes lol
Yeah, they’re 5
I forgot about the Covid ring lol
How tf do you have 3-4 people on your bench who can score 20+ to 30 pts at anytime even in the playoffs. Our team is happy with like a 15 pts from GP2 or Gui. Tf is this sorcery, Presti?!
Only 3-4? This is jaylin Williams straightaway threes erasure
I don’t know about 30 (though some might if they were starting), but Ajay, Cason, JWill, McCain, and Wiggins all had at least one 25-point game this season. Funnily enough, Isaiah Joe doesn’t have a 25-point game this season despite having more 20-point games than anyone on that list (though Ajay or McCain may have had more if they were healthy/here all season).
I think it’s less about 20 or 30-point games and more about ~10-point quarters. All of those guys can come in and score 9-12 points in like 5 possessions.
Don’t forget - none of them are defensive liabilities either
It’s world class. A new level of roster construction like the A’s did in Moneyball.
They scout the perfect mentalities+skillsets. They get the right archetypes that mesh. They cover all potential weaknesses for every roster.
Chet and Hartenstein. Dort and Caruso. Mccain and Mitchell. Jalen Williams and SGA.
3 pt shooting. Mid range shooting. Finishing at the rim. Rebounding. Perimeter defense. Paint defense. Shot creation. Playmaking. Youth.
And they do this with drafting and trading players that easily get overlooked, or worse, misused.
And then they have the right coaching to promote the proper spacing. The proper rotations.
One of the best teams in all of sports. Like 2000-2010 Real Madrid.
Oh, and you have SGA who is literally prime Kobe/Kawhi/MJ all in one modern version. A walking bucket, whenever you need it, however you need it.
Maybe you should leave the european soccer references to other people, no offense. That Madrid era is famous for brainless acquisition of stars without having much success haha
Expansion draft gonna be the primary mode of injecting talent around the league 😆
According to expansion rules, any team can only lose 1 player so it won’t be that impactful
He also highlights just how dumb most front offices are.
That’s the thing that sticks out most to me.
Laps damn near everyone by a wide margin to the point that it really highlights the incompetence of most who hold this job.
Hes really punished everybody else for being impatient. Oh you want to win now?… well its gonna cost you 3 firsts and 2 swaps.
His plan took a while to enact, but its really just been about playing it patient. Stacking picks. Trust in your ability to evaluate talent. And if somebody else wants something you have then take em for all they got.
And all that he asks in return is that we perform a few dark magic rituals to fuel his powers.
For real though, I can’t think of anyone who’s made so many successful moves over such a long period of time.
Sam Presto
Every time it seemed like the Lakers were close to coming back, Mitchell hit a tough mid range or layup to ice out the runs …
Maybe Sam Presti watches basketball. So many GMs like Lakers and Knicks (for most of our history) just purchase Jerseys to get popular players on the roster regardless their age or injury
He 2ked irl.
Off of one championship? Lol the fuck is this take
The guy also drafted KD, Durant, and Harden, 3 future mvps on a team at one time.
Have to a lot of respect to Diagonal as well. #1 seed 3 consecutive years with one of the youngest get teams and this year with constant injuries.
Mccain has also been a momentum buster, my goodness this team is insane.
Any time the offense sags a bit you inject McCain for 3 minutes and just give him the ball every possession
He really ain’t afraid to shoot lmaooo
We haven’t had a guy just toss up shots like this since Bertans
…or Flagler if you want to count garbage time lmfao.
Man Flagler was truly something. Everytime garbage time came around that man would shoot every opportunity he got. I swear our plus minus would’ve been so much higher if we had anybody but him out there
Never forget that Cavs game that we won by 20 after being up 40 lol
He went like 0/10 from 3 in about 2 minutes lol
Ah yes the goat Flager always coming on when up >40 to only win by <20.
I love the change from last years “just hold the ball until Shai gets back in the game”
Insane that SGA had a -7 this game. JMac with a +27 is even that more absurd!
I hate that the Sixers just gave you a rising star for cheap.
I think rising star is a bit of a stretch but rising great 6th man is definitely on the table.
commentator said something in the 3rd about McCain having, “the greenest of lights in these games.”
Forget a green light, bro’s got his own third base coach throwing his shoulder out of its socket windmilling him home lmao
Thank Morey for that. The rich get richer. What a dumbass
Thank Josh Harris for that, idk why people think this was morey. Clearly a dick wad cheap bag move by the top guys
They just had to send him to OKC of all fucking places.
I’ve been saying for years that Presti has enough ammo in his box to get a superstar without even sacrificing any of his talent. He can extend this dominance as much as he wants.
What a leader. Extremely selfless
Seriously though what is happening with Ajay Mitchell bro
He looked terrific all year but this is the playoffs and he’s doing this?? All star shit
He has a deep bag.. you can just tell by the way he moves.. he is a legit scorer.
That move he pulled on Smart in the 4th for the And 1 was ridiculous.
I legit coughed on the water I was drinking when he did that shit. Smart doesn’t get shook like that hardly ever
He reminds me of Manu Ginobili
I think Ginobili’s underrated and yet I think I agree with you
I compared him earlier to Tony Parker but I think both fit…Presti is cut from that Spurs staff cloth too
Damn you kind of right Brodie Tony Parker might be a better comp
Ajay and McCain are joining Jamal Murray in my nightmares.
Keep him with all you got. This feels like Brunson 2.0
It’s going to be an insanely privileged conversation to have when his 2.85 million per year contract is up in 2028
Gotta wait until 2028 for this bullshit… Fuck!
He is way younger than Brunson was in Dallas and he is 4 inches taller and is a + Defender.
It baffles me, but then again I realize most nba players can shine given the time and confidence. What is remarkable and different is that okc created an environment that many players can rise and shine. It is really an organizational success.
I’d be nervous as hell if I was JDub.
Mitchell/Shai/Dub/Chet/IHart is our death line up
Need a new name for it… ‘Thunderbolts’
Why? They all fit great together on paper Ajay at the 1, SGA at 2, JDub at 3, Chet at 4, and iHart at 5.
In a non-second apron CBA, that squad stays together for 7 years and becomes a dynasty.
Well the CBA is being changed before his contract is up so who knows
It’s it too much to ask for a Thunder break up clause in the new cba?
Sam will always find a way
All-NBA / all-defense / 40 point game in the finals is not in danger of losing his spot. Dort / Wallace absolutely will have their minutes cut once Jdub returns, though.
Why???? He ain’t going NOWHERE
I don’t want to say what I think about J-Dub’s potential peak because it seems ridiculous, but I don’t think he’s going anywhere.
we’ve been good enough that he’s been able to rest and get completely healthy after his ab strain mid-season.
Shai draws at least half of the defensive attention from the Lakers defense, allowing Ajay to thrive.
This guy is from Belgium, and their waffles are phenomenal.
Ajay targeted Austin Reaves like a homing missile
he is just that good. with his injury luck, but promising minutes in the 1st season, he and Presti agreed on a RAISE to his current contract for more guaranteed money. he’s playing for endorsements now to hold him over til the big bag comes.
OKC has 4 all star level talents including the MVP this shit is unfair
2015-2019 Warriors vibes
Not even, they have enough ammo to go star hunting if they want. Not as absurdly broken as the KD Warriors but they have a chance at lasting dominance as long as Presti keeps cooking
“Shams reports that OKC’s Presti has traded Aaron Wiggins and 2 first-round picks to Mavericks for Cooper Flagg.” - r/nba’s sleep paralysis demon.
That would cook me
Nah, this is more stacked. Peak Steph was better, and peak KD and Klay are definitely better than anything the OKC have, but the depth and versatility are just unreal.
There are basically three players this team can’t handle one to one: Wemby, Giannis, Jokic, but no team can handle any of these three one to one.
Wemby’s their only threat for the next few years IMO.
Defense is much better
Much better? You are underestimating that Warriors team with the DPOY prime Draymond and the athletic prime of Klay and KD and Iggy (atleast on defense). Steph is also not a slack. That team felt like they were using 60% of their strength in the regular season and 75% in the playoffs.
SP has an eye for talent
And a lottery pick!
My king always giving his teammates their flowers. That’s a leader. 8-0.
last i checked it’s still 0-0
This dude Thunders.
You get it. Gotta bring it back to 0
Series doesn’t start until the opposing team wins so yeah 0-0
If the league was smart, they’d have given us a higher lottery pick.
You don’t want Presti lurking late in the draft getting dudes like this
For a team that has only been around since 2008, the fact that we have drafted 2 MVPs is insane.
Technically drafted 3 (i guess technically technically if youre only counting thunder its just harden) plus traded for shai after his rookie season
Sonics technically drafted KD and I would give Presti credit for seeing SGA’s potential as a rookie but it’s way funnier when you put the context that SGA was drafted by the Hornets and then traded to the Clippers.
Drafted while we were technically still the sonics but presti was alteady gm. Actually russ was drafted by the “sonics” as well but never played a game
Clippers trade might be the worst trade from hindsight pov.
Your team has technically drafted 3 and traded for 1 if you consider KD and trading for SGA
People legitimately hate this dude with such vitriol.
He should try elbowing a guy’s neck next time if he wants love
Punished more than wemby
Ajay got suspended for approaching a player and giving a gentle shove. But throw an elbow like Jon Jones and nothing happens. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DxzZ2untCyE
Why do I have a feeling Wemby is gonna take a couple shots next game?
My favorite post of the day.
As a person he seems great. As a team mate he seems great. As a basketball player he’s miserable to watch.
Just straight up admitting you don’t watch outside of highlights on social media
Watched the whole series, still think SGA is boring to watch. You don’t have to agree.
You guys are miserable. No one can critique SGA at all and if we do we “don’t know ball”. I agree that SGA is absolutely miserable to watch play the game of basketball. Caruso, Dort, and to a lesser extent Chet too. The rest of the team are fine
I also agree that Shai seems like a great teammate and person off the court
Because he makes LeBron look bad. You can’t be the GOAT and also get destroyed by the Warriors, Denver and OKC.
It feels so disgusting we’re only paying him 3 million a year.
We went from Kyle Singler 5⁄25 to Ajay 3⁄8.70 in less than a decade, praise Presti
I still have nightmares about not pulling singler out while he missed free throw after free throw.
I can’t believe you guys now have Ajay when your tertiary guys looked like Andre Roberson or Kyle Singler.
hey now. I will not stand for this Andre Roberson slander. Andre’s play style is exactly what Sam has aimed for in acquiring Dort, Cason, Caruso, even JDub as well. 3 & D plus endless hustle on both sides - JDub has obviously progressed far past that. but the long armed guard role-player archetype started with Roberson.
Kyle Singler was bottom of the bottom barrel though
Sefolosha was also in that mold.
The archetype started with Thabo Sefalosha. Roberson was v2 with better defense and somehow worse shooting.
Praise be to Presti for moving on from this athletic defender archetype to actual basketball players.
I think at this point he can get decent endorsement deals after the season. His ascension in the last few months has been so fun to watch. I think even OKC haters could agree that this guy is pretty special.
Why is ajay Mitchell all the sudden like prime Iverson good? I don’t get it lol
Yall clearly not watched the thunder all season lmao
Or Ajay last season
Correct. He was showing flashes of this up until his injury.
We’re unwatchable, remember?
Mitchell has killed it every opportunity he had this season.
We got told we were insane homers if we said he’d be an all star or tried to hype him up during the season lol
He’s been doing it all year just more people are watching him
He’s been this way
He’s been good all season (and even last).
He’s been good, just needed the spotlight
He’s always been so good. I always trade for him in 2k lmao
It’s a mix of Shai drawing a shit ton of attention and Ajay being good in the regular season and being a playoff riser in the post season.
To compare okc to the spurs Ajay really feels like our Harper in that in any given night one of them Might take over
You unfortunately do not know ball
LAL was selling out hard to double SGA and pick him up full court, so there was a ton of space for Ajay to work and he usually got to cook AR.
he played great
that’s Big West basketball baby. good for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos!
Ajay basically made the Lakers pay for doubling SGA throughout the series.
And you would be right
Dub’s 6MotY odds next season just skyrocketed
Nah Mark needs to put this man in the starting lineup after Dort’s sign-and-trade
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What does OKC even do next season when his contract is on its last year? Ajay is too good, and there’s no way they can afford him.
There’s a team option for the following season after next. They’ll decline it to make him a RFA and try to negotiate a new contract next summer.
Shave his head, goatee and mustache, change his number and pretend he was just drafted as “Man, The”
Couldn’t ask for a better face of the franchise
Who, Shai, or Ajay?
Yes
Goat to Goat
Like Butter on toat
Ajay was injured last year and our second ball handler outside of Shai had a broken wrist before the playoffs made the nuggets and pacers look better than they were last year.
Idk I think the Pacers are still pretty good but unfortunately some cruel ass luck stopped them from proving it and their chances might be gone…..shit is fucked up when you really think about it
I agree. I really hated that Haliburton got hurt. I hope that he’s back to his old self next season.
Ajay im buying your jersey my boy
Yeah I would say that, him or Chet
He’s been the biggest surprise for me this postseason. Had some great games this year and filled in really well for injured starters, but he was incredible this series and looks like he’s gonna be more than just a good rotation piece for the future.
Ajay Mitchell changed my life
Best player in the series for both teams. Absolutely a diamond.
As a Sonics fan, I’m so bitter we didn’t get this team but it was Clay Bennett that hired Sam Presti so it probably never would have been.
Fuck you Presti
Him or Chet we had no answer for both
He should start when Dub comes back.
Nah. Dub straight back in the starting five. Let him soak up Dort’s minutes if his shot isn’t falling.
Unselfish basketball
Ngl I don’t think 60% of today’s stars would say that. Like Luka would never say that.
It’s one of the reasons that this man is so adored in OKC. He can do no wrong.
$3 million a year through 2028. Dude has the Ben Rice of NBA contracts. Fuck me
In a redraft, he should go #1. At least top 3. Jfc how did this guy get picked 38th overall?
I mean Castle should still be ahead of him. But 2nd might not be absurd. Although it’s hard for me to judge good players on terrible teams that I never watch, so there are probably more that would still go ahead of him in a redraft.
Jalyen brown could never 🤣😭
That’s a true leader right there. No ego, no jealousy, just gives credit to where credit is due.
Jalen Brunson in Dallas vibes
Could argue he was the best player games 2 and 3 and chet was the best game 1 so yeah
Fuck off cunt I’m trying to hate you
Ajay Mitchell is a goddamn monster. The MVP of this series is Sam Presti.
He’s always been the MVP for them since he was hired as their GM and it’s not close
hot take: the Durant era with Presti is actually underrated in this conversation. he built a 60-win team around a 19-year-old and kept it competitive for 5 years — losing KD to injury in the Finals is what derailed it, not bad decisions. the current run is elite but the long-term picks and development since the rebuild started is what makes him generational. he’s basically doing what the Spurs did with Pop but in 2025’s cap environment
McCain was just a salary dump. Insane.
I mean he was
My humble king
Takes one to know one champ
Absolutely
I’m not an OKC fan but it was fun watching Ajax, he can hoop
Ajay is getting Paid like 2 million a year.
Smart thing of him to say. People will say he is selfless. Very smart dude.
They would be correct, lol.
Go gauchos
MVP
Underrated 65 game casualty. Should have been 6man of the year.
Yep props to Keldon Johnson but he’s not the player Ajay is
He could come to my team and immediately be a franchise cornerstone bruh 😭
Dang Presti found a good one with Mitchell. He puts them over the edge i think.
He just didn’t miss, all the time he was scoring
Man we really about to watch these guys win another ring if the Knicks don’t show any signs of life huh
It’s kinda wild that we could keep up with their starting 5, but once the bench unit came in, it was game over. Every single game. And that’s why I don’t think that Luka would have changed much. We might have squeezed out a win or two, but we lacked a legit center, and at least 3 good bench players to compete realistically.
And OKC are missing their 2nd best player lol
This team has taken “Strength in Numbers” to a different level.