A stadium full of Seattle sports fans at the Mariners game cheering on and celebrating watching the Thunder lose
Seattle v OKC is going to be absolute cinema lol
and Seattle’s 100% stealing one of OKC’s players in the expansion draft
so it’s gonna get personal really quick
Just to sit him on the end of the bench
No. If OKC’s bench is still as deep then as it is now and it is 8 protected players per team or 10 protected players per team, the thunder still have the best 9th man or 11th man in the league.
Sorry, is the Thunder back to being an incredibly deep team?
Cuz all I’m hearing the last few days is that injuries to two of their players mean that of course they lost, any team would lose without those key players
Well they have a ton of role players who can play defense and shoot threes, but the two that got injured were their only viable ball handlers aside from SGA. Both things can be true.
They played a team that wasn’t missing anyone and barely lost in 7…
Out of curiosity who would you say each of those are?
OKC would likely protect SGA, Dub, Caso, Chet, McCain, Sorber, Ajay and IHart if he’s still there or pick 12 this yr if he ends up being good. So there’s still a bunch of good players left like JWill or Caruso(he would be too old to make sense protecting)
A lot can change in the next couple years before that expansion draft. They’re gonna have a lottery pick and a pretty likely chance at another two lottery picks next year and the year afterwards.
But they’ll have to hit. All those role players they have now will be too expensive to retain. They’ve got Chet and J Dub’s max kicking in next season and the SGA’s supermax as well.
By the time the expansion draft happens it’s entirely possible that depth is no longer a strength of OKC
Nah. They turned KD and Westbrook into stars. Might as well do the same to them
This is some weird phrasing here, KD was ROY and scored 20+ pts on average in his rookie year & Westbrook never played a game for the Sonics.
Nah Thomas Sorber or Nikola Topic definitely starting for Seattle
Oh man imagine if they had choice of anyone outside Shai
Would it sting less Sonics fans
I highly doubt it would sting less
You lose your franchise franchise for two decades and Chet is supposed to make up for it lmao
It’s not the PPG it’s the principle.
Just take Dort and sic him on SGA
Diabolical…
I love it.
They would never take Chet. They gonna leave his 50 mil/year ass there.
teams will have like 6+ protects, it’s not just gonna be sga protected
For real. If you could only protect one player Seattle would have the deepest team in the league.
The Seattle Second Bananas would go 98-0.
Not when they have to play the Vegas Scottie Pippens 4 times…
That is a remarkably good team name. Especially for Seattle.
Who’s the thunders 8th best player? Dort? McCain? Wiggins? JWill? Joe? Even if the thunder get 7 or 8 protections they’ll still have a valuable player to be taken compared to other teams.
If they were smart they would leave Chet unprotected to get away from that contract.
Using the expansion draft as a pseudo amnesty class is crazy work ngl
It’s standard operating procedure. Teams leave overpaid guys unprotected all the time, largely knowing they won’t get taken. And if they do, it’s a bonus.
I doubt it with Chet though. Overpaid as he may be, he’s an enormous part of their defense.
Each team can protect 8 players
I’d assume the Thunder’s guaranteed protections would be
- Shai
- JDub
- Chet
- Wallace
- Mitchell
- McCain
After that it gets interesting. Hartenstein and Dort’s deals are up in 2027 so prob not them, Caruso will be at least 33 and making over 20M a year so maybe not him?
You could keep guys like JWill, Joe, or maybe some of the upcoming draft picks much easier as some of these other contracts start piling up.
mccain performed well but his role is one of the most replaceable
totally, but he’s on a rookie contract through 2028, and then they have matching rights for a sign and trade
2028 is the year the expansion draft will take place so that will be irrelevant
They have to reduce the amount of players that can be protected or exclude expansion teams from the bottom 3 rule for draft picks. How are you supposed to avoid bottom 3 with like four total players who are slightly above replacement level?
Man have you seen their salaries for next year lol, if they don’t make any moves they’re on the hook for 250 million. Even if they just keep Shai, Chet, Jdub & Caruso that’s 165+ without considering any depth
And depth is very important for OKC.
I mean it’s important for any team that’s serious about basketball lol
I’ve been hoping we can grab Joe off them. Feels like he could be a contributor.
I might be crazy but I think teams should only get 4 protects. Otherwise Seattle won’t have a single starting quality player on their team…
You get 8 protections. So Seattle will be picking from the bench.
Teams will expose starters. Maybe a contract they want to get out of or an older player and keep a younger guy.
But ya it would be a hodge podge team for sure
It’s been 22 years since there was an expansion draft. I don’t think we 100% know that teams will get to protect 8 guys.
The number will be higher than 5, but we have no idea what the actual expansion draft rules will be.
I mean, the number has been 8 for at least the last 4 expansion drafts that I looked up. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that while the number can change, it probably won’t.
Either that needs to change, or expansion teams shouldn’t be penalized for bottom 3 finished for their first 5 years or something. It’s far too brutal to give them nothing but end of bench guys and then expect them to not finish bottom 3.
But will they get Kevin Durant?
On the other hand, the usual 7-8 protections can likely get someone who might be pretty good if they got more minutes, which can turn them into starting quality.
And there are plenty of examples of this in expansion history. Most recently, Gerald Wallace breaking out as a star on the Bobcats.
Most recently, Gerald Wallace breaking out as a star on the Bobcats.
It’s a pretty good bet that whenever a player leaves the Kings he will be a lot better.
There should be some quality guys available from teams who overpaid a guy and have to get out from the tax/aprons without taking on more salary or giving up extra assets.
No.
Please let Jared McCain go to Seattle, he deserves so much better than OKC
chet is gonna be pick 1
When Seattle gets the Sonics back, they’re playing OKC in either their very first game or their first Christmas game. Instant lifelong rivalry born.
It won’t need to be born really. It will instantly exist from the moment the official announcement comes out that the Sonics are back.
I dunno if they’ll end up in the same division or not, but regardless, the vitriol that will be coming from Seattle fans any time OKC comes to town will be unparalleled.
dunno if they’ll end up in the same division or not
No chance lol. Divisions are regional. And with the NBA expanding to 32 teams they will likely move to 4 divisions of 4 teams per conference rather than just adding a 6th to one of the divisions
The West will likely end up looking like:
(Names would probably be different but didn’t want to think too hard about that. Also, either the Wolves or Grizzlies are the main teams generally considered to move East, since both new teams will be in the West. It’ll probably be the Wolves, but certainly could be the Grizzlies.)
Alternatively I could see them just grouping all the CA teams and then doing Blazers, Sonics, Suns, Vegas as a division. But the way I grouped them has better proximity overall.
Can’t see the Wolves not end up in the East. Them and the Blazers always lead in travel and that’s insane from a team in the middle of the country. All their historic rivals in other sports and colleges are in the East.
At least Grizzlies have teams remotely nearby
Milwaukee and Detroit are already in the East, it just makes sense.
That said, curious how this decision gets made because I assume both teams would rather move to the much less competitive East.
I think Minnesota can make a very convincing argument it would make the league more money. Like as is maybe Wolves-Nuggets is a decent rivalry but you can easily claim an NFC Northish division (Bucks, Bulls, TWolves, Pistons/Pacers) is better than Grizzlies-Cavs-Wizards-Raptors division (no matter how you split it I think the East ends up with an ugly division) which would do wonders for fan engagement.
Grizzlies going east breaks up who they’ve been playing against for a while while also adding absolutely nothing enticing rivalry-wise with the teams they’d be sharing a division with. Plus the aforementioned less travel with the Wolves moving.
Passing up the opportunity to recreate the NFCN with the Timberwolves, Bucks, Pistons, and Bulls would be a historic fumble by the NBA. I cannot overstate how invested these states already are in hating each other in sports.
I dunno but Ant vs Lamelo rivalry will bring more money too
NFC Northish division (Bucks, Bulls, TWolves, Pistons/Pacers)
Not only that but it matches:
The B1G: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois/Northwestern, Michigan/Michigan State, Indiana/Purdue
MLB Central Division with Twins/Tigers/White Sox in the AL
they can also just do it the NHL way, 4 divisions of 8, but even in that case, Seattle is still pretty far from Oklahoma.
There’s no way an expansion team is getting a Christmas game.
KD will be on Seattle side court side wearing his Sonic jersey. He never left that team in Free Agency.
They would need to bring salt trucks
Perhaps KD could erase all of the leaguewide hatred he’s earned over his career by leading the Seattle Supersonics to a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals en route to the Supersonics’ first championship since being relocated. Along with Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Steven Adams.
If they managed to do that with all those guys being ~100 years old literally nobody could be mad about it. Hell I’d want the Spurs to throw a playoff series just to make that to happen lol
That would be an almost shot-for-shot remake of post-Miami Bron shedding villainy by delivering a title to Cleveland.
I’m here for it.
I wouldn’t hate it.
I saw the last game in the Key arena before they ripped it up for renovation – it was a warriors Preseason game in 2018 I think. KD came out in his Kemp’s Sonics jersey during warmups and people went nuts.
edit: found it. It truly was electric. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-9gtyG3R3M
dillonbrookslaughing.gifv
Seattle Sonics vs. OG Seattle Sonics. Mask vs. mask… or something.
El Grande Supersonico
Just as poetic, the second one will become the Técnico.
Have the spurs meet the Sonics in the WCF, and just straight up forfeit like what the New Day did to let Kofi challenge Daniel Bryan at WM
Probably would be a first round sweep for OKC but a playoff game in Seattle vs OKC will be electric
Expansion isn’t happening for a few more years so who knows what OKC will look like by then. A lot can happen. Windows close very quickly in the modern NBA.
This goin be the true hate train lol to bad they ain’t in the same division lol would be absolute must watch TV all season.
Happy for Seattle!
Happy for San Antonio!
It’s so funny that OKC lost like that. People on this website were literally talking about Shai passing Lebron in terms of legacy in a few years and that’s out of the question now.
I never want to see SGA compared to MJ or Bron again, lol.
Who was saying that with a serious face? OKC bots maybe
You say this like its a guarantee OKC never wins another title
Bruh I dislike SGA as much as anymore but this was not a serious argument being made here lol
I love the sustained burning hatred decades later. Seattle will never forgive the Sonics being taken away. And nor should they.
Fuck Clay Bennet with a rusty crowbar, Howard Schultz can get some too while we’re at it.
Don’t forget Aubrey McClendon and David Stern…. Fuck those guys.
McClendon fucked himself pretty good.
♬♪ 🎶
He blew his mind out in a car; He didn’t notice that the lights had changed A crowd of people stood and stared They’d seen his face before Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords
🎵🎶
I saw a film today oh boy.
Well, those two pieces of trash died fitting deaths. Rest in piss assholes.
I mean Cleveland got the Browns back only a few years after Modell stole them and I don’t think there are still any Browns fans who don’t despise the Ravens and Modell. Justifiably.
Minnesota is still pissed about the North Stars
They should be. Fuck Norm Greene.
Fuck the browns and their loser ass rapist QB franchise.
They’re just crybabies, no one cares the colts got stolen from Baltimore, and Atleast Browns (and Seattle) got to keep their team identity.
They really tanked all the loveable loser making a turnaround goodwill instantly and got worse all at once lmao. Totally karmically deserved fuck that franchise, sorry Clevelanders who have nothing to do with it.
People in Baltimore absolutely cared/care about losing the Colts, and the recent browns being a shitshow doesn’t change anything about how shitty Art Modell was to the city of Cleveland.
You don’t know what you’re talking about at all.
Besides, those same people who got their colts stolen from them were all too happy to do the same to another city.
It’s a trash place and a trash franchise.
Living in a “Football Town” city listening to these radio deejays who can’t talk basketball rant on and on about the Browns is infuriating. Like, the Guardians could be on a historic win streak, Cavs in the playoffs, and they would keep beating the idiotic Browns to death. Anyhow, fuck Jimmy Haslam for every decision he has made for that team.
Houston also got a football team only a few years after the Oilers moved. Seattle is long overdue for an NBA team.
And us Ravens fans still fucking hate the Colts leaving in the middle of the night in Mayflower trucks.
I will never forget hearing about that as a Lil kid.
People in Seattle still fucking HATE Howard Schultz, let alone those OKC assholes.
They took a team from Seattle and moved it to fucking Oklahoma, how many worse locations could they have even gone?
It’s still hurts…
As a Jays fan, I don’t agree with Mariners fans on much. But as a human living on Earth, we can all unite to say fuck the Thunder and Chetanyahu
nah thank god for chetanyahu. OKC doesn’t lose without him
It was truly such a blessing that they maxed that choker. May it continue to haunt them.
It’s amazing how this Thunder team have turned literally everyone outside of the state of Oklahoma against them.
It is a case study and turned Wemby into the face of the league and the Spurs into a team you can root for.
Making the Spurs led by a Frenchman a team you can root for is an amazing feat.
It’s unreal. And people are hyped for this Finals match-up. I really am excited for this.
Lol. As far as the annoying fanbase that is hated league wide and also wins championships demographic, us Warrior fans are probably the old washed-up geezers of that demographic now. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that Wemby is only gonna be loved for one year for his championship before people start viciously hating him. Enjoy the honeymoon phase while it lasts.
Yep, he’s already exhibited a tonne of behaviours that will piss people off once spurs are winning titles.
I think it changes in the next week. Knicks flair got some pull on this subreddit
nah Knicks are winning though so we aren’t gonna hate
Happens to all sports dynasty’s. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were adored at first and now any game day thread is just accusing the refs and league of being pro-Chiefs.
Such is the burden of winning.
I still like Steph Curry, if it helps.
Chetanyahu
Hah!
That boy was absolutely terrified of Wemby last night
THEY. HAVE. EVERY. RIGHT. TO. DO. SO.
Seattle deserved to see this win
I love the hate Seattle has for OKC, completely justified
i will always till the day i die hate any fucking team in that hellhole of a cereal bowl that is New Orleans. in any sport.
Lmao! I love it. Long live Panthers vs. Saints!
Not only that, New Orleans stole the original Hornets.
I know. Travesty.
fair
A 5 minute conversation with a sonics fan and you’d think Katrina was worse for Seattle than any other city on earth.
We don’t get many natural disasters up here, so for some of us it was
I still remember that ESPN poll where Washington was the only state other than Florida that was rooting for Miami in the 2012 NBA Finals
I still have it saved
Seattle needs the SuperSonics. We all need the SuperSonics.
Would love to see The Glove get a proper jersey retirement in his home.
God, I love my city
this city deserves a team definitely. hope silver don’t fuck this up
If it’s like anything else he does, he’ll fuck it up.
I would never want to live in the USA, but if I had to pick a place, it would be Seattle. The vibes are immaculate there and I like rain.
They probably found more joy in this their win from today
Hate watch so country wide I’m surprised a wrestler hasn’t paused a match to announce OKC and ShaISIS lost last night
“We have caught, and compromised to a permanent end, Lusama Dort Laden.”
Seattle is a great city. OKC is…. not.
Real fans too.
Them Seattle seachickens has some of the best fans in the nfl.
With the Super Bowl and this OKC loss, I’m on cloud nine.
Can’t even be mad bout your Seahawks. Sam darnold desrveed it.
Fuck you guys tho
Even better: OKC fans are also almost exclusively Dallas Cowboys fans (Dallas is three hours away). They have nothing to look forward to this coming NFL season. Or, any season, for that matter.
I hope when Seattle gets its NBA expansion team they beat OKC in their first matchup.
the world is healing
Love it. Go Mariners!
Can’t wait till the Seattle team returns!
Hate! Hate! Hate!
We better give Seattle their history back pre-2008
You’re going to. As much shit as we give yall I don’t think that has ever been in doubt.
Clay left the trophies and banners here and the organization and fans have never tried to claim the history.
Yeah this is one where most Thunder fans I know have wanted y’all to have the Supersonics back ASAP. We know y’all got hosed. I just really like having a pro-team now too since there’s not much else in OK and the Thunder were our first and only pro team.
Warriors fans are with you Seattle fans, don’t forget we lost our (terrifying and creepy) beloved mascot to these assholes.
OKC sucks and their fans suck, and no fan base has ever deserved the success they’ve gotten less than they do.
What’s funny is it was also the Spurs who eliminated the Sonics on their last playoff appearance.
I fucking hated Bruce Bowen in 2005
Dirty ass player
I’ve been to a number of Trail Blazer - Thunder games in Portland. There are always a fair number of Sonics jerseys there, and they are often the loudest people in the stadium booing the Thunder. It’s fun.
give them a fkn team, Silver. you coward
The NBA came back to Charlotte, and yet still fuck George Shinn. So I get it.
As a Spurs fan living in Tacoma- this makes me so happy.
You simply have to respect this level of generational petty.
The SuperSonics moving to Oklahoma City feels like the Browns moving to Baltimore
OKC shouldn’t have an NBA team
Not gonna lie one of my favorite fan bases is Seattle but I absolutely cannot wait to see the petty they pull once their expansion team gets going.
Yeah whatever
Thunder in 9
question for sonics fans, are there any of you that became thunder fans?
I was a Sonics fan that lived a few hours from OKC. The Thunder are the only NBA team I ever have or ever will hate and I fucking worked for Robert Sarver.
Geez, and here I am sitting here thinking that my life has been hard
Dude yeah, it fucking sucks. I live on the outskirts of OKC and the past 10 years has been depressing as shit, the Thunder’s existence is like some shadow looming over. Feel like the Japanese soldier who never stopped fighting WW2
I highly doubt it. The way it went down was gross.
Only ones that would be close that I’ve seen would probably say they were KD/Russ fans and kind of followed them, but not really OKC fans.
I haven’t met one.
Fuck no.
I’ve met one in real life. The internet leads me to believe there might be a handful of others out there. I don’t think it’s even 1% of people who were Sonics fans.
Absolutely the fuck not
I don’t think we’ve reached a closer level of world peace in sports than with the back to back losses of Arsenal and OKC.
The North remembers
The Sonics send their regards
Happy fuck the Thunder day!
So glad everyone can come together to hate on OKC. I know I will forever.
Glorious
Fucking love when sports cross
A conversation with the average sonics fan would have you believe that Hurricane Katrina was worse for them than New Orleans
cant wait to see the sonics back
Watching a basketball game at a baseball game lmao
As a San Diegan, I approve this message
Welcome to Spurs Nation y’all! I genuinely can’t wait for the friendly rivalry when the Supersonics come back
peak
Why does Seattle care, they don’t have a t… oh, right.
I was at the game, a fuck OKC chant broke out in the men’s bathroom. It was perfect.
Fuck the OKC floppers and that chud Clay Bennett
Rightfully so.
If the thunder abused the system bad enough that they finally make changes to reduce flopping, fucking great.
People don’t forget!
This greatest hate watch of all time. Hope they get their team back.
Some say that 29 teams won when the Thunder lost, but in a way, 30 teams won when the Thunder lost.
As a former Oklahoman (left in 2022), it’s funny to see the hate the Thunder gets. I agree fully with it. 🤷
I was a fan, but after all the drama the first few years, I was over it. Go Seattle!