Daily Thunder.com

Any time you start to doubt Blake Griffin, take a look at this quote from Chad Ford: “Thomas (Memphis, TN): How legit is Blake Griffin as a #1 pick in the NBA? Chad Ford: I just spent the day with him in San Francisco on Monday. All I can say is wow. The physical tools are amazing and the workout he goes through everyday is the most grueling I’ve ever seen. Griffin looks like he’s training to be a Navy SEAL. However, what was really impressive was the basketball part with former Spurs head coach Bob Hill. He’s much more skilled offensively than you think. Excellent ball handler and nice stroke with some three point range. And he’s a nice, grounded kid with a very cool family. I was super impressed.”

Also: Craig (LA): “Which lottery team is the best situation for Blake Griffin? Chad Ford: If I’m Griffin I’m praying that the Knicks or Thunder win the lottery. Worst case scenario for him is the Clippers or Timberwolves.” Basically just read the whole chat. Lots of info about Griffin as well as Steph Curry, Jrue Holliday and Hasheem Thabeet. I think Ford has a story coming on Griffin later today and I’ll update when it’s out. He said he’s going to watch Thabeet work out today so that should be interesting.  

I thought this was an interesting post from Bullets Forever in regards to the whole Rubio-Griffin debate: “The point guards on that list certainly aren’t terrible, but Tony Parker is the only PG on that list who made it to the All-Star Game in the same year that he also won the championship, and that was only in the 2007 season.  On the other hand, every big man on that list played in the All-Star Game with the exception of Duncan in ’99, since there was no game because of the lockout.  Furthermore, the top 3 big men of the decade (Shaq, Duncan, and Garnett) all have titles to their name, whereas the only one of the three best point guards of the decade (Kidd, Nash, and Billups) has won a championship. Recent history shows strong support for putting more importance on an elite big man rather than top point guard, but this year may start to turn those tides a little bit.  More likely than not, this year’s champion is either going to be the Cavaliers or the Lakers.  If that’s the case, the best big man on those two teams are Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Pau Gasol.  Both solid big men but neither is on the same level as Shaq, Duncan, or Garnett.  Then again, just because it doesn’t look like an elite big man will walk away with a title this year doesn’t mean that the elite point guards are starting to make the NBA a point guard driven league since the most likely candidates to win a title this year are Mo Williams and Derek Fisher.  Again, both are nice players, but neither would be mistaken for an elite point guard.” That’s good stuff. I wish I had thought of that. Read more…

Bolts

From NBA.com:

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks will be on center stage before a nationally televised audience when the lottery balls are drawn for the NBA Draft Lottery on May 19. The Thunder announced that Brooks, who became the team’s full-time head coach on April 15, will sit at the podium inside the NBAE offices in Secaucus, NJ, when the Thunder learns where it will draft in the June 25 NBA Draft.

Second-year forward Kevin Durant represented the organization at last year’s event, when the team drew the No. 4 overall pick that it eventually used to select guard Russell Westbrook out of UCLA. The Thunder finished its inaugural season in Oklahoma City with a 23-59 record, giving it an 11.9% chance of landing the first overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft.

I would like a full history of Scott Brooks’ luck. Like does he come out on top more than 50 percent of the time in games of rocks-paper-scissors? Or in coin flips? Has he ever won a radio call-in contest? When he fins a penny on the ground, which side is face up most times? Better yet, what’s the most amount of money he’s ever found laying on the ground? Or is he even-steven, like Jerry Seinfeld? These are things we need to know. I assume Sam Presti already has done a full background check on Brooks and has this information handy and that’s why he chose him. I guess Brooks is technically undefeated in his in NBA head coaching career. So that’s a plus.

News Draft Lottery, Scott Brooks

Rivals talked with Jermaine Taylor after his workout with OKC: “At first I just did athletic drills – my vertical leap, how many times you can bench 195, things like that. Then we did some shooting drills. Then we did some one-on-one, two-on-two and three-on-three (drills). I didn’t know what to expect, but I wasn’t nervous at all. I’m never nervous to play basketball. I thought I did pretty well. From what my agent was telling me, they thought I did really well.”

Draft Express on this year’s point guard crop: “Ty Lawson looks as good as anyone from this perspective, regardless of position. As we put this data together, we weren’t surprised that Ty Lawson excelled from a situational perspective, as he did play for the most potent offense in all of college basketball, but we didn’t expect him to look this good. He ranks first in a number of key categories, including overall FG% (52%), Points Per Possession [PPP](1.13), pull up jump shot FG% (47%), and %shots he was fouled on (16.1%). Though his teammates did a lot of scoring as well, Lawson functioned seamlessly as a complementary scorer. Looking past his efficiency as a shooter off the dribble, he was second in catch and shoot field goal percentage at 48%. From a purely statistical sense, no player on this list scored more efficiently than Lawson.”

This is the type of person ruining America. The father of the kid that Big Baby Davis bumped into sent a letter to the league demanding an apology for acting like a “raging animal with no regard for fans’ personal safety.” A raging animal with no regard for fans’ personal safety? What? Davis bumped the kid. His hat fell off! Didn’t knock him over, didn’t hurt him and didn’t even really move him. He bumped him and his hat fell off. But he was the type of punk kid that was wearing his hat sideways barely sitting on top of his head so if a toddler waddled into his leg, his hat probably would have fallen off. I just really can’t believe that moron guy wants an apology. Moving on. Read more…

Bolts

Just a month ago, Blake Griffin was the absolute consensus No. 1 pick. There was just no doubt about it. And it was really the first no question top pick I can remember in a long while. But then Ricky Rubio tossed his name in the hat and in some camps, a little debate has kicked up: Could Rubio be picked in front of Griffin?

NBA general managers say no, but some fanbases say yes. At Sactown Royalty they voted on it and the vote was literally split between Rubio and Griffin. So I guess some folks see reason to take Ricky over Blake.

While some teams may have reasons (the Kings and Timberwolves are pretty “set” in their frontcourts), others just seem to like Rubio’s potential “star” power and play making potential. But what about Oklahoma City? You’ve got native hero Blake Griffin who could plug one of the biggest holes in your squad. He’s humble, he’s tough and he’s a tremendously hard worker. Oh, and he’s really, really good at basketball.

But again, Rubio’s got star quality. He’s got the floppy hair and the Maravich comparisons. He’s a flashy passer with a flashy game and is a potential marketing mega-giant. And he’s the pure point guard Russell Westbrook is not. He’s pass first, score second and sets up teammates. He’s one of the world’s best defenders (supposedly) and has great size (6-4) for his position.

So is there any way Oklahoma City takes Rubio over Griffin if given the chance? Does it make any sense for the Thunder to take the young Spaniard over the bruising Oklahoman? Read more…

Commentary Blake Griffin, Draft, Ricky Rubio

Nine days until the lottery. Go to your local Catholic establishment and find some holy water and start sprinkling it everywhere.

USA Today’s No Defense team: “G/F Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder: Made an incredibly strong run at No-Defense Player of the Year to follow up his very deserving No-D Rookie of the Year nod last year. I don’t get it-long arms, great talent . . . yet the numbers scream out that he’s an awful defender.”

A story about Shaun Livingston where he talks about his involvement with the movie industry: “When the credits roll to the motion picture “Next Day Air” there will be a familiar name that scrolls across the screen. Thunder point guard Shaun Livingston served as one of the film’s executive producers, which was released in movie theaters on Friday. The movie stars Mike Epps, Wood Harris, Donald Faison and hip hop recording artist Mos Def. “We had a hand in it,” Livingston said via cell phone from Miami, where he concluded a three-day workout with Thunder player development assistant Brian Keefe. “It was minimal, as far as creative control. But we were there and we were in it.”

Would you look at that – Livingston’s even got an IMDB page: He’s got two appearances on Rome Is Burning and is also a produer for 2009′s Pastor Brown. Quite a page he’s got there. Read more…

Bolts

I enjoyed the read over at NBAdraft.net on the main page today, it is full of little draft rumor gems. With the draft lottery just about  a week and a half away, I am getting pretty excited. I was trying to decide if this year’s draft will be more important to the franchise than last year’s draft was. I think after reflection the answer is that it depends. It depends on how we fare at the lottery. If we get the top pick or the second pick, then yes, I think it is. The player we get with 1 or 2 will likely be a 40 mpg player for us for years to come, and as important as any other player on the roster in years. If we get picks 3 through 7, it becomes less sure.

 At pick 3, a guy like Harden could be a bonafide starting SG for years, but maybe Presti makes us all fall out of our chairs with a pick like Hasheem Thabeet……I don’t think Thabeet will ever be a 40mpg player in the NBA, and if he is, it will be a few years down the road, that much is for sure in my opinion. Also at 3-7, a guy like Stephon Curry would help this team immensely with ball handling and shooting, but it’s not a sure bet that he would even start, or ever start consistently. He seems like an offense off the bench/backup point guard to me at the moment. 

For those reasons, I think last year’s high lottery pick of Westbrook, in a very solid draft was more important, but, if we get a top 2 pick this year, in a weak 2 man draft, then this year would be more important.

Anyway, according to the NBAdraft.net article, the rumor is that the Knicks have given guarantees to Curry Read more…

Bolts

For some reason, I really, really enjoy player mixes. Especially when they’re well done and mix in a decent song with actual game sound. I love when you hear a burst of “Russell WESTBROOK!!!!” in between beats. So grab a bowl of cereal and enjoy some most excellent highlights from Russell’s rookie season. I think you could contend that he’s got one of the most entertaining mixes in the league.

Video Russell Westbrook

Still don’t have a Mother’s Day gift? Are you standing at Walgreens staring at cards and wanting to jump into a lake of thumbtacks? Do you know, no matter you do, your gift is going to suck?

Then let Ebay help! Because I was bored, I searched “Oklahoma City Thunder” on Ebay. And as I was looking through some of the exquisite merchandise, I thought to myself, “You know, I’m sure I could turn this into a gag column somehow. Hey! Mother’s Day is this weekend!” And here we are.

10. Two tickets to the Thunder-Raptors game that happened over a month ago. Just $20 with free shipping! How could you say no? So what that the game was March 27 and Toronto already won, 112-96. Pretend it’s like live DVR. Go to Air Canada Arena, walk inside and visualize Oklahoma City getting absolutely pounded for four quarters. You better hurry, because I’m staring down that Buy It Now button right now.

9. D.J. White’s rookie card. I’d buy the card for D.J.’s insanely awesome smile and pose alone. Seriously, take a gander at that. I also like that at the time the card was made, OKC didn’t have uniforms, so D.J. was in the generic Adidas warmups. That’ll make it rare in 50 years.

8. Framed Kevin Durant signed picture. For the low price of  $149.99, you can have KD’s signature to look at all the time! How awesome! I’d buy this bad boy just to burn it. In Royce’s “Top 50 Things That Piss Me Off,” a grown man getting an autograph of an athlete ranks right around 42, but a grown man getting an autograph and then promptly turning around and selling it, is definitely in the top 10. I think it should be federal law that if you are over the age of 16, you aren’t allowed to get an autograph unless you have signed documentation proving it is for a person under 16. And also, if you are attempting to get an autograph from an athlete with the intention of selling it two days later, you will immediately be set on fire. I’m sure when KD signed it that person said, “Thanks Kevin. You’re the man. You’re the MAN! Thanks so much!” when they were really thinking, “Thanks KD for making me 150 bucks. Amazing that me standing here and having you scribble something on your picture is going to make me this much money. I bet that dumb kid behind me wishes he was me right now. Too bad he forgot to bring a pen. Idiot. Now I’m going to go kill a puppy.”

7. Wait a second, ANOTHER D.J. White rookie card. Yes!

6. Thunder floor mats for your automobile. I think this item really speaks for itself. You’ve got to love sports marketing. “Uh, what else can we slap our logo on and sell? Can we put it on Bible’s? Can we do that? How about garden tools? You think someone would buy that? Or better yet, people’s lawns. Let’s get a decal that covers someone’s entire yard.” Read more…

Commentary, Riff Raff

Since it’s unlikely I will be posting anything on Sunday because it will be entirely spent showering my wonderful mother with love, I’d like wish my mom and also my very awesome (yes, she is actually awesome) mother-in-law a happy Mother’s Day. You’re welcome for having me.

The Thunder will hold a pre-draft workout today at their practice facility: “Oklahoma State’s Terrell Harris, Texas’ A.J. Abrams, Marquette’s Jerel McNeal and USC’s Daniel Hackett headline this first group, which is filled with guards and has only one player listed taller than 6-foot-6. Other players include: Jack McClinton (Miami), Paul Delaney (UAB), Jermaine Taylor (UCF), Garrett Temple (LSU), Courtney Fells (N.C. State), Josh Carter (Texas A&M), Joe Ingles (Melbourne Dragons) and Aaron Jackson (Duquesne).” OSU’s Terrll Harris? Was that a courtesy invite? But out of that group I do like Jack McClinton and Jerel McNeal. Especially McClinton. That dude can shoooot.

Sam Amico has a mock draft up: And finally, someone with a brain. It looks like he assessed the needs of the team and has OKC taking James Harden and passing on Jordan Hill. Unlike Draft Express and NBADraft.net.

Ridiculous Upside on the 66ers hiring: “There’s not much that I don’t like about Nate. He helped coach the Timberwolves Summer League team the past two seasons as well. I assumed he might get on with the Wolves this season as an assistant, but head coach of the 66ers is a pretty good gig. He can coach, he has a good attitude, he’s personable. Definitely the top young coach in the D-League.”

Seattle’s legislature will not call a special session so Clay Bennett’s money is safe, no doubt: “Gov. Chris Gregoire will not call a special legislative session for lawmakers to finish their last few bits of work on the state budget, officials said Thursday. The decision comes after House and Senate leaders failed to agree on a limited agenda for a possible special session, which the governor wanted to last just one day.” Read more…

Other

From Tulsa 66ers.com:

The Oklahoma City Thunder named Nate Tibbetts Head Coach of the their NBA Development League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, it was announced today by Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

“We are pleased to add Nate to the Thunder organization,” said Presti. “We feel that in adding Nate, we are bringing someone on board that possesses a commitment to the development of our players in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City.”

Tibbetts joins the 66ers after spending the past four seasons with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. After two seasons as an assistant with the Skyforce, Tibbetts was promoted to Head Coach prior the 2007-08 season. In two seasons at the helm of the Skyforce, Tibbetts guided Sioux Falls to a 53-47 (.530) mark including a playoff berth during the 2007-08 season.

Before joining the Skyforce in 2005, Tibbetts was an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Sioux Falls for four years (2001-05). In his four seasons at USF, the Cougars posted a record of 92-44 (.676), including two trips to the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The 2003-04 team posted a school record 26 wins before falling to Bellevue University (Neb.) 72-60 in the Final Four of the NAIA Division II Tournament.

Tibbetts enjoyed a successful collegiate career at the University of South Dakota. He ranks second all-time in the USD record books in career assists (678) and steals (215). He was named to the All-North Central Conference (NCC) team in 2000-01 and Honorable Mention All-NCC in 1999-00.

Also, we have a winner in the 7-word essay contest. Congrats to Randy Roper of Edmond for proclaiming he will wear his Thunderwear in Times Square.

Other

Bill Simmons has started his campaign for the Timberwolves GM position and he’s got a plan – the Thunder model: “Guys I would build around: Jefferson, Love, Brewer, Foye, 2009 No. 1 pick. My game plan: Emulating how Presti rebuilt the [Thunder].” Seriously though, consider me as part of Simmons’ street team. I think it’s a great idea. This is one of those things that people can’t really decide if he’s completely serious or not, but I think he his. And I think he’d do a pretty good job. The guy knows basketball. He just does. Heck, he’s got a 700 page book about it coming out in a few months. Of course it could just be 700 pages of Teen Wolf and Shawshank analogies, but still. So much of being a GM is making well-executed moves that are crafted with purpose and vision (see: Presti, Sam). And I think Simmons could follow that route. As penance, you can make me assistant to the traveling secretary. I’ve always been jealous of George Costanza’s job.

Ah, bad news for Team Simmons: “The Minnesota Timberwolves have offered a contract to former Pacer’s executive David Kahn, and according to conflicting reports he could be named the new Vice President of Basketball Operations or he could carry some other title, with Fred Hoiberg being named VP of Operations. Neither the Wolves nor Kahn have been able to be reached for comment. However it seems Kahn will be joining the Wolves in a senior leadership capacity.”

The Thunder will play a preseason game against the Spurs in Austin: “The Oklahoma City Thunder will play the San Antonio Spurs in a preseason game next season in Austin, Texas. The Oct. 20 game will be played at the Erwin Center. It will serve as a homecoming for Thunder star Kevin Durant, who played one season for Texas before entering the NBA. The Oklahoma City franchise selected Durant with the second overall pick in the 2007 draft. The Longhorns retired Durant’s No. 35 jersey in February during a halftime ceremony of a game against Texas A&M.” Read more…

Bolts

I noticed something semi-unique about the Thunder a couple months ago – nobody really had tattoos. I was actually willing to guess that Oklahoma City was the most tattoo-less team in the league. Sure you had some guys that were pretty marked up, but the faces of the franchise – Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook - were as clean as Jim Bob Duggar. Maybe it has something to do with their youth. Carmelo Anthony was relatively unmarked when he came into the league. Same with LeBron. Maybe it has something to do with their personalities. They’re just clean-cut, nice young men. Or maybe it has to do with something else.

 Look up and down the roster. It’s true. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

(Waiting.)

Whose got the most ink? Robert Swift, Chucky Atkins and Earl Watson. Whose got the least? Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook. Hmm…

All too shocking, eh? I’m not going to go through every team in the league, but I would doubt that this occurs anywhere else. There’s just five guys on the current roster that have any tattoos at all. Is that something Sam Presti scouts when he drafts? Because he’s never drafted a guy with tattoos. Kind of amazing really. You know who else doesn’t have any tattoos? Blake Griffin. Ricky Rubio. James Harden.

Of course, Jeff Green could be sitting down in a chair right as I write this about to get the Eiffel Tower tattooed on his eyelids. In five years, they all may be covered. I don’t know why this phenomenon is happening here, but frankly I like it. I’m not a tattoo guy myself (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and I kind of think it fits our state and city. Plus, evidently the more you have, the more sucky you are at basketball. At least in Oklahoma City.

How long until the draft again?

Commentary Tattoos

Remember when the NHL almost came to Oklahoma City? Good thing it didn’t writes Berry Tramel: “Ron Norick received an offer from National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman in 1995. Come up to New York, and the NHL would talk about coming down to Oklahoma City. The Quebec Nordiques were moving. Why not to OKC? Sometimes we should thank God for unanswered prayers.”

Have you been looking for a replay of the USA-Spain gold medal game so you could watch Ricky Rubio light it up? Well, I’ve got one. Just click here and take in the sweet moves of Ricky Rubio.

Michael Lee of the Washington Post on the risk of trading a top three pick: “If Washington ends up with four or five, Grunfeld should see if he can find another Jamison or make a move like Boston President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge did two years, using fifth pick Jeff Green to get Ray Allen. After looking back at the history of teams that have traded away top three picks without ever having the player wear their uniform, the success rate both long term and short term often has been horrendous. The moments when teams trade top three picks for veterans and succeed are rare. There are times when a team can land a Mitch Richmond (who was acquired for Billy Owens), but mostly teams wind up with a Roy Hinson (who was acquired for Brad Daugherty). In the lottery era, there have been 14 instances where teams dumped top three picks and more often than not, that team was seeking a do-over. We’re going to look back at all of them, the three hits, the eight misses, the two pushes and the one that is yet-to-be determined.” Read more…

Other

Voting is now open for the three finalists:

1. Thunder rocks Loud City; New York is next
2. I am Thunder loud and Oklahoma proud
3. Gonna wear my Thunderwear in Times Square

My vote went to No. 3 for really no good reason. I’m sure Berry Tramel agreed with me. But this little promotion has picked up a little national attention. Deadspin had something on it today under the headline, “The OKC Thunder fans are adorable, kinda dumb.” Gee thanks! I really thought we were getting past the “Pick on the new guy” phase, but I guess not. I guess I shouldn’t say anything about their poorly worded headline, should I?

Of course, the commenters then took over and tried their hand at seven clever words. And I must say, I wish I could have my vote back. A few favorites:

• “I am suicidal. Please let me win.”

• “Pick me! I’m a man! I’m 40!”

• [insert George Carlin's Seven Dirty Words]

• “Kidnapped in garage. Saw contest. Please help.”

But as you would expect there were some, let’s call them poo-poo heads, that made the typical “Oklahomas iz stoopid!!2!1!” or “You live in Oklahoma!” jokes, but also a few about April 19th. Not cool at all. That’s why a lot of people have issues with Deadspin. Because of crap like that. Oh well. Some people are just… well, poo-poo heads.

But anyway, vote away. I really thought my “Please Blake Griffin Blake Griffin Blake Griffin” had a chance. Guess not.

News

I flipped over to watch a little Mythbusters during a commercial of the Rockets-Lakers series and for some reason I got to thinking about Robert Swift, as I often do. I have no idea how the Mythbusters building a giant Lego ball got my brain to Robert Swift, but it did. But instead of wondering the usual things like, “Does he know what he looks like?” or “If a small cat ran in front of him, would he be able to jump over it?” or “Did he actually paint his nails or is that just Sharpie?” I started thinking about his current career stats, his free agency and what it has to do with his $3.5 million salary.

How much money did he make per minute? Per point? Per rebound? What about for his prestigious four-year career with this franchise that will undoubtedly come to and end this offseason? Because any time a player is often injured, I think it’s actually law to calculate those things to point out how unproductive and how much of an anti-MVP he was. And this was a contract year for for Big Robert. The good news is this was his second most productive year of his career. But that’s also the bad news.

This season, Swift made $3,579,131. So for 82 games, technically, he would make $43,648 per game if he had played in all of them. But he played in just 26 (the second highest for his career!) so that means he made $137,659 per game this year. If Swift would have been paid on a per game basis, he would have made “just” $1,134,846 this season or just 31 percent of his total salary. (Maybe that’s how teams should pay players. And to provide for the fact an unfortunate injury could sideline you for an extended period, you buy “insurance” from the team on your contract. If you don’t get hurt, just like the rest of us schmoes, you’re out the money. But if you choose not to get the insurance, you don’t get paid for the games you don’t play in. Probably a stupid idea, but just thinking out loud.)

This year he made:

• $41,618 per point (for a little perspective, KD made $2,397 per point; and that’s with making a full million more than Swift)

• $ 40,215 per rebound

• $10,435 per minute (or $996 for every minute spent sitting on the bench) Read more…

Commentary Robert Swift