Daily Thunder.com

T-minus five days until Mother’s Day. Don’t you dare forget.

Piston Powered takes a look at my proposed Rip Hamilton deal: “This trade definitely intrigues me. This draft is short on big men, so a trade like this might be the only way to get one – unless B.J. Mullens falls to 15. As I’ve said with the Billups trade: better a year too early than a year too late. Hamilton has value now, but will he next offseason? I believe the Thunder have the cap room to take back Hamilton without Detroit having to take Atkins or Watkins. So, that’s a plus for the Pistons.”

Jermaine Taylor of Central Florida who averaged 26.2 ppg (third in the nation) and was Conference USA Player of the Year will work out for the Thunder soon. The 6-4 shooting guard is charting his draft journey right now: “From Orlando, I left this weekend to train in Indianapolis with Shon Bolden. He’s the same guy who trained rookie George Hill, who is a client of my agent Michael Whitaker. I will be training with George and a few returning college basketball players, but I am not so concerned with who I am training with, but rather focused on improving my overall game. My first workout is with Oklahoma City Thunder coming up soon.” I watched Taylor play in the Conference USA tournament this year. He reminded me a lot of Toney Douglas, the star scorer for Florida State. Dime even called Taylor “the biggest sleeper in the year’s draft.” That’s two shooting guards getting workouts so far – I’m thinking we’re getting an idea where Presti wants to go with that second pick. (Draft Express profile)

LeBron winning the MVP at just 23 put the spotlight back on Wes Unseld who is the youngest MVP ever: “Bob Pettit, Bob McAdoo and Wilt Chamberlain were all 23, but the youngest player to ever win the award remains Wes Unseld, who turned 23 only nine days before he won the MVP with the Baltimore Bullets in 1968-69. The 6-foot-7 Unseld also won the rookie of the year that season. He and Chamberlain remain the only players to pull off that amazing ROY-MVP duo in the same season.” Kevin Durant’s got three years until he’s 23. Any chance?   Read more…

Bolts

The draft is 52 days away people. And tomorrow it will be 51 days. And before you know it, it’ll be a week away. But right now we’re counting the days until the lottery (15), and reader J.G. has put together an incredibly extensive “What if we get this pick?” piece. Agree, disagree, whatever – but good discussion should definitely come about. And right now, that’s what it’s all about – arguing about stuff. It’s long, but hey, what’ve you got to do that’s better? Work? Plus it’s an extremely informative and fun read.

By J.G. Marking
Special to Daily Thunder

Disclaimer: Like any good mock draft, this prospect analysis is equal parts research-driven hypotheses and equal parts utterly opinionated and completely indefensible guesswork. Obviously if the Pre-Draft Combine reveals shocking measurements, weaknesses or strengths, then these picks will change (except for #1, I don’t care if Blake Griffin turns out to be 4’9 and 110 pounds). So have at it!

The #1 Pick – “Thank you, David Stern! Thank y-What? Tampering? I didn’t see anything!”

It wouldn’t be unprecedented but you know that everyone in the NBA, including yours truly, would have to raise an eyebrow at the Thunder somehow landing the first pick when yet another hometown hero is projected to go #1. But hey, look at the bright side, the rest of the league couldn’t hate the Thunder anymore than they already do if they land the best overall player with the fourth-worst record, right? So with that in mind, come on 11.9 percent! By the way if this happens, only two cities are not allowed to gripe whatsoever and should be docked 10 fanhood points if they do: Chicago and Cleveland.

The Pick:  Blake Griffin – 6’10, 245 – PF – Oklahoma
This would pretty much be penciled in the moment the Thunder were awarded the first pick. Had the Tyson Chandler ‘Turftoegate’ extravaganza not occurred, then maybe we could have a real discussion about who the Thunder would take with the first pick (actually, probably not but this is supposed to promote discussion, right?), but since the biggest hole on this young team still is interior toughness, rebounding, and a desperate need for a physical body in the post alongside with the fact that he’s the unquestioned prize of this draft class, it’s really a no-brainer. The only question would be how soon could Presti turn in the card? Is a month too soon? Is thirty seconds?

NBA Comparison: Everyone says Boozer, but I disagree. With his agility, athleticism and surprisingly soft touch (when he’s not trying to rip the rim off), I say Griffin is a more athletic Karl Malone sans the sweet jumper. Here’s hoping Blake can fix his odd free-throw (I don’t understand the tippy-toes bit) mechanics and add a 20 foot jumpshot to his repertoire. Also, I don’t agree with some people who question his defensive abilities. The major component to defense is desire, which we all know. It’s all about effort. And since A) he didn’t want to foul out, B) never retaliated to numerous cheap shots and C) he still jumped over tables for loose balls and did actually block shots/get steals (he averaged 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game), his defense will only improve in the NBA because Griffin is incapable of not giving all the effort he can.

The Problem with selecting Blake Griffin: What do you do with Jeff Green? No, seriously, what do you do with Jeff Green? Do you move Durant back to the 2 (ugh) and Green to the 3 to play Griffin at the 4? Well, I guess you could, but are we totally set on Krstic as the starting 5? And isn’t that a huge no-no to tamper with Durant’s skyrocketing success at the 3? Others would suggest not having a true 5 and starting Durant, Green and Griffin with a three forward lineup (it’s what I would do if I was set on Griffin starting immediately and not logging some time on the bench as Green’s backup for a little bit. Why? Due to his athleticism and bulk, Griffin plays bigger than a 4 already). But the question will remain to see if Griffin’s wing span and 6’10 frame can be enough to stop legit 7 footers night after night. All that being said, it’d be a great problem to have since he’s the most surefire elite prospect in this draft-and it’s not even close. Read more…

Commentary

It looks like we’re 0 for 2 on Kevin Durant Twitters. I assumed the last one was real since the “official” team Twitter was following him, but evidently not as the page doesn’t exist anymore. But this one’s it right here. Gotta be.

Sam Presti finished sixth in Executive of the Year voting. Pretty good for a guy whose team won 23 games: “Cleveland’s Danny Ferry finished second with seven votes, Orlando’s Otis Smith finished third with six votes, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Mitch Kupchak and Chicago’s John Paxson were tied for fourth with two votes apiece, and Denver’s Rex Chapman, Houston’s Darryl Morey, Utah’s Kevin O’Connor, Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti each received one vote.”

Looks like the Timberwolves were trying to follow the Spurs/Thunder/Cavs/Blazers model: ”The presumed favorite in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ quiet search for a new head of basketball operations has pulled out of the running. San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, widely billed as the Wolves’ No. 1 target, has withdrawn from consideration, according to sources with knowledge of Minnesota’s search … Trying to import a head of basketball operations from San Antonio seemed a wise path for Wolves owner Glen Taylor to follow in his desire to find a new long-term successor on the personnel side to Kevin McHale. Front offices in Cleveland (Danny Ferry and Lance Blanks), Portland (Kevin Pritchard) and Oklahoma City (Sam Presti) are all run by recent Spurs alumni.”

Your 2008-2009 Blogger MVP Rankings: LeBron went wire-to-wire to win the award this year. That’s pretty impressive. Check it out, it’s a pretty interesting list. Read more…

Other

Apparently the NBA workout season is upon us. I found this little news blurb about Siena guard Kenny Hasbrouck, a 6′-3″ Senior combo guard:

Siena senior Kenny Hasbrouck’s taken another step toward his goal of getting to the NBA .

The MAAC player of the year and all-american honorable mention has his first NBA workout set.  He’ll get a look from the Oklahoma City Thunder on May 15th, his first scheduled nba date.

Hasbrouck says he’ll work for the Knicks as well, but the date isn’t set yet.

Ordinally, MAAC players would also be thinking about playing overseas. While that could happen for Kenny, it not his plan right yet.  He’s instructed his agent only to talk about NBA deals right now.  Europe on Hasbrouck’s backburner until all his NBA options are exhausted

I profess I don’t know a thing about Hasbrouck. Siena made the tournament this season, but I didn’t get a chance to see them play.  He seems to be somewhat of a defensive pest based on his stats. He’s #6 in total steals and in steals/40.  His shooting stats are sort of underwhelming (especially his 66% from the line) but he started all 129 games in his four years at Siena. Hasbrouck is another guy from the D.C. area.

Here is his Draftexpress profile (just stats), and here is his Wikipedia.

As word of these workouts begin to trickle in, we will begin to see the kinds of players, and the positions Presti seems to be interested in addressing.

Other

Watching the Euro final four matchup last night with Olympiacos and Panathinaikos I decided to really just focus on our 2nd rounder Yotam Halperin rather than try and do an actual game report. I don’t really care that much about the two teams or the outcome, I just wanted to see our player play and try to visualize what he brings to the plate as a potential Thunder baller.

With that, I basically allowed my eyes to follow Halperin throughout the game, and to chart all of his possessions and watch him on defense. What I immediately noticed is that even though he is their best statistical jump shooter, he is a very unselfish player. He is not somebody who is looking to jack up deep balls every time the rock is in his hands. Even though he spent nearly the entire bulk of his minutes out at the perimeter, he was completely comfortable looking for teammates and passing off the ball for a better shot for a team mate.

Halperin started at what I assume would be the 2 guard spot, along with Jannero Pargo and Josh Childress on the wings. Halperin was part of what seemed to be a 3 or 4 guard rotation, with Pargo just getting little more than 3 minutes of playing time. Halperin got 21 minutes of playing time and was 1/5 from the field, 2/2 from the line,  1 rebound, 2 assists and no turns or blocks.  His possessions used were as follows: Read more…

Other

This video was played after the last game of the season. I’ve been looking for it since it aired and finally have got it (h/t bbingham05 of OKCThunderFans.com). I really, really like this video, even despite the song choice. I mean, who really likes OAR? Sheesh. But just the whole progression of the season, the community service clips, the Wayman Tisdale tribute – it’s all just tremendous.

Video Season in Review

If you get the chance today, and you have NBA TV, the Euro Final Four is on. If nothing else hit it with your Tivo or DVR (6 pm I believe Oklahoma time). It will be maybe your first chance to see one of our players hit the court.

Yotam Halperin was the Sonics’ second round draft pick in 2006 and he is in the backcourt for Olympiacos along with Josh Childress, formerly of the Atlanta Hawks and Jannero Pargo, most recently for the Hornets.

Yotam wanted a guaranteed contract to come to America after the draft, and as you may know, 2nd rounders aren’t assured of guaranteed contracts, so he opted to stay in Europe. His rights still belong to the franchise however. The dude can really stroke it.  He’s shooting 52% on his threes this season, but it’s not a fluke, the last three seasons he’s been over 44% from downtown, and north of 60% on his two pointers. He’s number 1 in all of Europe in true shooting percentage at 80%, and also in points per possession at 1.49!

He’s a 6’5″ combo guard from Israel who has been playing pro ball for a few years now.  According to Draftexpress, he’s ranked at #18 among international players whose rights are held by an NBA franchise.  I believe he has three Euroleague championships under his belt at 25 years old.

I’ve been waiting to see this kid play since that 2006 draft and am looking forward to seeing him against Europe’s top dogs. I’d love to see this kid in our summer league this year, or at training camp. Lord knows we could use somebody to fill up the basket from deep. I’ll have a short write up about the Olympiacos-Panathinaikos matchup tomorrow.

Here and here are the links for Yotam over at Draftexpress.

Other

Follow the Thunder on Twitter. When it reaches 1,500 followers, they’re giving away things from players’ lockers. Dibs on Robert Swift’s game worn jersey!

Speaking of, evidently Kevin Durant has officially stepped into Twitteronia. I assume it’s real since he’s being “followed” by the official Thunder twitter. His first tweet? “Eating breakfast.” Man, this should be awesome. UPDATE! I asked KD if he was going to be like Shaq and have people chasing him all over Penn Square Mall and he said, “haha. No, no. I won’t be like Shaq.” Correspondence with Kevin Durant! I’m a real journalist!!! WOOO!!!!

Let me say that last night’s Chicago-Boston game was one of the best I’ve ever watched. It was one of those games where you could just feel the awesomeness of it. You had Ray Allen going for 51. The scuffle in the first half. Rajon Rondo with 19 assists and ZERO turnovers. John Salmons and Derrick Rose combining for 53. Allen’s dagger three in overtime and then another coldblooded jumper in the third overtime. Joakim Noah’s unreal fast break dunk and-1. Everything about it was awesome. Derrick Rose’s block on Rondo. It was one of those games where you knew it was going on ESPN Classic tomorrow morning at the end of regulation. Didn’t matter what happened in OT. But the fact that they played three more unbelievable periods cemented it as one of the best ever. It was the NBA’s answer to Syracuse-UCONN. But with better players and more on the line. What. A. Game.

P.J. Carlesimo has some praise for Scott Brooks: “I thought Scotty (Brooks) and the staff did an excellent job. I thought the team continued to get better and better as the year went on, which is something that you always hope for. It happened last year, too, in Seattle. … The difference in Kevin Durant, and the individual improvement in some of the players is so dramatic. It’s primarily Kevin and how hard he worked, but it’s also Brian Keefe, the assistant who spent a lot of time working with him, and Scotty came along. I think Jeff Green has continued to improve. Russell Westbrook had an excellent rookie year. Some of the moves the team made have been really good. Most of the moves last year were salary cap moves, or moves to position themselves for the draft or free agency. Getting (Nenad) Krstic and (Thabo) Sefolosha are moves that will help the team on the floor right now and in the future.” Read more…

Bolts