Daily Thunder.com

Uh oh – the Knicks have an eye for The Polish Hammer as well: “Though the Knicks likely will take a combo-type guard in the June 25 NBA Draft, Knicks team president Donnie Walsh will eye a center with his $5 million mid-level exception during free agency, and Orlando’s 7-foot backup Marcin Gortat is very high on his list, The Post has learned.”

Darnell Mayberry looks at how each potential draft pick fits in with the Thunder: “Harden has the potential to compete for the starting shooting guard spot from Day 1 because of his instincts for the game and ability to score. He is almost the exact opposite of current starter Thabo Sefolosha, whose impact begins on the defensive end and is a work-in-progress offensively. There are questions about whether Harden will be able to defend in the NBA. It remains to be seen if those questions have any merit, but we do know Harden would be protected on the wing with the Thunder thanks to willing defenders Sefolosha, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.” He also gave Harden a 70 percent chance of being here, Thabeet 30 and Rubio 50.

A lawsuit could be imminent for Ricky Rubio: “Plenty of chatter about the Ricky Rubio situation, with the most interesting commentary coming from the many members of the Spanish basketball industry, which are out here in full force. The news this morning about a lawsuit being planned by Rubio’s camp is apparently very true, and there was plenty of spirited discussion regarding whether his exorbitant buyout relative to his proportional contract will hold up in a Spanish court. Some cited the fact that similar cases in soccer (for example in England) had sided in favor of the players in the past, while others mentioned that Rubio’s willing acceptance of a large pay raise a few months back had nullified his ability to dispute the validity of the deal. The main questions here are-how long will such a case take to play out? How much does Joventut need the money for this upcoming season? And how much will the negative publicity from such a bombastic story hurt them down the road in terms of signing young players? Can all this be resolved in satisfactory fashion in time for the draft? This move likely ends any chance Rubio has of pulling his name out of the draft, as the damage caused by such a lawsuit would likely be too great of a rift to heal this upcoming summer.”

Read more…

Bolts

Part 1 is here.

The idea in part 1 was that in order to become an upper crust team, a team needed to field a group of scorers that consisted of either two class Class A scorers, and surround them with specialists(see Shaq-Kobe or Shaq-Wade, 2nd Three-Peat Bulls) or field a team with one Class A scorer, and two Class B scorers, then fill in around the edges.(Ginobili-Duncan-Parker, Jordan-Pippen-Grant, Dantley-Thomas-Dumars, Hamilton-Billups-Sheed). A class A scorer is a player who has his points per shot in the 1.3 range and above. A class B scorer is between 1.2 and 1.29. And both of these have to include shooting the ball around 12 times per game or above.

This of course doesn’t take into account defense, but as a starting point, the team still has to be able to outscore the opponent, and the model works on a very basic level. It speaks to efficient offense, something the Thunder lack.

The 06-07 Spurs were comprised of three A level scorers:
Duncan: 1.41 pps-14 fga/gm
Parker: 1.30 pps-14.2 fga/gm
Ginobli: 1.44 pps-11.4 fga/gm. Read more…

Other

Ok, stop laughing. I am not talking about next year, but about a long term approach to team building that puts the Thunder into the upper crust of NBA teams competing for the golden trophy. The concept is very simplistic, but in some regards that’s the beauty of it. Keep it simple right? Easy to understand is always better than complex for me.

The idea is first that we have to put players on the team that can get it done. This isn’t as easy as it might seem. There is a lot to team building. You have to get pieces that fit, that compliment each other, that produce as a team, and that can grow together to form a multi-year run at the title. Few teams have been able to “buy” a championship, but it has been done. Sam Presti hasn’t shown any inclination to build a team through a series of big time free agent signings or trades, but he isn’t beyond trying to pluck that special player that is the missing ingredient (Tyson Chandler…). So I am concentrating on players that are in the nucleus now, and the upcoming draft.

I borrowed the concept from a paragraph or two in a blog post over at Hornets 24/7. The way the author (Ryan Schwan) suggests nearly every team that wins a championship has their team structured is around the concept of “A” and “B” scorers (here with reference to the Hornet’s roster):

“it seems to me that there are two ways to contend for a title in the NBA: Field a team with two Class A scorers, and surround them with specialists(see Shaq-Kobe or Shaq-Wade, 2nd Three-Peat Bulls) or field a team with one Class A scorer, and two Class B scorers, then fill in around the edges.(Ginobili-Duncan-Parker, Jordan-Pippen-Grant, Dantley-Thomas-Dumars, Hamilton-Billups-Sheed) The Hornets are currently built around a Class A scorer(Paul) and one Class B scorer(West), and one scorer(Peja) who they hoped would be Class B, but has fallen to Class C. To me, they either need to find another class B scorer on the cheap or try and upgrade their Class B scorer to a Class A one. The question is, however, who do I classify as a Class A or Class B Scorer? Class A are those players who are not only efficient scorers(points per shot of 1.3 or better) but whom retain that efficiency while taking around a dozen shots or more. Class B are those scorers who average between 1.2 and 1.3 points per shot, while taking the same number of shots per game.”

I crunched some of the numbers from recent successful teams and it’s a decent starting point for team success.

Read more…

Other

Remember when Scott Brooks played basketball? I really don’t, seeing as I was like six at the time of this clip. I do vaguely remember him playing for Rockets during both of their title runs, but I more remember Sam Cassell’s alien skull over anything else off that team. And how Robert Horry looked just like the Fresh Prince. And oh yeah, Otis Thorpe. What an old-sounding name. But I’ve always heard about what a scrapper Brooks was and how he kind of was to basketball what David Eckstein is to baseball. And this clip really shows it. He looks like a little kid when he breaks away for a fast break layup. Legs churning, that blonde mop on fire and dang determined to put the ball in the basket. I like having a coach that played with such a hard-nosed style. Makes me confident that he can pass that sort of mentality on to other players.

Video Scott Brooks

Oklahoma City played its best stretch with its star player sidelined with a bum ankle. Therefore, media folks had to bring up the inevitable “Is the Thunder better off without Durant?” questions and really, people are still talking about it. Reader J.G. emailed in and put all of that to bed.

“You’re joking, right?” is what my first response would be to people who ask this question but after his injury and the Thunder’s team success in his absence, a lot of individuals posed this question and at first glance, it may have not seemed all that ridiculous. However on second glance, this notion is clearly based off of the misconception that the 5 of 6 game stretch that the Thunder went on while Durant (and Green for a bit) was hurt was their best of the season statistically.

Well it turns out that stretch was not the Thunder’s best stretch of wins. Not even close. And here’s why:

The stretch without Durant included wins against Memphis (5th worst record), Washington (2nd worst record), Sacramento (1st worst record) and two sixth seeded playoff teams, Dallas and Philadelphia. When you tack on the fact that the Thunder were actually favored in two of those games that they were supposed to have won, then you can really see why that stretch meant very little in terms of an “impressive streak.”

The Thunder’s victories came against teams with a 20.7% Winning Percentage, a 23.2% Winning Percentage, a 29.3% Winning Percentage, a 50% Winning Percentage and a 61% Winning Percentage. So their opponent’s average Winning Percentage during the stretch without Durant (and Green for a time) was 36.8%, hardly something to celebrate and even less indicative of one player’s overall impact, destructive or constructive.

The best stretch the Thunder ACTUALLY had in terms of “quality of opponent” and “wins produced” was when they went 5 of 7 in January, beating Utah, Detroit, Golden State, New Jersey and Memphis. The Thunder were not favorites in ANY of these games and went up against much harder competition. Read more…

Commentary Kevin Durant

DeJuan Blair is among a couple players set to work out for OKC next: “Former Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair will be among six prospects who will participate in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s next NBA draft workout. Blair was named the co-Big East player of the year with Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, another prospect in this year’s draft. Other players participating in Friday’s workout will be guard Ben Woodside from North Dakota State, forward Jeff Adrien from Connecticut, center B.J. Mullens from Ohio State and guard Curtis Jerrells and forward Kevin Rogers, who are both from Baylor.” B.J. Mullens, eh? Well then, the Thunder must be high on him!

A mock draft: “Oklahoma City Thunder – Ricky Rubio, 6-3/185, PG, Spain – The most intriguing prospect of this year’s draft. He has the floor presence, swagger and haircut of a young Pete Maravich. But he doesn’t have the Pistol’s jump shot. Rubio more than held his own against the “Redeem Team” playing for Spain in the 2008 Olympics. His upside will be too great for the Thunder to pass up with this pick. They’ll move Russell Westbrook off the ball to make room for Rubio. You could do worse than a young nucleus of Rubio, Westbrook, Jeff Green and Kevin Durant (average age: 20).”

Earl Watson has changed agents: “Earl Watson has changed sports agencies, leaving agent Dan Fegan and BEST Basketball to join Bill Duffy at BDA Sports Management. Watson grew frustrated last season with his situation as a member of the 23-win Thunder and was believed to be disappointed in his agent’s handling of the matter. Watson never publicly said he desired to be traded but did say at the end of the season that he doesn’t expect to return. “You never know, this business is incredible,” Watson said in April. “But going into the last year of my deal, business-wise you become an attractive contract. And for the last month I haven’t been playing. So why would I be here?” Watson, who turns 30 on June 12, is owed $6.6 million next season.”

Ricky Rubio has not scheduled a workout with the Grizzlies. Duhn, duhn, duhnnn: “The Grizzlies have not scheduled a workout/meeting in Memphis with 18-year-old Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio.A team insider said the Griz were unaware of Rubio’s exact plans – whether he would work out for any NBA team or simply arrive in the U.S. for the draft. Long-time NBA writer and good friend, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, wrote in her blog that sources say Rubio “is suddenly amenable to participating in interviews and individual workouts with a select number of teams …Rubio’s agent, Dan Fegan, is limiting the visits to the teams with draft picks 2-4.” Read more…

Bolts

Some thoughts with a little help from my friends. There were a couple interesting comments recently that I wanted to make sure didn’t get missed. Oh, and a TV show you should be watching.

• Reader Ransom had an outstanding observation about the combine numbers: “So while its not really Thunder related, does anyone else find it odd/funny/disturbing that Dwight Howard dunked a basketball easily on a 12-foot rim, yet no one in this years draft combine could even touch a 12 foot rim if they tried?” I never even considered that. I have an all new appreciation for Howard’s dunk now. He made it look so easy that no one was really all that impressed at the time. But if you look at Blake Griffin, a guy that is an incredible athlete, only got to 11-feet, 8.5-inches. And Howard dunked two-handed, EASILY on a 12-foot rim. Unreal. This truly blows my mind.

• I hate to be “that guy” but with the Finals starting tonight, I’m really just hoping for a good series. I didn’t even really care all that much about the Kobe-LeBron thing. As long as the games are good, it could be Pietrus-Fisher and I wouldn’t care. Plus, we do get to maybe settle the Morrison-Redick debate once and for all.

• I’m really going to have a close eye on Trevor Ariza this series. He’s had a really nice postseason and you have to be careful of rewarding a player with a big contract just based on that, but it’s hard to ignore him. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer and though he would probably be another more expensive Thabo Sefolosha, you always better with two good players instead of one. I have a feeling Ariza is going to want big time money and OKC isn’t going to offer that, but still, the Thunder is going to be a major player in this market and Ariza is going to be a pretty good prize.

• Speaking of, this series has got a couple of potential targets. Of course Ariza, but then there’s also everybody’s favorite Polishman, Marcin Gortat. Hedo Turkoglu has an ETO, Lamar Odom is unrestricted and even Shannon Brown, who has played well in spurts, is open. Not everyone fits OKC, but there’s definitely reason to watch. While you want to see a guy like Gortat play well in his minutes, you don’t want him to play too well if Presti is really targeting him because every extra rebound, every extra block, every extra point is a couple more thousand tacked onto that salary. Read more…

Commentary Rumblings

A Lawrence, KS writer looks at all the pro Jayhawks chances of getting to the Finals next year: “Nick Collison, Oklahoma City Thunder – The No. 3 pick in this month’s draft (whoever it is) certainly will help the cause and the Thunder have a few other nice, young pieces — most notably Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook — but, realistically, this team is still a long way from challenging for an NBA title. If this nucleus stays together and develops and if they can find a way to add a veteran presence somewhere down the road, this team could be one of the hotter clubs in 3-5 years. But for now the thought that Collison and Co. have a shot at winning it all just seems ridiculous.” 35-1? Hey, that’s pretty good!

NBADraft.net on the Combine: “No projected lottery player was more surprising at the combine than James Harden. Many scouting reports on Harden say that he’s not athletic, but his results say otherwise. First, he recorded a 37” vertical and reached the same maximum height (11’8.5”) as Blake Griffin. Second, he ran a 3.13 sprint, which was only one hundredth behind speedster Ty Lawson, and repped 17 on the bench press. It’s been reported that the Thunder are considering him at #3. With no more reservations about his athleticism, is this enough for Harden to leapfrog Rubio?”

First it was the Spurs. Then the Blazers. Now the Magic? Geez Darnell, who’s path are we not following?: “The process that Thunder general manager Sam Presti often speaks of in Oklahoma City is playing out before our eyes in Orlando, where only after five years of rebuilding has the Magic positioned themselves to force their way into this year’s NBA Finals. Orlando’s road took luck, patience, foresight and a few shrewd signings and trades. But it’s a journey that proves the Finals isn’t only reserved for NBA royalty like the Magic’s heavily favored opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, or last year’s champs, the Boston Celtics, who traded their way to a title.” I guess those paths are all the same in the sense a once bad team is now a good team. So if OKC is following that path, then great. Read more…

Bolts

Technically this was the first ever NBA Combine and it just concluded yesterday and the ability tests have been released. Nothing all too shocking, except Hasheem Thabeet didn’t test, which was strange.

I think the two that did the most for themselves were Stephen Curry and James Harden. I’m beginning to turn and find my way to the Curry bandwagon. He’s a much better athlete than I anticipated and he’s polished in every way. A 35.5-inch vertical, good agility numbers and nice speed results. Plus he’s smart, can shoot and… can shoot. I like him more and more.

And I think Harden put to bed some of those “subpar athlete” criticisms. Maybe it was the baggy t-shirt he wore in college that tagged him with that stereotype. He had an excellent vertical and tested well in everything else, especially the strength numbers (he benched 185 17 times – one of the top numbers at the camp).

On the flip side, I really don’t know why Hasheem Thabeet would turn down athletic testing. I feel like someone just knocked on my door and handed me a red flag. And I just took it to my Thabeet closet and tossed it in there with my other 50 red flags. Only one other player refused testing and that was Demarre Carroll. Even Blake Griffin, who doesn’t have to do anything and is still going No. 1, tested. I don’t know if Thabeet is trying to hide a 7-inch vertical or maybe mask the fact Jim Traber in high heels is faster than him. I have no clue. But the whole thing stinks.

How about Jonny Flynn and his 40-inch vertical? And Wayne Ellington wasn’t bad with his 38-inch one either. DeMar DeRozen who is evidently able to jump and touch the moon, checked in with a 38.5-inch vert. Blake Griffin had a 35.5-inch vertical, but his no-step vert was 32 inches, good for third of all the people at the combine. That really shows you his explosion. He gets up faster than anybody. That’s what makes him such a monster on the boards.

My mind hasn’t been totally changed on anything just based on some numbers, but I do think you can put a lot more stock into the NBA Combine than the NFL Combine. In the NBA, you actually use the skills you’re tested on during actual gameplay. You actually run, jump and move side-to-side. In the NFL, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a player broad jump his way into the endzone. So these numbers have weight and help to clear the picture a bit.

Just 22 more days…

Commentary, News Combine results

Sean Deveney still has OKC taking Hasheem Thabeet (I think he’s the only one), had this to say about James Harden: “James Harden, Arizona State. Harden is approaching this draft as if he is a top-five pick. And he might be. Certainly, word has spread that the Thunder will take him at No. 3 or the Wizards at No. 5. That feels like smokescreen information, though. Given the fact that the Wizards could trade their pick, and that Oklahoma City, too, is weighing its trading options, it seems that Harden would be wise to work out for some fallback teams later in the lottery.”

Hey guess what? A mock draft!: “Oklahoma City Thunder – James Harden: Many had Harden a lot lower than what I picked but James Harden is the goods. The Thunder are quite pleased with the way Westbrook has developed at the PG position and to under cut him by drafting another PG would just mess everything up (look for them to sign a free agent to play back up) Harden gives the Thunder options at shooting guard, he can score, he can handle the ball and he can create. I can also see Harden handling the ball for extended periods of time as his career continues, kind of reminds me of a shorter Paul Pierce.”

The Blazers are eyeing Stephen Curry: “Don’t be surprised if the Portland Trail Blazers trade into the lottery, looking to acquire Davidson’s Stephen Curry. The way I hear it, the Blazers (currently picking 24th) are nosing around to trade up and have Curry in their sights. Enough teams are willing to deal down that this is a real possibility. And it would be great for Curry in this regard: A long-time NBA scout told me months ago that the ideal situation for Curry is to play point guard on a team with a shooting guard who can also handle the ball. That would allow Curry to spot up some, and maximize the impact of his shooting.” Read more…

Bolts

I know that right now, actual basketball being played on an actual court with actual NBA players is probably pretty far back in Thunder fans’ minds. I think the Thunder fan thought flow right now goes: “Draft-Draft-James Harden-Ricky Rubio-Food–Work–Draft-Sleep-Trades-Food-Draft-NBA Finals-Hasheem Thabeet.” Or something like that.

But the truth is, the Finals are what we all want. I may be totally crazy here, but I’d much rather have won a title than won the lottery. Heck, I’d rather have gotten swept in the Western quarterfinals than been in the lottery. But that’s me. I’d rather be playing than watching and wishing. The Finals are the reason we all care so much about free agency and the draft. Because you know, we want players that can help us get there.

Anyway, so with the Finals starting this week and I was thinking: What can Thunder fans and/or players take out of this? Here’s five things:

1. A superstar is needed, but the other four guys are just as important. Watch the way the Lakers maneuver with Kobe Bryant. He’s the unquestioned MAN of that team, but there’s a reason they are here and the Cavs are not. Those reasons are Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Kevin Durant is already a fantastic - I say FANTASTIC - player, but he can’t do it on his own. Nor could Russell Westbrook or Jeff Green. It’s got to be five guys working as one. Or at least three or four. Kobe doesn’t have to take every shot. He’s perfectly content scoring 18 on 6-11 shooting. He just waits and strikes when needed. Nobody does it better.

I remember some of my favorite basketball the Thunder played this season was while KD was out (don’t read anything into that). The team swung the ball side-to-side, made crisp cuts and moved the ball everywhere. It was beautiful basketball. They didn’t have the out of KD standing on the wing. They couldn’t just toss it to him and hope for the best. They all had to contribute. That’s the type of basketball is really takes to win, but insert a superstar player into the middle of it and you’ve got something special. It’s harder to figure out than you think though. The Magic understand Dwight Howard’s abilities and deficiencies and adjust accordingly. Same with the Lakers. You have to understand how everything works around your best player. Both these squads have that figured out pretty well. Read more…

Commentary Lakers, Magic, NBA Finals

I don’t mean to impart on my own personal tastes on you fine people, but today my favorite band, Dave Matthews Band, releases a new album – Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. And that’s not something that happens all that often either. I’m sure some people hate DMB and that’s fine – we all have our tastes. I’ve seen DMB 11 times and so it’s safe to say I enjoy their work. And I’m stoked about the new album, so if you don’t like it, soo-oorrrrry.

Malik Rose says the Thunder needs some nastiness: “On the flip side, practices were too fun. A little elbow or a little fight here or there in practice, being physical, pushing and shoving is good. But when you step off the court, it’s great to get back to being best friends, being close, hanging out and joking.” Some call it grit. During this year’s NBA playoffs, “nastiness” was a term used to describe the Houston Rockets’ and Denver Nuggets’ ability to go toe-to-toe with the highly favored Los Angeles Lakers. Call it what you want, but Rose, who won two NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs, said developing toughness is essential.”

Designs for the Thunder’s new scoreboard were released and let me tell you – awesome. Just awesome. I don’t know if I’m more excited about next season because of the team, or because I get to see the new scoreboard: “It weighs 46,000 pounds, is 31 feet tall and 35 feet wide and features a dozen video panels as well as an LED ring. Indeed, the new Ford Center scoreboard will be one of the biggest and best in the NBA. After months of research, backing from Oklahoma City taxpayers and the underlying goal of upgrading the fan’s in-game experience, the Thunder on Monday unveiled designs for its new $3.9 million scoreboard that will be one of the leading scoreboards in NBA and NHL arenas.”

Stephen Curry with Sporting News: “CL: What can you tell me about your interviews? Who wanted to talk to you? Who did you want to talk to? SC: I had teams like Houston, Washington and Oklahoma City; teams in need of a point guard. Of course the New York teams were there. A lot of teams that are planning to trade up and move up in the lottery wanted to talk to me to see how I felt about their team. Of the 14 teams, they’re all equally excited to get to know me a bit.” Read more…

Bolts

The 66ers are suing the arena that they played in last year: “The ownership group of the 66ers — a minor league professional basketball team affiliated with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder — has filed a lawsuit in Tulsa County District Court against Home Ventures Inc., the SpiritBank Event Center’s owner and operator. The 66ers’ ownership group is led by Clay Bennett, who also owns the Thunder. The 66ers played one basketball season, 2008-09, in the Bixby arena but will have a new home next year. The 66ers claim that the SpiritBank center’s ownership group, led by President Tim Remy, owes more than $100,000 and hasn’t paid anything to the professional basketball franchise during its one year as a tenant in the arena. The 66ers seek more than $200,000 in compensatory damages.”

Evidently, the Thunder likes Ricky Rubio – shocking, I know: “What, then, will the Oklahoma City Thunder do with the third overall pick? The buzz being sent out by the team is that they might go shooting guard, and names like James Harden and DeMar DeRozan have been thrown out there for the media to feast upon. Yet while we’ve been in Chicago catching up with anyone and everyone in the NBA, we’ve learned that the Thunder are actually very seriously considering taking Ricky Rubio with the #3 and moving Russell Westbrook, who is a Brandon Roy type of point guard, over to his more natural position off the ball. Keep in mind that this is the time of misdirection and distraction. NBA general managers don’t want anyone to know who they really like, as that knowledge empowers a team above them to out-maneuver them by taking their player and then offering to trade him down for a lower pick and an additional asset. Most of the teams are just starting to truly understand who these players are, and this year more than any other in recent memory we’ll see June workouts influence who teams ultimately choose at the draft. If the draft were today, however, we’re assured that the Thunder would most likely go with Rubio, improving what is already the best young nucleus in the NBA.”

OKC likes Steph Curry a lot too, supposedly: “Oklahoma City has a Stephen Curry fixation. The Thunder attended all of Curry’s home games at Davidson this past season and is looking at him as a potential shooting guard. But they’ll almost certainly move down from the No. 3 pick if they decide to take him. Scouts are not only high on Curry’s shooting, but also think he can make players better around him. “When you look at that Davidson team, they barely had any other Division I players,” said one scout.” Read more…

Bolts