Daily Thunder.com

Throughout the week some of you drop some brilliant or at least somewhat thoughtful comments and so this is a try at highlighting some of them. Disclaimer: It’s not that I necessarily agree with all of them, but they were interesting and for the most part, well put.

At some point, just pull the dang trigger. (Justin): Are you guys alright with the team remaining so far under the cap the entire season? With teams bound to be racing to cut salary either for 2010 free agency or to avoid the luxury tax, it seems unlikely that the Thunder wouldn’t have offers to ‘rent’ their cap space. I’m still convinced that the rescinded Tyson Chandler trade had more to do with second guessing the finances than long term concerns about his health.

Now the team’s under the cap for almost the amount of money owed to Chandler this season, and he was succesfully flipped for the exact kind of player OKC needs (Okafor). In this instance I feel the trigger shy attitude of this management team got the best of them. Sam Presti probably has this year to still be given the benefit of the doubt, but if he isn’t active with all this flexibility next offseason it’ll be clear what’s what. Read more…

Smart Thoughts

Jon Schuhmann of NBA.com looks at the development of the 2007 draft class: “Led by Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, the draft class of 2007 was going to make a big impact on the NBA. But two years later, we’re still waiting on several lottery picks to show us something in the league. Durant, of course, is doing just fine and looks ready to lead the league in scoring. Others like Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Thaddeus Young, Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks and Glen Davis have shined in the postseason spotlight and given us a taste of what they can be.”

David Aldridge looking at potential suitors for David Lee: “Oklahoma City also has cap space, but the Thunder is not willing to use much of it this summer on any high-priced players, preferring to keep its powder dry for future years to either extend Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook or be able to bring in big-contract players from other teams to supplement its talent base.”

Fanhouse with ideas of what advertisers could go on the practice jerseys: “We at FanHouse can’t wait that long to see which company decides to sponsor which team, so we’ve come up with some suggestions of our own. Some are irreverent, and some are more literal. But none are meant to be taken seriously … Oklahoma City Thunder: ADT. Just in case another city tries to one day steal them.” Harf harf harf harf. Read more…

Bolts

First off, this is a ridiculous question and the fact it’s picked up this much steam for the four talking idiots heads on Around the Horn to debate tells you that it’s clearly the NBA offseason. But let’s get to the bottom of this thing. Up front, to be clear: LEBRON JAMES IS A BETTER PLAYER… RIGHT NOW. Nobody would argue with that. Unless they are related to KD or maybe on his payroll.

On Around the Horn today, Jay Mariotti said it was “absolutely crazy” and laughed it off as if he was offended to even be asked; Kevin Blackistone said no way, but he can see it in the future (being the only one to actually kind of answer the question); Bill Plaschke talked and stuttered so fast I could barely understand him, but ended up saying it was stupid to even think Durant was better; and Woody Paige did something HILARIOUS in which I fell on the floor laughing at his outrageous antics. It was all great television.

And I wouldn’t have disagreed with them one bit, had they answered the question properly. Let’s review what Sam Smith said that started this whole ridiculous debate. Read more…

Commentary Kevin Durant, LeBron James

When you were a kid, you were one of two ways when it came to money. You either spent it as soon  as you got it on crap or you waited and saved for something good. Every kid was that way. You found a dollar? Let’s blow it on baseball cards. Or maybe you’ll save for a baseball glove. It was pretty much one or the other. And I think NBA general managers are the exact same way.

Some get a little cap room and can’t wait to blow it on some “big name” free agent. Doesn’t matter who’s out there or what could come available, if money is in the pocket, it’s getting spent. Others get some cap room, take a look at the options and just say pass. And obviously, it appears Sam Presti is the kid putting the dollar in his pocket. But with something like $10 million in cap room and free agents still out there, some folks are wondering why Oklahoma City isn’t getting into the game. Why isn’t OKC going after Lamar Odom? Why didn’t the Thunder press harder for Paul Millsap? What about guys like David Lee and Ramon Sessions? Why is Presti holding his cards?

It’s simple: Because he’s freaking smart.

If there’s one thing that sets a franchise back, it’s frivolous spending. Five years, $53 million for 30-year-old Hedo Turkoglu? Five years, $55 million for Ben Gordon? Four years, $20 million for Jarrett Jack? The full mid-level exception for Marcin Gortat? Those type of signings are so hit and miss that they’re almost not worth it. Sure they could improve your squad, but is the risk worth the reward? And when you’re running a low risk, high reward franchise like Presti, it’s easier to pass on those deals than you think. There is no sense in spending money just because you have it. Other teams can do that. Presti and the Thunder can’t. Read more…

Commentary Free Agency

Yesterday’s B.S. Report with Marc Stein and Ric Bucher spent a lot of time talking about remaining free agents, and Oklahoma City was brought up multiple times. Including once by Simmons who accidently said, “Oklahoma Cit–” before stopping himself. They start chatting at about the 33 minute mark about the Thunder.

Chris Silva has an interesting piece about players that go to Europe: ”For every welcome-to-the-NBA moment, there are moments like those of Marcus Dove and hundreds others of American ball players like him, people who move halfway around the globe to play professional basketball and to chase a dream. Moments like the one Dove had minutes after stepping off a plane in Frankfurt, Germany, early last September when he couldn’t find his driver for two hours. Dove couldn’t speak German, nor did he have a working cell phone. Not exactly how he wanted to begin a new chapter in his life.”

The Lost Ogle recapping the somewhat eventful summer and other things: “As crazy as it sounds, Smith does make some good points, such as the fact that Durant is a hard worker when it comes to the game. James basically coasted on natural ability and physical gifts for his first five plus years of his career. It was not until playing with Kobe Bryant on the “Redeem Team” that LeBron saw Kobe’s work ethic and realized that it takes effort to improve. Durant has always been a gym rat who loves the game so much it is all he wants to do. Given that KD is four years behind LeBron age-wise, Durant’s worker mentality could lead to him being much better than LeBron is now by the time he hits the 24 year old mark.” Read more…

Bolts

It’s a bit of a slow day round these parts, so how about some moving pictures on this Hump Day? Elie Seckbach, who does awesome, slightly different interviews with NBA players, caught up with Kevin Durant recently at the Gatorade High School Awards banquet thing. Besides Seckbach saying “N-B-A” 45 times in 20 seconds at the beginning, it’s a pretty solid interview. The most interesting part was when Seckbach asked KD when ‘Lil Wayne or Jay-Z would do a song about him and Durant said, “Never. They don’t know who I am.” His humility has reached almost sickening levels. But I love it. I’d much rather hear this type of stuff from a star than him refering to himself in the third person and talking about how no one could beat him at anything, ever.

Video Kevin Durant

I just CANNOT get over Kevin Durant’s humility. After Sam Smith said he may be better than LeBron yesterday, Durant tweeted, “MAN Y PEOPLE KEEP SAYIN THAT..IM NOT NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS LEBRON MAN.” And this morning he said, “STOP COMPARING ME TO BRON…HES ON ANOTHER LEVEL!! CMON PEOPLE..BE SERIOUS.” That just blows me away. Before you just take that for granted, think about it for a second. How many professional athletes would say stuff like that and not jump all over someone calling him the best? Not many, right? I need a tattoo on my face that says, “I heart KD.”

Darnell Mayberry’s take on it: “I chalk up Durant’s response as yet another sign of his humbleness and respect for the league and one of the game’s best. Also, I think Durant attacks his forthcoming ascent in a very practical manner. He realizes he has the gifts to develop into one of the most unique players the league has ever seen. But he’s more focused on the work it will take to earn having his name mentioned in the same breath of LeBron rather than simply accepting the acclaim with which media and fans already want to anoint upon him.”

Patrick Cassidy of Dime on it: ”Naturally, my first reaction was “Sam, GTFOH.” There is part of me though, that gets what he’s saying. KD is a beast, and all signs point to him being an absolute monster this season as the best player on one of the League’s rising young squads. The fact that he’s 6-10, has range for days, and can play multiple positions makes him a serious weapon – but he’s not the athlete that LeBron is, he’s nowhere near as explosive or powerful, and struggles guarding smaller, faster players.” Read more…

Bolts

Darnell Mayberry, the lead beat writer for the Thunder, was gracious enough to take some time to answer a few questions about his experiences covering the team. It may be on the long side, but every answer is definitely worth reading.

Daily Thunder: With the Sooners and the Cowboys, people are really touchy about The Oklahoman remaining unbiased and objective. But with the Thunder, this is the state’s team. Do you find it harder to try and stay objective or is it easy to get caught up being a fan?

Darnell Mayberry: I’m not a fan. That’s the first thing I think it’s important to realize. I am a fan of the NBA, sure. It’s my favorite league. But I don’t root for the Thunder specifically or have a team bumper sticker on my car or foam fingers in my house or Kevin Durant autographed pictures hanging on my wall. And so I haven’t found my job as the Thunder beat writer any more or less difficult than any other beat in terms of remaining objective. It’s a professional obligation in my eyes. An awesomely fun and enjoyable one, but one that I take seriously and work very hard at.

Having said that, it’s human nature to want to see people do well. Working closely with so many classy people in the Thunder organization, from players to coaches to front office execs, you want to see them do well. But I’m not happy or heartbroken after every win or loss. My approach to my job remains the same whether the Thunder has a 3-29 record through its first 32 games or goes 20-30 over its final 50. I don’t, however, know any sports journalist, myself included, that doesn’t want to cover a good team. It’s both a pleasure and a professional challenge to chronicle the biggest sporting events of the year. So I’m like every other professional sports journalist I know who wants to continually be in that position. But I don’t let my desire cloud my judgment or show up in my work. The one challenge about this being Oklahoma’s team, and the state’s first major-league franchise, is that there is a ton of excitement about the Thunder. And what I’ve found sort of ironic is while many sports journalists live in fear of being labeled a homer, I’m in a position where fans are upset when I’m too critical. Read more…

Interview Darnell Mayberry

Howlin’ T-Wolf on the trade: “Much like the trade last week for Quentin Richardson, this is at best just a lateral move that helps the Wolves positionaly this season while also now splitting Etan’s expiring contract into two for Kahn to have more flexibility in trades moving forward. I don’t foresee either guy playing too much (you can see the Daily Thunder rejoicing at their departure here), although Atkins could see more time as the backup pg over Bobby Brown especially after his summer league play, and I see both as being acquired for more of a veteran presence in the locker room especially with Atkins being able to show the point guard ropes to Jonny Flynn. As for Etan Thomas, although a serviceable center in the league, he probably wouldn’t have seen too much time either with Love and Jefferson both getting the heavy minutes at the 4 and 5.”

Canis Hoopus: “…Chucky Atkins will probably be our veteran PG somewhat like Kevin Ollie was last year. Atkins has been a very good player in some years, with his best season being for the Lakers in 04-05. He’s a good playmaker and he has a decent shot. Damien Wilkins has time to improve his skills at age 29 although he hasn’t shown much improvement over his career. He gives us a third SF, along with Ryan Gomes and Corey Brewer. Damien isn’t a great shooter of any kind. Not a good 3pt shooter, 2pt shooter, FT shooter … Etan Thomas wouldn’t do that much for our team, probably somewhat like Jason Collins, so I’m completely fine with this trade. We could have done something with our 2nd round picks, but I think it’s fine to give those up.”

Chris Mannix on Team USA mini-camp standouts: “Russell Westbrook – The best point guard in camp, Westbrook showcased physical defensive skills and an improving jump shot. He picked up three steals in Saturday’s scrimmage and was a menace to Rose, Harris and D.J. Augustin during practices. “He’s a bulldog out there,” marveled Coach K …  Kevin Durant – When asked how he would improve the ’08 team, Colangelo was succinct: “Kevin Durant.” Durant was better than any other player in Las Vegas. His jump shot continues to develop and the U.S. coaches are infatuated with his versatility and ability to score inside and out.” Read more…

Bolts

According to Darnell Mayberry, this deal is either DONE or close to it:

The Thunder has beefed up its frontcourt. Oklahoma City acquired reserve center Etan Thomas from Minnesota on Monday, sending reserve guards Damien Wilkins and Chucky Atkins to the Timberwolves in exchange for the 6-foot-10 Tulsa native.

The Thunder also will get Minnesota’s second-round pick in 2010 and a conditional 2010 second-round pick from the Wolves. Oklahoma City will now have five total draft picks in 2010, including its own first- and second-round picks and Phoenix’s unprotected first-round selections.

Another slick move by Presti and Co. First, Thomas is a native Oklahoman (Booker T. Washington), so he can fill the token Okie spot likely to be vacated by Desmond Mason. Second, his contract expires at the end of this year and he’s owed just over $7.3 million, so the Thunder keeps its cap flexibility. Third, no more Damien Wilkins and Chucky Atkins. Fourth, the Thunder now has five picks in next year’s draft (two first rounders, three second). Fifth, that’s an extra roster spot for OKC to work with. And sixth, at least someone is behind Nenad Krstic on the depth chart now.

The 31-year-old Thomas averaged 11.8 minutes per game last year in 26 games and putting up 3.1 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game. Hard to say how much he’ll contribute or if he’ll have much of any impact, but don’t overlook the veteran leadership he can bring to young guys Serge Ibaka and Byron Mullens. Thomas has fought injuries for a lot of his career and I’m not thinking he’ll do a whole heck of a lot, but we thought the same thing when Malik Rose came to town and Rose had a very positive impact. So you never know. But it’s a good move because it opens up the roster without hurting the team’s cap situation.

I know what you’re thinking: Couldn’t we have gotten more out of the expiring contracts of Chucky and Damien? You’d think so, but all those two are going to do is go sit on somebody’s bench. While expiring deals are certainly valuable, you also want to get something in return that you can put on the floor and will produce. So thinking Wilkins and Atkins could be flipped at the deadline for an actually productive player wasn’t much more than a pipe dream. (And as reader JK quickly pointed out in the comments, Thomas’ $7.3M deal can be flipped much easier at the deadline than Wilkins and Atkins.)

News Chucky Atkins, Damien Wilkins, Etan Thomas

NBA.com looked at 10 players that helped their Team USA stock and No. 1 was our friend: “Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City … Showcase stats: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 5-12 fg, 1-4 3pt, 9-9 ft …  In order to ensure a spot on next year’s roster, Durant needed to show that he’s more than just a scorer, and he did that. He was a factor defensively and also made plays for his teammates. It took some time for him to get going offensively on Saturday, but he got to the line often and got out in transition for some easy buckets. Barring injury, he’s a lock to be making the trip to Turkey next summer.” Notice that – a factor defensively. I am drooling everywhere right now.

Also from that same story, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green also made the list: ”Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City … Showcase stats: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3-5 fg, 1-2 3pt … Over the course of the three days, nobody made more plays for himself or his teammates than Westbrook. He’s got great hands defensively and picked up a couple of steals in the backcourt on Saturday. He’s also lightning fast and can jump out of the gym. But his decision-making was hit or miss, as he would often over-penetrate and lose the ball when he got into a crowd … Jeff Green, PF, Oklahoma City … Showcase stats: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2-8 fg, 1-4 3pt, 3-4 ft  … Green doesn’t stand out with anything he does, but after watching him for a while, you realize that he does everything pretty well and doesn’t hurt you. After sitting out some time with an arm injury, he hit a big shot in one of the scrimmages on Friday, and he came out strong on Saturday, before slowing down in the second half.”

Bill Simmons, handing out offseason awards: “To Kevin Durant. Why? He flew to Vegas for summer league even though he wasn’t playing, sat on his team’s bench every day, cheered his boys on, dispensed advice during timeouts and everything else you’d want from your top gun. All signs point to Durant becoming one of those galvanizing, personable, Duncan-like leaders for the Zombie Sonics. Love it. Couldn’t be happier about this. Our one-sided bromance continues to be in full bloom. And you know what else? … Read more…

Bolts

The dog days of Summer are upon us, and the excitement of the draft and free agency are moving into our short term memory. For the next  two and a half months we’ll have nothing to tide us over in round ball except an occasional news blurb about some team interested in Rasho Nesterovic to bolster their front line, or another article about whether Lebron is better than M.J…

Maybe it’s time for some to look to other things to help pass the time between now and training camp. Royce made a few quality suggestions last week. For me, I decided to fire up the DVR. I have about 20 Thunder games saved, just waiting for me to watch or do something with. I thought maybe I would re watch all of them over this time and come up with some clever angle to write about, but it hit me the other day what I wanted to do: to give a real in-depth analysis of Russell Westbrook.

If you’ve been reading DailyThunder for awhile, or any of a number of the forums or blogs that deal with the Thunder on a regular basis than you are familiar with one of the recurring debates: is Russell Westbrook our Point Guard of the future? Many would point to his overall rookie output of 15 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds as a rookie (give or take) and realize that only a small number of rookies (11) have ever reached each of those benchmarks in their rookie seasons; guys with names like Jordan, Chris Paul, Magic, Grant Hill, Oscar Robinson. That’s great company to be in, but others would point to his 1.6 assist to turnover ratio, or his 17% turnover rate, or his .399 field goal shooting and .277 three point shooting and say we have a combo guard who will never be a point guard.

I don’t plan to definitively answer that question here, but what I thought I would do is watch tape of the Thunder and chart out every offensive and defensive play that RW plays an active role in in a given game and see where he excels and where he is lacking. This is a work in progress, and I plan to make it an ongoing series to help tide over some of us hoop junkies during the off season. Read more…

Commentary Russell Westbrook

(Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Just 95 days until the NBA season kicks off. I hope we make it.)

How cool is it that three Thunder players were in the room when Coach K welcomed players to the Team USA mini-camp? So far Kevin Durant has made quite an impression in Vegas, but not too much to be said about Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook. But hey, that’s the breaks when you’re on the floor with KD. Durant is a lock for 2010 at the World Championships in Turkey, but don’t rule out Uncle Jeff and Westbrook yet. They did get invited after all. And even if they don’t make the roster, they’ll have a leg up for 2012 when the Olympic roster is set. Who knows what kind of players these guys could be in another three years. I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty awesome to think about.

Video

A new little weekly feature we’re going to try. Throughout the week some of you drop some brilliant or at least thoughtful comments and so this is a try at highlighting some of them. Disclaimer: It’s not that I necessarily agree with all of them, but they were interesting and well put.

Not the blue or the red one – the poison one. (Steve H): “Landing Gortat this summer would have required the sort of “Poison Pill” offer that Portland tried with Millsap/Utah- and as their example showed, even then it might not work. I do not think Gortat would be worth the $8-10million per it would have taken, but he would be a fantastic acquisition at his current price of $6+ per. I love the pairing of him and Krstic – our starting unit should be able to score in bunches without significant offense from the five spot- what it lacks is interior defense and rebounding.

Our second unit (Livingston, Sefolosha, Green and White) looks like a better defensive unit over-all that could really benefit from Krstic’s shooting ability. I still have my fingers crossed about landing Gortat this December – Mullens and a first rounder? Throw in a second round pick? Gortat certainly looks solid, but Orlando paying out over 1 million per average minute (after tax) on the floor seems plain crazy.”

Bringing home the prodigal CP3. (DSMok1): “By Wins Produced, [Chris Paul] is worth all of the Thunder’s roster put together. Seriously. In fact, he is the best player in the NBA by Wins Produced (above LeBron, Howard, and Wade). In fact, he is only the second player to go above 29 wins produced in a season (after KG from ‘03 to ‘05) this decade. If he were available … well, get him! He just carried an abysmal team to the playoffs (only Chandler and Posey were even above average!). Put Chris Paul and KD together, wait a couple of years, assemble a few pieces, and you have a title team. Seriously. Next year, you’d have a playoff team–even if you gave up Westbrook and Jeff Green. You would have the best tandem in the league, bar none. Of course, trading CP3 would be suicide for the Hornets. They better not do it!” Read more…

Smart Thoughts

The preseason schedule is out (all times CST): Wed., October 7 at Memphis 7:00 p.m.; Sat., October 10 at New OrleanscTBD; Mon., October 12 vs. Phoenix 7:00 p.m.; Wed., October 14 vs. Miami 7:00 p.m. in Tulsa, OK; Mon., October 19 at Houston 7:30 p.m.; Tue., October 20 vs. San Antonio 7:30 p.m. in Austin, TX; Thu., October 22 vs. Sacramento 7:00 p.m.

Coach K raved about Kevin Durant’s play yesterday: “Pencil in Kevin Durant for a spot on the 2010 version of Team USA. Better yet, put it in ink. Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski singled out Durant and showered him with praise following the first day of a three-day mini-camp for a group of 20 young players trying to make the senior national team. Durant was the most dominant player on the floor in the team’s 12-minute scrimmage after the squad spent the bulk of Thursday’s practice working on drills. Friday’s practice was expected to be more focused on scrimmaging.”

A nice story about KD and his developing leadership: “That definitely is not the case for Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have developed a symbiotic duality that all teams wish to have with their franchise player. Durant, who told HOOPSWORLD at the Gatorade Player of the Year ceremonies that he plans to remain in Oklahoma City for the rest of his career because “that’s where [he] started,” has grown in front of everyone’s eyes and – at only 20-years old – has become the team’s leader and the face of the franchise.” Read more…

Bolts