Monday Bolts – 8.10.09
The Scores Report looking at teams with cap space in 2010: “The Thunder are compelling because they have a great young nucleus that includes Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and James Harden. It would be a terrific spot for a big like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire to go if they are serious about trying to win a championship.”
Basketball Fiend breaking down OKC’s offseason: ”Speaking of disappointment, I’m sorely disappointed that Sam Presti didn’t make a play for restricted free agent David Lee this offseason. Lee may not be the defensive presence that Presti is searching for (Lee had a 108 defensive rating last season according to Basketball Reference), but he is a very good defensive rebounder and a classic locker room guy (no, not in a Josh Weinstein-Entourage way). If the price is right (and it is right now), what’s not to like here? The Knicks are low-balling Lee and his agent like crazy right now. Would it kill Presti to jump in and offer three years, $24 million? The Thunder have a payroll under $50 million right now. It’s not like Lee is going to break the bank or put them in luxury tax territory. The move makes sense. What’s preventing this from happening? I want answers! Ultimately, the Thunder didn’t do much this offseason. I like the Harden pick a lot. But when four of your five major offseason acquisitions are Etan Thomas, B.J. Mullens, Kevin Ollie, and Robert Vaden, it’s a disappointing offseason. I give the Thunder a C.”
Brook Lopez talking about who impressed him most at the Team USA mini-camp: “I’d say it would come down to Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. They are like the two best young players in the world. They definitely showed that at the camp and can take one of the spots on the team.”
Tony Mejia grades the Northwest Division and OKC scored an A-: “Smartest move: Seeing very few pieces they felt would greatly impact the franchise’s future, the Thunder stood pat and maintained their massive allotment of cap space for 2010, where the first order of business will be locking up Kevin Durant to an extension come July 1. It helped make GM Sam Presti look good to see Durant become the talk of Las Vegas at the Team USA minicamp with his dominant play. Jeff Green, also eligible for an extension, has made nice strides, too.”
New rookies got the pictures taken yesterday for trading cards and other things. Click here to see the whole gallery (good pictures of James Harden and Byron Mullens.)
Mike Baldwin looks at actual attendance and money numbers for the Thunder: ”But “packing the Ford Center” is misleading. According to NBA turnstile counts published recently on CBSSports.com, Oklahoma City finished 16th in “actual attendance” out of 30 teams. According to NBA turnstile counts, the Thunder averaged 14,415 fans a game. That’s one area the Thunder should improve. One reason why — when the league released the 2009-10 schedule, the Thunder has 22 weekend home games compared to 16 last season … The bottom line: Oklahoma City team chairman Clay Bennett and his ownership group flourished where it counted most — money generated. The Sonics produced only $18.8 million in ticket revenue their final season in Seattle. Last season, the Thunder generated $46.0 million, an average of $1.12 million per game.”
Shoals shares his thoughts on the new Nike ad: “Like Nike needs my help in promoting this ad. But this is so classic, I have to post it. This is that strain of Nike ad-making that fueled the business up until recently, and helped create players as much as they helped create it. “The LeBrons” picked it up briefly, but this confirms what I’d been hearing: That these companies know the demand is there, and have been trying to get back to this. I definitely attribute this to Twitter, though not Obama; not sure how my theory about those two phenomena works when you introduce a third element. Regardless, this is the shit, even if it’s somewhat redolent of past Undrcrwn efforts.”
And if you just LOVED the Hyperizers new “Don’t Criticize, Hyperize” song, you can go here to download it. There’s also some good pictures and other rif-raf there too.
HoopsWorld looking at the stingiest spenders: “Granted, this summer’s spending is not finished, but so far the Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, and Washington Wizards have not made a significant free agent signing.”
It appears Linas Kleiza has signed to play next year in Europe: “Den FA forward Linas Kleiza has agreed to a 2-year, $12.2 million with an opt-out next year with Greece Olympiakos, a source told Y! Sports.”
Oh, and if you’re wondering, Durant scored 52 this year at the Goodman League. That’s not 62, but I think it’s still pretty good.
Apparently Basketball Fiend didn’t see that expected plummet of the salary cap in 2010-11. The Thunder do have a payroll under $50 million right now, but they also have 5 draft picks, two expected to go in the top 14 (we’ll say that should amount to about $5 million + another $2.4 if they sign all of their draft picks, so $7.4 just to be safe).
Now add a $8 million onto that for David Lee (3 year, $24 million) and that will put the Thunder, before July 1st, 2010 at approximately $63.4 million dollars in salary (before those other contracts come off the books).
Now guess where that $63.4 million dollar salary figure will put them at: OVER THE CAP.
There’s a reason last month’s email from the NBA regarding the expected sharp drop in the salary cap for 2010-11 sent shockwaves throughout NBA front offices.
People are still clamoring for David Lee? I’m glad Presti isn’t going after someone like that. He strikes me as a classic overrated guy putting up numbers on a bad team.
@J.G.
Booyah J.G. Well said.
*Let me add, though, that after all those other contracts (Etan Thomas, Kevin Ollie and even Earl Watson’s) come off the books, the Thunder should really only be at about $20 million for the 2010/2011 season (before draft picks), which would give them great flexibility and maneuverability in the off-season, even despite Durant’s $1.3 million dollar raise and Green’s almost $1 million dollar raise (not to mention every other player’s raises).
But the key has been and always will be signing Durant and Co. to long and lucrative extensions, so an $8 million dollar contract for a player who doesn’t really fit a glaring need (Thunder did just fine in rebounding last year, thanks) and would only clog up your frontcourt more, is really the type of stone that smart GM’s just don’t tie around their necks, no matter how much of a “steal” it is.
@Chris
Couldn’t agree more…though I do like Lee’s game. Just not for the Thunder and not for the price.
Small edit: That’s $20 million in GUARANTEED salaries (Collison, Krstic, Harden, Mullens, Ibaka and Weaver), which does not include Team Options (Durant, Westbrook, Green, White) or Qualifying Offers (Thabo Sefolosha).
So since we all expect the majority, if not all, of those salaries to be picked up again, that’ll put the Thunder at around $40 million, giving them somewhere $14-20 million dollars of cap space to work with (before draft picks, of course).
I still think Presti has the team right where he wants it. They won’t be great next year but they will be better and they will win enough games to get more attention and hopefully increase their market share.
Then next year, with all these assets, Presti can make a few more moves to make the Thunder a relevant playoff contender. Lee would have bee a nice add in the short run, but he would have hampered team development for the long run.
Plus, when you consider how many bigs are projected to be in the lottery next year, there isn’t much point in signing D-Lee or any other pricey big.
KD is going to take his game to the next level next year, and the networks will regret not picking up more OKC games. His Goodman league video was ridiculous.
He is playing against subpar competition, but he looked much more aggressive getting to the basket in the footage I saw. Velvet Hoop looks like he’s been hitting the weight room pretty hard, too.
It seems that no one outside of NBA purists appreciate what Harden brings to the table. Scouts, coaches, teammates, GM’s… they all love a guy who doesn’t hurt you in any area, and doesn’t have any weakness to his game. Maybe Harden isn’t flashy, or have athleticism oozing out of his ears, but he’s solid everywhere. Solid IQ. Solid shooter. Solid ball handler. Solid defender. Exceptional passer. Exceptional decision maker.
He’s still a rookie with a lot to learn, but he’s the furthest thing from a project. Maybe he won’t round out ESPN’s top 10, or cameo in an EA cut-a-way video, but if that’s a weakness, it’s his only one.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
And at this point, between Durant, Westbrook, and Green, we’ve got enough Sportscenter highlight reel-type guys. Efficiency and good fundamentals should be the emphasis with this young team, and Harden brings that in spades.
anyone notice how good Harden looks in a Thunder uniform? It just looks right.
@Wayne
I absolutely thought the same thing. I thought he looked FANTASTIC in the uniform.
You know who else looks fantastic in the unis? Byron Mullens.
Wow he looks like a dominating force:
http://www.nba.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0908/09rookie.portraits/content.25.html
@Greg
It kind of looks like he’s thinking, “What did that guy just say?” Or that he’s staring at one of those 3D magic eye things.
superWOW!!!
Спешу поделиться новостью: обмен Яндекс.Денег на Вебмани и обратно больше официально не производится. Не знаю, какая их собака укусила, но сейчас обмен практически невозможен. Все крупные обменники, коими я пользовался переводы в данных направлениях просто не осуществляют. Порой приходилось с ЯД на WM переводить немалые суммы. И что теперь делать, ума не приложу.
Хорошо наверное тем, кто не пользуется электронной валютой, а по старинке – банковскими операциями, платёжками по факсу и тд)))