Thursday Bolts – 8.13.09
Some important Thunder people spoke at Edmond’s Rotary Club recently: “Sam [Presti] is the guy to do it, Sam is 
one of the best basketball minds in the country and we have total confidence in him that he’s putting the pieces together and developing the team,” said Dan Mahoney, Vice President of Community Relations and Corporate Communications, who also spoke to the Edmond Rotary Club Wednesday afternoon.”
Jeremy Tyler has officialy signed to play overseas: ”Jeremy Tyler completed his jump from high school underclassman to pro basketball player on Wednesday when he signed a one-year, $140,000 contract with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League. Tyler, 18, is the first American-born player to leave high school early to play basketball professionally overseas. The 6-foot-11, 260-pound Tyler announced in the spring that he was skipping his senior season at San Diego High because prep basketball had become boring.”
Chris Silva takes a look at potential impact rookies: ”James Harden, Thunder. He’s a clear no-brainer. The Thunder nabbed Harden with the No. 3 pick, and as head coach Scott Brooks said during Summer League, minutes will have to be earned. For all the ways Harden can score the ball – with his jumper, off the dribble – it’ll be just as interesting to watch him learn how to get others involved, something Harden has said he prides himself in. Plus, it’ll be fun just to see the different lineup combinations the Thunder can create with Harden in the mix.”
Evidently Rumble won Mascot of the Year at some mascot conference. Well, congrats Rumble. I guess he had a really strong second half, because you know, he didn’t exist for the first.
Butler played the Swiss national team in Italy yesterday, with OKC’s Thabo Sefolosha playing a large role: “The Swiss national team, led by 30 points from NBA player Thabo Sefolosha, beat Butler 100-90 Friday in a basketball exhibition at Como, Italy. That followed Switzerland’s 76-72 victory Thursday.”
Dime says the Northwest Division is pretty darn interesting: “And when did the Northwest Division become so intriguing? Going into next season, you’ve got Kevin Durant — and to a lesser extent, Russell Westbrook — poised to absolutely blow up; the Rubio/Flynn situation; the Carlos Boozer situation; the Nuggets trying to maintain top-level status in the West despite (arguably) getting worse in the offseason; the Blazers possibly taking the next step up to challenge the Nuggets with their offseason additions; and the continued development of Brandon Roy, Deron Williams, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.”
I thought this promotional move by the Nets was interesting: ”It’s not unusual for struggling franchises to use elite visiting teams as vehicles to get bodies inside the building. Fans of the Clippers, Hawks, Sixers have all seen splashy ads in the daily sports section trumpeting a multi-game package that will offer them glimpses of LeBron, Kobe, KG, D-Wade, and ‘Melo. The New Jersey Nets have taken that model to new heights for the upcoming season. The team is advertising a promotion where the purchase of a 10-game package gets you five reversable jerseys, i.e. Devin Harris on the inside, Dwyane Wade on the outside.” That’s exactly the kind of marketing FS Oklahoma would do too. You’d have a calendar and it would show the next four games with a little picture of the opponents biggest star next to it. You think anyone will market KD to bring in fans this year?
I honestly don't see Weaver getting much PT at all next year with Harden and Livingston most likely playing ahead of him in the rotation. When KD isn't on the floor, I like to see Green as his back-up. Getting Uncle Jeff as much time as possible at his natural 3 position also seems like a no-brainer to me. All that together leaves Kyle on the bench unless we are blowing the other team out of the gym, or somebody gets hurt. I agree that Collison is our best back up PF, but it worries me how few minutes that leaves for White's- and even Ibaka's development. As problems go though, its a great one to have.
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