Thursday Bolts – 8.20.09
HoopsWorld lists the top five small forwards and Kevin Durant comes in a little lower than I expected: “5. Kevin 
Durant, Oklahoma City: The Portland Trail Blazers will never admit they should have selected Durant with the first overall pick back in 2007. But the way this kid put up numbers in his second year, it’s worth arguing someone missed the boat. The 2007-08 NBA Rookie of the Year, Durant averaged over 25 points per game last season and easily made his mark at all-star weekend in Phoenix by taking home the MVP trophy from the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. It was that February that Durant blew up: for the month, he averaged 30 points per game, shot 54% from the field, 51% on 3-pointers and 88% from the line. Now many will debate Durant’s place on this list, likely arguing a number of honorable mentions should be here instead. But after seeing what the 6’10 small forward has done in two years, and knowing he’ll only get better with age and experience in Oklahoma City, Durant is worthy of a perfect pick.”
Honestly, probably the best news of the offseason – All 82 of the Thunder’s regular season games will be broadcast in HD: ”The games will be available on either Fox Sports Oklahoma (Cox high-def channel 722) or Thunder TV/KSBI (Cox high-def channel 715). The Thunder will also play on national TV three times, including once on ESPN — Dec. 16 against Dallas. NBA TV will broadcast the Nov. 15 game against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dec. 2 game against the Philadelphia 76ers.”
Gilbert Arenas has been playing at the Goodman League and it looks like a showdown is coming: “Still finalizing the details for the Kevin Durant vs. Gilbert Arenas game on Friday..not confirmed yet stay tuned!!!…”
Kevin Durant being silly with his brother in his hotel room (language slightly NSFW I believe). I’m sure Sam Presti and Scott Brooks are thrilled about him hurting himself. Come on KD, we got a season to play. Be careful, please.
You’ve probably heard, but Desmond Mason won’t be back next season. Sad face.
Bleacher Report lists the top 30 trios in the league: ”22. Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Jeff Green – Last season Kevin Durant gave us a glimpse into his future as an elite scorer. He absolutely tore it up after being moved to his natural position of small forward. He is already one of the NBA’s elite scorers and will just get better as he gains more experience. Durant is going to have to round out his game and become a better playmaker to take the next step though, but I fully expect him to do that. Russell Westbrook is coming off of an impressive rookie season. He showed his surreal athleticism and versatile skillset. With a full season under his belt and being more accustomed to the league, look for his defense to become a staple of his game … When Jeff Green was drafted he was predicted to be the Scottie Pippen to Kevin Durant’s Michael Jordan and Green has the skillset to become a poor man’s Pippen. He is a versatile forward with good playmaking instincts. With Durant missing some time last season he was able to showcase all of his talent and he looked good.”
I don’t know why, but this tweet from KD made me chuckle: “I seen a girl walk n da club wit a duffel bag for a purse…wtf she got in there?”
This is pretty cool – David Stern went in a barber shop in NYC and answered questions. And they weren’t fluff either.
Desmond NOT coming back per ESPN
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4410777
@geoff
Yes. I know this. Look right under the video. Thanks though.
RE: that Bleacher Report article. I read through the comments (not as bad as I expected!) and they kind of convinced the writer that KD and Co should be higher on the list. They decided on “easily top 15″.
Nice to know that KD is embarassed to act his age
is NOT embarassed
Check out the AP version of the Mason story on NBA.com. They quoted Desmond’s agent, who said it wasn’t a money issue. Instead, Mason wanted a bigger role than that of cheerleader and mentor. In other words, he wanted more minutes; the kind of minutes he got when it was just he and Wilkins at shooting guard. So everyone who’s saying the Thunder should have brought him back for his community service and to tutor the young guys, that’s not what Desmond wants to do.
@geoff
tard…
One thing I noticed about that Bleacher Report piece, is that all the higher ranked trios included a legit big man. I really like Jeff Green, but he really belongs at small forward in my opinion. He really shined at the 3 spot when Durant was out. I think that playing in OKC is actually damaging his career a bit because he has to make room for KD.
The Thunder won’t be great until Green is the sixth man coming off the bench at the 3 and 4 positions, or until they land a serious center who doesn’t need help on D or in the post.
@MartzMimic
Well then I hope he finds a team who can really use him. It’s really too bad that he got injured when he did. I wish him luck.
Not a Thunder fan, but I read this blog almost every day. Just a great blog.
Anyway, per the top SF article… Ron Artest?!? LeBron’s a given, and Melo and Pierce, at this point, are just ahead of Durant, but Artest?! Am I the only one that saw Shane Battier get the tougher assignments last year? I’m sorry, but the one thing Artest had on Durant was his defense, and that has gotten significantly worse the last couple of years.
Lebron, Melo, KD top three. Next year, Lebron, KD, Melo.
@D-Money
Hey now. No need for name calling.
Well, the news that all 82 games will be in HD did two things:
1. Ensured that I’m keeping my cable subscription, after considering cutting back; and
2. Ensured that I will spend a ludicrous amount of time in front of the TV well into the spring. Thanks, Cox.
And of course, I assume this doesn’t include the 20-25 playoff games that will be in HD, too?
@Colin
Thanks for the visit Collin. What are your thoughts on Joe Smith. I always liked watching him play for us, and was pleased when he was able to sign with the Cavs. I hear he’s been picked up by the Hawks. I was hoping you guys would get him back. What are your thoughts?
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
Joe Smith…. he’s basically a guy that is going to bring a lot to the table, and take very little off it. You know he’s going to get you some rebounds, play solid D, and knock down the 15 foot jumper. He fell out of favor in the ECF last year and hardly played, and I know a lot of Cavs fans who were calling for him a few times during that series. I liked Joe. I think if you are a team that needs one more role player to compete for a title, he’s the type of guy you look for. Similar to PJ Brown in that respect. However, I was not in favor of bringing him back (a lot of people were, so I was in the minority).
Like I said, Joe is a solid player. The problem is, all the Cavs bigs after Shaq are “solid” players. None of them (Varejao, Z, Smith) have the potential to spring for 25-10 on any given night. And, even though Shaq is still capable of doing that, he is getting up there in age. The Cavs needed someone else in the front court who could have a huge game every now and then. That’s why the team went with Powe. I am a huge fan of Powe, and I think it was a steal of a signing by Ferry.
At the same time, the Cavs have another big man by the name of JJ Hickson. JJ showed flashes of brilliance last year, but his season was ultimately cut short by a back injury. He has ridiculous athleticism (you’ve probably seen the dunk of Okafor, but he did that quite a lot last year), an improving jumper, and a developing post game. The problem last year, was that Hickson was not great defensively. The Cavs rely heavily on quick defensive rotations, and JJ had a tendency to get lost on defense. However, that is something that can be fixed with more practice. It is entirely possible that Hickson is the most talented big man LeBron has played with (before Shaq, obviously).
I guess if I had to sum it all up, my thoughts on Joe would be that he is a great glue guy, the type of player you want to bring in to be the 4th big, but not the player the Cavs needed because he has reached his ceiling. I always liked Joe in his short time with Cleveland, and I hope he does well in Atlanta.
(Sorry for the long post…. I wasn’t even expecting to write all that, haha).
@Colin
I tend to over-value character guys. I know that, and I admit that up front. It seems too often that most people don’t want a guy on their squad unless he can score at will. It’s just that not everyone needs to score at will for a team to win. Sometimes you need a guy who is a solid player in all aspects of the game. Someone who won’t complain about touches, and who brings focus and intensity regardless of their box score outcome. I know I’m preaching to the choir here.
Anyway, Joe Smith is that guy. Of course, so is Leon Powe. I like that acquisition for the Cavs. If you have Powe, you don’t need Smith. I get that.
Joe seemed to like being here in OKC. Joe is the kind of guy who would say good things about his time here if OKC were located in Antarctica and inhabited by cannibals, but nonetheless, we felt appreciated. And he did a great job leading by example, teaching the young guys how to be a class act in the League. I don’t know if there are measurables for such a thing, but I would like to know the monetary value a mentorship from Joe Smith would be worth over a guy like Zach Randolph or Stephon Marbury.
But even with all that, Joe didn’t fit here. He’s the guy that a contender needs to fill that one spot on the roster right behind their star. We’re not contenders, and don’t have that star ahead of him. Plus we asked him to play the 5, and he’s more built to play the 4.
I don’t see the Hawks as contenders, but in any case, I hope he enjoys his time there.
Powe is going to be a very nice fit, and will take minutes away from some other guys. He has a nasty streak in him that I really like….when he is finally healthy.