Thursday Bolts – 8.27.09
Nick Collison loves us!: “Good day in okc.Good workout @ practice facility w/ByronMullens &Serge Ibaka then had 
successful day o house hunting.Btw weather is flawless.”
HoopsWorld’s second list of most influential in basketball: “Sam Presti, General Manager, Oklahoma City Thunder – Presti has become the model for the next generation of basketball executive. There is not anyone in the industry who does not want to do business with Presti; he is honest and he takes extreme care of his players and staff. Presti has an eye for talent that is almost unmatched. If he can turn Oklahoma City into a perennial playoff contender, he may be able to write his own ticket for the next 15 years.”
Vince Thomas of NBA.com looking at NBA players and Twitter: “Soon after the Beasley story broke, Kevin Durant, who grew up in a neighboring Maryland county, tweeted: “Man let my brother Mike Beasley learn from his mistakes … he gon be str8 … stop judgin him …” That was an unsolicited, naked, visceral response to what he saw happening to a friend and peer.”
I see this type of story at least once a week, but truthfully, it never gets old. I like reading about how good we’ll be in a few years.
The groundbreaking is going on in Edmond right now for the new practice facility. It is officially titled the Integris Health Thunder Development Center. Sam Presti, Clay Bennett, the Mayor and other important people are there.
I am so geeked about going to my first game this season (don’t know which one yet)!
I wonder how many three-pointers are going to be bouncing off the new scoreboard?
@MartzMimic
Heh heh, well played. You think they brought Kevin Durant in to make sure it didn’t get in the way?
My first thought when I saw that scoreboard picture… “I wonder if anyone will hit it with a basketball when throwing that full court last second shot to end the half…”
Gah! Gotta remember to hit F5 before clicking Submit Comment. Grrr….
… or balls thown for jump balls.
Man that scoreboard looks dope.
@Dylan
Have you seen the specs with it all lit up? It looks insane.
So the WNBA team in Houston fails, but they’re going to put one in Tulsa? I wouldn’t invest Monopoly money in an WNBA team right now.
Anyone see that the Grizzlies made an offer to Iverson? Iverson, Gay, Randolph and Mayo! Will they even run an offense? Should Thabeet even bother running downcourt or will he just spend all his time on the court under the opposing team’s basket?
@Royce
No, I haven’t, you have a link?
@Dylan
http://www.dailythunder.com/?p=2684
It looks amazing.
@Royce
Oh, I just saw it on the ford center improvements site…. that is going to be amazing.
That was the only thing that disappointed me last year, that the BOK center’s scoreboard was so much better than OKC’s. Nice to see that’s been rectified.
My wife astutely point out some things about the Hyperziers conspiracy theory: The colors for Africa are black red, yellow green. KD’s wearing those colors and even has an Africa necklace on. So obviously, that dumb theory is a MAJOR stretch.
@Royce
And I seriously doubt KD had much input on what he was wearing, anyway.
@Vince
Has there ever been a full game where a team did not record a single assist? I feel like Memphis might make a good effort there.
They’ll try their darnedest.
@Royce
Yeah, why else would Nike showcase Rashard Lewis? It’s not as if he was a major part of a Finals appearance or anything..
If you were a Griz fan, you would have to be pretty excited by the prospect of watching that foursome score points 84 nights a year. I know that Iverson may not be the best guy to help you win games, but he has always been one of my favorite players to watch.
Should be really fun if he happens to get on
KD bolting for Washington…HAHAHA
Honestly, the only thing I can think of that would make KD want to bolt is if the Thunder are massively underperforming when his contract runs out. If we’re a consistent playoff team and start contending, he’s as good as ours. Big-time money spends the same in OKC as it does in DC (in fact, it goes further).
Amazing how national media types seem intent on perpetuating the “Kevin Durant’s Future Former Team” theory, in spite of numerous quotes by KD himself to the contrary.
I could see KD bolting for the Lakers if they cleared a spot for him…and they could do that if they wanted to.
@Bryan
And then give up 20 more points than they score while slowly but INEVITABLY building to a full-scale implosion as a team since there are not enough shots on that team for two of the four, let alone the whole group.
I mean, seriously, after they signed Zach Randolph, if I asked you who was the only guard who the Grizzlies could sign that would A) Take more shots away from OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, B) Hinder the development in the youthful team chemistry because he will make sure he gets his shots to try and prove that he’s still got it and thus will force Mike Conley to delay his progress yet another year and C) Entice the fan base just enough to attend two or three games more than they would but not enough to actually change the attendance figures at all even though that would be his ONLY real reason for being signed…wouldn’t there be only one Answer?
And honestly, I do want to watch the Grizzlies for all of those reasons next year. The NBA: Where Impending Trainwrecks Happen.
Man I miss basketball!
@Nix
I just cannot see a level-headed guy like Durant being happy on a team like the Lakers. I grant that they’re the tops of the league–the NY Yankees of basketball. But they don’t have soul! This past year, the media seemed to portray a sort of comradeship among the Lakers squad which I think was heavily imagined. IMO, the Lakers were (are) a collection of talented vets who tolerate one another because they realize they are great enough to win championships. And I just don’t see a guy like KD being happy in that model.
Of course, I don’t know KD. And I don’t know the Lakers players. And this is all based upon speculation. But it is what I think nonetheless.
Also, this is what I nearly like most about the Thunder: their comradeship seems genuine, and the young guys seem genuinely thankful for their place in the league. Even during last year’s long and rough season, it still seemed like the Thunder players were having more fun than anybody they played.
@Danny
Nice point about the comraderie on this team. I think the parting comments from veteran guys like Smith and Rose about how much they enjoyed playing with our young-uns further confirms your impression. No reason for those guys to say fuzzy PR stuff about their ex-teammates unless its true.
http://awmusic.ca/1//mp3/ACDC%20-%20Thunderstruck%20(Crookers%20Remix).mp3
A great remix for thunderstruck ac/dc. I asked my friend if he thought it was better, and he said yah, if they passed out glowsticks and 3-d glasses instead of programs.
worth a listen.
at the game
@Myles
Hey, I kind of like that.