Wednesday Bolts – 12.9.09
Oklahoma City is well respresented again in ESPN’s Award Watch. Scott Brooks is No. 1 for Coach of the Year, KD is 
10th in the MVP race, James Harden third for Rookie of the Year and Thabo is second for defensive player of the year.
Sam Presti was reportedly intersted in Nate Robinson last year around the deadline, and it looks like the Knicks are open to trading him: ”But Robinson is another matter. He is on a one-year, $4 million contract, which the Knicks can simply let expire next July. Unlike Stephon Marbury, who was benched and then banished last year, Robinson is not a corrosive influence in the locker room. There is little risk to keeping him around as an insurance policy. The Knicks are open to trading Robinson, but as a player on a one-year deal, he would have veto rights. It might also be tough to find a trade partner; no team offered Robinson a contract over the summer, when he was a restricted free agent.”
The Thunder’s tracking deflections: ”You won’t see it on a stat sheet, but one area the Thunder has improved is deflections, a stat Brooks and his staff tracks in practices and games. Deflections lead to steals or can milk seconds off the shot clock. OKC recorded 10 steals and several deflections in Monday’s win over Golden State. “We’re doing a good job getting our hands on balls,” Brooks said. “That’s what we want, to use our length.” Shouldn’t Coach Brooks have tossed a “pause…” in there? Or maybe a “That’s what she said”?
The Daily Wildcat has a nice Q&A with current Tulsa 66er Mustafa Shakur: ”DW: The Tulsa 66ers are owned and operated by the Oklahoma City Thunder, so have you envisioned playing alongside Kevin Durant and company? MS: I haven’t really envisioned myself with the Thunder or any other team. I’ve just been focusing on doing the best I can with my teammates every day. When that day comes, it will be a pretty good transition because we actually run the same plays and offense that Oklahoma City does.”
As noted yesterday, Jerryd Bayless evidently wants out of Portland: ”I don’t think there’s any question Portland needs another big man, preferably a power forward but possibly a backup center. And to get one, you have to give up something. Multiple sources in the NBA have told me that Jerryd Bayless seems to be the most available player on Portland’s roster. A couple of sources indicated over the weekend that Bayless has asked the team to trade him, because of his lack of playing time. I wouldn’t blame him — young players want, and need, to play. And if he wants out, the team should try to accommodate him.” If you’re thinking Nick Collison, just say no. He’s more valuable right now to the Thunder than Jerryd Bayless.
Sporting News too: “Tough enough for the Blazers to watch C Greg Oden go down again to a knee injury. Even tougher when you get a look at Kevin Durant.”
As some noted in the comments, most of us saw the team winning 34 or 35 games. And if that were to still happen, the Thunder would have to go 23-39 the rest of the way. Do you really see that happening? I saw the team being 10-15 through 25 games. Now that that’s impossible, I think MAYBE we should all start raising our expectations a little. Not too high, because I’m still tentative to accept that this team might actually be GOOD, but I think they are definitely better than we all thought.
Matt Moore of HP on OKC’s playoff hopes: ”And here we see something pretty cool. I understand the allure of history and tradition and sappy violin music, but I think this is pretty awesome. You have a whole new fanbase on the verge of a new accomplishment. A young roster filled with likeable players that work really hard, and they’re within a very far-off sight of every expansion franchise’s promised land. I hope they get there. Mostly because if they win 46 games Zach and Jared are buying me a cake. And just to mess with Harper I’m going to make it a Greg Oden cake. What? I haven’t made a single joke about it! I get one! Just one!”
The Baseline reviews the first quarter of the season: “Rising in OKC. They hustle. They play defense. They have better-than-expected depth. The Thunder are on the way up, and there’s a lot more to this group than Kevin Durant. They’re going to challenge for a playoff spot.”
Broingtons shirts are being printed right now and should be ready very soon. As will another batch of the others. So get them credit cards ready!
I don’t get the surge in interes in landing a guard for our roster. Livingston is back and looks decent. Ollie played well in the back-up roll, and will be back soon. UCB will be back for next season. Unless the potential target is named Chris Paul, or has a big C by his name in his current teams progam, I’m agin trading for them.
Shaun Livingston played one game against the second worst defense in the league, I wouldn’t really say he’s looked ‘decent’ at other points during the season.
As stated many times, the team would be best served by getting a backup point guard that can shoot a little bit. Jordan Farmar comes to mind.
the last game was the only game this year he played any real minutes at an important time, livingston is capable of being a great backup, i mean before his injury he was pegged as the next magic johnson, if he plays even at 50% of that level he is the best backup we have. He is a better rebounder because of his height and a decent passer, as long as he doesnt turn it over much and plays ok defense the 10 mins a game he needs is fine
I’m obviously in the minority here, but I would be very happy to have Nate Rob on the team on an expiring deal. The dude DOES play defense. He is a tweener who definitely can play PG, not a maybe like Bayless. His assist rate is double what Livingston’s is, and his turnover rate is lower than Westbrooks or Livingstons. Plus, he’s lightning in a bottle. I would sign him wholeheartedly depending on what NY wanted. He would be nails playing alongside Harden on the second unit.
The next Magic Johnson? LOL. Maybe when he was 16 or 17 years old. Even in his last season with the Clippers he wasn’t that great. He had potential to be a decent starter with his height and athletcism, but nothing real special. His career TS% is below .500, we need a backup point that can shoot the ball. That’d be ideal.
Nate Robinson wouldn’t get the minutes to justify whatever salary he ends up getting. I agree with Joe, he’s be a great backup, though.
@justin
AND Ollie did just fine in the back-up pg role, AND Weaver did a really nice job in his one appearance in that role. Weaver might very well be our long term solution at the back-up position- though he might not. As Mr. Falcon pointed out, Livingston was looked at as a rising star before his injury, and if he returns to any semblance of that player he is a fantastic back-up. The point is, this ain’t exactly exactly a hole in our roster that needs filling- no sense wasting trade assets that could go to acquiring a center for something we don’t really need.
@Joe
Robinson is a showboat that talks a better game than he plays (see his shots at the wrong goal/near fist-fight with CP3). Presti has done a fine job of avoiding head cases like lil’ nate- no reason to start adding them now unless they are 7 ft tall and grab 10 boards per game.
@Steve H
Opinions vary.
@justin
livingstons passing is flashy thats why he was compared to magic johnson,he has great court vision, and he is tall for a PG, but yeah he never reached that level nor will he probably ever, but he can become a good backup PG still a lot of potential if he gets the minutes to get in the flow. I guess we will see how he does tomorrow. his contract expires at the end of the year so he will be gone unless prest thinks he is our backup pg
@Joe
Very true, but it is hard to get past the fact that he plays for the veteran coach of a struggling team- is not injured- and has been benched with the result that the Knicks have actually played better without him. One thing I can guarantee is that Coach D’antoni knows Nate’s game better than either one of us, and he has him nailed to the bench.
Let me tell you as a seattelite who played against him in high school, college, and in pickup games….keep him the hell away from this team. He is one of, if not the most immature human beings i have ever seen. He has the power to single handedly compromise the culture we have built here with our group.
Keep him as far away from the Thunder as possible.
Shaun Livingston’s ceiling at this point is a capable backup. He could never shoot, probably will never be able to shoot (see: Sefolosha, Thabo) and he’s lost the one aspect of his game that made him an exciting player for the Clippers (athleticism). He does have enough bball IQ, vision, and passing ability to scrape by as a backup, but I don’t know if he’s the right fit. We have too many guards that can’t shoot. Although he’s played well, Ollie is in the same boat as well and is definitely not a long term answer in any case.
As for Kyle Weaver, let’s face some facts regarding his play. In nearly 1200 NBA minutes last year, his turnover percentage was over 20% and his assist percentage below 15%. Kyle Weaver was the only guard in THE LAST TEN YEARS to do this while playing regular minutes (over 1000 minutes) last year. Yet somehow this guy is going to be our backup point guard. Even if you drop the minutes criteria to 500 minutes in a season, which would include all sorts of scrubs, only two other guards join him on this list, a 37 year old (former Sonic!) Brent Barry and a relatively unknown (another former Sonic!) backup point guard Emanuel Davis one year.
Kyle Weaver does play good defense and perhaps his three ball will come around. But I’m kind of tired of people saying this is a point guard when it was clear that he was no kind of PG last year, and was possibly one of the worst distributors among all guards in terms of assists and turnovers in the past ten years.
Here’s a question. Until Harden takes over the starting spot, isn’t our backup PG spot one of the least important things on this entire team? You know what we need out of a backup PG right now? A decent defender who can shoot, and that’s it. He doesn’t even have to run the offense. Why? because he’ll always be playing with one of Harden or Durant. Are there even minutes in the game where both of those two aren’t in the game? I assume the backup is giving Westbrook a rest, so why not move the playmaking to guys who have proven to be great at it (Harden) or someone who needs to become great at it (Durant)?
Sooner or later, Durant is going to have to be more than just a go to scorer. He’s going to be asked to draw defenses and make smart plays. He’s going to be told to run a play at the end of a game, but he’s going to be expected to get the ball to the best shot even if it’s not him. He could use PG training as much as Russell.
@GAP
On Twitter, KD and the guys use the useless definition of “doint” in a joking way. Their other favorite phrases seem to be smh for shake my head, (pause) and zoopin’, which essentially seems to mean whatever they want it to mean.
Honestly, I don’t have anything bad to say about any of our DT regulars – or the occasional posters, for that matter. Most of you know a lot more about basketball than I. When I picked up my shirt at Tree and Leaf last night, there were several stacks of recently printed DT shirts waiting to either be shipped or that they were holding for people. I couldn’t help but wonder, “Wow, maybe those are for GAP or Kev or one of the other guys.”
Speaking of which, I wonder if – after the holidays – it might be good to have a DT Thunder watch party sometime?
@MartzMimic
Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe for a winnable road game sometime in Feb. or March? Meet at Tapwerks or somewhere similar (assuming everyone’s 21)?
yeah i agree with the meet, i had mentioned it to royce a few weeks ago. backup PG isnt a currently needed position but long term we need a solution for it, bringing in fresh vets each year isnt a long term solution.
@kieth
I hope durant doesnt run plays at the end of the game, he dribbles too high makes it easy to steal the ball from him. Lebron does it for the cavs, but it makes their PG a useless position.
Honestly, I don’t think Kyle got many minutes at the actual PG position. Between Russell, Chucky Atkins and Earl Watson, there just weren’t many minutes to go around.
The reason I keep calling for him to be our backup is because of his defense and his usage. I expect rookies to turn the ball over, but I think he can correct that with experience at the position.
We don’t have a lot of data to go on, but in his one year last year, he played the best at around 15 to 18 minutes a game. That’s all a good backup PG will get. The more minutes he got, the worse his shooting %. Also consider that even when he was playing 30 minutes, he only took 6 shots on average. That’s also what I want out of a backup, a low usage guy who passes the ball and plays lockdown defense.
I’m just willing to give the guy a chance. He’s already got the low-usage, the defensive mindset, and the productivity per 18. If he can learn to set up the offense and shoot the 3 ball, and cut down on his turnovers, I think he’d be an excellent player off our bench.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
He didn’t play much PG last year, and his high turnover rate combined with low assist rate is probably the reason. Remember, he’s the only GUARD to accomplish the feat of 20% turnover rate; this includes shooting guards..
“If he can learn to set up the offense and shoot the 3 ball, and cut down on his turnovers.. ”
Well, that’s a lot of stuff to learn, especially since he was so bad at most of it last season. I don’t doubt that Kyle Weaver has utility as a defensive specialist and maybe as a spot up shooter from the corners, but we already have a player that does that (without the shooting). I’m just not sure where this idea of Kyle Weaver being an effective PG came from when he was awful at everything a PG is supposed to be good at.
@justin
The blog formatted my post strangely, I meant he was the only guard to accomplish greater than 20% turnover rate and less than 15% assist rate.
@justin
Kyle wasn’t so bad at 3′s last season. He was .344 from the arc, which is respectable. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him improve on that slightly, as it takes rookies a while to adjust to the longer distance.
I’m saying that he wasn’t bad at setting up the offense last year, because that wasn’t his job last year. I was hoping that between last year and this year, Kyle would have two seasons under his belt. That would enable him to learn the offense well enough to run it as a backup. Of course, his injury didn’t help that timeline.
Of course his assists will go up if he’s playing PG, but his turnovers translate between positions. Whether or not he’s learned some ball protection is yet to be seen.