Monday Bolts – 3.1.10
From SI’s Truth and Rumors: “Anyone who can handle simple addition knows that the Oklahoma City Thunder don’t have a great deal of freedom to pull in a big-time free agent this off-season. But for all those Thunder fans who didn’t want to believe their calculators, a salary cap wizard was happy to end any speculation for them. Bosh will be eligible to make over $16.6 million and the Thunder are expected to have no more than $12 million in cap room this summer. Bosh is seen as being a good chemistry fit with the Thunder however, and is from Dallas, which has sparked the rumors that he may take less money to head there. But clearly not that much less.”
Let me present Russell Westbrook’s case for February Player of the Month: 18.8 ppg, 10 apg, 6.5 rpg, only 2.3 turnovers a game, shot 46 percent from the field and his team went 9-2.
John Rohde: ”Before the NBA season began, I predicted the Thunder would win 35 games. Nailed it. Nailed it with 24 games to spare. With Sunday night’s methodical 119-99 victory over Toronto, the Thunder now has a record of 35-23, which is considerably more impressive than my projected 35-47. The Thunder’s winning percentage has crept into the 60s (.603). Last season’s final winning percentage was in the high 20s (.280). This year’s team is on pace to win 49½ games, which sounds ½-crazy. Winning 50 games suddenly seems like a reasonable request.”
Raptors Republic: “The Thunder are the third best defensive team in the league and have the personnel to basically switch 1/2/3/4 and still manage to guard individually. They pressure the ball by picking it up early, cause deflections with their length and don’t relent. Our PGs and Turkoglu needed to be at the top of their game at protecting the ball and dissecting their aggressive defense, it just didn’t happen and we were forced to scramble for points which is exactly what a good defensive team wants you to do.”
Skeets is passing on Ball Don’t Lie and it’s going to land in good hands. Sad to see Skeets go, but I’m excited about who’s taking over.
Pro Ball Talk on the game: “The Thunder are built to have Durantula put in between 20 and 40 every night, but to also create even distribution. And that’s what they got tonight. Six players in double figures. Two players with double-doubles. And their defense? It’s not opportunistic, it’s relentless. It’s Soviet tanks rolling over fences and crushing houses. Holding one of the best offenses in the league to 99 points per 100 estimated possessions? That’s phenomenal.”
HP looks at the MVP race: ”And that’s all because of Durant’s play – he’s basically carrying this team. If he keeps playing at this clip, he’s work a serious look as MVP. But he’s on a small-market team in a tough division, which can hurt his MVP chances. The Thunder are good, but they’re behind both Utah and Denver, two of the three best teams in the Western Conference. Even though he may be taking a pedestrian team into the playoffs almost single-handedly, it’s possible that MVP voters would take higher profile player on a more elite team.”
Some people have wondered if the Thunder might eventually change their name or logo. Well Michael Jordan is potentially looking to do that with the Bobcats and it’s not cheap: “This wouldn’t be cheap. I spoke with an NBA executive who estimated it would cost the franchise anywhere from $3 million to $10 million to rebrand the team. There are so many signs and logos that would have to be replaced, and any pre-existing merchandise gets deeply discounted or thrown away. (Example: You could have bought an Adam Morrison jersey REALLY cheap last March.)”
Ball Don’t Lie Behind the Box Score: ”Here’s what to expect: Kevin Durant,in the MVP race. It isn’t a race, he’s not the best player in the NBA, nobody’s even close to LeBron James at this point, but people are going to bring him up. He’s not the MVP, and it’s not close. But he is a scintillating player that I feel lucky to be able to watch (look at how happy Rasho is just to be next to him in the picture above), night in and night out. I don’t know why the media feel a need to qualify that with things he probably doesn’t deserve. I don’t get why he can’t just be this amazing player, working on this team that I adore. I don’t understand why everyone has to be mentioned (Carmelo? Come on). Can’t he just be Kevin Durant, awesome basketball player?”
I doubt Presti would take Al because I read a story a couple days ago about Al getting pulled over for a DUI.
@Anonymous
This was my post.
@justin
Thanks for the explanation. That’s an interesting stat, I wonder what it tell us about our offense given that the 5 guys above RW, except maybe Baron, all have significantly higher AST Ratios.
Jefferson got a DWI a couple days ago, no way Presti trades for him now…
I think what’s going to happen is we draft a few prospects in the draft and acquire a average big man either in trade or free agency, but he will help us out in 1 certain area. I doubt it will be someone like Bosh or Lee or Jefferson…. Someone a notch below them that can help us in 1 area. Maybe toughness and defensive rebounding, or post scoring.
@Anonymous
Oh well, then, I guess the whole discussion about Zydrunas Ilgauskas is out the window since he had a DUI in 2002. I suppose if JJ Reddick is available we won’t make a move for our bench shooter, because he had one in 2006. Denver going nuts and wants to trade Carmelo for Jeff Green? Sorry, Denver, Carmelo had a DUI. Juwon Howard was released by Portland and we could sign him for a playoff run? Nope, DUI in 1999.
I understand wanting good character guys but c’mon, people make mistakes. If the TWolves were giving away Al Jefferson for peanuts and we didn’t take him because he had one DWI I’d be pissed.
that was me, and yes people make mistakes, but whenever I watch him he doesn’t really impress me that much.
Looking through the free agents and these are guys Presti might be interested in…..
Nazr Mohammed – fantastic rebounder
Brendan Haywood – good defender and rebounder/efficient offensively
Ian Mahinmi – Spurs project
Louis Amundson – good rebounder
@dream catcher
Jefferson is one of the few players in the NBA that demands a double team in the post and one of the few players in the NBA that has legit back to the basket skills (those are related, of course).
I don’t see us getting Haywood. We can’t outbid the Mark Cuban Big Man Scholarship Fund.
The other three guys are utility players. None of them really solve any of our problems. They’re no better worse than our utility bigs today imo (Collison/Ibaka). Not saying they’re bad. They might be great for the money they’re potentially signed for. Just nothing to write home about in terms of noticeably improving our team. Again, imo
Nazr reminds me a lot of Erick Dampier.. playing the best basketball of his career in a contract year..
Yeah. It would be wrong to pass on Jefferson, depending on the price. He’s definitely not where he used to be, but he’s still the kind of player this team could use. I mean, we’re getting by with a less than peak Nenad Krstic. I think a less than peak Al Jefferson would have something to offer this club.
I think Presti would definitely look into the DUI, but I don’t think it would be a deciding factor, unless there is some sort of precedent that we’re just unaware of. One mistake is not enough to pass on that kind of talent.
You don’t get talent as good as Jefferson for free w/o flaws.
One thing that does worry me about Jefferson is his passing, or lack thereof. Spacing the floor is about stringing out the defense and hitting them where they’re weak. From the perimeter, that would work fine with Al. If Durant is getting double, he or Westbrook throw it down to Al who then can beat his man or a help defender one on one (what he’s best at). However, if Al has the ball, and they double him, he just takes dumb jumpers instead of passing out. Part of the reason he’s falling so out of favor in Minny is because they run the Triangle, which necessitates passing all over, and Al really hurts there.
@Keith
The best thing about Jefferson is his contract. I posted some details on the previous page. If we only have to give up expirings + picks, then Jefferson is a great fit for our team financially. Getting him gives us two full seasons after this one to evaluate him + Harden, Maynor, & Ibaka. All four of those contracts would need to be extended at the same time. It would be pretty clear by then who is going to work and needs the money and who we should let go.
I guess I’m not as concerned about the passing. As of now, team passing and ball movement aren’t fundamental parts of our offense. Jefferson’s assist rate is comparable to other players on our team (Durant, Green) and it’s also comparable to other good bigs (Bosh, Z-Bo). A good post passer is a luxury I’d be willing to give up for efficient scoring + rebounding. On the bright side, Jefferson’s improved his turnovers this year. I see what you’re getting at though.