(Afternoon/morning Thunder studs. Thank you for your support of DT. Enjoy your day.)
ESPN’s 30 for 30 series has been pretty awesome. And this week’s “The Birth of Big Air” was really good, even though I wasn’t especially interested in the subject matter. However, one part caught my eye because of a cameo. Mat Hoffman’s doctor was none other than Dr. Carlan Yates, who became slightly famous because of his recommendation to rescind a trade for Tyson Chandler after determining his toe wasn’t right. Anyway, that’s pretty much it. But I found it cool.
Far too often in sports, professional athletes and teams are given exaggerated names or labeled with one of a million cliched analogies that they just don’t deserve. Hyperbole runs rampant in the information age and so many, many a fan rolls their eyes when they hear words like “the game of the decade” or “the best _______ I’ve ever seen” so much so that a doubting reluctance to pay attention to any demonstrative title or name becomes almost second nature.
The reason I say this is to try and illustrate how much disdain I personally feel when a team or athlete is hyped to an unbelievable degree or labeled as something so outlandish and absurd that all you can really do is laugh about the strained connection some writer or media member tried to make between a true icon of the sports world or a timeless character from books, movies, history, etc and some modern day athlete playing a game for a living.
Why? Well, because I’m about to do just that.
You see, I’ve been diving into the defining traits of the all-time great modern villains in literature and film, or as I like to call them, the Degrees of Diabolicalness, for my book’s website and I couldn’t help but notice the striking parallels between legendary, epic villains and—the Miami Heat.
Now while that might not be all that surprising, the realization that the Miami Heat would be the NBA’s version of the Empire led me to an almost inevitable inquiry: If the Miami Heat are the Empire, does that make the Thunder the Rebellion?
We’re two days from August and boy, Thunder stuff is really starting to hit a wall. But good news! The NBA schedule is released in a couple days (August 3 from what I’ve heard) so I’ll be sure to drain that sucker for all it’s worth. OKC is sure to be the darling of national TV broadcasts, and Darnell Mayberry surmises OKC might be a front-runner for a Christmas day game. That would be cool.
Chris Mannix predicts the final Team USA roster. Jeff Green misses the cut, but Russ makes it: “Westbrook is a prototypical USA guard: fast and powerful with an ability to defend the length of the floor. Expect to see a lot of Westbrook at both backcourt spots.” Read more…
Winger was hired by the Cavaliers in 2005. He was the manager of basketball operations and chief legal counsel for the team. He also filled a role of salary cap expert, which was primarily Rich Cho’s role with the Thunder.
Winger’s education: He achieved his undergraduate degree from the University of Miami in 2002, went to Toledo Law School until 2004 and then finished and achieved his juris doctorate from the University of Maryland in 2005.
Winger is a fan of RealGM. In an interview with Darren Rovell of CNBC, he said, “In trade discussions internally and externally, it creates options for us in aggregating salaries. So rather than brainstorming and asking the question, ‘does this work?’ the software’s functionality displays all of the deals that work based on certain parameters we might select such as positions, players, salaries, etc.”Read more…
Day-to-day, I get a handful of emails asking questions about the Thunder, the NBA and sometimes a few off the wall things. So why not turn it into a DT mailbag of sorts? If you feel like sending something in, go for it. It’s dailythunder@gmail.com if you didn’t know.
Team USA announced its 15-man roster that will head to training camp in New York August 10-16 and among the 15 were Thunder players Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook and Durant really were never in doubt for this first cut, but Green may have been a bubble guy. Coach K said of Green, “It’s one of the reasons he’s still one of the 15 is because of his versatility.” Team USA has been hit with a ton of misfortune on the inside with Amar’e Stoudemire having to leave because of insurance issues, Robin Lopez because of a bad back, David Lee because of a broken finger and even Brook Lopez is battling mono. So Green’s ability to flex between positions surely helped.
Oklahoma City has more players on the team than anyone else and Coach K was extremely complimentary of the group saying, “They are the kind of guys that work hard, want to win and just have great attitudes.”
Jerry Colangelo indicated that they may take more than 12 after the New York training camp and use some extra time to narrow down the final 12. He also said that as of right now, probably eight or nine guys are locks.
KD tweeted late yesterday: “I lowkey miss Seattle and Key Arena.” Someone then asked him if he liked it more than the Ford Center and he replied, “nope not at all..but i miss it.” Obviously Durant will likely get some blowback here, as will OKC fans who will definitely hear from the Pacific Northwest. To me, this is such a non-issue. The team is here, KD is here and he’s on record saying he absolutely loves it. Us Okies can’t let our Napoleonic Complex get the best of us here and get all riled up. I’m looking at you, unnamed loudmouth radio host person.
Coach Scott Brooks on the Sports Animal in Oklahoma City talking about Team USA participation leading to some tired legs: “It’s not going to be easy to win the gold. It’s going to take a lot of effort, a lot of energy, but our guys are young and they’re excited to play. They’re going to play basketball all year long. Kevin, I wanted him to take a couple of weeks off and he took two days off. … There’s going to be a little bit of time where I’ll say ‘OK, you guys gotta rest,’ and maybe I can rest them a few days during that month of October, but it’s going to be like pulling teeth to get those guys to sit out of things.” (Via Sports Radio Interviews) Read more…
We all knew this was likely coming and as Marc Spears of Yahoo! reports, Kyle Weaver will be waived before August 1. After that day, his contract would become guaranteed. Spears also notes that Maccabi has already offered Weaver a deal.
It’s a shame for Weaver who definitely has some skill. But he just never found a spot for the Thunder. They wanted him to hit 3s. He didn’t. They wanted him to be the third point guard. He couldn’t. They wanted him to defend and score. He could defend but couldn’t score.
When Royal Ivey was signed the writing was on the wall. Best of luck to Weaver who is an intelligent basketball player who is always making smart plays. He just never could quite figure out how to contribute to this Thunder roster.
Kids, get out your pen and paper and let Professor Durant teach you a thing or two here. I could watch these Signature Series features all day. Especially when it’s KD. It’s just beautiful basketball. Heck, I could watch KD dribble a ball standing in place for 45 minutes and enjoy it, so this stuff is darn near spiritual. What I love most is it really shows what a thinker KD is. Most consider him an unconscious scorer, meaning he almost can score without even thinking about it. But Durant is a cerebral player.
Much like Kobe, KD’s every move is mapped out in his head a second before he does it. He knows where he wants to get on the court. And while the ball is traveling in mid-air to him for a pass, he’s already thinking about how he’s going to get there. Durant’s no chucker. He’s not a guy just hunting for a little space to hoist a jumper. There’s a method to the madness and it’s why he can almost score at will. Read more…
Kevin Durant is the favorite to win the MVP, as determined by oddsmakers. Pinnaclesports.com has KD listed as a +241 favorite to win the award after he finished second in voting in last year. Durant would be the youngest ever to win it, by a large margin. Wes Unseld was 23 when he won it in 1969.
Can KD handle supplanting Kobe and LeBron for Team USA? Rob Mahoney looks: ‘Team USA has fallen into the capable hands of Kevin Durant, and while it’s easy to praise his commitment when KD has yet to even suit up for Team USA in a real game, he actually seems to be the most suitable face for the program going forward. Team USA’s renaissance has always been more about Kobe than LeBron, and it’s Durant that shares Bryant’s ridiculous drive, obsessive focus, and incredible will. The Durantula is humble and hungry, and though he never asked to be the leader of this team — and he won’t, ever — it just makes too much sense for him not to be.” Read more…
There’s two contrasting thoughts typically around NBA fan circles about what role Team USA can play on that fan’s team. These thoughts usually depend entirely on what happens to the players from that fan’s team while they are representing their country, positively or negatively.
Thought A is that the risk versus reward is too great and that only bad can come from it. These are the fans who claim that any actual basketball development or improvement while playing with the Team USA squad and coaching staff will be so negligible that the risk for injury and/or the non-rest that these players experience during the off-season puts them in an unfavorable position heading into the season. They’re either going to be too tired and a little worn down from the games and practices during a time that they are typically resting and recuperating from a long season, thereby making them more susceptible to picking up nagging injuries or to suffer from fatigue earlier in the 82 game haul than usual, or they will actually enter training camp with an injury/still trying to fully recover from one and that hampers their ability to enter the new season in top form.
Thought B is that risk for injuries or exhaustion is minimal for a Team USA player in the contrasting context of an 82 game season whereas the experience of playing with some of your country’s best players/coaches, especially for younger players, can act as a springboard to an entirely different level of mental development as well as physical/basketball skill growth. In other words, risk of injury is a part of basketball so unless a player is known to be somewhat brittle, what’s the difference between them playing a pickup game on asphalt or at an NBA team’s training facility versus playing with Team USA, especially since a few months of games and practices is nothing compared to the 9 months of night in, night out basketball grind that the players go through during an NBA season?
For me, both sides have their points and ultimately it comes down to just one simple thing in terms of the fans’ perspective (after all, for the players this is really about representing your country and wearing that jersey with pride and honor…but NBA fans usually aren’t nearly as worried about that part).
That one thing is this: Will there actually be development and improvement? Read more…
After signing Royal Ivey,Darnell Mayberry points out something has to happen on the roster: “The easiest thing for the Thunder to do could be to waive Weaver or whomever it might be that is caught in the numbers game. But when have we known Thunder GM Sam Presti to take the easy route? It’s possible that Presti could turn an out-of-the rotation player into a future asset. While it sounds like a long shot, by now it’s safe to believe the Thunder will explore every option. And if there is a logical trade to be made it will be done.”
Chris Sheridan wraps up Team USA’s scrimmage nicely: “But that disappointment will pale in comparison to what the whole squad will feel if it cannot figure out how to play more than one way. Unconventional is not necessarily bad, but there has to be some ability to play conventionally when circumstances call for it. In the weeks ahead, we’ll get to see whether this U.S. team is capable of doing so.” Read more…
Free agency is dying down, summer ball is over, but the NBA Talk is still strong at Thunderground Radio. This week we take a look around the NBA in our returning segment “What Up With That” where we discuss: Chris Paul’s trade demands, the signing of Royal Ivey, Team USA, Presti re-upping, and of course KHAN!!!!
Then we interview “The voice of the Thunder” Brian Davis for some good Thunder talk. This is our first episode as the official podcast of ESPN True Hoop affiliate Daily Thunder so make sure to leave a comment and check back daily for constant Thunder info.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00-17:30: What Up With That? (CP3 leaving, Ivey signing, Team USA, Presti and Khan)
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(Good morning/afternoon DT peeps. Thank you for your support. Team USA scrimmage today on ESPN2 at 8 CT.)
You’ve seen it before. And if you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. I don’t know why, but I just got started watching Russell Westbrook dunk highlights and this one is just the Mona Lisa of them all. It’s perfect.
Today on his blog at his official site, Durant filled us in on his signing of a max extension and also about all the hullabaloo over the way he handled it.
First off, I’ve always said that Oklahoma City is a place I want to be and I couldn’t imagine not playing for the Thunder, especially with these great teammates and coaches and support staff. So when I got approached with a contract extension once negotiations could start, signing it wasn’t a very hard decision. It was really a no-brainer. If people were paying attention to what I’ve been saying for the last three years, then they’d know my heart has always been with the Thunder. This organization has been moving in the right direction since the day I got here.
Now as far as announcing my signing through Twitter…..c’mon, what else would you expect?!?! You all know how much I love Twitter and Facebook and social media in general. I’ve met so many fans through social media. That’s how a lot of us athletes connect with fans in this day and age. I love giving out free tickets or Nike gear and answering all your questions, even the crazy funny ones. So I didn’t think twice to announce my contract extension through Twitter. I wanted to make sure all my fans and supporters were the first to know, and most importantly to get the news straight from me!
Now, the friends and family and fans who know me weren’t surprised that it’s how I let everyone know. But some people keep asking why I didn’t announce it on national television or something like that. I really get a laugh out of that. I keep telling people how my situation was much different from all the other big names out there. First of all, I was just up for a contract extension. LeBron, Chris Bosh and D-Wade, those guys were unrestricted free agents, so there was more hype with their decision, more people who wanted to know what was gonna go down. That’s a big difference.
And as I told someone the other day, LeBron James is the biggest name in sports. Nothing he does is ever going to go quiet. You can’t blame him for what happened and how he made his decision. Again, my situation was totally different.
Durant is obviously right. His situation and LeBron’s were entirely different. Everyone knows that. KD was just re-upping with his squad and LeBron was an unrestricted free agent and one of the biggest ever. But as Kurt Helin of PBT wisely puts it, it was a very different situation. And LeBron and KD are very different people. It’s really as simple as that.
