Daily Thunder.com

@Sammy
I was hoping someone would comment on Josh Smith. Good fit for us? I think he would be a marked improvement at the 4...

I've been salivating at Josh Smith, who apparently can be had in trade. There's no potential deal that makes any sense. J-smoov on this team would be so awesome, though.

That article that says "In 2 years, Eric Maynor will be the best backup point guard in the NBA..." Well, I think in 2 years, he won't be a backup PG. If we have such an awesome PG, I think we'd have more value in trading him to a team where he can start, be a star, and we get great value in return...you know like the magic Presti always has when he starts talking to other GMs around the league.

@Sammy
Looked like aggression, and a team defensive strategy to show hard against the guard, not overhelping. Byron has the agility to help defend or trap guards on the perimeter, even past the 3-point line, it's a very good ability.

His counterparts at center for Boston, Erden and Parakhouski, scored 6 points total in over 43 minutes. So Byron obviously wasn't that lost getting back to his man after playing the guard in the pick and roll.

@DXL
I saw Byron overhelping on PnRs, sometimes all the way out past the three point line, then getting lost when the ball got rotated.

Clark Matthews :So Byron has put on 15 pounds of muscle and is being touted as a player who might make an impact next season. Robert Swift had the same stories written about him every summer.

Agreed. Swift had a very encouraging 2005-2006 season and got injured which ended his career pretty much. Mullens hasn't done anything so far that Swift didn't do.

If Harden cracks the starting lineup, we'll have three guys who can really get to bucket and finish, draw a foul, or dish to the open big. We need Aldrich to quickly morph into the garbage man and capitalize on these easy buckets that could potentially be created by this hyper-penetration from Westbrook, Harden, and Durant.

I would be really interested to see a KEV "defensive breakdown" for these summer leagues. Reading his analysis and scores for White could be very entertaining. And for guys like Harden, it could be useful in determining his defensive improvements. Same for Mullens, since there seems to be sort of a division over whether Mullens' defense has actually improved or not.

@J.G.
yeah and they are starting from a fairly in shape level to start, i mean i could put on 15 lbs of muscle in that timeframe but im out of shape, and so adding muscle isnt difficult. it would be more realistic if they said they added that weight since last summer, im sure they have been on weight training programs all season.

f5alcon :@J.G.its more plausible for mullens to do it then ibaka, he has a bigger frame and as a percent of body weight its a lot less, mullens was listed at 275

Agreed, but even then, 15 lbs of lean muscle in 8 weeks if you've actually lifted weights before AND are doing high level cardio throughout each of those weeks is just so ridiculously hard to do that it reeks of "Cole Aldrich is a legit 6'11" at Kansas and then is "6'9 in socks" in reality.

@J.G.
its more plausible for mullens to do it then ibaka, he has a bigger frame and as a percent of body weight its a lot less, mullens was listed at 275

@J.G.
But Maynor's signed for 3 years, with possibly a 4th year if he doesn't leave in restricted free agency. That's an eternity in the NBA, enough time to build a championship team.

Ibaka certainly looks strong enough to play center, and I'm sure his quick weight gain (at least 10 pounds? perhaps 15 pounds?) has something to do with his wanting to take the starting spot away from Krstic. But I really hope he doesn't lose his quickness or succumb to injury. Weight gain has to be natural and gradual.

Byron's also gained 10 or 15 pounds of muscle but it looks more natural on him. He looks solid now.

@Clark Matthews
i dont think anybody here expects him to contribute this season, maybe a few years from now, also swift won the starting spot before getting hurt in preseason or he could have turned out much differently.

Clark Matthews :So Byron has put on 15 pounds of muscle and is being touted as a player who might make an impact next season. Robert Swift had the same stories written about him every summer.

I always have a hard time with the statements that such and such player put on 15-20 lbs of muscle since the season ended (only April 30th) while we just entered the first week of July. First off, unless they're getting measured body fat% wise or in some professional water chamber, there's no way of knowing how much of the weight gain is muscle versus fat. So why not just say they've put on 15 lbs via lifting and leave it at that?

Secondly, 15 lbs of lean muscle in a little over 8 weeks? Which would mean he's gained at least 18-20 lbs of total weight in only 8 weeks while still working in the gym doing drills and polishing skills (cardio) and playing basketball (which is cardio as well) in addition to lifting.

Sorry, just like Ibaka gaining 20 lbs of muscle is probably more like 10 lbs (per Mayberry), I'm having a hard time buying that Mullens put on 15 lbs of lean muscle in 8 weeks as well.

Clark Matthews :So Byron has put on 15 pounds of muscle and is being touted as a player who might make an impact next season. Robert Swift had the same stories written about him every summer.

Byron Mullens is not a stiff. Bob Swift was/is a stiff. Their respective games don't mirror each other in any way I can think of..

I think its clear though that Ibaka isn't the ready-made allstar some people were making him out to be after the LA series. While putting in a solid defensive performance before he left, he didn't exactly dominate, despite the inferior competition.

@J.G.
Completely agree. He may be even more valuable as a trade piece though before he expires. I really enjoy the lineup with Maynor and RW, and will be sad when it's over.

J.G. :@Boots I’ve been saying it since February, everyone needs to enjoy Maynor while he’s here under his rookie contract.

Agreed. I still don't get why some people thought we should have dealt him to Indy, instead of taking Mo Pete's contract. It's apparent we wouldn't have used that 6 mil on a free agent anyway, the extra cash would have just been pocketed.

@Greg
Oh you were right in that he played center a good amount of the time (probably the majority of the time) and depending upon regular season matchups, I think he could definitely see time at the 5 as well. For instance, I think Golden State might necessitate Ibaka at the 5.

So Byron has put on 15 pounds of muscle and is being touted as a player who might make an impact next season. Robert Swift had the same stories written about him every summer.

@DizzyDai
Yeah, I'm more in this camp. I was specifically watching him most of the game and he didn't seem slow at all. It was more about timing and being where he is supposed to be. If he has the desire, he can learn that stuff. He still really needs to focus on boxing out (same for serge...boxing out is an increasingly lost art in the NBA)...hopefully they can take notes from Collison.

I know it's the D-league and all that, but I was thrilled to see Maynor & Mullens running PnRs that GO TO THE BASKET and not just little jump shots (ala N. Krstic). It seemed like earlier last year, Mullens was working on his outside game too much. Hopefully he's got his head on straight now (as he showed yesterday) and is focused on attacking the basket. As he continues to develop that element over the next couple of years, we could actually have an attacking offense that's getting to the rim, not just settling for jumpers. A lot of good things can happen when big guys crash in off PnRs (pick up fouls, get dunks, kick out to open shooters, etc.). Settling for the pick-n-pop only gives one option.

Overall, I was encouraged by our play yesterday and what it suggested our guys have been working on this off-season...looking forward to more of the same the rest of the week.

@J.G.
Oh ok. I just rememember when Ibaka first came into the game, it was for Mullens. And when he was injured, Mullens replaced him. Maybe it was about 50-50.

Depending upon Krstic and Collison's status on the team during the season, as well as Mullens' progression, Ibaka could maybe see 5-10 minutes at spot center some nights.

@Boots
I've been saying it since February, everyone needs to enjoy Maynor while he's here under his rookie contract.

Greg :It was interesting yesterday that Ibaka seemed to only be playing at center, or least the majority of the game, correct? Wonder if that’s a sign of things to come this season.

He played alongside Mullens as well. Ibaka seemed to only play center when the Thunder went with a smaller lineup.

Boots :“Within two years, he’s going to be the best backup point guard in the NBA and it won’t be close”
These kind of players are not backups for long.

Maybe Presti knew what he was doing when he held onto Maynor during the draft.

It was interesting yesterday that Ibaka seemed to only be playing at center, or least the majority of the game, correct? Wonder if that's a sign of things to come this season.

"Within two years, he’s going to be the best backup point guard in the NBA and it won’t be close"

These kind of players are not backups for long.

@jhoan
probably wont happen until training camp

@AC
Yeah, DJ got smoked by Harongody. Pretty ugly to watch.

@DXL
who let harangody go off? I couldn't see the game. I assume it was DJ? bad match up for him i guess, but still.

DXL :I think the guy from HP isn’t seeing what I’m seeing. Mullens was good on defense yesterday, he really was. He showed well on screen-and-rolls, really bothering guards with his length, and he played good, fundamental defense in the post. He’s hard to shoot over.
He’ll never be a defensive terror like Ibaka, he just doesn’t have the physical abilities, but Mullens’ length and quicks will serve him well on the defensive end.

He did rotate well at times. There was a couple of times when he should have been a more agressive defender. Overall, not bad.

lets just hope Scott Brooks is finally running some offensive sets. the OKC offense is brutal to watch sometimes..... he said this would be the summer he implemented those

I would feel hypothetically comfortable with Aldrich hypothetically guarding power forwards of the Garnett (now) and Boozer (always) varieties. ie. slowww

@justin
yeah, really i wouldnt count on mullens for anything this year, aside from d league time and late game blowout mins, which i hope we have more of in our favor.

I think the guy from HP isn't seeing what I'm seeing. Mullens was good on defense yesterday, he really was. He showed well on screen-and-rolls, really bothering guards with his length, and he played good, fundamental defense in the post. He's hard to shoot over.

He'll never be a defensive terror like Ibaka, he just doesn't have the physical abilities, but Mullens' length and quicks will serve him well on the defensive end.

I think an Aldrich and Mullens on the floor at the same time could be used situationally, years down the line. Something along the lines of Aldrich on Bynum, Mullens on Gasol. Obviously that's not something we would do right now or even this season, but the future will tell...

Krstic is smarter than Mullens as a basketball player. Some guys just never get a sense for the game and improve that way. Will Mullens? We'll see. He'll need to.

justin :Harden needs an in between game so badly. Stick him in a room and have him watch Paul Pierce for a week straight.

Agree with this. It's very rare that Harden shoots anything mid-range.

@justin
aldrich, he is the faster of that two, i mean i wouldnt start them both like that, but against backups or situationally or against slow PF/C combos, like the rumored shaq/al horford lineup.

The Mullens/Krstic comparison is often made because they are finesse bigs, but Mullens is obviously much more athletic than the Krstic. There are other differences too. Byron seems more comfortable around the bucket and can finish better than Nenad, and that gap will only widen more as time goes. Mullens has more size to work with also, and if he can use it properly, another advantage to Mullens.

Krstic will continue to see more minutes than Mullens this year as long as Mullens is still so far behind in his defensive positioning and other liabilities defensively. But if he can just be an average defender, his offensive skillset could really thrive alongside the likes of Ibaka and Aldrich.

james harden is too good of a shooter to be missing wide open threes, hopefully he can fix that soon, it was a shame watching him miss those yesterday. he looked good to me for the most part though.. wish i could see aldrich..

f5alcon :@Gregaldrich and mullens would be a long combo at center, would cause all sorts of matchup problems, especially if they were on the court together

Who guards PF's?

I wish White could play some defense, he has a nice shot.

@Greg
aldrich and mullens would be a long combo at center, would cause all sorts of matchup problems, especially if they were on the court together

Harden needs an in between game so badly. Stick him in a room and have him watch Paul Pierce for a week straight.

I've never thought of Mullens as slow. His recognition could be slow, sure, but physically? He's at least average for a center, if not above average.

It could still take another full season for Mullens' defense to come around enough to earn signifcant minutes. But if he continues to develop offensively, and his attitude and work ethic continue to progress, then we've got a new and improved, more dynamic Nenad 2.0.

All good assessments. I really hope Harden can step up to his own challenge and win that starting spot. I just hope he doesn't get so wrapped up in the desire to prove himself that he lowers to the level of every other me-first chucker in summer league. Starting is a lot different than dominating non-NBA players. Harden needs to make smart decisions as well as amazing plays.

mullens still probably needs another year in the dleague, but still looks more promising then i thought.

Mullens had a great line and showed much more willingness to get to the rim but like ZH said his defense still doesn't look up to par. Maybe since he's supposedly more passionate he'll pick up a lot this year in training camp.