Sam Presti did a long interview with The Sports Animal in Oklahoma City and covered a lot of ground without saying a whole lot. You know, the Presti way. But he was asked about his feelings on all the criticism surrounding Russell Westbrook during the playoffs.
You’re only human if you know it’s there. Once you get to this point in the year, there’s only a couple teams or a couple series playing and that’s part of it. One thing we really learned about Russell through that process, or one thing that was confirmed, he’s an incredibly resilient person. … I think the other thing we learned is he’s really only focused on the things that he can control. … I think he deserves a lot of respect as a second-team all-NBA player, a 22-year-old point guard in the Western Conference Finals, in being self-critical.
Presti was also asked when he sees his young roster maybe peaking. I love this answer, especially the last part.
“That’s a great question and I wish I could tell you there was a way for us to predict that. There really isn’t. One thing we know is this, the experiences that we’re accumulating over time are really helping our players in the area of recognition, recognizing the things that high-performing teams do on a consistent basis. When you have those players, I don’t necessarily think their improvement is a result of time elapsed, but it’s actually what’s been accumulated, what’s been experienced within that time.”
And the team experienced a whole heck of a lot these past two seasons. Like I said in my recap of the season, maybe the biggest acquisition this team can make over the summer is digesting everything that happened in this wonderful postseason run and understanding what needs to change. You can’t trade for experience and maturity. Like Presti said, you’ve got to make it on your own.
In all truth, the Thunder’s 2011-12 roster will look almost identical to the 2010-11 one that went to the Western Conference Finals. Most of the moving and shaking was decided at the trade deadline when Sam Presti dealt the big question mark in Jeff Green to Boston and then promptly signed Kendrick Perkins to an extension.
Still, there are a few things up in the air. For one, the draft. But we’ll get to that later. In terms of free agency, the Thunder likely won’t be all that active, despite having somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million in cap space. Of course that depends entirely on the new collective bargaining agreement.
(In fact, just let this be a disclaimer for this whole post: It all depends on the new CBA. You know, what the cap will look like, player salaries, if there’s even a season — that stuff.)
The Thunder have about $49.5 million committed in salary next season. (Here’s where Nick Collison’s extension starts looking so stinking beautiful. Just $3.2 million next year.) Twelve players are under contract for next season. Every important core piece is in place, so really for Presti, it’s about filling in the cracks a little. Read more…
We have 30 days until a lockout and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com says there’s momentum, but not much real progress: “As for comparing this to the NBA’s ’98 or ’05 negotiations, the NBA is in a different place than it was then. In ’98, salaries were out of control and the game was about to embark on the uncertain journey of life without Michael Jordan. In ’05, owners were looking for tweaks to the ’99 agreement. Now, they are looking to permanently and dramatically alter the landscape of the sport.”
Berry Tramel, like all of us, is worried about how a lockout would affect OKC: “But in Miami, Year 2 of LeBron? In Dallas, coming off, at worst, its second West title ever? In Orlando, for what could be Dwight Howard’s final year in the kingdom? In Chicago, where homegrown Derrick Rose holds court? In Memphis, where after 10 years in town the Grizzlies have been discovered? In Oklahoma City, where watching the Thunder 99 nights a year quickly became standard operating procedure? Say it ain’t so. A season we wish could start early appears to be dead set on starting late, if at all.” Read more…
With all the talk about Kendrick Perkins lately, I figured it would be smart to get the perspective of someone that knows him as a player as well as anyone. I asked Zach Lowe of SI’s The Point Forward (Zach being a Celtics fan) what he saw out of Perk these past two months and maybe what Thunder fans should expect going forward.
There’s no question Perk wasn’t healthy in the playoffs. He has never been a good offensive player, but the train wreck you saw in the post-season is not representative of his play overall. He is capable, believe it or not, of getting you 8-10 cheap points (12 on a good night) by backing down smaller guys and dropping in jump hooks. Read more…
Happy Memorial Day everyone. A special thanks to all our servicemen and women for everything. And specifically, thanks to my best friend Andy who is serving in Afghanistan. Also, a note: I’m en route to Miami today to cover the NBA Finals for CBSSports.com so I’ll be out of touch for a bit. I’m sure life will go on without me for a bit though.
Berry Tramel grades the season: “Russell Westbrook: A. OK, so he shoots too much and commits too many turnovers. Yes, more Thunder possessions end with Westbrook (shooting or turnovers) than with Durant. Agreed, his decision-making needs work. You know what all those deficiencies mean? The rest of the league is scared to death. A guy who in four years has gone from UCLA backup to second-team all-NBA with Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki can still get not only better, but a lot better? By the way, Westbrook this season shot two percentage points worse than Durant from the field and from 3-point range. Not 10. Two.” Read more…
After a crazy long playoff run, its time to look back. Joel and Brad go back to some of their questions and predictions to start the 2010-11 Thunder season and recap what we’ve learned about the team since that time. We also give our predictions for the finals.
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Happy offseason everyone. Thank you for your incredible support of Daily Thunder throughout the season. Onward!
As the postseason went on, I grew more and more frustrated hearing people gripe about Kendrick Perkins. One prominent website tweeted yesterday, “All those articles praising the acquisition of Kendrick Perkins by the Thunder look pretty outdated now, no?” Now I was part of it in the Dallas series because he just wasn’t a good matchup, but it was as if some thought he had no value in the wins over Denver and Memphis. He was actually pretty solid in both of those series.
Perk said he wants to come into camp next year at around 265 and gave himself an “A” for his mental impact on the team but a “D” for his actual play this season. Read more…
The playoffs were special. So many memories, so many moments. Things to talk about for years to come, things to lie about how you were totally there to see in person even if you weren’t.
Kevin Durant started making moves toward already becoming a playoff legend. (Seriously, KD had a pretty unreal postseason when you look back on it.) There were dunks, blocks, great passes and just the type of stuff that is almost hard to watch because it’ll make you miss this team a whole lot already.
It didn’t end up the way we all dreamed, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some fantastic plays and moments to relive. Here are my top 10. Read more…
Russell Westbrook on the airport greeting: “Oh, man, how great this city is, regardless of what’s going on, they always lift you up. That’s the best thing about Oklahoma. The people definitely showed that last night when we got back. We were down (emotionally), and they were screaming and clapping for us. It definitely shows the commitment they have for us.”
Mike Prada of SBN on Thunder fans: “This three-minute video, recorded at approximately 1 a.m. local time, shows tons and tons of Thunder fans waiting at the gate outside the very hanger the Thunder team plane landed. It’s a tradition that has gone on throughout the playoffs, but it was even more special knowing so many fans of the team were there to support the players and coaches after what had to be the most crushing loss of their NBA careers.” Read more…
In today’s exit interview, Russell Westbrook was asked a lot about his playoff experience, the criticism and about his future with the Thunder. Westbrook of course is eligible for an extension on in July. In between enjoying his gum loudly right next to the microphone, Westbrook said he definitely wants to be back in Oklahoma City for the long-term.
“I definitely want to play here. I love being here. I definitely would love staying here.”
There’s pretty much no doubt that Westbrook will get a solid extension offer from the Thunder. The question is though with the uncertainty of the new CBA if things could be affected there. But as long as Westbrook wants to be in OKC, he’ll likely get the offer needed to keep him here for the long-term.
What I loved most thought about Westbrook’s interview though was what he said he wants to improve on most.
“The first thing for me is leadership. I think that’s a big part of me becoming a better player and me reacting certain ways on the floor. That’s definitely going to be a big step for me next year.” Good stuff there, Russ.
I defined ultimate (realistic) success back in October as this: “The Thunder wins a gritty 7-game series in the quarters, then in the Western Finals, comes up just short against the Lakers in six. It’s another huge step in the direction of winning an NBA title and though the team didn’t get there, everything we hoped for this season happened. And going into 2011-12, we have serious playoff experience under our belts and are ready to legitimately challenge for the crown.”
I actually used movies to rank expectations for the season and I had that scenario at the top as The Dark Knight. Well, I guess you can say Christopher Nolan directed the Thunder’s 2010-11, because that’s almost exactly what happened. (The question is, who’s Harvey Dent? Russell Westbrook? Oh nevermind.)
Now, after losing that Western Conference Finals series to the Mavs in five games, do I feel good about it? Do I feel like we can hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner across the arena formerly known as the Ford Center? Absolutely not. Considering the way the series went down, something just feels missing. The Thunder had an opportunity and it slipped past them. For the series, OKC led 123 minutes to Dallas’s 111. In the fourth quarter of the series, the Thunder won 133-130, but were outscored 34-8 in the last five minutes of the last two games. Again, they were right there. Read more…
I’ve spoken my peace about Russell Westbrook 20 times over during this postseason. While some were calling him a ballhog, a selfish player or an egotistical maniac, I saw a guy that was forced into trying to make plays from his point guard position.
He maybe called his own number a little too much and his usage went up from the regular season, but for the most part, he was the same old Russ that makes you yell “I love that dude!” and that makes you throw things.
Kevin Durant defended him valiantly after Game 5′s elimination last night saying, “It’s kind of frustrating to see the kind of criticism he’s been getting because he led us by playing the way he’s been playing now the whole season. That’s what made him an All-Star, second team All-NBA. And it kind of baffles me that people just start to criticize because he’s playing like that now.”
Let me say first: The airport was pretty special last night. Hundreds upon hundreds showed up with flags waving, beating drums and one dude even on a vuvuzela. As the team finally said their goodbyes and started walking away, a loud chant of “Thank you Thunder!” broke out. It was pretty great. Indeed, thanks Thunder. (Here are some great pictures from it and a really nice video too.)
John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “When the dejection over the blown leads in Games 4 and 5 wears off, one realizes the big picture remains blindingly bright for Oklahoma City. Looking forward, this is the most talented team in the Western Conference. They lost to a savvier team that excelled in the exact areas where the Thunder struggled, but they’ve also improved by leaps and bounds in this department every season. There’s no guarantee they make it back here, obviously, but you have to like their chances. And when they do, experiences like this one — painful though it may be — might help push them over the hump.” Read more…
Sometimes, it just doesn’t even seem fair. Or meant to be. Or both.
First, I can’t tell you how proud I am of this Thunder team. To come back with that effort in those circumstances… inspiring. They were ready to go from the tip, ready to fight. I think even us fans were sort of ready to pack it in after Game 4′s crushing defeat. I wouldn’t have blamed the team for just going through the motions, for just showing up. I kind of felt like cheering through the motions. Despite trying to talk myself out of it, the mountain the Thunder had to climb was too steep and the cruelty of Game 4 too fresh.
But with their hands on another win — I mean, they were right there — the final few minutes doomed the Thunder. Scott Brooks pulled out all the stops. Russell Westbrook absolutely busted his butt. Nick Collison did his Nick Collison thing. Kevin Durant, Eric Maynor, everyone, put in the work. Losing a seven-point fourth quarter lead makes me want to belly-flop into an empty pool, but sometimes, it’s just not your time. It’s Dirk’s time. It was just meant to be for the Mavs. Read more…
I don’t know about you, but I’m still going to watch tonight. I haven’t given up. As long as the Thunder still have life, I’m not going to count them out. They’ve built a reputation on resiliency and now they have a chance to cement it. Read more…
