Daily Thunder.com

@ The Beard Knows

Beasley and KD are good friends.

The Beard Knows :@ TaoMaas I don’t think that KD and Beasley both being from DC would make them friends. I also don’t see Beasley being very accepting of a bench role.

From what I understand, they're very good friends. What I heard was that KD's mom used to drop him off at the Beasley's house every morning to ride to school.

@ TaoMaas
I don't think that KD and Beasley both being from DC would make them friends. I also don't see Beasley being very accepting of a bench role.

I heard a rumor last night that the Thunder were going to take a PG in the draft and deal Eric Maynor. I'd really hate to see Maynor leave, but I'd be curious to see what Presti is planning to get in return. I don't think the numbers work, but I'd love to see us pick up Michael Beasley if we're going to deal Maynor. I think he could provide the scoring that the 2nd team would need, as well as making OKC feel more like "home" to KD, ya know?

@ Daniel Hawaii
i agree 100%. even brooks says they are gym rats, they like basketball its their life and they get paid for it, they have a dream job really :P .

Kd has master this humble yet "ill take your ass to the hole" persona lol. I wanna see this harden footage if it ever gets online :(

the*
Just shows that KD hasnt let the superstar status get to his head and still go out and play these streetball type of events.

JJJ :@ okc baby I wouldn’t consider James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Dorrell Wright, Shannon Brown, Andre Miller, Trevor Ariza, Ron Artest, Michael Beasley, Nick Young “scrubs”. It’s not the best ball I’m sure, but thats a good amount of talent out there at the Drew League.

I wouldnt consider them all on the court at the same time. How many were on them court in that vid. Just sayin

justin :Durant is as conscious about his public persona and image as LeBron. He has his own stylized KD logo and everything, even.

hahahaha lmao

@ okc baby

I wouldn't consider James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Dorrell Wright, Shannon Brown, Andre Miller, Trevor Ariza, Ron Artest, Michael Beasley, Nick Young "scrubs". It's not the best ball I'm sure, but thats a good amount of talent out there at the Drew League.

@okc baby

I think KD just loves playing basketball, no matter where or when. If these are the most competitive games he can find to play in June, then that's where he'll be.

I'm actually surprised there's no stipulation in his contract that prevents him from playing in these street-ball type things. What if he gets hurt? Seems like a pretty big risk.

biyombo is ousmane cisse

Durant is as conscious about his public persona and image as LeBron. He has his own stylized KD logo and everything, even.

This is why I like KD. Hes not to good for anybody. Has a work ethic like Jordan and Kobe. Doesnt care about his brand like cough cough Lebrick.

Why is KD playing scrubs and Wilson Chandler sucks for that kind of money

justin :Eric Maynor isn’t a good enough player to not look at a guy like Jenkins, or Reggie Jackson. Maynor’s probably gone in two years anyway.Wilson Chandler will be way too expensive.

Maynor must have declined you an autograph or took your lunch money.

Watching that video of KD's dunk again, holy crap, he actually threw the ball off the backboard just one step inside the 3-point line, then took two steps in the paint and rocked it.

Now I've seen people do that dunk before, but I don't remember anyone throwing it off the backboard from around the 3-point line!

@ Daniel Hawaii
Totally agree. He would have been a lock in the top three with an outside chance at number one overall in this crappy draft.

@ Daniel Hawaii
...which is why you hear all the talk about Toronto taking Biyombo at #5 now.

@Thomas

Oh yeah, there's no doubt about that. Everyone wants the next Serge Ibaka.

Looking back, can you imagine how high Serge would've been drafted if everyone knew then what we know now. Serge would've been a Top 5 pick easily. In this year's draft, he might've been Top 3.

Daniel Hawaii :Biyombo could turn out being like Serge, but he could also be Saer Sene, whom the Sonics drafted 10th overall 5 years ago.

I have a bad feeling that Serge is going to get Bismack picked much higher than he would have been otherwise.

@ Greg
I totally agree. Here is a list of all the 24th picks since 1980:
http://www.mynbadraft.com/nba-draft-picks/24th-overall/240509/
You can take a look at the picks after that as well to see what was available. Anytime you think a pick is worthless just remember that Manu Ginobili, the Argentinian Harden, went 57th.

Biyombo could turn out being like Serge, but he could also be Saer Sene, whom the Sonics drafted 10th overall 5 years ago.

@ Bryson
I don't like Biyombo. I am very skeptical of his age (he just looks like he is lying when he repeats his birthday over and over as though if he says it enough it'll become true...and its weird for someone his height to stop growing at 13) and I don't think anyone would take a chance on him in the first round if it wasn't for the incredible success of Serge. Guaranteeing that he is going to lead the league in blocks and rebounds next year is not confident, it's ignorant.

I think we need to stop saying that we only have two scorers in the starting lineup. Serge is our fourth best scorer...think how much worse the starting lineup would be with Biyombo instead. Learning to shoot a basketball is not a given (Shaquille O'neil averaged 52% of his FTs for 18 years). Serge had a jumpshot, more athleticism and more obvious ways of improving (bulking up) when he was drafted. I am not saying Biyombo is going to be a bust, but I think his ceiling is much lower than most.

Bryson :@ Daniel Hawaii
The Scorers we would get at that level of the draft are garbage scorers who can score, but only if they take outrageous amounts of shots. Getting another ultra-defensive paint guardian is better than a trashy bench scorer in my opinion.

We already have 3 non-scorers in our starting lineup. You want to bring MORE non-scorers off the bench? Biyombo is a nice prospect, but has ZERO offensive game. Not like it matters though, since he'll likely be gone well before pick #24.

Here are some "trashy" bench scoters selected 24th or later in the past decade: Aaron Brooks, David Lee, Gerald Wallace, Kirilenko, Kevin Martin, and Tony Parker. Just to name a few. Assumptions get you nowhere fast.

@ Daniel Hawaii

The Scorers we would get at that level of the draft are garbage scorers who can score, but only if they take outrageous amounts of shots. Getting another ultra-defensive paint guardian is better than a trashy bench scorer in my opinion.

Bryson :I don’t really care what we get out of this garbage draft, but there is one gem I would do almost anything to get…I want Bismack Buyumbo SO much. I just keep imagining him and Serge at 4 & 5 blocking everything that comes into the painted area. It would also be great to put the two compatriots together on a team and let them represent Congo together.

We don't need ANOTHER Serge. We already have THE Serge! We need another SCORER!!!! Let's just draft the best offensive player available to us at #24. Marshon Brooks, Justin Harper... someone like that.

I still remember Tracy McGrady doing that in the NBA All-Star game like 10 years ago.

That was pretty sick from our boy KD, though. He really is becoming quite the good dunker. I don't think we could say that earlier in his career.

Thanks for posting the video Royce! Cool stuff.

I don't really care what we get out of this garbage draft, but there is one gem I would do almost anything to get...I want Bismack Buyumbo SO much. I just keep imagining him and Serge at 4 & 5 blocking everything that comes into the painted area. It would also be great to put the two compatriots together on a team and let them represent Congo together.

Is it possible KD is just now peaking as a dunker? I swear this and the Heywood dunks are the two best I've ever seen from him

MARSHON BROOKS Or Kenneth Faried if they fall

I still hate picking Mirotic in the first round.

Eric Maynor isn't a good enough player to not look at a guy like Jenkins, or Reggie Jackson. Maynor's probably gone in two years anyway.

Wilson Chandler will be way too expensive.

@ Daniel Plainview
One area in which this draft is particularly weak is at sg. Alec Burk's and Marshon Brook's stock keeps rising not bc they are really showing anything but because of the odd dearth of true sgs. Jenkins is undersized (ht and wingspan) but he's crafty, a character/glue guy and the most offensively efficient player in the draft. He will be a great role player for whomever snags him.
I was on the Mirotic train before I switched to Sammy's line of thinking. Assuming he makes it to the NBA a few years from now he is likely to be a freakish wing that can score over anyone. I see the basketball landscape shifting slightly though. Real Madrid is getting real tired of playing NBA babysitter. Buyouts are getting larger than the player's salaries.

I don't think I see what you see when you look at Harris. He doesn't currently have any of the skills needed to play SF. Just bc he is undersized doesn't mean he can play SF (his jumpshot looks u-g-l-y). I see an underwhelming, undersized PF, like a slightly thinner Sean May. I have read people talking about his basketball IQ and work ethic, but I don't see it. He is great with garbage buckets in the paint but I don't think he is turning into Z-bo.

I can understand that we really don't need Jenkins all that much, but to me he's one of those situations like when you see a really cheap deal at the store on an economy size box of your favorite cookies. You don't really need them, but if they're there, you take them before they sell to someone else and then figure out how to eat them all before they go stale later.

Unless we trade maynor, I see no sense in drafting another pg. we need a sg/sf, and feeling like I need to nead a dead horse in the ground, wilson chandler would fill that perfectly. I understand the resignings of RW, SI, and JH next year are going to make that less likely. Id love to trade up 5 or 6 (maybe trade nate or thabo if theyre aee takers) spots amd grab tobias harris or stay put for mirotic or Justin Harper

Sammy, I have finally come around to your point of view.
Initially, I wanted someone with upside because that has panned out so well for us in the past but we don't need that right now. We should take a known quantity that can contribute and pierce the 10-man rotation at their current skill level. I saw a mock that had Jenkins going to Charlotte at 19, so in the unlikely event that Jenkins isn't there I think we should take Singler.
Singler is an interesting example of the upside problem. After becoming ACC rookie of the year he would likely have gone in the 'teens in 2008 and would probably be considered a bit of a bust. Now, he is more polished, he will likely go at a more reasonable slot, people expect less and he will probably have a much better career for it.

@ j-mo
NO! I have been looking a fair amount too. It's a lot easier to find clips of Flava Flav around the court than Harden on it. Most of the highlights are from last year:
http://www.ballislife.com/video/65-james-harden-summer-mixtape
I'm sure that the footage is out there and that someone is just taking their time editting.

@ C_Dub
I agree wit The Beard Knows. At first, it looked like he traveled as he threw it up, but if you look at the clip in slow motion ~0:25, it looks like a legal play and no travel. There have been plays this season by Kobe and LeBron where they got trapped so they threw it off the backboard to themselves.

Anyone have any footage of Harden scoring the 51 points?

@ C_Dub
It's legal, it's just a confusing stat issue.
http://forum.officiating.com/basketball/13248-nba-self-pass-off-backboard.html

That wouldn't be legal in an actual game would it?

KD Goin Haam in the paint