Daily Thunder.com

Labor negotiations extend one more day, right to the zero hour. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “According to a person briefed on the talks, the primary focus Sunday night was system issues — salary cap, luxury tax, etc. — leaving Monday to reconcile those complicated items with the most important point of all: the split of revenues between owners and players. Fisher characterized the meeting as “intense.” The last-minute meeting was called after league and union officials originally couldn’t agree on the parameters of one final bargaining session to save regular season games. On Friday, officials from the National Basketball Players Association requested a meeting, but were met with a precondition from the league that they agree to a 50-50 split of revenues that was offered in Tuesday’s bargaining session. The union declined, and scheduled regional meetings for Miami on Saturday and Los Angeles on Sunday.”

The Drew topped the Goodman League in the highly forgotten rematch, but KD dropped 50 and James Harden put up 48. Good showing by OKC, as always. Here’s some video of KD’s 50-spot. Read more…

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Via Radar Online:

Ryan Seacrest asked the socialite Friday, on his KIIS FM radio show when she and her hubby, free agent forward Kris Humphries, would settle down and have children.

She said: “I think we want to figure out where he’s gonna play and where he’s gonna live” regarding her husband, who’s currently locked out along with his hoopster peers.

“What if he signed with the Oklahoma Thunder?” Seacrest asked her. “What would you do?”

“Is that a real team?” she asked, before turning to her sister in the background, asking, “Khloe, have you heard of that team?”

After a moment to think, Kim decided, “I would go to Oklahoma City … we’re not going to live a separate life.”

I like how Oklahoma City was the example Seacrest used, probably in a worst-case scenario type of way. Like, “OK, say he signed in OKC. You wouldn’t go THERE, would you?”

Obviously it seems like a slight that Kardashian has never heard of the Thunder, but then again, for someone’s that married to an NBA player, I think that says more about her than it does OKC. Guess she wasn’t exactly paying real close attention to that triple-overtime game the Thunder won in New Jersey last season. Which is weird, because she was there.

Other

Well, that was quick.

Byron Mullens has already left his team in Greece to return to the United States. He tweeted Kevin Durant Sunday, “what’s good I had to come back to the states, can’t be missing anymore team camps. Let me know when the next one is. I’ll be there.”

When Durant asked him, “u quit?” and Mullens replied, “them dudes were on some other stuff over there. Wasn’t worth missing workouts with all y’all.”

What that “other stuff” them dudes were on is up for speculation, but the usual suspects would be his team wasn’t paying on time, he was being treated really strange, the travel sucked, the practices were long, or someone killed a goat during practice.

Or maybe it’s just that Mullens saw his teammates were all working out together and figured he would be doing himself more good being back with them.

News

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

It’s OU/Texas weekend, which is one of the biggest things in the state of Oklahoma. So naturally, you know the Thunder’s hero, Kevin Durant, will be flashing his horns wherever he is today. Or at the least on Twitter. Which will bring up the little debate that everyone got all huffy over a couple weeks ago.

I’m WAY over that discussion and I’m sure you are too, but it just hit me: All anyone’s talked about is how OU fans deal with this Longhorn KD stuff. But there’s another pretty prominent school in the state and nobody’s really considered their side of it. Do Oklahoma State fans care? Are they relishing this? Do they secretly love the fact that Sooners have to cheer a Lognhorn? Or are they just like OU folks in that yeah, it’s sort of a bummer KD went to Texas but who really cares as long as he’s rocking Thunder blue?

I asked Kyle Porter who runs the excellent Pistols Firing for his perspective on it. Read more…

Commentary

Happy Saturday Thunder fans. Thank you for your support of DT. There will be a season, it’s just a question of how long it is.

Monday is looming. It’s the do-or-die day for the NBA season to start on time and with the league refusing to meet with the union unless the players pre-agree to a 50-50 BRI split, things aren’t looking good. So this little video is not only mildly humorous, but also probably disturbingly true.

Video

Interesting point from Henry Abbott of TrueHoop: “Lost in the shuffle of 50/50 revenue talk: League offered players the right to get out of a deal after seven years. I’m told both sides would have the right to opt out at that point. If we assume that in seven years the league will have incredible national TV deals and a swelling global audience, that’s a big concession. The union has been adamantly against players missing out on what could be fat revenue years, just as the league has been looking forward to that exact thing.”

Via NewsOK, OKC moved up in Sporting News’ top sports cities: “But Oklahoma City’s stock as a sports city continues to rise. OKC has climbed to No. 26, up six spots from last year, in the latest Sporting News Best Sports Cities rankings. The rankings define Oklahoma City as the OKC metro area, which includes Norman. Stillwater ranks 64th, up five spots from last year. Tulsa ranks 84th, up from 108th last year.” Read more…

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Via the Sun-Sentinel, rosters for the Heat’s charity All-Star game are set. The game is Sunday at Florida International (Isiah Thomas is hosting) and is going to be streamed online at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Playing for Team LeBron: Chris Bosh, Jamal Crawford, Kevin Durant, Jonny Flynn, Rudy Gay, LeBron, Damon Jones, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook and Lou Williams.

Playing for Team Wade: Carmelo Anthony, Caron Butler, Mario Chalmers, Eddy Curry, Wesley Matthews, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Dwyane Wade, John Wall, Dorell Wright.

Who has the edge here? I’m super-biased, so I would say Team LeBron regardless, but really, it seems a lot better. LeBron, KD, Rondo, Westbrook and Chris Bosh? That’s pretty stinking good. Now Melo, Chris Paul, Amare, Wade and John Wall is solid too, so obviously it’ll be a close game. Eddy Curry will probably be the difference-maker for Team Wade, so look out.

Proceeds from the event will go towards Mary’s Court Foundation, a foundation established in honor of Thomas’ mother, the late Mary Thomas. A portion of those contributions will support FIU’s First Generation Scholarship Fund, which provides financial aid to students who will be the first generation in their families to earn a college degree.

News

A lot of the Thunder’s players are in Lexington working out at the University of Kentucky. While there, a bunch of the players went to a Kentucky football practice, ran some plays with the Wildcats and threw around that odd-shaped ball.

Kind of swapping roles, Kevin Durant played quarterback as Russell Westbrook lined up at wideout. And Westbrook, who said he could make a pretty good NFL receiver or defensive back, does his part, beating his man pretty easily after a quick jam on the line. Durant drops back and lobs one high, but overshoots Westbrook enough that even he can’t run under it.

I’d say the reason for it was KD’s mechanics. A little bit of the short-armed, side-arm style motion. Who taught him how to throw like that? Vince Young?

Via WTLC

Video

Forbes profiled Aubrey McClendon: “The more time you spend with McClendon, the more your head spins, less with classy spirits than dazzling stats. Chesapeake boasts a $17 billion market cap, on track to generate $2 billion in profits on $9.5 billion in revenues. It employs 12,000 people, including 4,500 land scouts scouring every acre of America for drilling potential and added 3,300 employees so far this year. FORBES estimates McClendon’s personal fortune exceeds $1.2 billion, including his 2.5% personal stake in nearly every Chesapeake well, real estate and 19% of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, which he helped move from Seattle to his hometown amid much acrimony. He is without a doubt the most admired–and feared–man in the U.S. oil patch.”

The Oklahoman: “Unfortunately, discussion of what the Thunder will do for an encore this season has been replaced by talk of NBA labor negotiations. The patience of many fans is tested in watching players battle owners for a greater share of the revenue. If the lockout continues, downtown businesses stand to lose plenty. Hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs in and around downtown have grown accustomed to seeing their receipts increase considerably when the Thunder plays at home.” Read more…

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Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

Kevin Durant is the sixth best player in NBA 2K12. Russell Westbrook is the 10th best. And between James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha, the Thunder have one of the better rosters in the game.

But they also have the low man on the pole.

Via EOB, the lowest rated player in NBA 2K12 is Lord Byron Mullens, who checks in as a 40 overall. Ouch.

Mullens appeared in 13 games last season (his second), totaled 57 minutes and had a sparkling PER of 3.53. That wasn’t the worst in the league though. That belongs to Hassan Whiteside who checked in with a PER of -17.95. That’s a negative PER. Read more…

Commentary

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com says the two sides are only $80 million apart: “Though no additional negotiations are scheduled and the process now enters the dangerous and unpredictable phase where any slipups could jeopardize a large chunk of the regular season, the two sides are closer than they publicly divulged in a pair of dueling news conferences in adjacent meetings rooms of a Times Square hotel. Here is where they are, according to multiple people involved in the negotiations: After the owners offered the players a 50-50 split of revenues that effectively was a 47 percent share with about $350 million in expenses deducted first, the two sides met in small groups in the hallway while each side’s larger group caucused in separate rooms. As the hour grew late, the tension was rising and becoming palpable. Both sides recognized it was time to try everything possible to make a deal.”

Henry Abbott of TrueHoop on yesterday’s negotiations: “Meanwhile, a union source disputes some of the fine points, saying first and foremost, that it’s a major breach of negotiating etiquette to publicly expose the contents of private sidebar conversations. The source also says (and the league denies) that the league did not exactly offer half. Instead, according to the source, it offered to guarantee players 49 percent of revenues, while also giving them the right to earn as much as 51 percent of basketball revenues if players could command contracts worth that much. The union source also maintains that the players did not flatly reject the NBA’s offer, as described, but offered another wrinkle in response, to reduce the minimum amount players would be guaranteed from their previous position of 53. (To what the source wouldn’t say.)” Read more…

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No deal. Not yet.

Negotiations wrapped in New York Tuesday after about four hours with both sides claiming progress was made, but just not enough. Basically, we’re at that point where nobody’s going to budge until they have to. Which means nobody’s moving until money starts getting lost. Which means the rest of the preseason has been cancelled and we’re probably going to have to cross off that Nov. 1 showdown with the Lakers and the next 10 or so games after it (at least). (We’ll know that for sure by Monday, David Stern said.)

Here’s where we’re at: The owners, previously proposing a 46 percent split of revenue to the players have come up a whopping one percent to 47. The players, who get 57 percent under the current CBA, have come down to 53. So… if you’re good at math, could you tell me that mystery number that sits between 53 and 47? What is it? Would could it be?

The reality though is that eventually someone’s got to deal. Someone has to bend. It’s not like the NBA will cease to exist because owners and players can’t agree ever. I understand it’s a negotiation and using tactics like losing games which leads to losing money is what forces the bending, but why not just get to that place now? The players know that eventually, they’ll have to relinquish more of the BRI. The owners know that at some point, they’ll have to come up from 47. WHY CAN’T WE JUST DO THAT NOW? Why do we have to go through all this crap just to get there? Read more…

Commentary

AP Photo

This piece from over the weekend got me thinking. Basically, it’s this: Oklahoma City residents approved a tax increase in 2008 that would pay for arena upgrades and a new practice facility, should an NBA team happen to relocate here (wink, wink).

Well, one did. And for three years, that NBA team has happily occupied the arena while upgrades went on and a new practice facility was built. All of this cost some $93.1 million and is still ongoing as Chesapeake Arena continues with its renovation right now.

Taxpayers obviously approved this with the expectation that they were essentially paying for an NBA team to play in an improved arena. Don’t approve it and there would be a chance that NBA team would look elsewhere. But now, as Michael Kimball said in his story, “Oklahoma City faces the prospect of a season without the headline tenant residents counted on when they approved taxing themselves to pay for it.” It’s pretty obvious that a season without Thunder basketball will hit downtown Oklahoma City pretty hard economically and to further the kick in the pants, we’re paying taxes for something that might not be needed, at least for a year. Ouch.

Which made me wonder: If a league-imposed lockout causes the Thunder to miss an entire season, do the residents of Oklahoma City who are paying for an arena and practice facility thinking they get to watch their favorite team in it, have a class-action case against the NBA? Or the Thunder? Or someone?

Read more…

Commentary

Sam Amick of SI: “With the National Basketball Players’ Association having already offered to drop the players’ portion of basketball-related income from 57 percent to 52 percent, the agents implore players to insist on “no further reduction of the BRI received by the players. A source close to the union told SI.com recently that any agreed-upon deal in which the players received 51 percent could possibly be ratified but would likely lead to the ousting of Billy Hunter as the NBPA’s executive director, so this is in line with those parameters.”

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “Based on the league’s current bargaining position, even if the players offered to receive 49 percent of BRI — thus accounting for all of the owners’ $300 million in stated losses — it still would not be acceptable to the owners, who are seeking the opportunity for every team to make a profit in addition to increased parity they believe can be achieved through a combination of systemic changes and more robust revenue sharing. One prominent agent told CBSSports.com Monday that the owners’ position is “out of touch with reality.” “These guys think they’re entitled to have a business that’s fool proof,” the agent said.” Read more…

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Christian Peterson/NBAE/Getty Images

Sigh. Training camp would be starting today. Not exactly the most exciting thing in the world. Not necessarily a marquee day or some kind of landmark that we all had marked on our calendars. But at the very least, it signaled the start of the 2011-12 season. Once training camp starts, we start seeing our favorite players again, we start getting preseason games and before you know it, we’re watching a real life game that counts.

Alas. The lockout has postponed the start of training camps for who knows how long and is threatening the entire season. But since our current hook is that the Thunder would be rolling into their practice facility, the question is, what would be the storylines we’re most looking forward to? Here are 10, because it’s a round number. Read more…

Commentary