DECISION 11′ has officially begun!!! 365 days until Nick Collison announces his free agent decision in a one hour special live on PBS!!!

Gosh I love Nick Collison. But seriously though, I hope it’s the Thunder’s name he calls. If for no other reason than tweets like these.

He’s beginning rehab immediately and should be able to resume his regular offseason training later this summer.

But this may be Nick Collison’s best season yet.

The numbers don’t tell half the story for Collison. Scratch that. The numbers don’t tell even a fifth of the story. Collison’s contributions to a now two games over squad aren’t measurable. You can’t quantify grit, hustle and winning plays. Unless of course you’re Peter King. Then he’d be leading the league in all those categories. And Russell Westbrook in smiles. But whatever.

But here’s one thing you can measure: Per 40 minutes, Collison IS leading the league in charges taken, at 1.73 a game. The next closest guy is Jared Jeffries at 1.42. Think about it for a second. If a guy was averaging almost two steals a game, you’d say that’s good, right (for perspective, Rajon Rondo leads the NBA with 2.67 steals a game)? Well taking a charge is even better. Not only do you force a turnover, but you add a foul to a player on the other team. Honestly, taking a charge is the absolute best turnover you can force. And Collison leads the league in it. Even Peter King understands that.

(One aside I’ve noticed about Colly’s charge taking: He’s amazing at it. Almost every charge he takes, he peels off his man and steps right in front of the halo underneath the bucket. But he does one VERY smart thing. He lifts his heels. Watch for it. If his sneakers are touching the white line, it goes as a block and not a charge. And by lifting his heels, Collison may actually be in the halo but appears he’s not. It’s what your high school coach would call a heady play. Every charge Collison takes from now on, you’ll notice it. Unless you’re an official. Then ignore what I just said.)

Collison just has a knack for doing Important Things That Help a Team Win. His offensive rebounds always seem to come in a big spot. He’ll deflect a pass that leads to a turnover. He’ll tip a rebound that otherwise would have gone the other way, but now it’s back in the hands of the Thunder. His rebounding numbers don’t reflect plays like that. He’s got a Barbra Streisand-sized nose for the ball and a sense for a the big play.

People confuse hustle with diving on the floor, jumping over scorer’s tables and bloody noses scrapping for loose balls. Collison really doesn’t do a whole lot of that. He just makes winning plays. Even his bad games, like against the Lakers last week (one point, six fouls, one rebound) he did positive things. He took a charge, he tipped a couple rebounds, he hedged well on screens. He’s always doing something good.

On a given night, he might just play 15 minutes. He might play 30. Regardless of the time he sees, he’s going to make an impact. I’m not saying Colly deserves more minutes, but he defines “role player”. He’s exactly what your team needs. As soon as you let a player like him go, you’re looking for another guy exactly like him. No, he’s not going to drool over a soaring putback like Serge Ibaka. He’s not going rise for a spectacular block. He’s going to take charges, play tough defense, keep rebounds alive and score when he has a chance. (Collison actually is second in the league in field goal percentage at 63.6 percent.)

Shane Battier became a cult basketball figure after Michael Lewis’ moneyball-esque piece on him in the New York Times. Collison is even less sexy because he doesn’t knock down big 3s, doesn’t guard Kobe Bryant and doesn’t stand out on the court. But I bet if you asked Scott Brooks and Sam Presti, they’d tell you he’s every bit as valuable. You just can’t replace his heart.

I think he’s actually leading the league in it.

Nick Collison

Restore his numbers to his previous two seasons. Last year was a down year for Collison. And before he got it going in March and April, it was a really down year. He got his numbers close to his career average by the end of it (8.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg) but for a while he was a around 5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg. He did shoot a higher percentage from the field than ever (56 percent) which was very nice, but he also took two less shots a game. The ironic thing is that his PER finished right in line with his two best years of 2006-2008, but yet his numbers were down. Collison needs to be the rebounding force on this team and having a guy lead your entire team with just 6.9 a game is kind of stinky.

Seven rebounds a game. Likewise, he needs to get this number up. I put it at seven because I’m not sure how many minutes he’ll get with Ibaka and White now competing for time. But he’s always been a solid player and productive when he’s on the floor. He’s the worker on the team and the little plays he makes are surely appreciated. But depending on the improvements of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green in the rebounding area, 6.9 boards a game isn’t great and shouldn’t lead a team.

Ideal stats: 9.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg; 55 percent from the field, 75 percent from the line. Those numbers may actually be a bit ambitious for Nick. He could have a great season putting up six points and seven rebounds a game as long as he’s doing it efficiently. It’s not that OKC’s front line is stacked, but it’s just that there’s a couple players looking for minutes. Collison will likely be the second or third man off the bench unless someone else steps up and takes his minutes. Which is unlikely because Collison is valuable enough with the little thing to want on the floor for at least 20 minutes a night.

D.J. White

Play in at least 75 games. This is more a wish for good health and not winning a position battle. If Serge Ibaka beats him out and takes away his minutes, that’s fine. But more than anything, I want to see White healthy for a season. He missed 75 games in his rookie season with a benign growth on his jaw and even when he got back he’d lost a bunch a weight and wasn’t in great shape. He’s a nice player and a great bench guy, but OKC missed out on his services for most of last year. A full season and I think White could be a very nice bench player in the P.J. Brown mold for the Thunder.

Develop some semblance of a post game. He’s got a GREAT face-up game and elbow jumper. No problems with that. But he doesn’t do much on the block. Which is a little strange because that’s where he did most his damage at Indiana. Learn a baby hook, work on a turnaround jumper, figure out how to muscle an opponent down low. Just something.

Bulk up. Because of the jaw thing, he lost a bunch of weight. As a result, he lost his junk in the trunk that he used to muscle opponents on the block and put on them to block out. During the offseason White has been working to put back some of that weight, but once camp and the games start, will he keep it on? If he wants to defend the big boys he’s going to have to be physical and he’s going to need the bulk to do so.

Ideal stats: 7.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg; 50 percent from the field, 80 percent from the line. White’s stats are kind of hard to judge. He might see 20 minutes a game, he might see 10. It’s hard to know how many he’ll see. He’s going to be in the rotation, but will he be the ninth man or the seventh? Keep in mind, this is basically White’s rookie season. He only played in seven last season and while productive, he was basically handed to opportunity to play. The staff wanted to see what he had and they gave him the time to do it. It’s just hard to say what kind of time he’ll see this year. He’s a very nice player and I think he’s got a place on this roster with his face-up game, but I don’t know how much contribution he’ll have this year. He’s destined to have a Kurt Thomas/Malik Rose type career as a good shooter, good defender, good leader and good role player. So part of that will be accepting you job and doing it well, whatever it may be this year.

Sound off Thunderheads.

More:
Russell Westbrook | James Harden | Thabo Sefolosha | Nenad Krstic and Shaun Livingston | Jeff Green

Today, Jim Traber backed off his Nick Collison comments somewhat, apologized and then mentioned the “little Thunder chat room,” which was a reference to this place. He called me a “nameless blogger” even though I explicitly tried to make sure he knew I wasn’t anonymous, going as far to toss my email address out there. As reader Dylan hilariously put it, “Your mistake was putting your name and email at the end of your column. He couldn’t read that far without getting winded.”

I called in to the show’s producer, Bobby Thompson, and asked him to tell Jim he was mistaken. I didn’t necessarily want to go on air, because I really didn’t feel like being yelled at. Bobby told Jim, Jim mentioned me and Daily Thunder on air then went on to question if “Royce Young” was my real name.  As far as I know, it is. He did apologize for making the mistake though. Traber also said something about the comments that “personally attacked” him, and directly asked me about allowing them on the site.

Since he directly asked me a question on air, I decided I would break my vow to never call in and cash in on my Johnny’s Charcoal Broiler, and also to answer his question and explain some other things. Well, I waited on hold for AN HOUR AND A HALF and finally gave up when Dean “The Stream” Blevins came on. I never got through after holding my cell phone to my ear for 90 minutes. Thanks for the brain cancer, Sports Animal. But anyway, here’s what I would have said:

• First, I would have confirmed that yes, in fact my real name is Royce Young (at least is says so on my birth certificate) and also that I have met Jim in person and shaken his hand. It was in the OU pressbox in 2007 where my seat on press row was literally two down from his. Evidently, I didn’t make much of an impression.

• Second, to address his comments about the commenters: Traber has a website (www.jimtraber.net) and on the site is a message board. And on that message board, there’s even a thread about me, where some people make fun of me a little and even chuckling about what I look like (my wife thinks I’m handsome…). And in the same way Jim is “allowing” personal attacks on me, I guess I am allowing them on him. I serve as a quasi moderator and instigator of discussion. I throw out a topic or some opinions, and then commenters here are free to take that and run with it, as long as their comments fall within the commenting guidelines. So as much as he allows “personal attacks” on his site, I guess I allow them on mine.

• I wanted to ask him this: What if Kevin Durant still made his offseason home in Seattle and made the same comments about it as he has recently about Washington D.C. (where he currently lives)? Would he vow to run Kevin Durant out of town?

• I would have made sure to say that in no way do I think he should be fired or even reprimanded for what he said. While all of it was completely ridiculous, it’s his job to give his opinion and his thoughts on air. He crossed the line of sanity and good judgment, but he never crossed the Imus Line. We’re not always going to agree (obviously), but it’s his job to tell us what he thinks. I listen to him almost every day and this little hiccup isn’t going to stop me.

• And in the same vein, the same way he rips on Jenni Carlson for what she writes and what he calls “terrible writing” on his show, I ripped what he said on my outlet, my website. There’s no difference. If he can go on air and rip on someone else’s thoughts, he should be able to take it back when he tosses out strong, controversial opinions. There’s no difference there. He came with some bold statements and I had thoughts of my own about them. It’s how it works.

In reality, it’s probably better I didn’t get through, because I likely wouldn’t have had the chance to get half of those points across unless I decided to talk to him using a bullhorn. I think this closes the book on Collison Tweetgate 2009, at least for me. I’m done with this and ready to move on and start thinking about actual basketball being played on an actual court.

If you haven’t been following, The Oklahoman’s *finest* writer, Jenni Carlson, wrote a column about Nick Collison’s Twitter and the supposed backhanded slaps at Oklahoma City hidden within. As a result local radio host Jim Traber, has decided to “declare war on Nick Collison” and vowed to run him out of town. Seriously. Then Nick, being the awesome dude that he is, called in to Traber’s show and put him on the spot about it. (You can listen to Jim and Nick here.)

Whew. Deep breath. So that’s where we stand.

First off, I’m embarrassed. I’m embarrassed that it came to this. Collison tweeted a few things, Jenni Carlson wrote a wandering, pointless column about it and then Jim Traber decided to do what he does best – yell at everyone. And as a result, freaking Nick Collison felt compelled to call in and defend himself for this insanity. Is this really happening? Where am I? What year is it?

What sucks most, is that a guy like Traber is one of the main voices for our great state. It’s like he thinks he speaks for all of us. I appreciate Jim taking up the torch and feeling the need to defend us. I think that’s what he thinks he’s doing. His heart is in the right place. He challenged Ric Bucher about Bill Simmons’ shenanigans a couple months ago and I liked that. I really appreciate Traber sticking up for the city and not letting people walk all over us. Saaaa-lute.

But this was just the wrong battle to fight. It was over a couple Twitter messages - ”I see it’s 105 in OKC today… sounds nice”  – and other things like that. That’s it. Weather commentary. You would have thought Nick tweeted, “In Seattle (the place I wish I still played professional basketball) loving my life. Pissed that I have to go back to the wasteland that is Oklahoma in two months.” But all he said was that it’s hot in OKC and a nice day in Seattle. Ho-ly crap.

Then it all came to a head when Nick said, “DISCLAIMER (the following is in no way shape or form commentary on Oklahoma City) …….but…..  its another beautiful day in Seattle.” Jim must have trouble with things like “sarcasm” and “comedy.” CLEARLY Nick is making light of the situation. CLEARLY Nick is just tossing out a little joke. But no. Traber took that as yet another pseudo shot at OKC. And then we all jumped on the train to Psychoville and wound up here.

Traber is like a jealous child that’s ready to snap at anything. He’s so oversensitive to anything Seattle that because Collison complemented the city he lives in, Traber took that as a jab at OKC. If Nick lived in San Francisco and said, “What a sweet day in San Fran… I love living here,” would anyone have cared? So what that he chooses to live in Seattle? I’ve never been but I hear it’s an awesome town. This just has nothing to do with basketball. HE JUST LIVES THERE AND LIKES IT. What is so wrong with that? Even if Nick secretly hates OKC and wishes every night the team hadn’t moved, his play on the court never reflected it. And isn’t that what matters? He gets on the floor, takes charges, makes hustle plays and does the little things you love. You think he would’ve been on the deck against Toronto wrestling the ball away from Chris Bosh and spurring OKC to victory if he hated this place? And as long as that continues, he can get a tattoo of the Space Needle on his face for all I care.

Heck, I understand if Nick’s a little miffed about moving. He was one of the longest tenured Sonics that had to move to OKC. He was drafted by them. He played there for five seasons. He made his home there. I’m sure he felt an attachment to the city and its people and rightly so. So when he was asked if he was sad the team was leaving last year, I’m glad he was honest and said he’d rather stay. Because that was the truth and it’d be crazy if he said otherwise. Of all people, Traber ought to “give it up” to him for his great morals and for being an upstanding individual. But again, Nick’s comments weren’t an indictment on OKC. It’s just that he’d rather have stayed in Seattle. Which is fine. I bet when players get traded, they’re sad about leaving. Same thing here. But that doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate their new city.

It’s just all so ridiculous that it even came to this. Traber’s ego doesn’t help. What’s sad is that he thinks he actually has the power to run someone out of town. Yeah, like Sam Presti gives two craps about Nick Collison’s preferred living situation. All Presti cares about is if Nick can handle Dirk Nowitzki in the post. Nick has never had anything but nice things to say about Oklahoma City. Traber is trying to make this into a Seattle vs. OKC thing when nothing is there. There’s no controversy. What happened in 2008 doesn’t matter. What Nick said in 2008 doesn’t matter. What Nick tweeted last week doesn’t matter. What matters is that he currently plays basketball for the Oklahoma City Thunder and does a pretty good job of it.

You know what Jeff Capel tweeted today? “It’s such a beautiful day in North Carolina!!!!!!” OH CRAP DOES JEFF HATE OKLAHOMA AND THIS IS HIS VEILED WAY OF TELLING US QUESTION MARK? I mean, how ridiculous is it to deduce that from Capel’s message? So why, oh why, are we doing it with Nick?

Traber, you’ve embarrassed me for taking such a bold, ridiculous stance on this non-issue and I pray that Nick Collison doesn’t hate this entire state because of you. You’ve gone way too far this time. I can get over you yelling over some poor guy and calling him a FOOL 25 times in 15 seconds because he thinks bunting to break up a no-hitter is acceptable. I can live with you preaching to everybody about morality and the correct way to live as you see it. I can live with you constantly reminding me that you’ve done radio for 25 years and played Major League Baseball for three very unproductive seasons. I can hanlde all of those things. But when you take up these causes and as a result, embarrass me and make me worry about the perception of sports fans in this state, well, then you’ve gone too far.

The funny thing is, I agree with Traber about sports probably 90 percent of the time. I think he’s pretty dead on a lot. He’s right about Michael Vick. He spot on about steroids in baseball. I love that he doesn’t beat around the bush and that he just says what he’s thinking. It makes for good radio. Though I don’t always like the way he handles his show or himself, it’s not like he’s a Skip Bayless type lunatic. But when he’s off, he’s WAY off and the worst part is, he’s far too prideful to back off.

And if for the crazy fact he sees this and feels the need to call me out – yes Jim, I’m a tiny little blogger. I’m not anonymous and I’m not hiding behind anything. My name is Royce Young (email royceyoung41@gmail.com) and I think you’re being a fool. I’m not some guy that hates you or that’s jealous of your life. I’m just a sports fan in Oklahoma that thinks you’ve overstepped sanity this time. Come and get me brother. I’m ready to be called a fool. I just hope you can handle being called one too.