As most of you know, I wrote that whole Thunder tattoo continuum thing a couple months ago. Either Sam Presti read that and it made perfect sense to him
or it was just by coincidence, but Oklahoma City literally has THREE tattoos on the entire team now (that we can see). Byron Mullens has two (one on each forearm) and Thabo Sefolosha has one on his left shoulder. That’s it. Have we seen a team this tattooless since Hickory High? This is absolutely unprecedented in this age and I don’t think people are making a big enough deal about it.
I hate this. If I’m going to move on from this whole Traber thing I’m either going to have to quit listening to the radio entirely or hope he shuts up. And I think we all know one of those things is definitely not happening. Now Trabes has put aside his war against Nick Collison and instead fired one up against Bill Simmons for his tweet.
Like I said, I agree with Traber in a sense that Simmons has gone over the top about this Seattle/OKC crap, but this is just going to end badly, even if some random act of God it picks up any steam. All that will happen is that Oklahoma City sports chatter will get humiliated once again on the national stage and Traber will have to field calls for another week about it. One thing that makes me want to headbutt my coffee table though is that Traber is acting like people like Simmons and myself aren’t any different than anonymous Internet commenters, except that we use our real names. THEN HOW ARE INTERNET COMMENTERS ANY DIFFERENT THAN YOU, JIM? Your platform is the radio. Bill Simmons’ is a podcast and a column for ESPN.com. What’s the difference? I truly think Traber’s mind exists in a parallel universe where he cannot see such logical things.
Then, to cap it off, he ripped Simmons for not allowing comments on his columns and then rips me for allowing them on mine. Face palm. And he seems to forget that he has a website with a message board with anonymous commenters and also works for a radio station with a message board with anonymous commenters. Please, a little respect, for he is Traber, Lord of the Idiots. Ok, done. Seriously, I’m done now. Read more…
Commentary
Rumblings
It’s Friday afternoon and I’ve watched five straight days of Summer League basketball, writing nearly 10,000 words total about it. My brain needs a release…
I haven’t heard Serge Ibaka speak yet in an interview, but we can only hope he sounds like Dikembe Mutombo. I’d be thrilled at the prospect of hearing that voice for at least the next four or five years. But I think it’s very cool that Moses Ehambe has been serving as his makeshift interpreter. Just another wonderful example of how on top of things this franchise is. They’re bringing over a guy that speaks little to no English and so what do they do? Add a teammate to the roster that speaks his language and can help him feel comfortable while he learns English. The Oklahoma City Thunder: Ahead of the Game.
I have come to the conclusion that cycling is far more impressive than NASCAR. Blah, blah, blah they’re going 200 miles per hour and it’s super hot in their cars. I don’t care. Watch 15 minutes of those guys pedaling like crazy at speeds of 35 miles per hour while two inches away from each other. All while slamming down some water and eating a Gogurt or whatever the crap that stuff is. AND THEY’RE NOT JUST PUSHING A PEDAL SITTING ON THEIR BUTT. They’re riding like 75 miles a day on a bike. Tell me that’s not impressive. Boring to watch, yes, but impressive nonetheless.
Five things we learned this week in Orlando: Read more…
Commentary
Rumblings
Some thoughts with a little help from my friends. There were a couple interesting comments recently that I wanted to make sure didn’t get missed. Oh, and a TV show you should be watching.
- Reader Ransom had an outstanding observation about the combine numbers: “So while its not really Thunder related, does anyone else find it odd/funny/disturbing that Dwight Howard dunked a basketball easily on a 12-foot rim, yet no one in this years draft combine could even touch a 12 foot rim if they tried?” I never even considered that. I have an all new appreciation for Howard’s dunk now. He made it look so easy that no one was really all that impressed at the time. But if you look at Blake Griffin, a guy that is an incredible athlete, only got to 11-feet, 8.5-inches. And Howard dunked two-handed, EASILY on a 12-foot rim. Unreal. This truly blows my mind.
- I hate to be “that guy” but with the Finals starting tonight, I’m really just hoping for a good series. I didn’t even really care all that much about the Kobe-LeBron thing. As long as the games are good, it could be Pietrus-Fisher and I wouldn’t care. Plus, we do get to maybe settle the Morrison-Redick debate once and for all.
- I’m really going to have a close eye on Trevor Ariza this series. He’s had a really nice postseason and you have to be careful of rewarding a player with a big contract just based on that, but it’s hard to ignore him. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer and though he would probably be another more expensive Thabo Sefolosha, you always better with two good players instead of one. I have a feeling Ariza is going to want big time money and OKC isn’t going to offer that, but still, the Thunder is going to be a major player in this market and Ariza is going to be a pretty good prize.
- Speaking of, this series has got a couple of potential targets. Of course Ariza, but then there’s also everybody’s favorite Polishman, Marcin Gortat. Hedo Turkoglu has an ETO, Lamar Odom is unrestricted and even Shannon Brown, who has played well in spurts, is open. Not everyone fits OKC, but there’s definitely reason to watch. While you want to see a guy like Gortat play well in his minutes, you don’t want him to play too well if Presti is really targeting him because every extra rebound, every extra block, every extra point is a couple more thousand tacked onto that salary. Read more…
Commentary
Rumblings
How about some random Royce ruminations for this lovely Thursday afternoon?
- We’re all kind of wrapped up in the upcoming draft and what Oklahoma City will do. I understand. It’s kind of a big deal. But for some reason, I wondered to myself recently (very quietly, mind you): Whatever happened to DeVon Hardin? So with the help of this really cool thing called the Internet, I found out. Hardin was the 50th overall pick in the 2008 draft, but didn’t make the team. Though he wasn’t signed to a contract, the Thunder still owns the rights to him. Hardin suffered a stress fracture in his right foot in late 2008 and was released by the Turkish team Mersin BB for not recovering properly from it. He was then signed in February by Egaleo AO, a team in the Greek league and played in 11 games, averaging 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. It’s doubtful that we’ll ever see him, but he’s 6-11, extremely well built and very athletic. He just doesn’t have the whole, “good basketball player” thing down.
- Watching the Lakers literally turn it on in the fourth quarter was like watching Mine That Bird wait in the back and then kick it into high gear to win the Derby. They waited, sitting calmly in the middle of the pack, even letting Denver stretch out a little lead. Then when it was time, they got spurred and boom! they erupted to take the lead. Really something to watch. Bold prediction: The Lakers finish off the Nuggs in Denver this weekend.
- Since everybody is making ridiculous trades, how about Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook for the No. 1, 2 and 3 picks so that OKC can take Blake Griffin, Ricky Rubio and James Harden. Just wipe the slate clean and start over with a new Big Three. But seriously, all this trade talk is getting a little ridiculous. Every writer in every market is throwing out outlandish deals that brings Griffin to OKC. And the worst part is, just because someone has a “bright” idea, it then gets regurgitated as a “trade rumor,” when it was nothing more than just talk. But I’ll admit, I spent a solid 30 minutes on the Trade Machine today wheeling and dealing. I don’t plan on posting a trade speculation column, but I’m not making any promises. Ah, who I am kidding – get ready for one. Probably next week. Try not to hate me.
- At this point, I don’t think we’re that far off from someone suggesting Earl Watson straight up for Blake Griffin. People are just nuts with this stuff. On one end they want WAY too much (see: Ted Green of the LA Times) and on the other, they are talking about a bag of rocks for the top pick (see: local sports talk radio callers and hosts).
- Speaking of trade talk, yesterday when I saw the proposed trade by D.J. Foster of Clipperblog that included Thabo Sefolosha, I was actually kind of mad at it. Trade Thabo? NO WAY! My initial reaction to seeing Thabo’s name in a trade told me that I think he’s more untouchable in my mind than Jeff Green. Is that weird? Or maybe crazy? There’s just something I really like about Thabo and I highly enjoy employing a nasty defensive stopper. Obviously, Uncle Jeff is a better player and a much better asset, but I guess I’m just trying to say I’d rather not trade Thabo Sefolosha. Read more…
Commentary
DeVon Hardin, Lakers, Rumblings, trades
Over the weekend while watching some basketball and such, I had some thoughts. Here they are.
- Shane Battier became a basketball cult hero this season with Michael Lewis’ Moneyball article on him and then with his outstanding defense on Kobe during the Western semis. So it seems to me that other GMs would be looking for a guy to mimic Battier. And so while I was thinking of college prospects that could be the next Battier, one guy popped in my head – Thabo Sefolosha. Both are 6′7″, both are extremely lengthy and both take pride in their defense. Battier has been in the league for four more years than Thabo, but I can definitely see Thabo becoming an elite defensive stopper for this team. And if he develops a nice three-pointer like Battier has, well then color me excited.
- I absolutely can NOT wait for next season. I don’t know what the deal is right now, but watching the playoffs, I just can’t wait to watch my team again. I was excited for this season, but it was more of a shock I-can’t-believe-a-team-is-really-here type of excitement. Now I’m genuinely psyched for basketball next season. Almost as much as college football. Almost.
- I really wish Oklahoma City’s in-game production people would take the Laker approach instead of the Cleveland one. Instead of clips of Kashmir and other rap and rock songs mid-game, I’d much prefer the more classic organ-ish music. I love the way it sounds. It’s much better than hearing the same stinking songs every game. The organ (thing) is so much more classy. And I think that’s the type of organization the Thunder wants to be. So drop “Sexy Back” and bring in an organ version of Rocket Man Benny and the Jets. Read more…
Commentary
Rumblings
