Friday Bolts – 10.2.15
Jon Hamm for NewsOK.com: “Early projections put the 2017 salary cap at $108 million.
Compare that to the $70 million salary cap in effect for the upcoming 2015-16 season. The majority of the league will have ample amounts of salary cap room and flaming holes in their pocketbooks. Many teams will be flush with cash to spend and the pickings will be much better than in 2016. The possibility of a superteam forming in 2017 is real. Teams such as Miami, Houston, Golden State, and San Antonio could have All-Stars locked into pre-2016 maximum salary deals. Add in a significant jump in the salary cap and those teams could attempt to persuade two or three stars from that 2017 free agent class to climb aboard. That opportunity won’t be there in 2016.”
Dan Devine of BDL on the Lakers’ noise: “We’re going to see and hear a lot more of this over the course of the next nine months. Oklahoma City’s ownership and Thunder general manager Sam Presti know they have one more shot at putting together the brand of championship run that eliminates any potentially lingering doubts about whether or not he should stay in Sooner Country before he hits free agency in July. Every step along the way — every success and every failure; every tweet, Instagram post and suspected side-eye — will be scrutinized like it could be worth nine figures and change the power structure of the NBA … because, y’know, theoretically, they could. That’s why commentators will keep speculating, and reporters will keep digging, and players will keep recruiting, and fans will keep slaving over what promises to be this NBA season’s hottest stove. It’s October. It’s about to get cold out; get ready for lots of hot air.”
Players before and after payday.
NBA Live with more sense than 2K.
Ben Golliver of SI.com: “There’s the pressure to connect with new coach Billy Donovan on the fly, and the familiar pressure of coexisting with Russell Westbrook. There’s the pressure to decide between sticking with approaches that worked in the past and adapting strategically to keep up with the likes of Golden State and San Antonio. There’s the day-to-day pressure that comes with playing in the top-heavy Western Conference, where multiple MVP candidates sprouted up while he was out, and the pressure to lead a renovated supporting cast whose new faces are largely lacking in postseason experience. There’s the pressure to convince Dion Waiters to pass. If Durant is bothered or overwhelmed by any of this stuff, he hasn’t shown it … yet.”
A change for the Thunder’s radio network.
Anthony Slater: “If Roberson indeed wins the starting job, it would mesh with what the Thunder has typically done at that spot in the past. Donovan, channeling his inner Scott Brooks, said it’s important to establish a “defensive identity” early in games. Roberson, clearly, is the Thunder’s best perimeter stopper. But is he the best option to start? You could make an argument for Dion Waiters, who provides a better offense-defense balance than Roberson. But that would put Waiters, a player most effective when the ball is in his hands, on the court with the Thunder’s other two high-usage scorers. So a case could be made for Anthony Morrow, a perimeter sniper who would space the floor for Kevin Durant and Westbrook without needing a single play designed for him. But Morrow has his defensive limitations. Which brings us back to Roberson, who, at this point, seems to be the clear favorite to keep his job.”
