Monday Bolts – 10.28.13
Kevin Durant: “But now, I’ve played in the All-Star Games; I’ve scored 30 points, 40 points before; had a triple-double before. I feel individually, like stats and stuff, I feel like I did my job with that and I established myself. But it’s about winning championships, and the first thing I got to get out of my head is ‘I.’ It’s like, ‘I want to win a championship.’ It’s not about that because one guy doesn’t win it, two guys don’t win it, three guys don’t win it. So it’s about the whole team, the whole organization winning a championship.”
Anthony Slater on Bill Simmons: “But here’s the ironic part: Bill Simmons, the most outspoken critic of the Thunder’s decision, may have once provided the clearest explanation as to why OKC’s front office felt it was necessary to deal Harden in the first place. In 2009, Simmons released ‘The Book of Basketball’, an in-depth 700-page exploration into the history of the game. And in it, he has a chapter titled ‘The Secret’, which centers around a basketball theory he was first introduced to by legend Isaiah Thomas: “The secret of basketball is that it’s not about basketball.” For 25 pages, using anecdotes, quotes and historical examples, Simmons presents the idea that chemistry, sacrifice and a strict team-oriented mindset often matter more than talent-collection and star power to championship teams.”
Everybody seemed to be a fan of Serge Ibaka’s costume.
This writer is apparently suck in 2011 with his “Westbrook should pass to Durant more” stuff.
Darnell Mayberry: “First it was the “LeBron-a-thon” in 2010, and then it was “Melodrama” in 2011 and, of course, the “Dwightmare” followed in 2012. Durant’s day as the center of a will-he-or-won’t-he-leave watch appears to have arrived. It’s just the nature of the NBA. These countdowns have become cyclical events that take on a life of their own for myriad reasons. But above all, they inject fans with excitement, fear and hope.”
Jon Hamm writing on Berry Tramel’s blog: “It stands to reason that Perkins’ role will diminish as Adams improves. That’s opened up the idea that Perkins could be traded. Of course the most common response to that idea is, ‘who would want him?’ I’m here to testify that there is no such a thing as an untradeable contract in the NBA. Just in the past decade I’ve seen Shawn Kemp moved from Cleveland to Portland, Vin Baker from Seattle to Boston, and Baron Davis from the Clippers to the Cavaliers. Heck, Gilbert Arenas and Rashard Lewis traded for each other in a move that would be like swapping trash bins with your neighbor. All were traded at a time when they were considered too toxic to move.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo on a podcast: “I think it’s going to be hard for them to keep him and Westbrook, I really do. Especially if they’re not winning titles. I think you look at the Harden trade, they don’t have a lot to show for it right now. Kevin Martin left as a free agent, and I’m not sure Jeremy Lamb is going to be a big part of their future there. I don’t know that he fits their culture, I don’t know that he’s going to be a big part of it. Maybe that’ll change. Maybe he’ll grow. As long as they have Durant and Westbrook, they’re going to contend and they’re going to win a lot of games. But to me, the chance of them keeping him for the long, long term was, they’re winning titles, they’re getting to the Finals, they win a couple titles. Then, it’s really hard to leave because you know that you have this championship group that you want to keep together. If that doesn’t happen over the net few years with them, I just think it’s much easier for him to leave. Not just for New York or LA, but a Washington, where he grew up, where John Wall is. I think it’s going to be harder to keep them.”
