Monday Bolts – New President Edition
- New ESPN Power Rankings are out and OKC is up two spots at No. 26: “Halfway through the schedule, OKC can finally look at the standings without cringing. The Thunder rolled into 2009 with a mere four victories, but check out the L10 column now: 5-5 in the past 10 games is no misprint.” Also, the fans have the Thunder No. 25 and John Hollinger puts OKC at No. 26 as well.
- 48 Minutes of Hell talks about the rumored Nick Collison to the Spurs deal: “Right now, it looks as if only Memphis is likely to be in the same cap space neighborhood as OKC. But how much money is Michael Heisley willing to spend in a bad economy? In other words, would Sam Presti want cash to spend in a buyer’s market? And in a year when the competition for talent is scarce? More specifically, does Presti want to add a Carlos Boozer or David Lee–with money enough left for, say, Zaza Pachulia–to his core of Durant, Green and Westbrook? This might be the perfect storm of opportunity for the ambitious young GM. Turning Nick Collison into Carlos Boozer would be a neat party trick. On the court Collison is an ideal fit for San Antonio, but is he worth jeopardizing their 2010 cap space? I’m not sure. Perhaps, there is a different way to ask the question. Are the Spurs playing for championships now or later? Collison is not a bit player. His presence would immediately shore up the frontline.”
- Joe Smith prefers to stay with the Thunder: “I like the young fellas and what they bring to the table,” Smith said of the Thunder. “A lot of people want to chase that ring and things like that. But when you have a group of guys like this giving it their all every night, I don’t get involved in stuff like that. We dug this hole together. We have to fight out of this hole together.”
- OKC is trying to get over the nine-win hump and that means the players only take days off when Scott Brooks makes them: “Interim coach Scott Brooks, who took over when P.J. Carlesimo was fired after a 1-13 start, believes his team is “still learning how to win” but has improved because of an unwillingness to quit despite a hopeless 3-29 start. After the team returned from a recent overtime loss at New Jersey at 3 a.m., he decided not to hold practice later that day. When he showed up hours later, there were nine players at the practice gym. “I needed a day off. I’m like, `Get out of here,”‘ Brooks said. “We have a team full of that. They’re young guys that want to get better,” he added. “They’re thirsty, they’re hungry, they want to enjoy this league, but they enjoy it by working hard.”
- Ian Thompson on OKC’s chances of re-signing Kevin Durant: “The timing here is interesting. The owners will seek a new collective bargaining agreement with the players in 2011. Under the current terms, Durant will be, at most, a restricted free agent, enabling the Thunder to match any offer he receives. Unless he has an unexpected falling-out with team management, he won’t be going anywhere. It could be in his best interests to sign an extension with Oklahoma City under the terms of the current agreement, because the new CBA (to be negotiated in 2011-12) is expected to be less accommodating to the players, who are likely to face shorter contracts with smaller annual raises.”
