Thursday Bolts – 6.9.11

OKC isn’t just into the Thunder, but the whole NBA now: “That increased interest in the NBA — and not just the hometown Thunder — can be seen in KOCO-5’s record ratings for the NBA Finals. Through the first four games, the station is averaging a 13.3 rating (percentage of TV households), a 102 percent increase from the same period for last year’s Lakers-Celtics series. Tuesday night’s Game 4 produced a 14.4 rating, including a 21.1 for the final quarter-hour.”

Breaking: KD has changed his Twitter name to @KDTrey5. Adjust accordingly.

Nenad Krstic has signed to play with CSKA Moscow. Throw out a chair for the former Thunderer: “The Serbia national team centre agreed to a two-year deal worth six million euros with the reigning Russian champions.  Despite being targeted by other European giants, such as Olympiacos and Barcelona, the 27-year-old opted for the Reds given the amount of money involved.”

Eamonn Brennen on the UCLA factor in drafts: “There was a period — in many ways, it’s still ongoing — when UCLA coach Ben Howland was criticized by those in the recruiting world for not running an “NBA system.” This was supposedly hurting the draft prospects of UCLA players. According to the criticisms, players like Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison, Aaron Afflalo and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute — all of whom have experienced surprising success in the NBA ranks — should have been drafted higher than the late first or early second rounds of the draft. Even Russell Westbrook, who was taken No. 4 overall in 2008 (just ahead of Kevin Love, the No. 5 pick in that year’s draft) supposedly had his talents “hidden” by Howland’s slow-paced, grind-it-out basketball scheme.”

Chad Ford’s newest mock draft has OKC taking Nikola Mirotic: “Sam Presti is an opportunist, and he is patient. Mirotic, based on talent, is a lottery pick. But a massive buyout means he won’t be playing in the NBA anytime soon. If he stays in the draft — a big “if” at this point — someone will gamble on him. If it’s Presti, he could be getting a major steal down the road. If Mirotic is off the board, Bogan Bogdanovic and Lucas Nogueira are possibilities.”

Bill Simmons’ column on LeBron yesterday was tremendous.

Charles Barkley on the Heat: “Listen, if the Miami Heat were playing the Washington Generals I would pick the Washington Generals,” Barkley said with a chuckle. “It’s something about that team that annoys me. They just a whiny bunch and I can’t root for them.”