Thursday Bolts – 8.11.16
The Thunder have reportedly signed Chris Wright to a partially guaranteed deal. Erik Horne on the player: “Last season, Wright, 27, won an Israeli League championship with Maccabi Rishon LeZion, averaging 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 34 games. Wright was undrafted out of Dayton in 2011 and has had two short NBA stints with Golden State (2011-12) and Milwaukee (2013-14) totaling 32 games. Wright is also a two-time D-League All-Star.”
Zach Harper of CBSSports.com on OKC’s biggest flaw: “OKC was 17th in 3-point percentage last season and just lost Kevin Durant and his 38.7 percent on 481 attempts to those villainous Warriors. The Thunder brought in Ersan Ilyasova and Alex Abrines to the team for this season and they can both stretch the floor. The acquisition of Victor Oladipo will give them an athletic and dynamic backcourt, but he’s also a 33.9 percent career shooter from deep. The Thunder will still have a math problem on most nights and it’s the one thing Westbrook can’t seem to help them solve.”
The schedule comes out this afternoon. Get ready for that. It sounds like OKC’s playing on Christmas again.
Ah man, Matt Bonner is done with the Spurs.
KD took another big L in the housing market: “Kevin Durant will take an even bigger hit when he sells his double town house in Deep Deuce than he did when he sold his mansion at Gaillardia. The former Thunder forward is offering his specially remodeled digs at 420 NE 2, part of The Hill at Bricktown, for $1.5 million. In July, Durant left the Thunder to sign a contract with the Golden State Warriors. That’s less than the $1.769 million he paid for side-by-side three-story properties brand new in 2013 before remodeling them into a single residence.”
Rob Mahoney of SI.com on cupping: “By the end of Oklahoma City’s postseason run, Singler took to the cups about once a week. Veteran Nazr Mohammed, then with the Thunder, believed most of his teammates had at least given cupping a try—if only to satisfy their curiosity as competitors. Others, like Singler, are regulars. It’s notable in either case that the practitioners of this form of therapy, one rooted in the meridian system of traditional Chinese medicine, are largely team trainers themselves. There is no personnel better suited to understand the unique demands on an NBA body and modify cupping methods accordingly to minimize potential risks. Some team trainers and therapists are even wary of using cupping at all in cases where a player hasn’t reported specific, concerning symptoms, for fear that the process might trigger unwanted stiffening or swelling.”
