5 min read

Tuesday Bolts – 3.31.09

Tuesday Bolts – 3.31.09

Well, I caved. Daily Thunder is now Twittering. I know, how lame. Twitter was so two months ago. But hopefully it will be an easy way to stay

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updated with new stories and the like. And also, because I’m sure you’re all just dying to know what I’m doing at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night. Just put my feet up on the coffee table. And now I’m taking a sip of Diet Dr. Pepper. Is someone at the door? Oh, that’s just the TV. How many characters do I get with thi– You know, that type of stuff. I also reserve the right to randomly stop and abandon it whenever I dang well please.

The Puns are Starting to Bore Me draft redux: “OKC, Kevin Love: Speculation says that the Thunder will draft Blake Griffin if awarded the no.1 pick in the 09 draft. Why wait until then? The Thunder get a legit double/double guy in Love to place alongside Kevin Durant while still keeping Jeff Green at the 4. They miss out on a PG, but with the 09 draft stocked with guards, they can afford to pass on one this year.” If you’re wondering, Russell Westbrook was taking third by the Wolves.

FreeDarko on KD’s quote to the Boston Globe and more: “Durant has more of an uphill battle in this respect, since despite his college hype he’s been all but invisible this season. Still, this can’t last much longer, and if next season the recognition comes, and the fans flock, by 2010 OKC might not be a joke any longer. But more importantly is Durant’s conviction, even good-natured shock, and just how brilliantly-engineered this team’s future is. Sam Presti is smart. Sure, being surrounded by bikinis and beaches is nice, as would time spent in a national spotlight you don’t have to earn. And yet we’ve seen that the Knicks can tumble into oblivion, even before the economy collapsed. Presti will not mess up when it comes to developing this team and its players. You could say similar things about Pritchard. If team markets are becoming more and more negligible, and the perilous state of all things financial makes the astute GM more precious than ever, how far are we from Presti being what keeps Durant in OKC?”

I like how KD has been say glowing things about Oklahoma City all year but when some major newspaper in the northeast quotes him on it, everyone perks up. And why does everyone seem so shocked by him saying he loves this city?

And right on cue, SI’s power rankings: “Good news, Thunder fans: Kevin Durant has no desire to take his spectacular game elsewhere. “I like the nucleus that we have,” Durant told the Boston Globe. “I’m excited. I want to be here as long as possible. It’s like family. I love being here. We’re going to get better. We can get better.” HE’S BEEN SAYING THAT FOR FIVE MONTHS!

Ball Don’t Lie’s Bedlam tourney – Rumble vs. Half court shots: “Lowered from the Ford Center ceiling during the half of a February game, Rumble – who was once struck by lightning and suddenly walked on two legs like a man – played the drums, danced with the Thunder Girls and botched his first two dunks. What a great start!”

Bill Simmons with a sort of nice thing about OKC: “Fourth, Blake Griffin showed me everything I needed to see even if he broke the record for “Most blank expressions during an NCAA tournament.” Let’s hope he ends up in a good situation (Washington, Hijack City) and not a screwed-up one (G-State, Sacramento, the Clips).” Woo! We’re a “good situation”!

Former Hornet great Kirk Snyder arrested for breaking into someone’s house and attacking him: “A female resident told investigators she was awakened by the sound of glass breaking downstairs. When she got up to investigate, a tall assailant pushed her aside and ran to the upstairs bedroom where he began to beat her sleeping husband, authorities said. The woman said she was able to pull the hood off the suspect’s head. The man ran out the same back door he broken in. A police canine and other information led deputies to Snyder’s nearby residence. He was taken into custody within minutes of the attack.”

Marc Stein’s power rankings: “Can’t let it go. Can’t stop wondering, even if Chandler is injured, why the Thunder didn’t just go through with the trade, sit him for the rest of the season and try to get him right for the final two seasons on his contract.” I’m thinking because maybe everything is not as it appears.

Dime says the second best pro prospect in this draft is Earl Clark, but also said this: “Blake Griffin is both the No. 1 pick and the best future pro in this draft class. He’s like a 6-10 version of Charles Barkley with stupid athleticism, a great motor, and legitimate ball skills. And Griffin is really 6-10 – there won’t be a Michael Beasley height crisis with him come draft time. He’s got the top spot locked up.” I know for certain Blake is at least 6-9 and on Earl Clark: He’s got awesome skill, but he’s incredibly raw. He could translate really well to the pro game but he could also be your next Tim Thomas. I don’t really know what to think about him.

Darnell writes about offseason plans: “The Thunder also isn’t likely to make a run at a shooting guard such as Chicago’s Ben Gordon, who could move Sefolosha to the bench. Gordon has already turned down multiple $50 million-plus contract offers from the Bulls and won’t come cheap. And while the Thunder has more than $14 million to spend on free agents this summer, any tender of more than two years has to be extended with the realization that contract extensions for Durant and Green would kick in 2011-12. Rather than destroying its salary cap structure, the Thunder is more likely to stand pat with its draft selections this summer, taking another young player and looking to sign a cheaper role player in free agency.”

Chad Ford looking at tourney players’ stock: “Earl Clark remains one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft. When he plays like he did in the tournament, he looks like a surefire Top 10 pick. However, scouts have seen enough disappointing performances from him to know that he doesn’t always look this good. A number of scouts compare him to Julian Wright. Given Wright’s still uncertain future in the NBA, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Look for Clark to declare for the draft and fall somewhere between 10 and 20 on draft night.”

Everybody’s favorite smarty-pants, Sean Deveney, awards watch: “So voters are left to define what an MVP is — or what a Rookie of the Year is, or what a Most Improved Player is — for themselves. You could make a good case for a handful of candidates for each award. In the end, though, each voter has to use his or her own criteria, and if my criteria doesn’t line up with yours, well, go on and get started on your angry e-mail.” To recap, no Kevin Durant mentioned in the Most Improved category and no Russell Westbrook in his top three rookies. I love how he qualifies what he knows to be kind of ridiculous picks with the “everybody’s got their own criteria…” line. Yeah, some people like to use things like, you know, statstistics and actual results.