First off, a happy birthday to my wonderful mother who is (BLEEP) today. Oh, and also, happy signing day. 
Can Kevin Durant be the league’s Most Improved Player?: When we think of the MIP in the NBA in 2008-09, Kevin Durant has to be towards the top of the list. When we look at his per 36 minute stats (courtesy of Basketball-Reference) we see that Durant’s shooting efficiency has improved tremendously. And he is rebounding more as well. Although he is not yet the player we envisioned the night he was drafted, he’s now an above average NBA player. And as Table One reveals, his improvement with respect to Wins Produced ranks toward the top of the league this season.
No comment: “The jilted hoops fans at Saveoursonics.org are organizing a road trip to Portland for the Oklahoma City-Blazers game on Feb. 11. I’m not sure if they’re going to boo or cheer for the Sonics but it’s being billed as, “Come watch Seattle favorites Brandon Roy, Nate McMillan and the Portland Trail Blazers take on the new Oklahoma City Thunder.” You can get a discount on tickets here. (Discount code: SOS). The Blazers ticket reps have even organized a “Blunder Bus” that will transport Seattle residents to Portland for a cool $49. I love their passion, but I’m thinking those Sonics fans are just prolonging their misery, yeah?”
Chad Ford looks at Orlando’s options now that Jameer Nelson is out for the season: “Thunder trade Earl Watson for Cook and Bogans. Watson may not be an ideal starting point guard, but he’s a veteran who plays tough defense and keeps turnovers to a minimum. The real downside is that Watson has another year at $6.6 million left on his contract. For the Thunder, the bright side is that they would move Watson’s salary off the books and get an expiring contract (Bogans) in return.”
Berri uses his Win Score to rank every player in the league, all the sophomores and all the rookies. Interesting stuff.
Layup Drill says Jeff Green should be in the Most Improved Player race: “Green is one of the quieter, more underated players in the league, and there is of course a good reason for that. Kevin Durant (who could also be on this list, having grown from a simple scorer to a leader and all-around player) is of course the face of the franchise, and a particular all-star snub who people aren’t talking about as much, and rookie star Russell Westbrook also play on this team. When you group those two with Green, the team doesn’t actually look all bad. They were on pace for the leagues worst ever record earlier this year, but they have had some great games, and are now actually equal with the Sacramento Kings. And Green is a huge part of this success. His stats have increased incredibly, and I am personally amazed at the increase in his 3-point percentage. Hardly any player in the league has that type of shooting increase. Let alone a sophomore. I have become a fan of this up and coming team, and i am definitely a fan of Green’s game. Even if he doesn’t share the limelight as much as his teammates do, he gets the job done.”
Hoops World Rookie Rankings: “It continues to amaze he how well little Russ Westbrook rebounds the ball. Ranked in the top ten among rookies in rebounds per game, he’s the only guy in that group who doesn’t play a post position. Only once this month has he failed to score in double figures, and the Thunder are even 7-7 in January. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but pretty good for a team who only had four wins heading into 2009. A large part of that success has come from Westbrook and his sizzling hot teammate Kevin Durant. Those two are going to be really fun to watch for a really long time.”
SI’s Rookie Rankings: Westbrook averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals in January while adjusting to full-time point guard duties. (The Thunder went 7-7 last month after a 4-29 start). He’s already off to a hot start in February: Westbrook finished with a personal-best 34 points along with eight assists and six rebounds in an overtime loss to Sacramento on Super Bowl Sunday.
Kevin Durant was a nominee for Player of the Month (and Gary Payton would have given it to him): “Other nominees for Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors were Charlotte’s Raja Bell, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, Indiana’s Danny Granger, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala, New York’s David Lee, Phoenix’s Steve Nash, Denver’s Nenê, Portland’s Brandon Roy, Houston’s Luis Scola, Milwaukee’s Charlie Villanueva and Miami’s Dwyane Wade.”
D-League All-Stars were just announced and Tulsa’s Chris Richard made the team: “Fifteen players with NBA experience highlight the rosters for the third annual NBA D-League All-Star Game which will be played on Feb. 14 at the NBA’s All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. MT on Jam Session’s Center Court and will be shown live on NBA TV.”
UPDATE: David Thorpe’s Rookie Rankings: “As I’ve written before, one of the things I love about Westbrook is his willingness to get things done in the paint, usually crashing for offensive rebounds and running in transition. But now he’s more comfortable getting inside in other ways. He’s been using his explosive crossover or hesitation dribble move to get in the paint, where he lowers his hips and drives right through defenders. And sometimes he uses his length and strength to back guys down in the post. In other words, he’s become a nightmare matchup — he’s too quick for shooting guards to stay in front of when he’s matched up with them, and he’s too powerful for point guards to stop. He’s averaged 18.8 ppg in his last five games, with 5.4 boards and 4.4 rebounds. He’s No. 5 in PER for all rookies, and No. 1 for guards and for rookies playing 30-plus minutes a game. Imagine what he’ll be like when he improves his outside shooting.” Somebody has said that before… who… who said that?
5 year adjusted says Salmons is a -2 on defense overall. Close to average, within the margin of error of average but noting special.
Raw data says he is fine guarding SFs but weak guarding SGs (giving up Per 22 and 55%eFG)
http://www.82games.com/0809/08SAC6.HTM#bypos
and that is what I was referring to since with this team he wouldn't have room at SF. And overall on raw team +/- defense is 7 points worse with him on vs off this season. Must not be much of a team defender.
I like the idea of bringing in Salmons as well.
Gotta say that I love the idea of picking up Salmons. Gives us a starting 6-6 shooting guard at a reasonable price that can go off for big numbers on any given night.
I don't think there are enough minutes for Salmons and Desmond too, if Presti has a mind to resign Des.
I never really noticed whether or not Salmons plays much D, but Draftexpress says he's very good:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/John-Salmons-4214/
Anyway, he's got 5.2 on his contract next year, and a 5.8 mil player option for next season.
As far as Bogans goes, don't we kinda want a shooting guard who can shoot? Bogans shoots a poor percentage now and throughout his career. He's strong and plays good defense, but we could really use somebody who does both shoot and defend, unless you are looking for a specialist.
should be in above posts
"become" his first priority
and
"1 1/2 years" in
Play fast and young , everybody shooting and too much from 2 point land and not much defense is not a good design.
Play slow, give it a lot to Durant or take the 3 off him or offensive rebound and do it again and surround Durant with ball handling and defense sounds better to me. But Presti has almost no ballhandling and very little 3 pt shooting and not enough defense, so far. 1 /12 years in, design-wise they are still not very far along.
Durant and Green are offense first. Collison no longer qualifies as effective on defense. Westbrook may not be as dominant on defense as he first looked. It is a long season and the appetite to score has been allowed to be fed and perhaps because his first priority. With Salmons the arms race to raise your arm and jack up a shot would go to a new level.
It was inevitable that Dave Berri would see the light on Durant. In fact, Berri hating on Durant since before he was even drafted was a main reason I got into basketball stats in the first place. It's well known his system grossly overvalues rebounds so of course once Durant started grabbing over 8 a game, Berri would think he was the second coming.
I came up with the same Cook-Bogans for Watson as Chad Ford last night but honestly the Magic have dozens of options including using Turkoglu to run the show.
Cook for Atkins and whatever balancer if needed is another possibility. Otis Smith doesn't need Bogans but he probably prefers not giving him up.
There are D leaguers out there too.
Salmons is another offense first guy. Presti already has too many and not enough efficient ones. You got fix such a low rate offense and Salmons would help with that some but adding more offense first or only guys dooms the defense to a rank in the 20s.
Salmons is playing SF for the Kings most of the time but Presti must see him as a potential starting SG for the Thunder if he really has interest.
If the price is not high (Smith+Spurs or Nuggets pick) he could be a decent option. 3 years left on his deal but he only gets the MLE, he can score and shoot the 3
Didn't see that Alex. Very interesting. Good stuff.
And if anyone is wondering, Salmons is under contract for three more years.
Wish your mom a happy birthday for me! Thanks.
Did you guys see this article from The Sacramento Bee that talks about the possibility of John Salmons coming to OKC? Apparently an offer's been made that includes Joe Smith...
http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/1597306.html