Empty the Bench recaps the NBA season in 40 lists. Click and read. It’s awesome. Oklahoma City finished on top of a 
couple including team Andrew most watched, team most likely to improve and Kevin Durant, Thabo, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook are all mentioned throughout.
BDL power rankings: “As has been stated many times in many places, this team could have rolled over, but it fought and worked and genuinely enjoyed playing with each other. Bright, bright future for the Thunder.”
Bill Simmons will his full MVP list with appearances by Nenad Krstic and KD, but this is noteworthy: “Follow-up note: Presti wins 2009 Exec of the Year for shrewdly building a nice foundation — Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook as his Big Three; Krstic, Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha as three legit rotation guys, a top-six draft pick coming, multiple first-rounders in the hopper, cap space galore, a genuinely good coach in Scottie Brooks, and the NBA’s single strangest bench guy in Robert Swift. There’s just a lot to like. By the way, if they make a “Children of the Corn” remake and DON’T include Swift, I’m going to be furious.”
The poll says “Yes!” Players wants Scott Brooks back but Sam Presti still not saying anything: “A survey by The Oklahoman of all 15 Thunder players yielded 13 players who are in favor of Brooks returning as the full-time coach. Chucky Atkins declined to comment, and Russell Westbrook was non-committal. But even with overwhelming support from players and a growing segment of the fan base in favor of lifting Brooks’ interim tag, general manager Sam Presti has been unwavering in his desire to defer contract talks until the off-season.”
FreeDarko now has some KD swag: “Right before the regular season ends, FreeDarko pays cloth-y tribute to Kevin Durant’s mammoth sophomore campaign . . . and the relative obscurity he’s toiled in. Maybe if we move enough of these, he’ll get on national television for 2009-10.”
Interesting note from ClipperBlog: “Know what else is on the line tomorrow night when the Thunder and Clippers face off at Staples Center? The battle for 29th and 30th in Offensive Efficiency! The Clippers clawed their way out of the basement about a week ago, and have maintained a paper thin 0.1 point per 100 possession edge over OKC ever since.”
Hasheem Thabeet officially enters the draft: “UConn junior center Hasheem Thabeet, projected to go no lower than third in most ‘09 NBA mock drafts, officially threw his name into the draft today. Huskies coach Jim Calhoun called Thabeet, “One of the most dominant defensive players in the history of college basketball,” and said he’s ready to make the jump to the League.”
SLAM on the anatomy of the draft: “If Oklahoma City lucks out and gets the first ball, roster aside, to have a player of Griffin’s magnitude would be transcendent for this new NBA city. Yes, Blake played his college ball a couple hours down the street in Norman, but the kid is an OKC-native. Dream scenario. Just ask Jordan Farmar how sweet it is.”
This draft could be getting deeper as John Wall may be able to declare straight out of high school: “Wall turns 19 in September, so he meets that. The question revolves around whether Wall, as a fifth-year high school senior, qualifies as a player a year out from his class’ graduation. Or, at what point did or does Wall become part of the graduating class of 2009 versus the graduating class of 2008? Is this set upon entering high school? Because Wall did not graduate last year but took high school classes this year, does that make him a part of the class of 2009 in a legal sense?”
Nothing all too shocking but Malik Rose unlikely to return next year: “Veteran forward Malik Rose, acquired from New York in a trade-deadline deal, considered his time in Oklahoma City a success from an individual standpoint but is unsure if he’ll return for 2009-10. It’s unlikely the Thunder will re-sign the 34-year-old Rose, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and likely will consider joining a championship-caliber team next season.”
its possible that they just didnt want to give an answer ... the likelihood that chucky atkins didnt respond because he doesnt like scott brooks is a reach ... chucky atkins has no real future in okc .. he's a veteran, he knows that ... it just doesnt make a lot of sense to publicly back someone who hasn't been co-signed by the powers that be ...
as far as thabeet, i'm not big on him - but (i dont think) there's really no one draft-able (sic!) that high that would impact the thunder as much as he could....
there biggest need is interior defense .. they are soft as charmin down there ... scoring would help down low, but not as much as defending ...
thabeet addresses that ...
i know everyone prah'lee wants blake ... he would give interior scoring, rebounding & toughness ... he wouldnt really improve the dee down there tho ...
think of the game zach randolph had early in the season, dwight howard, all the portland bigs, al jefferson ... the list goes on, teams feasted down low ...
(& im NOT saying that taking thabeet would be better than taking blake - that would be ludicrous)
I think journalists are just as believable as weathermen and marketers. You never know how the question was asked, or what the response was in full. The article only lists the responses from Durant, Livingston and Watson. Maybe those three got the question phrased one way, and others got it another way. Maybe they asked Russ if he thought Brooks was going to be coach next year, and he muttered an honest "I don't know, maybe."
I just find it hard to believe that RW isn't on Brook's side enough to endorse him.
I about choked when Rick Sund and Wally Walker drafted Swift sight unseen (they never scouted him and never had a private workout, they just trusted a scout) and then Drafted Sene in the lottery. Crap, I knew Sene was a bust. Swift was never healthy and then got weird. I was okay with Petro because he was a late first rounder, so it was a stab in the dark.
I did like Lopez very much, but I like Westbrook a lot now so I am more than fine with that pick.
Thabeet will have a long NBA career, but doubtful he will be a career starter imo. He will be a specialist or a role player I think, and I don't think his name should be associated with the lottery at all.
Clark Matthews :
KingGondo :I’m intrigued by Thabeet. You obviously can’t teach being 7′3″, and his defensive ability has been a constant through his UConn career.
That’s the rub. Calhoun lets his big men campout by the basket inflating their block numbers. If Thabeet did what he does to be such a dominant shot blocker as an NBA player, he’d be called for illegal defense constantly.
Perfect analysis. Well said.
@Clark Matthews
I wouldn't read too much into Westbrook being non-commital. If you watch him do any kind of interviews he is extremely careful with his words and very cautious not to speak for the front office. Plus, he's a rookie who got his first start the second Brooks became the head coach. I'd suspect that Westbrook didn't want to say anything having only played one season in the NBA or appear presumptious rather than saying anything negative about Brooks.
But I definitely agree with your surprise about Earl Watson being such an avid and staunch Brooks supporter in wake of the unexplained demotion.
KingGondo :I’m intrigued by Thabeet. You obviously can’t teach being 7′3″, and his defensive ability has been a constant through his UConn career.
That's the rub. Calhoun lets his big men campout by the basket inflating their block numbers. If Thabeet did what he does to be such a dominant shot blocker as an NBA player, he'd be called for illegal defense constantly.
@Vega
You and, apparently, almost all of us (I really think the Blair throw sealed a multitude of suspicions for a lot of people).
Nix, I think our tones would change, for sure, since he'd be a member of the Thunder. And I'd never give up hope that Thabeet would suddenly develop a steely disposition to go with his ridiculous athleticism at 7'3...but honestly, the nagging doubt that Thabeet would always be just another Johan Petro would never leave unless I saw it with my own eyes, like a splinter in my mind.
@Vega Nah, if that happened, the Sonics probably wouldn't have been bad enough to draft Durant and they probably would have locked up Allen and Lewis keeping the team mediocre and going nowhere. I like the position the team is in now a lot better. It hurts now, but long term the franchise is much better off.
That might be the nicest thing I ever say about drafting Swift.
The article about the players wanting Brooks back was interesting in that The Oklahoman basically gave away what every player thinks. They said thirteen endorsed taking off the interim tag and that Chucky Atkins declined to comment and that Russell Westbrook was non-commital.
If thirteen guys had no problem speaking up for Brooks, that makes me think the two that didn't were probably in opposition (even if they wouldn't come out and say that). The two that didn't were both point guards. I wonder if Brooks (who played point guard) is tougher on that position than the others.
The other fascinating thing from this tidbit of information is that Earl Watson (who is in Brooks' doghouse) was one of the guys who endorsed Brooks for full time coach.
On another note, it sounds like Brooks got the one endorsement he needs: Kevin Durant.
I will weep for several weeks if Presti drafts Thabeet.
If Presti does draft Thabeet do you think everyone's tone will change?
I'm not quick to judge Thabeet because if Presti takes him then I bet he'll turn out to be a great player...if he doesn't take him then all were right...Presti will not make a bad pick...
There is some correlation between defense and offense - easy buckets are obtained by runouts - those are usually come as the result of misses or steals - if you're taking the ball out of the net everytime, it's much harder to score.
@KingGondo
Just for reference, a lot of people had OKC picking Lopez with the 4th pick, and he was considered to have the most NBA ready game. There were questions about his strength and finesse game, but most everyone thought he'd turn out to be a quality center.
kev said it best in that we need an impact player in the offseason. Even with expected improvement, this is not yet a playoff team as it is currently constructed. Our guards can't shoot, our bigs generally can't defend the paint, and no one besides KD can consistently hit shots. Thabeet (or Tha Bust) might possibly solve one of our problems (interior defense), but he's very likely going to be a foul machine for the first 2 years at least. Look at the subplot of the Clips game today, we are duking it out for worst offense in the league. It won't matter how much KD gets at defense if we can't find someone to pick up easy buckets for us.
@MartzMimic
HAHA! Well played sir. Well played indeed.
@MartzMimic
classic . . .
"Yes, Blake played his college ball a couple hours down the street in Norman..."
The author apparently wrote this after the most recent road construction began.
Above post was a reply to kev.
@Vega
I think they would like to go back in time and accept Boston's proposed trade that would have sent Al Jefferson to the Sonics for Swift.
I feel sorry for the team that ends up drafting Thabeet. He's a decent big man prospect, but he isn't a top five pick. Heck, I don't think he's even a lotto pick. [/color][/b]
@Vega
excellent post . . . size is overrated - remember, Swift was originially a #12 pick in the first round - think the Sonics/THunder would like a do over on that one??
it's never a low risk proposition when you're picking in or around the top 5 - our record stinks - we NEED an impact player - Thabeet is not low risk- after Blair treated Thabeet like a WWF also ran, I can't see him making an impact - PLUS he has ZERO NBA offensive game -
translation: Future bust . . .
I am very skeptical about Thabeet. When I watch him, I see a soft, offensively challenged guy that is only good for blocking shots and taking up space, like DeSagana Diop or Mo Sene. The only reason he is good in college is because he is way bigger than the other guys, and, sometimes, (DaJuan Blair.) even that didn't matter.
haha...Thabeet and Kristic is the poorest man on earth's Bynum and Gasol...that's funny
I'm intrigued by Thabeet. You obviously can't teach being 7'3", and his defensive ability has been a constant through his UConn career. But he still doesn't solve one of our biggest problems (lack of inside scoring), and any payoff is likely to be 2-3 years down the road.
Then again, nobody thought Brook Lopez would be any good, and look at him.
I guess it's a low-risk proposition. If we draft him that high and he's a good defensive player (which I think everyone believes he should be, at a minimum), he becomes a solid backup to Krstic and can help our fast-break offense with his ability to alter shots. And if he turns into the next Mutombo, then even better. Having both him a Krispy on the floor at the same time could create real matchup problems.
per Jim Calhoun -
please stop . . . Thabeet was very good, but let's not get carried away . . .
asking the players who they want makes no sense - some of these players mailed in the last several games, and this is how they show their support for Brooks?? I can see why some would want him to stay - he wasn't very hard on them, so why would they want anyone else??
Ha ha the KD swag is awesome.