DeJuan Blair is among a couple players set to work out for OKC next: “Former Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair will be 
among six prospects who will participate in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s next NBA draft workout. Blair was named the co-Big East player of the year with Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, another prospect in this year’s draft. Other players participating in Friday’s workout will be guard Ben Woodside from North Dakota State, forward Jeff Adrien from Connecticut, center B.J. Mullens from Ohio State and guard Curtis Jerrells and forward Kevin Rogers, who are both from Baylor.” B.J. Mullens, eh? Well then, the Thunder must be high on him!
A mock draft: “Oklahoma City Thunder – Ricky Rubio, 6-3/185, PG, Spain – The most intriguing prospect of this year’s draft. He has the floor presence, swagger and haircut of a young Pete Maravich. But he doesn’t have the Pistol’s jump shot. Rubio more than held his own against the “Redeem Team” playing for Spain in the 2008 Olympics. His upside will be too great for the Thunder to pass up with this pick. They’ll move Russell Westbrook off the ball to make room for Rubio. You could do worse than a young nucleus of Rubio, Westbrook, Jeff Green and Kevin Durant (average age: 20).”
Earl Watson has changed agents: “Earl Watson has changed sports agencies, leaving agent Dan Fegan and BEST Basketball to join Bill Duffy at BDA Sports Management. Watson grew frustrated last season with his situation as a member of the 23-win Thunder and was believed to be disappointed in his agent’s handling of the matter. Watson never publicly said he desired to be traded but did say at the end of the season that he doesn’t expect to return. “You never know, this business is incredible,” Watson said in April. “But going into the last year of my deal, business-wise you become an attractive contract. And for the last month I haven’t been playing. So why would I be here?” Watson, who turns 30 on June 12, is owed $6.6 million next season.”
Ricky Rubio has not scheduled a workout with the Grizzlies. Duhn, duhn, duhnnn: “The Grizzlies have not scheduled a workout/meeting in Memphis with 18-year-old Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio.A team insider said the Griz were unaware of Rubio’s exact plans – whether he would work out for any NBA team or simply arrive in the U.S. for the draft. Long-time NBA writer and good friend, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, wrote in her blog that sources say Rubio “is suddenly amenable to participating in interviews and individual workouts with a select number of teams …Rubio’s agent, Dan Fegan, is limiting the visits to the teams with draft picks 2-4.”
Chris Bosh declines signing an extenstion: “Chris Bosh doesn’t plan to sign a contract extension with the Toronto Raptors this summer and is preparing to become a free agent at the end of next season. Bosh is in the final year of a deal that will pay him $15.7 million. While Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo has spoken optimistically in the past about signing Bosh to an extension this summer, Bosh said that isn’t his intention. He said leaving his status up in the air could actually help both himself and the Raptors, who missed the playoffs this season with a 33-49 record.”
Steph Curry sees himself as a point guard and a Knickerbocker: “I’m a true point guard. It’s something I’ve been working toward, and I’ve really focused on my ballhandling and my shooting to be able to do that.”
You want to see some athleticism from Curry? Watch here: (via The Baseline)
HoopsWorld on James Harden: “Harden’s one of those sneaky players, he’ll score 20+ points in a game, but you can’t easily recall specific plays he made. He’s an efficient scorer with an extremely high basketball IQ, especially good in transition and has great control and shifty use of his body. “I’m so versatile, I can do a variety of things which just makes my game that much better, just playing with guys, making guys better…it’s just something that I love to do,” he says with confidence. “Fortunately I feel like I can go in to an NBA team and help those guys, score the ball, assist to the ball, playing defense, and a couple other things.”
Are the Celtics shopping Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo?: ”For the past few days we’ve been hearing rumors that the Boston Celtics might be willing to part with Ray Allen before the start of the 2009-2010 season. HOOPSWORLD asked around in Chicago, where the majority of NBA executives were taking a look at most of the first round draft prospects, and managed to find out a few more details. We have now added to those, with the help of WEEI’s Jessica Camerato in Boston. Off the record, we have several sources telling us that Ray Allen is, indeed, on the block. It’s easy to make the leap, as the Celtics have managed to develop some nice young talent around their Big Three while also managing to win a championship. They might have even repeated had Kevin Garnett been healthy. It’s not a stretch to say the Celtics would part with Allen, who has an ending contract next season, if they could add another top young player to the mix.”
Blake Griffin to work out for the Clippers and the media Saturday: “Although only available to the media, Blake Griffin will be working out for the Clippers and Mike Dunleavy on Saturday. That can only lead to good things. But it also puts Griffin in an odd position. Just Griffin and Dunleavy and the media. Seems awkward if you were the player.”
It'd be pretty awesome to get Ray-Ray and it does seem like at this point in his career he'd be perfect for our team. He'd step in and be a pro. He'd immediately provide the veteran leadership this team doesn't have right now. He also provides the outside shooting we don't have. And we have enough cheap young assets to make a deal seem interesting to boston. I know it's a pipe dream but man i would love to see that deal happen. And it would be ironic him coming back to this franchise and maybe being one of the last pieces to a playoff team. And if he averaged 15-20 points and helped us get to the playoffs it would be one last great accolade to add to his already amazing career. I love ray and hope this could somehow happen. I think we all should. Oh yea he's a free agent in '10 so it's basically a flier for this year and might be worth it. The only problem is the salary situation... blerg
welcome - nice post!!!
I think Memphis takes Rubio - whether they keep him is a different story . . .
Hello fellow Thunderholics!
C-note here! I'm a novice NBA-guy,(musician/culinary artist from OKC) but have really fallen in love with this team/franchise. I went to about 8-9 games before I finally got a great "team-D" win against the mighty Spurs!! The crowd and atmosphere were simply awesome! (It was also my son's and I's first NBA game and I'll always remember it.)
I think we're very lucky to have Presti n co. behind the curtains, pulling the triggers and hitting the right buttons to make this team not only a competitive squad on the floor, but a nationally and globally marketable team.
I find myself going to the different draft sites to hear the speculation of the "draft experts", and it seems that the cats who post on here are as imformed and in-the-know as these other sites/writers. Good job guys! Keep it up.
Lovefest aside...
Does anyone really have a clue on what Memphis will do? I think they'll draft Rubio in hopes of trading to a team that really wants him so that they could get another soild player (Curry, Hardin, ect...) and fill two needs with one move.
I'm sure Presti has a scenerio-board up with any and every possible outcome.
I think I'd take 1.Rubio 2.Hardin 3.Curry and at 25.Thabeet j/k!
I'd also like to find a way to get The PH &/or Ben Gordan. That would be frekin' sweet! (I'm sure it would be hard because of wanting to sign KD, Green, RW, ect...)
Sorry for the massive first comment...
My Thunder draft board
1. Rubio
2. Curry (yes he will be one of the best players from this draft)
3. Harden
Make it happen!!!
The dynamic between Presti and the ownership group regarding the draft might be interesting. In general I'd think ownership probably is enthusiastic about college ball and NCAA players but Bennett might to some degree beyond the other reasons out there want Rubio for the international exposure for OKC. Does ownership stay patient with real long-term like they've always said or do they make maximum impact now a higher priority?
Harden is long enough and stocky enough to play some SF. Wouldn't for the Thunder but might for the Griz. Paul Pierce like.
Draftexpress now has Memphis taking Harden. If that happens the chance Presti takes Curry increases.
Memphis has so many options and it is not obvious what they will do. Trading with Minnesota if Minnesota wanted Thasbeet might make sense then take Evans or maybe Thasbeet falls to 6 by himself.
jk, Weaver as a PG wasn't been discussed in awhile but it worth re-visiting some. In the past I'd say play him there in the summer league but I don't think the summer league matters. I'd play him at PG in practice at least half the time and see how he does. Would be a good sparring partner for Westbrook. Lots of Russell's size / athleticism advantage would be offset and maybe he'd have to work on technique and decision-making even more.
Backup point is a pretty wide open question for Brooks and Presti. Will be interesting to see which direction they go in draft, otherwise or internally.
@Vega
yeah, but i think everybody knew he was just a backup except for the idiot that gave him the contract. there are real, live basketball people (david thorpe for instance) that believe that gortat is not only a starter, but could start for at least half the teams in the league. including us.
It doesnt take much to be a quality starting center these days . . . did you watch the game last night? The guys a killer on the boards and he plays great defense, usually without getting into foul trouble - he is worth 5-6 mil a year . . .
Beno isn't a stiff. He is merely a decent backup that some idiot decided to give a huge contract.
gortat is definitely better than udrih was. beno was a stiff. gortat is, at worst, a big stiff. which is way better than a small stiff. and he's better than that.
@Vega
Williams is basically just a warm body. With our picks and prospects, we don't need anyone just to take up roster space. I'm not a fan of signing anyone who doesn't improve the team in any way, and Williams really doesn't do anything better than any of our bigs, and does most things worse.
Been out of the country for awhile, but this site caught me up to speed on all things Thunder pretty quick. A few thoughts--can't wait for the new scoreboard next year. Kyle Weaver needs to be a PG first, SG second to find a place on this team, especially if we draft Harden. The more I read about Harden, the better I like him. He sounds like a good teammate type guy, has the IQ to be a good "team" defender, which we lack, and has a shot that can be improved.
What does everyone think of signing Shelden Williams? He would probably cost less than a million dollars, and he's a decent defensive big. Plus, he's from OKC.
@Royce
You're right....but Nix said that he hasn't really improved alot anyway which in turn could keep us from having to over pay him, but at the same time him comming to Okc could be the rebirth of CB4 ala Thabo and Livingston.
@Royce
Bosh is definitely a big city guy. I guarantee that he signs with either New York, Chicago, or Miami when he becomes a free agent. Plus, I heavily doubt that Presti would even try to sign him. He's had character issues recently.
@GAP
I don't think it has anything to do with OKC itself. I think it will have more to do with dollars and cents. OKC obviously wants to resign KD, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook so putting together a huge contract for Bosh might be tough.
Pennington :
In a somewhat unrelated note I have decided that I will start making outlandish, Chuck Norris style jokes, about Sam Presti and Kevin Durant.
Like, "Sam Presti can make Hasheem Thabeet good at basketball?"
I kid, I kid. Somewhat.
@Brian
I agree completely. Beno and the PH are so similar it is ridiculous. Beno played good enough to sucker Sac-Town in to giving him a huge contract, when, in reality, he is nothing more than a decent backup. The PH seems to be positioning himself perfectly to do the same thing.
@Royce
Ummmm.....i dunno.....with all the stories on how the Thunder has a great GM and ownership plus the fact that former player Joe Smith (who's played for alot of teams)said that he missed playing here.
Then if i recall right D Mase said he wanted to end his career here it's not only because he's OSU alumi it's because he likes to be here in Oklahoma City. Having said all that Chris Bosh has played in a small market for awhile now and if he had players like KD and Westbrook heck even Jeff Green on his team he would've signed an extention a long time ago.
The fact of the matter is I believe if he came here and experienced those young up and comming players and developed a chemistry with them I think he would stay or atleast sign a short term deal just to see if he could make a run at the playoffs with Durant and KD could be that star player he needs to play along side also.
All of the sudden I am sooo excited for the draft. After reading through everything I can get my hands on I really feel like we have a lot of options and a large talent pool to choose from. I'll take Griffin or Rubio or Harden or Curry. Heck, I'd take Thabeet, thats how much faith I have in Sam Presti. I am giddy in anticipation of June 25th.
In a somewhat unrelated note I have decided that I will start making outlandish, Chuck Norris style jokes, about Sam Presti and Kevin Durant.
@Joe
Continuing yesterdays conversation, Gortat has been playing good of late, but you cant give him such a big contract just because of a short amount of time of good play. Thats what Sacto did when they gave Udrih, another european, the MLE and now their regretting it.
To me, the whole Bosh thing is complicated. On one hand, if you feel like you're an elite power forward away from making a title run, you pull the trigger. But if he's just one piece of the puzzle, then what's the point? And I don't think we're one power forward away from a deep run. We need more than just Chris Bosh.
And since Presti is a long-term success type of guy, I don't see him going after Bosh for one season. A sign and trade would make sense, but just one year doesn't.
Gah. Nix beat me to it.
@Wilson
I think the general consensus from the readers on this site is that Bosh is interested in a big market. So if we were to trade for him, he would leave after one year. And no one believes we could sign him in 2010.
He doesn't care for the small market that he's already in, and we're an even smaller market than that.
The only exception to that rule: if an athlete feels that he could win on a small market team, he may disregard his large market desires and sign anyway.
@Wilson
We've actually talked about Bosh for a little while.
The issue some have with him is that his numbers actually haven't improved much since he's been in the league.
We could make a trade for him this year, but of course next year he's a free agent so we wouldn't risk that for fear he might bolt.
You mentioned just waiting till his free agency to get him. Which would be great. The problem is that there will be A LOT of teams with cap space that year, because they know it's a massive FA year.
I just don't see Presti over paying for him. Bosh is going to want numbers on par with Amare and the other big names. 1. I don't think we'd pay that much 2. There's questions to if he's worth that much
Of course you have the 'if he's willing to come' part. It seems like he wants in with D-Wade, Lebron or another superstar. As much as I'd like it, I don't see it happening.
@Alex
I've noticed this too. They are really heavy on the rumors. I don't mind a good rumor because speculation and talk is fun, but there's a fine line there.
Ok so my question is how do we get Chris Bosch? That should be a great priority for us if he is willing to come. Even if it is after next season. I think we could actually plan around making a run at Bosch next off season and therefore work on our back court (ie. draft Harden and potentially a younger backup PG)!
What does everyone think our chance of landing Bosch are?
I couldn't believe that HoopsWorld actually suggested that the Celtics were willing to trade Rondo...What's even lamer is that this morning, their lead is "NBA AM: Not Trading Rajon Rondo" right next to a sidebar that contains the headline "Boston trading Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen?" They really will release any information that brings traffic to their site, regardless of how little information they have to base that rumor on...US Weekly does better reporting than that...
@Royce
(Agreed on Novak)
Yea, I thought the same thing about Weaver, but honestly we sucked.
I like J.J. too. I know Joe does.
I think a guy like Steve Novak *could* fill that role.
I like Weaver, but if we get Harden/Rubio, it's going to be tough to have a place for him. We'll see though.
Not saying we'd go after him (I highly doubt we would), but Ray Allen would be PERECT for this team...
I'm almost wanting to go after JJ if we can. (Bench shooting...not for actual starting reasons)
Next year we're probably looking at
2. Harden/Thabo/Weaver
I wouldn't be surprised if Weaver was moved.