First off, Happy Training Camp Day and Happy birthday to Kevin Durant who turns 21 today. Go get yourself an 
adult beverage young man. You deserve it.
John Hollinger has his forecast up for OKC. He has the Thunder finishing with 36 wins and finishing 10th in the Western Conference (Insider): “Could the Thunder make it to the playoffs? Absolutely. I have them finishing out of the money, but they’re certainly in a position where if enough things break right, they could make it. Chief among them would be breakout years from the youngsters and a monumental campaign from Durant, and along with that would have to come an outstanding run of health; this team is not laden with quality depth.”
Darnell Mayberry asked KD some reader submitted questions: ”Q: Does Velvet Hoop plan on making any more music videos this year? A: I asked that myself, but as of right now I don’t know. I hope. I want to. That’s the goal.”
The AP’s recap of media day: ”The moving trucks and house-hunting trips are in the past for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Season 2 will be all about basketball. Here’s an idea of how little of a factor the transition from Seattle will be for the Thunder players this preseason: Only Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Nick Collison played for the franchise when it called Seattle home. Everyone else has had a clean start in Oklahoma City, whether through the draft, free agency or a trade.”
Chris Silva’s media day recap: ”Sefolosha was gleaming when he spoke about his newborn daughter. The Thunder guard spent nearly the entire offseason at home in Switzerland, where he worked out with the Swiss National Team, held a week-long basketball camp and had a visit from General Manager Sam Presti. Sefolosha said he will not be shy in taking on a defensive leadership role, but that he felt that he made strides offensively this offseason, particularly with his jump shot.”
Chris Mannix of SI asks a question for each team: ”Question: Who will emerge as the starting shooting guard? Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are locks to start and Nenad Krstic figures to open the season at center. Smooth rookie James Harden will eventually take over at two-guard but the Thunder love Thabo Sefolosha’s versatility and his experience may give him an edge at the starters job.”
Kyle Weaver, who cut his braids, looks like a certain C-list movie star according to Kevin Durant. And as one reader pointed out, “Kyle Weaver is Undercover Brother!” You be the judge.
One thing Silva mentioned that slipped my mind – Kevin Ollie is total class. He’s a pure professional and he’s willing to accept any role that he may be given. I was really impressed by the way he spoke. I think he fits this organization perfectly with all those qualities. I’m sure he’s exactly the kind of veteran the Thunder are looking for.
Jenni Carlson ventures into the land of Thunderer’s Twitter accounts. Remember what happened last time?
Operation Sports has NBA Live 10 screenshots up of every Thunder starter. Here’s Nenad Krstic. Looks like they were pretty generous up top.
Both NewsOK.com and the official Thunder site have a good amount of videos up from media day.
HoopsWorld has a number of players that could be traded: “Chris Bosh – Many people are under the impression that if the Raptors are a playoff team, Bosh will stay put. If they’re really, really bad this year the trade rumors will start kicking right back up. The last thing the Raptors want to do is lose their lone All-Star on the free agency market for absolutely nothing. It’s not the most likely of trade possibilities this season but certainly something to keep an eye on.”
Oh, and individual game tickets go on sale today. Get sum.
Guys, I got tickets to the season opener! This is already the best Thunder year yet! :)
Please, name it anything other than Devon Energy Arena or Chesapeake Energy Place or Sand Ridge Energy Center!!
Cant find up to date version, this contains MLB and NHL stadiums too.. and the supersonics name http://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/s/stadiumnames.html
Should have just posted the link though, huh. Next time. LOL - THATS CLASSIC. And hilarious. Omg, thats perfect.
@Myles
Bennet could always sell the rights to Sonic Drive-in. Big national chain. Locally owned. And just a tiny bit of Irony involved in playing at the "Sonic Center".
How old is that list? The Sonics are still on it and a bunch of those arenas aren't even called by those names anymore.
Got it.
The NBA naming rights agreements are as follows:
Facility Key Tenants Term Total
Air Canada Centre Toronto Raptors 20 $40,000,000
America West Arena Phoenix Suns 30 $26,000,000
American Airlines Arena Miami Heat 20 $42,000,000
American Airlines Center Dallas Mavericks 30 $195,000,000
ARCO Arena Sacramento Kings 10 $7,500,000
Conseco Fieldhouse Indiana Pacers 20 $95,000,000
Continental Airlines Arena New Jersey Nets 10 $14,000,000
Delta Center Utah Jazz 20 $25,000,000
FedEx Forum Memphis Grizzlies 20 $90,000,000
Fleet Center Boston Celtics 15 $30,000,000
Gund Arena Cleveland Cavaliers 20 $14,000,000
Key Arena Seattle Sonics 15 $15,000,000
MCI Center Washington Wizards 15 $44,000,000
Pepsi Center Denver Nuggets 20 $68,000,000
Philips Arena Atlanta Hawks 20 $180,000,000
SBC Center San Antonio Spurs 20 $41,000,000
Staples Center Los Angeles Lakers & Clippers 20 $100,000,000
Target Center Minnesota Timberwolves 15 $18,750,000
TD Waterhouse Center Orlando Magic 5 $7,900,000
Toyota Center Houston Rockets 20 $100,000,000
United Center Chicago Bulls 20 $20,000,000
Wachovia Center Philadelphia 76ers 29 $40,000,000
Any moves/ news yet on naming rights to the ford center? Was there an article posted that mentioned the other NBA arenas rights and how the ford center/ thunder compare?? Just wondering..
Here's a few random media day pictures:
Andre Miller's new hair.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3472/3963892743_95d4fdedb3.jpg
The guy we all want on our team.
http://www.nba.com/magic/photos/09MD_posed16.jpg
Ruining a promising young team, one game at a time.
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/dc/fullj.4a72065a630b59a8dbba4a3543c5b8cb/4a72065a630b59a8dbba4a3543c5b8cb-getty-91022348jm006_grizz_media.jpg
Happy to be in Golden State. Not really.
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090928/capt.0545ad70253946ecb2677fa0cad3633b.warriors_media_day_basketball__cata106.jpg
Weaver does look like Eddie Griffin. HA!
I still prefer Thabo in braids.
I can't get to Insider articles anymore. It didn't seem to be worth it, so I didn't renew.
I think they just used the old Tony Kukoc pics for Krstic.
@Lefty
Teams cannot introduce alternates until two years after they change their uniforms. It has been one year since we changed our uniforms, thusly, we are ineligible to have alternates.
@Royce
I agree his article was great. He only made a few mistakes. Ollie was signed (not traded) and OKC has 2 2nd Round picks next draft.
btw - I'm really looking forward to next year's draft. That is when the final pieces should fall into place.
I'd have to say that even though Nenad didn't shave his dome, the Thunder's hair improved over the offseason. Weaver and Sefolosha look considerably better without braids, Etan's hair is just awesome, and Kevin Ollie's mustache is the coolest thing ever.
@Lefty
Good question. It wasn't asked, but I will look into it.
This probably wasn't asked, but was there any news about the unis? Alternates or changes or anything?
Just curious.
Hollinger's preview is so excellent. Read it if you can.
Live's version of the Thunder is way off. Thabo no longer has braids (every since last season). Their Durant is okay, but the rest is horrible. I'm sticking with 2K10.
Weaver might be a bit slower with a 3ft fro. But imagine who ever he guards trying to find passing lanes, its like 3rd hand in the face of the opposition!
Krstic looks way younger in that video game pic! He should upload it to his Facebook asap!
Weaver would look great with a 3-ft. fro! (It might not make him as quick though...)