Friday Bolts – 1.11.13

Berry Tramel says trade for J.J. Barea: “So good, I think the Thunder should trade for him. The Thunder needs a backup point guard. More than that, the Thunder needs some bench strength. The Thunder bench, which has been such a strength for going on three years, has withered. Beyond Kevin Martin and Nick Collison, not much there. Hasheem Thabeet is OK as the No. 4 big man, but Eric Maynor’s return from reconstructive knee surgery has been painfully slow. He’s a shadow of his former self. Sophomore Reggie Jackson shows flashes but hasn’t progressed to where the Thunder can count on him come playoff time. Barea would fill the void. He’s a whisp of a point guard. Not a great facilitator, but OK. An excellent driver and scorer. Circle K would find himself open on the wing often with Barea in the game.”

KD on his technicals: “They should give me a reward for how many calls I think are good,” Durant said. “But they penalize me for the ones I think aren’t. That’s part of the game. I have to calm down sometimes. I get too excited and too emotional in the game and it takes over for the bad when I get those techs … They have a rule about ‘For the Love of the Game.’ You can’t clap at them. You can’t throw your fist at them or anything like that or scream. I’ve just got to calm down a little bit because the refs are doing a great job.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider: “One of the most important assets the Thunder took to Oklahoma City can’t be found on the roster. Presti, hired as general manager before the team’s final season in Seattle, did a masterful job of accumulating pieces to build around the stars the team drafted in the lottery. Ibaka, for example, was drafted at age 18 with one of the two first-round picks the Sonics got from Phoenix for taking on the final season of Kurt Thomas’ contract. After a year developing in Spain, he quickly proved a steal.”

5-on-5 discussing the Kings potential move to Seattle.

Perk got it pretty good on Shaqtin’ A Fool last night. He took it in stride too: “That shaqin a fool was so funny, I look like a bone head Lmao”

What basketball in Seattle would mean.

Darnell Mayberry on Eric Maynor: “The Thunder, however, is just 6-4 since Jackson supplanted Maynor and the second unit has at times been just as shaky as it was when Maynor manned the position. But when Brooks recently expressed satisfaction with the job Jackson has done, it left a cloud hanging over Maynor and when he might get another shot to run the show in the second string. In the meantime, the D-League appears to be a logical temporary location for Maynor. No longer considered a demotion, the D-League has increasingly become a hotbed for player development. The Thunder has been at the forefront of the movement.”

Highlights of Jeremy Lamb’s 33 points yesterday.

Oklahoma’s flying solo in this poll.

Nick Collison on the NBA’s potential return to Seattle: “It’s not a done deal yet,” Collison said. “Those things are very complicated. So I’ll wait and see like everybody else. If it happens, I’ll be happy for Seattle fans and feel for Sacramento fans, because I’ve seen first-hand how hard it is for fans to lose a team. If we go there, it’ll be fun for me to see some old friends. But it definitely probably would be a weird feeling.”