What should the Thunder do with the 12th pick?
The Thunder officially have the 12th pick in this year's draft. What are they going to do with it? Weighing three options. Keep reading »
@ChristineFox25
A picture…
Kevin Durant's jersey hangs over a pile of rubble in Moore. Keep reading »
Kevin Durant donates $1 million to disaster relief
Per the Red Cross, Kevin Durant has given a $1 million donation to the disaster relief fund. Keep reading »
Tuesday Bolts – 5.21.13
You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10. Keep reading »
Latest News
Draft Express has OKC taking Kelly Olynyk: “The Thunder’s season ended in disappointing fashion, in no small part because of an injury to All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, which put too much pressure on Kevin Durant to carry the load offensively. Fortunately for the Thunder, the James Harden trade returned a pick in the late lottery, which can be used to add an immediate contributor on a cheap salary. With Westbrook back at full strength, what do you give the team that has everything? More offensive firepower is one option, particularly from the frontcourt, which struggled to establish itself as enough of a threat to keep Memphis’ big men honest defensively. With the status of free agent Kevin Martin very much up in the air, the Thunder could look to add more talent at the wing.”
Chad Ford of ESPN.com has OKC taking Steven Adams: “Adams might have been the big winner of the draft combine. Physically, he looked the part of a future NBA center and displayed a better than expected touch on his jump shot. He looked in terrific shape, hustled on both ends of the floor and reminded everyone why scouts saw him as a potential top-five pick going into his senior year of high school. He’s raw and won’t find any real minutes on the Thunder. But that’s what the D-League is for.” Keep Reading…
Now we can really start talking about the draft.
The Toronto Raptors failed to finish in the top three of the lottery, meaning the Thunder gain the rights to the 12th pick in the draft.
The pick, acquired in the James Harden trade, was top three protected, meaning the Raptors could keep it if they finished between one and three. But with their name being drawn at No. 12, the pick goes to the Thunder. There was a 93.5 percent chance of the Raptors being drawn 12th in the lottery because they finished tied for the 11th-worst record in the league, and then lost a coin toss with Philadelphia.
The last 10 No. 12 overall picks: Jeremy Lamb, Alec Burks, Xavier Henry, Gerald Henderson, Jason Thompson, Thaddeus Young, Hilton Armstrong, Yaroslav Korolev, Robert Swift and Nick Freaking Collison.
The draft is June 27 in Brooklyn.
OK, so a little refresher on what’s on the line tonight:
The Thunder own the Raptors first round pick, acquired from Houston in the James Harden trade. (The Rockets got it by trading Kyle Lowry to Toronto.)
The pick is top-three protected, meaning if the ping-pong balls bounce in the top three for the Raptors, they get to keep the pick. Anything 4-14, the Thunder use it. If the pick lands in the top three, it then rolls over to next season where it is top-two protected.
The 12th worst record has seven combinations in the lottery, or 0.7 percent chance to win. That’s not seven percent. That’s zero point seven percent. There’s a 0.8 percent chance for the No. 2 and a 0.10 percent chance at No. 3. Between pick four and 11, there’s zero chance. There’s also a zero percent chance at No. 14. Keep Reading…
This guy.
Per the Red Cross, Kevin Durant has given a $1 million donation to the disaster relief fund.
“The Red Cross relies on its donors to perform its mission in relieving human suffering following disasters,” said Janienne Bella, regional CEO in a release. “Mr. Durant’s gift and support to Oklahoma comes at a time of great need and we’re forever thankful for his generosity.”
Yesterday Durant tweeted, “Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!”
Durant spoke to reporters in Minnesota (he’s there to watch friend Monica Wright play) and said he was moved when watching the devastation.
“As the day went on and I saw the footage and the casualties and the houses being blown away, it was tough to see,” he said. “I call Oklahoma City my home. I go through Moore all the time. It’s unfortunate. We’re going to come together as a city like we always do and we’re going to bounce back.”
Here’s the thing about Durant’s donation: It’s almost not news. Because it’s the least surprising thing ever. We’re so lucky to have him playing basketball in our city.
Primary Thunder sponsor Chesapeake Energy made a $1 million cash donation yesterday also.
What a day yesterday. The relief efforts are on in Oklahoma right now and one thing’s for sure: We’ve been through this kind of thing more than once and bouncing back strong is kind of our thing. We’ll be alright. I just want to say thanks to the amazing weathermen and women in our state though. The death tolls are painful to hear but know without them, they’d be far greater. True lifesavers. A couple things if you want to help: First, donate to the Red Cross. I was going to set up a Daily Thunder contribution thing, but why have a middleman. Just give straight to the people that help most. You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 right there on the spot. Or take bottled water, canned goods, diapers, wipes and all sorts of stuff to a drop-off area. It’s a horrible thing, but we Oklahomans shine through this type of stuff. Not a more resilient people in the world than us.
KD tweets: “Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!” Keep Reading…
Jonathan Tjarks of Real GM says fire Scott Brooks: “Replacing Brooks after a 60-win regular season might seem rash and unfair, but it would hardly be unprecedented. The Pistons fired Rick Carlisle in 2003, the Bulls let go of Doug Collins in 1989 and the Lakers removed Paul Westhead in 1982. For a coach, growing a young team takes a different skill-set than getting a team through the playoff gauntlet. Sometimes, a front office has to take a PR hit for the long-term good of the franchise. The Thunder made a business decision and parted ways with Harden nine months ago. Now, they need to be just as cold-blooded with Brooks.”
Berry Tramel: “Meet the new sixth man of Thunderland. Fellow by the name of Jackson. Reggie Jackson. Meet your new sharpshooter off the bench, Boomtown. Lamb. Jeremy Lamb. Remember when Sam Presti made all those deals, some in Seattle, some in OKC, to clear galaxies of payroll space for some future day when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green and James Harden and Serge Ibaka would come of age? That day has come.” Keep Reading…
Headlines
- Perk donates $25,000 to help build shelters in schools
- Report: Mo Cheeks to interview with the Pistons
- Thunder land the 12th pick in the 2013 draft
- Thunder donate $1 million to aid with disaster relief
- Kevin Durant donates $1 million to disaster relief
- Serge Ibaka named first team All-Defense
- Report: KD reaches settlement in ‘Durantula’ lawsuit
What should the Thunder do with the 12th pick?
Three options as I see it for the Thunder with the 12th pick that they earned last night:
1) Trade up: The Thunder have three picks in this draft (two first, one second), plus a couple future ones (their own, the protected Dallas pick). They also have intriguing young talent in Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones III and Reggie Jackson. The pieces are there to cobble together an intriguing trade package and with a lot of executives not sold on the top tier talent in this draft, if the Thunder wanted to move up, it seems the opportunity could be there.
There’s growing buzz that the Thunder are going to explore trading up. My guess as to what they’re after would be a player like Ben McLemore, a Bradley Beal-ish smooth shooting guard. The Thunder of course were enthralled with Beal last season, reportedly twice trying to get him. A lot of mocks have Beal going as high as No. 1 overall and as low as No. 4 overall , with most settling at No. 2 to Orlando. That’s quite a leap, especially since the Magic are likely going to be excited about McLemore, a player that fills a need in a lot of ways. Keep Reading…