Friday Bolts – 7.6.12
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com on KD as Captain America of Team USA: “Even though Durant played as much basketball as anyone this year, participating in all 66 games of the lockout-shortened regular season and lasting until the end of the NBA Finals, there’s no talk of Durant skipping the Olympics to recuperate. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard and Rose are among those who won’t be there because of injuries. There could have been even more work for USA Basketball last summer if it had to qualify for the Olympics, but winning the FIBA World Championships in 2010 earned the team an automatic Olympic berth and spared the Americans that extra step. Durant’s breakout performance keeps paying dividends.”
Berry Tramel on NBA spending: “Look no further than Kendrick Perkins, the Thunder’s enforcer of a center. Perk will make $7.8 million next season, 8.5 million in 2013-14 and $9.1 million in 2014-15. Gran Torino isn’t much of an offensive threat, but he rebounds and plays defense and keeps the likes of Tim Duncan and Andrew Bynum at bay. Some think the Thunder will have to cut Perkins under the NBA’s new one-time only amnesty rule, which allows a franchise to clear a contract from its books. But Perk’s contract is value-loaded. With the most recent rash of contract offers, Perkins’ salary figures to rank in the bottom third of NBA center contracts. Looks to me like he’ll rank 21st among the league’s 30 starting centers.”
Kurt Helin of PBT on Thabeet: “But if he does — if he can be a good defensive stopper in the paint and grab some boards, if he can score just a little — than the Thunder have a steal. This guy has potential, he didn’t go No. 2 overall because the Grizzlies ate the special brownies in the draft green room, there were a lot of teams interested in him because of what he could develop into. Some guys develop late. That is what the Thunder are hoping for.”
Dustbury on Thabeet: “My own thinking runs like this: Brooks just signed his new deal, which gets him a major raise, a long-term gig, and a whole lot more pressure. At some point during the negotiation, Brooks, while cracking a smile, may have pointed out that he is, after all, a man of infinite patience. Hasheem Thabeet may be Sam Presti’s way of testing that patience.”
Chris Paul tweet: “So I was with @JHarden13 earlier and lil chris was acting shy…now we’re at lunch and he’s telling everybody “I SAW JAMES HARDEN!!!” lol”
The Nets have emerged as a frontrunner to land Derek Fisher.
Tom Ziller of SB Nation on big contracts and the lockout: “And watch the salary cap climb slowly in 2013 and beyond despite sure-to-be insane upticks in league revenue, all thanks to the players’ acceptance of a lower share of revenue. But all the stunted salary cap growth figures to affect is max contracts, which are based on a percentage of the cap. That won’t tamp down salaries for mid-rung players (as the league argued it would) — it will leave open gaping holes in teams’ salary structures for players like Asik, Batum and Hill to slide in and soak up, ensuring we will have contracts to complain about for years to come. And in those years to come, when the L-word strikes again, owners will use those contracts like cudgels to argue that player salaries are still too high. Owners are saving huge pots of money under this lockout deal, but player salaries still look insane to the common fan. That’s pretty much a best-case scenario for the owners, and it makes you wonder if that was the plan all along.”
You think the Thunder have cap issues in their future? If the Nets land Dwight Howard, they’ll have a $107 million tax bill in 2015.
Dime Mag doesn’t have Harden making Team USA: “Same deal as Gordon, except Harden is slightly more intriguing with his penchant for passing. It might be beneficial for Harden to gain some Team USA experience, if only for future Olympics. But if we’re just talking about 2012, he’s out.”‘
Sekou Smith of NBA.com on Team USA: “That’s not to say the final group won’t be loaded. Kobe Bryant is rested and might be playing in his last Olympics. All-Star point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams are ready to go. Carmelo Anthony, like James, is gearing up for his third straight Olympics. And like Durant, you know Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden will want to do everything they can to wash away the bitter taste of losing in The Finals to James and the Heat. Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Andre Iguodala, Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon and Memphis Grizzlies swingman Rudy Gay round out the finalists vying for one of those spots on the 12-man roster.”
Michael Kimball of NewsOK on the Finals impact on OKC: “The arena’s concession stands raked in $1,000 per minute during the two finals games in Oklahoma City, Desjardins said. Sixty percent of that is kept by SMG and the city, with the Thunder getting the rest. Fans normally spend an average of $10.62 apiece on concessions during a regular season game, Desjardins said. That rose as the Thunder moved through each round of the playoffs, topping out at $13.81 apiece during the finals games. Based on the combined official attendance figures for both games of 36,406, that means fans spent more than $500,000 on concessions, of which about $300,000 went to SMG and the city. Sales numbers for team apparel and souvenirs presumably enjoyed a similar jump, but proceeds from those sales are exclusively the team’s and were not disclosed in the presentation.”
