Following the London Olympics, Serge Ibaka wasn’t exactly thrilled with his role. That being, mostly sit on the bench and watch the Gasol brothers.
Ibaka’s playing time was drastically cut into as he saw much less of the floor than expected. As a result, he indicated he wasn’t all that interested in joining Spain in Rio for the 2016 games. Well, he’s softened on that a bit:
“I don’t want to leave the National Team, I will play with Spain if they ask me to,” he told Marca.com. “I feel very proud about playing with Spain.”
Things will look different for Spain then as Pau Gasol likely won’t be part of the team, or at least probably not in as featured a role. So Ibaka could see his time and value increase a lot.
But then again, there’s, you know, four years until that. So we’ll see.
http://www.dailythunder.com/2011/06/video-everybody-go-home-kd-did-something-nasty/
http://youtu.be/u35jwsuqAjM
James Harden cameo at #3
I wont spam for the DailyThunder get together this post
Some KD dunks from a nike game in hong kong http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xv0sf9QEWI4
i'm wondering why one team is wearing the Team USA jerseys from the olympics
@OBoymuzik Does our guy KD ever take any real time off?
@OBoymuzik Keh-Deh, Keh-Deh, Keh-Deh!
back on topic, pals
wtf happened??
http://wadefromcollege.blogspot.com/2012/04/thunder-games-part-1.html
"Cole Aldrich - will die first"
@Old Man Game
There was a Part 2 written: http://wadefromcollege.blogspot.com/2012/04/thunder-games-part-2.html
Here's the recap:
Durant, Thabo, and Ivey have all run into the woods without supplies. Serge slips into the woods with a bag of gear, followed closely by Russell Westbrook. Lazar is in the woods being chased by Nick Collison -- who is desperate to avenge Harden's death. Perk (an arrow in his chest that he hasn't bothered to remove) and Fish are in the woods with plenty of supplies. Reggie Jackson, Daequan Cook, James Harden, Scott Brooks and Nazr Mohammed have all been killed. Cole Aldrich controls all of the weapons and supplies at the cornucopia. (Yeah.)
@ThunderChick2010 No but I've been wanting to.
@Old Man Game
I promised someone I'd read them, but I'm having a hard time deciding it's more worthy of my time than . . . this. :)
Did you read Cormac McCarthy, The Road? About as bleak of a future as you could imagine if you're into that sort of thing . . .
@ThunderChick2010 Yeah, a co-worker had told me they told a sort of bleak future, end of the world story (which I generally like, Running Man, Road Warrior, Blade Runner) so I gave them a shot. Horrible. Just horrible. And the thing is, they get progressively worse from book 1 to 2 to 3 which is the absolute dumbest p.o.s. I've ever read. But I'm the sort that when I start a book I force myself to finish it.
@Old Man Game
You read them?
@ThunderChick2010 Reading that brings back memories. Of how poorly written those books are.
@Lasers
Are you asking what happened to the blog--or requesting possible scenarios?
@ThunderChick2010 Yeah, I wonder what happened to the blog. Which one do you think killed the writer?
@Lasers
Had to have been Cole . . . with the element of surprise, you know. Seriously, I think it's strange that he never followed up on this as he very obviously put a lot of thought and passion into the first two installments.
Money aside and at their current ages, Monroe or Aldridge? They would be replacing Perk on this roster in terms of where they fit and what their roles would be on said imaginary team.
@dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! Lamarcus Aldridge.
@dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! I like Monroe better. I think Aldridge is a little overrated.
@justin_mia @dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! Monroe is horrible on defense.
@Crow @dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! I think that depends on what you are looking at to evaluate him. I don't think he's so bad.
@dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! Monroe in his second season had a DRB about 5% higher than LMA's career high, higher AST% than any of LMA's seasons, and his scoring efficiency is right around LMA's career high as well (which LMA only achieved last season). LMA has proven he can be effective with a higher usage, but I only think it's a matter of time before Monroe does the same. He's destroys LMA on the boards and I think he'll end up better defensively, especially guarding centers. Monroe's going to be good.
@justin_mia @dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! Yeah plus how are they respectively? Aldridge has been around a while so he probably closer to his peak.
@dancassidy35/FreeFestusFromGSW! Monroe is going to demand way more money than LaMarcus in the future, but he will be better. LA is a good player for a good value, and once he gets going he's hard to stop.
I'd pick Monroe myself I think because I've got a thing for unorthodox players.
Why does the general basketball fan with basic knowledge think Rondo, and Rose are the best PG's in the league?.... I was like this poll doesn't even have Tony Parker, or Westbrook listed......
@ElMexiThunder I honestly think Tony Parker is a little bit overrated by Thunder & Spurs fans because we respect what he does. But, if you had to choose between TP and any of the others listed, do you really take him? I would rather Rondo, Russell, Rose, CP3 of Deron Williams over him.
@ElMexiThunder Don't let the lack of attention of Parker and Westbrook affect opinions on Rose and Rondo. Imo, after CP3, it's a bit of a tie between Williams, Westbrook, Rose, and Rondo, with Rondo being able to play the best out of them at his peak compared to their peaks.
@ElMexiThunder Forgot to add Parker to that group but I'd put him after the others if I had to.
Thunder training camp opens Oct. 2?
@Crow
Think so. Thunder Rumblings on Aug. 30 mentioned training camp starting in 32 days.
@ThunderChick2010 will the thunder be asked to play pre-season overseas in the near future? it is a very minor thing but a mild curiosity.
@Crow
I know you're going to be jealous . . . but I'm going to the preseason home opener against THE BOBCATS (thanks to the extreme generosity of bmuelle21). Actually, I really like preseason games--almost all the crowd enthusiasm with almost none of the pressure. Good times.
@ThunderChick2010 tends to be the bigger name cities that european or asian fans know more about; but european and asian nbafans know about the Thunder.
@Crow
Well, not this year anyway:
http://www.nba.com/thunder/schedule
Since we are talking about video games.... https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A1aqZRWCEAEJsBk.jpg:large
http://games.espn.go.com/fba/leagueoffice?leagueId=8279
Poll for when you want the Fantasy draft, on the far right
This will start to give us an indication
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B81vOXzujgk&feature=relmfu
@Jokazc Good game today :D
not a big fan of rick barnes, but he has good insight in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNwehTZuBVM
is it sacrilege to post a longhorns network vid on this site?
@Thunder S Thabo "This player right here" Sefolosha.
@duhsweetness @Thunder S
Not to be confused with Kendrick "This guy *tap him on the back*" Perkins.
@duhsweetness @Thunder S Funny.
@Thunder S No I think that was awesome regardless of where it originated from.
Bill simmons before the draft where we took Durant, prescient:
Bill Simmons selects: Kevin Durant, SF, Texas If I'm Portland's GM, I just spent the last five weeks wondering about Greg Oden. What's his ceiling? Can he be better than Patrick Ewing? Alonzo Mourning? Can he become as dominant as Tim Duncan? Should I be worried about his surgically repaired wrist, or the fact that he might suffer back problems some day because his legs are different sizes? What about the fact that he likes basketball, but doesn't love it? The thing is, all these franchise centers are basically the same -- it just comes down to their inherent will to dominate a game. Hakeem had that will, Duncan has it, Moses had it, Shaq had it in 2000 and 2001 ... for whatever reason, Ewing didn't have it, and neither did Mourning or Robinson. Can you see Oden stepping onto a basketball court and saying, "There's no way we're losing this f-ing game. I'm destroying the other team tonight." For some reason, I can't.
Well, Durant plays that way every game. He's a cold-blooded killer. I hate pre-draft workouts, but didn't you find it interesting that Oden was nervous, awkward and apologetic during his workout in Portland, but a confident Durant strolled in there two days later and blew everyone away? You know what's funny about that? I knew that was going to happen. One guy plays basketball because he was created to play basketball; the other plays because he was bigger than everyone else and it seemed like the logical thing to do. If there was a pickup game and Oden was on one side, Durant was on the other, and your life depended on the game, you'd pick Durant. You would.
So if Portland takes Oden, it will happen because of conventional NBA logic (you always take the franchise center), because their fans are pushing for him (obviously, nobody watches college basketball in Portland) and because he's a personable, gregarious, likable big guy for a city that's desperately needed a personable, gregarious, likable big guy ever since Bill Walton ditched Portland for San Diego. I'm not saying those reasons are wrong. In fact, I understand them completely. But if I'm Portland's GM, I'm taking the guy with a legitimate chance to go down with Bird, Magic, MJ, Baylor, Oscar, West, Duncan, Pettit, Havlicek and every other great non-center who ever played in the National Basketball Association. I'm taking Kevin Durant.
Hilton Armstrong is better than all the centers and power forwards on our roster and just signed overseas. Matt Barnes and Leandro Barbosa remain yet unsigned, our hometown kid Shelden Parker didn't get a look so he signed overseas, many UFAs were had for mere pennies and our offseason acquisition after being that close to winning it all?
Anybody see ESPNs ranking 1-500? We have 6 players in the bottom 110 on our roster.
Thabeet, Orton, Thompson, Jones III (not mad here)
Hilton Armstrong is on his own level of horrid. I painfully watched him in New Orleans for several years. I would rank him a nose ahead of Orton, and we all know how I feel about Orton. He's not even currently as good as Thabeet, who sucks but at least has "hope" of potential. Aldrich is head and shoulders above Armstrong without ever playing meaningful minutes. Don't get too excited over nothing.
@JimboSlice thunder player = bad
non thunder player = good
@OBoymuzik @JimboSlice i dunno about that justification / logic. buford and pop have brought in a lot more guys for at least short looks in the last 2 years than Presti.
@JimboSlice I'd want Fesenko more than most of the other last roster spot big man names out there.
@ThunderChick2010 @JimboSlice Thanks.
@Crow @JimboSlice
A very Crow thing to say, I think. Love it.
@ThunderChick2010 @JimboSlice to a degree, since it helps to do something
@ThunderChick2010 @Crow @JimboSlice content on this point but still working to change other things in the world
@Crow @JimboSlice
Okay, okay . . . forthrightness in admittedly narrow contexts. Happy?
@ThunderChick2010 @JimboSlice or at least his health
@ThunderChick2010 @JimboSlice tell it like it is except about himself
@Crow @JimboSlice
I'm just thinking of how he's not afraid to tell-it-like-it-is . . . especially to reporters asking stupid questions. More than once, I've heard him throw an awkward/asinine question back.
@ThunderChick2010 @JimboSlice and objections
@ThunderChick2010 @JimboSlice i can see 4/5ths of your picks there but Perkins forthrightness? I have suspicions about that.
@Crow @JimboSlice
I only posted a sarcastic/negative one as I don't know that I could top any of the super-player combos being proposed. They all sound like dreams. Here's a Thundercentric one with a character slant though: KD's humility, Russ' devil-be-damned intensity, Nick's humor and intelligence, Serge's passion, and Perk's forthrightness. Yeah.
@ThunderChick2010 @JimboSlice ok, i hadn't gotten there yet. i'd be interested in seeing others too. yours if you wish.
@Crow @JimboSlice
Crow, I'd be interested in seeing your take on the Thunder S question below . . . creating the perfect player.
@DennisBerry The Landlord is the only one I'd have been interested in.
@DennisBerry Hilton Armstrong sucks dude.
@justin_mia and I guess the centers we have signed are all stars or something. Bust would be an understatement when used to describe Aldrich, Thabeet, and Orton.
@Crow @duhsweetness @justin_mia Why? It's directly north of Oklahoma. You can drive there in a few hrs
@DennisBerry @duhsweetness @justin_mia true, my mistake. i still think of it as east half of the country though. and aldrich was raised in minnesota.
@DennisBerry @duhsweetness @justin_mia i thought if presti hired them they must be great.
@Crow @duhsweetness @justin_mia fire that dude, and the doctors too
@duhsweetness @DennisBerry @justin_mia Director of East Coast Scouting? Frank Ross.
Ross played two seasons of CBA and in Germany. His previous experience before the Thunder was four season as scout for the terrible Charlotte Bobcats and two seasons as the lead assistant coach with the University of Albany (NY). Maybe most important to Presti or at least an important kicker, Ross was a five-year veteran of the Arlington County Police Department in northern Virginia before coaching.Investigate character in the name of team culture? Probably.
I think I would have found a different head scout for the east coast, but that is just a surface guess.
@Crow @duhsweetness @justin_mia Kansas is west of the Mississippi homeslice.
OMG, every time we talk about a free agent that's allegedly the reason we aren't pursuing. Remember us discussing Brandon Rush and his "drug problems?"
Added to that they we say a fucking prayer before every game which is beyond silly, it seems like they're being more image and good guy conscious than ever.
@duhsweetness @DennisBerry @justin_mia maybe jackson or orton break the pattern but the odds arent great
@duhsweetness @DennisBerry @justin_mia probably just a low sample size pattern / coincidence but all of Presti's best picks played west of the Mississippi or overseas and all the disappointments to the east of it. Does the east coast scout suck? Or does Presti have an unsupported excessive bias for east coast players?
@duhsweetness @DennisBerry @justin_mia just turned 26 but no real reason to expect he will make a jump forward at this point. as a 22 year old rookie he should have shown more earlier. Appears to have been one of a number of bad low 1st round picks by Presti & Co.
@duhsweetness @DennisBerry @justin_mia but last season was by far his most minutes and worst performance. some players can only thrive in garbage time. it may be that he is one of them... or he is still developing into a better than that player
@duhsweetness @DennisBerry @justin_mia bigs who can shoot are worth something
@justin_mia @DennisBerry Armstrong is 26 and Williams is 25 I believe. That is still a reasonable age. On paper I'd have some interest in Williams but on this case I'd need the behavior intel to decide whether to even allow him to compete for the last big spot.
@DennisBerry Gregg Popovich has the clout to reign in players like Jackson and use him positively - having Tim Duncan around doesn't hurt either.
@DennisBerry @justin_mia Why would we re-sign DJ White?
@DennisBerry I thought we were talking money, now you're talking character. Who haven't we signed that we were actually interested in and capable of signing because of character?
Makes winning all the more important. KD can leave in 2016, Russ can leave in 2017. Why stay with a team that surrounds them with 2 talented guys, 4 solid guys, and then a bunch of crap and is scared to sign guys because of "character" or scared to spend over the cap or whatever?
The Spurs had no problem with Stephen Jackson. Caron Butler used to sell drugs, but has rebounded into a fine young man.
Is this a church league or the NBA?
@DennisBerry @justin_mia Well Thompson signed for less than 500k and we've already got Daequan in front of him at the 3 position in the dept chart making 3 million. Face it, this is a marginal nba market and we can't spend like the Lakers with their billion dollar local TV deal.
@Old Man Game @justin_mia Or owners can stop acting like they make 30k a yr and spending to win a championship isn't an investment that will pay for itself. Barnes is yet unsigned. When he goes I bet he gets like a 2yr 6mil or something type deal. Meeks went to the Lakes for 3mil over 2 yrs, although I maybe should avoid players who went to LA since obviously we can't offer the off the court allure they can
@DennisBerry @justin_mia Also on the Barnes Thompson thing, what did/would Barnes have been paid? That's against what we can offer James Harden essentially.
@DennisBerry @justin_mia The concept of guaranteed deals seems to mean nothing to you in this discussion. As much as I'd like to bid a fond farewell to Cole and Lazar that's not going to happen at this point unless they are sent away in some sort of trade for an expiring or a future second rounder coming back.
@Old Man Game @justin_mia Kenyon Martin is typically a 4 but can defend some 3 and some 5. Hell, he was on Rudy Gay at the end of games last playoffs.
We have 4, maybe 5 guys who shouldn't even be in the NBA much less on a team expecting to win a title. Replace Thompson with Matt Barnes, replace Hayward with Leandro Barbosa, signed Turiaf or KMart instead of Orton (took 1 yr deal), send Cole back to Kansas tell him he can keep his money and sign Ivan Johnson.
Deepest, toughest, not to be fucked with team in the league
@DennisBerry And which means talking about guys like Armstrong and Williams who might actually play is meaningless. Also, what did these guys sign for in Europe? It's possible they may have gotten more money than we could afford to spend on a 12th man anyway.
@DennisBerry @justin_mia You got Perk, Serge, Nick and Cole all on deals with significant guaranteed money remaining. They've signed Thabeet for cheap but still to a deal guaranteeing him several hundred thousand dollars. Then you've also got PJ3 who may play some 4 along with minutes at the 3. How many big men do you expect the team to have on the roster? Orton was signed to be a banger in training camp and once that's over he'll either end up in Europe or Tulsa so he can develop and should get better then the organization would have an inside track with him to sign him hopefully.
@justin_mia Orton wasn't even good in college and certainly not in Orlando, not to mentioned missed his senior yr with a torn acl; not promising in the least. I hope someone wasn't thinking that going against DH12 in practice everyday made him good or something.
Give me Kenyon Martin or DJ White over him easy. Ivan Johnson (although he has some type of prison history. tats, and gold teef so I know we wouldn't even consider him), Lou Amondson, Andrai Blatche, Kyry Fesenko, Darko, Dominique McGuire; anybody who has at some point done something positive in their nba career
@DennisBerry Armstrong and Williams are both older busts. Williams has had some use on good teams but let's not get carried away. Aldrich is not a bust yet he's in his third season. Neither is Orton, though he's a lot less likely to contribute.
@Old Man Game @justin_mia Well yea they can get better the same way someone dead broke can get richer, nowhere to go but up right? OMG, then why sign him? You can bring a million dudes to camp, tell them thank you and slap them on the butt and send them on their way without signing them.
It's a stupid signing because someone useful could have been signed in his place
@DennisBerry Those guys can all at least get better. And Armstrong might be worse than them all anyway.
@DennisBerry @justin_mia Why do you keep belaboring this signing of Orton? He's not going to be on the team. He's a sparring partner for training camp. That's it.