Monday Bolts – 9.21.15

Shaun Powell for NBA.com

: “There’s no need to obsess over what the Wizards did this summer
and every reason to obsess over what they might do next summer. Sorry, but such is the reality in Washington when someone the caliber of Kevin Durant will become a free agent and happens to be from the D.C. area and the Wizards just happen to be keeping the salary cap flexible, you know, just in case. Yes, there’s every reason to apologize now for what will be a recurring theme throughout this season. The Wizards, and rightly so, are setting the table for the possibility of Durant getting tired of playing in Oklahoma City and seeking a change in scenery. You may get tired of the constant updates, but until Durant rules out the Wizards, this match is definitely possible.”

Chris Gayomali for GQ.com: “And, man, if you’re rooting for the other team, you DO NOT want to make Russ angry. Self-professed NBA nerd @NBAaayy—a new pseudonymous account born out of r/NBA that any self-respecting hoops junkie should follow immediately—crunched some stats for a few of our favorite hotheads. The 26-year-old art director wanted to look at how stars like Russ and Boogie Cousins performed before and after getting technicals. Was there a noticeable change, if any, in their level of play?”

Here are the before and after numbers for Russ.

10 years ago the NBA came to OKC.

Jenni Carlson: “The city had an NBA-ready arena with nearly all of the Hornets’ home dates open. It had office space for the business operations, practice facilities for the team and rental properties for anyone who needed a place to live. It could help transfer several of the Hornets’ existing contracts, including the local TV deal with Cox and the radio broadcast rights with Clear Channel. Oklahoma wasn’t far from Louisiana either; this was a point Cornett would try to repeatedly impress upon Stern, worrying that his geographical knowledge might not extend far beyond the NYC skyline.”

Russ is ready.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “Let’s be clear and blunt: Any Warriors sign-and-trade offer for Durant would have to start with Harrison Barnes. It’d just have to–he plays the same position, he’s young and somebody I’d imagine OKC wouldn’t mind in any deal. But obviously that’d just be a tiny part of it; the Warriors would have to add much more. How about Barnes plus Kevon Looney? Not nearly enough. And the money wouldn’t be nearly enough, either. The Warriors would have to add a lot of money to make it work per CBA rules. So… How about Barnes plus Looney plus… Klay Thompson? That probably got your attention and I’m sure it’d get the Thunder’s attention.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “However, the smarter move might be to sign Barnes to an extension no matter what. Doing so would give the Warriors a productive small forward for the future for what would still be a bargain, even north of the $16 million per year he has yet to accept. This would be wise in the event they do not land Durant. Extending Barnes would also provide them the option to move a player making eight figures in a sign-and-trade. This would get Golden State pretty far toward that $25M figure.”