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Friday Bolts – 6.29.12

by Royce Young on June 29, 2012 at 11:12 am 300 Comments

Chad Ford of ESPN.com: “Jones slid on the draft board because of a concern about a knee issue. Teams were also concerned about his motor. But at this point in the draft he’s a no-brainer pick and a great get for the Thunder. He’s long and athletic and he should thrive in their system. Great pick at 28.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “Jones fell even harder than expected, to the very precipice of the first round. And all of a sudden, what would have been a terrible pick in the low teens is a great pick for Presti at 28. That’s how it goes. Jones gives the Thunder exactly what they need in the frontcourt, an athletic scorer, Serge Ibaka through the looking glass. Great pickup for OKC at such a low risk with this pick.” Keep Reading…

Pre-draft Primer: Five big questions for draft night:

by Royce Young on June 28, 2012 at 5:12 pm 1,347 Comments

Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE/Getty Images

Time for the draft, which means time to over-analyze everything, and assume we all know much, much better than professionals that have poured over hours of tape, pay scouts thousands and have done one-on-one interviews. So fun.

For the Thunder, that means picking 28th, which means there isn’t a whole lot of excitement involved. Oklahoma City only owns that one pick. That said, the Thunder are always contenders to buy a second rounder or two if they like a player.

It might not be all that interesting for OKC, but that’s a good thing. The further down you pick, the better your season probably was. I think that’s science or something. Here are five questions heading the draft. Keep Reading…

Thursday Bolts – 6.28.12

by Royce Young on June 28, 2012 at 11:18 am 444 Comments

Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com has OKC taking Draymond Green: “He doesn’t look the part, but he can do a little bit of everything. He’s tough, can shoot it, makes his teammates better and also rebounds the ball.”

Pablo Torre of SI.com on Royce White: “Until then, he will keep grappling with the same old stressors. Already a light sleeper, White has traveled across the country, alone and wide-eyed, for the first time since he was a teenage recruit. “And I’m scared as hell,” he admits. White flew commercial to five cities before Vye canceled his remaining workouts last week, fueling the latest round of intrigue—Is Royce hurt? Scared? The recipient of a first-round promise? In those visits, puzzled execs liked to play casting director: Who are you? What can you be in the NBA? Magic? LeBron? Boris Diaw? The questioning was tense—not to mention ironic. The answer, tattooed and transparent, is still staring everyone in the face.” Keep Reading…

DT Mailbag: New jerseys?

by Royce Young on June 27, 2012 at 1:05 pm 206 Comments

Doug Pensinger/NBAE/Getty Images

With the Bobcats unveiling their new uniforms, and most NBA teams having three jerseys, I was wondering if you have heard anything about the Thunder potentially getting a third jersey or maybe tweaking their current away jerseys or home jerseys to improve them? A new orange third jersey would be amazing. Or making the “Oklahoma City” on the away to say “OKC” would be sweet. — Matthew R.

I get asked about new alternate uniforms a lot. And I agree — it’s time. However, I’ve had conversations with Thunder people about it and was told that it’s a league thing. The Thunder can’t make alternate uniforms until the league feels they’ve “sufficiently established the brand.”

When is that? No idea. That’s for Papa Stern to decide I guess. It does seem like the Thunder should be closing in on whatever branding specifications there are though. Kevin Durant’s jersey is consistently a top seller, the Thunder logo and uniform is being used in a lot of national commercials, they were on the biggest stage there is in the league and this will be their fifth season in OKC. Keep Reading…

Wednesday Bolts – 6.27.12

by Royce Young on June 27, 2012 at 10:55 am 122 Comments

David Thorpe of ESPN.com on OKC’s pick: “Miller is an intriguing choice, as the Thunder do not have a legitimate small forward behind Kevin Durant. What I like about Miller is, if he ends up being the player his upside foreshadows, then the Thunder will have a lottery talent at that spot behind Durant, giving them the option of slowly working Durant more as a power forward in spots. That’s exactly what Miami did, to great success, with LeBron in the postseason. As Durant continues to strengthen, as he has each year, he’ll be even more effective as a big forward and give his team a lot more variability as to how they can play.”

Jonathan Abrams of Grantland with a great Royce White profile: “White traces his first encounter with anxiety to long before his diagnosis. At the age of 10, his best friend, LaDream Yarbrough, collapsed after wind sprints during basketball practice. Drool trickled down his face as White looked on. Yarbrough, who was suffering from a previously undetected heart abnormality, was rushed to the hospital and survived. But White was never the same. After that moment, he lived in constant fear, a fear that he, too, would one day collapse on the court. His anxiety was constantly creeping.” Keep Reading…

10 players to watch at No. 28

by Royce Young on June 26, 2012 at 2:36 pm 293 Comments

Jonathan Daniel/NBAE/Getty Images

As we should all know by now, who knows what the Thunder braintrust has cooking for draft night. They could be working a deal to move up, move down, stay put or move out completely.

With a pretty stellar draft record, what I do know is that more than likely it’ll be a wise, well-reasoned decision. Regardless, allow me to  offer 10 players that best fit the thoughts I had yesterday, free of charge. I know they’re down a man without Rob Hennigan and all. You’re welcome, Thunder.  Keep Reading…

Tuesday Bolts – 6.26.12

by Royce Young on June 26, 2012 at 11:03 am 378 Comments

David Thorpe of ESPN.com on KD: “That is what I thought of as I watched Durant grieve after Game 4. No, the series was not officially lost that night, but Durant probably knew right then that winning a ring in 2012 was not likely. Game 5 almost seemed like a foregone conclusion for most of the Thunder players, perhaps even Durant, who didn’t go down swinging as he might have. Just as LeBron emerged a far better and tougher postseason player after last season’s debacle, so too will Durant, who has played beautifully since late April. An improved Durant can go head-to-head with LeBron for league MVP … and win.”

David Aldridge of NBA.com: “ESPN’s Marc Stein reported Friday that the Thunder was indeed contemplating the Zen Master, or ABC/ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy, if talks with Brooks fall apart. OKC’s thoughts on Brooks, I’m told, are that while management understands the central role has played in developing the likes of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the other members of the team’s core, there remains a question of whether Brooks is the guy who can drive that group over the top to a title. On the surface, it’s not an unreasonable question, given the paucity of coaches who have actually won titles the last two or three decades. On the other hand, it’s unlikely in the extreme that players as offensive-minded as Durantula and Westbrook would be all that eager to settle into the triangle. They made the Finals playing their way — up tempo, shooting from all over.” Keep Reading…

Five thoughts on the Thunder’s draft pick

by Royce Young on June 25, 2012 at 2:39 pm 648 Comments

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

And now, we turn to the next thing.

With the Thunder holding the 28th pick in the draft, it’s obviously not exactly something to get all excited about. But as Sam Presti said Sunday, “The draft is like a board game where you pass go and you get a free chance to improve.”

The draft is coming quickly, in holy crap just three days.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re one of the last two teams playing. The season gets dragged out. And it also means you’re picking most scraps at the end of the pile.

But don’t completely dismiss the late first round picks. In fact, here are your last 20 28th overall picks in the NBA draft: Norris Cole (2011), Greivis Vasquez (2010), Wayne Ellington (2009), Donte Green (2008), Tiago Splitter (2007), Maurice Ager (2006), Ian Mahinmi (2005), Beno Udrih (2004), Leandro Barbosa (2003), Dan Dickau (2002), Tony Parker (2001), Erick Barkley (2000), Scott Padget (1999), Corey Benjamin (1998), Keith Booth (1997), Priest Lauderdale (1996), Greg Ostertag (1995), Deon Thomas (1994), Lucious Harris (1993) and Marion Maxey (1992).

That’s right, Tony Parker was landed at No. 28. (But so was Erick Barkley.) Point is, pickings are a little slim at the back end of the first round, but with a keen eye for talent, a worthwhile player can be added. Here are five early, but actually late, thoughts on OKC’s pick. Keep Reading…

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