TrueHoop Network
An ESPN Affiliate

Daily Thunder.com

Thursday Bolts – 7.14.11

by Royce Young on July 14, 2011 at 8:30 am 45 Comments

KD said he was going to take the playing overseas thing real slow: “We’ll see, I would like to try something new,” said Durant, a two-time NBA scoring champion. “But, of course, my first option is playing in the NBA. So now I want to see how this lockout goes. If not, I will make a decision on where I am going to play basketball. D-Will, you know, he made his decision quick and I am sure you are going to see a lot of guys follow in his footsteps. So, he’s very brave to be the first guy to do it.”

The Thunder didn’t win an ESPY last night for best game. Some stupid NFL game did. However, Eric Maynor did show up wearing these shoes. Keep Reading…

Understanding and fixing this CBA mess, part two

by Royce Young on July 13, 2011 at 1:20 pm 3 Comments

Nellson Barnard/NBAE/Getty Images

By Max Trueblood
Read part one here

ALLOW THE OWNERS TO TERMINATE ONE GUARANTEED DEAL OVER THE FIRST FIVE YEARS OF THE CBA AND THEN ONE MORE DURING THE 2ND FIVE YEARS.

This is one I could actually do without but with public pressure to limit or get rid of guaranteed contracts at an all time high, I concede this to the spirit of compromise. Plus, with a hard cap in place, teams are going to need to be able to get out from under mistakes and allowing for this clause makes that an easier task.

The thinking behind limiting it to one per five years or two over the course of a hypothetical, league proposed 10 year deal is that the public outcry from hard line fans and owners is for the most part, overblown. If you look at the history of team payrolls, it’s rare that a team has more than 1 or 2 horrible contracts that limit their ability to improve. Being able to get rid of just one of the them would usually put a team below the cap or at least in position to better the team via the MLE or portion of it.

If a team needs to get rid of more than one deal then I place the blame at the feet of management. At that point, they need to look themselves in the mirror as opposed to just trying to find ways to get more money back from the players. Keep Reading…

Wednesday Bolts – 7.13.11

by Royce Young on July 13, 2011 at 10:30 am 15 Comments

From Elias: “Nate Robinson told SLAM Magazine recently: “I might go play football, do something that nobody’s tried to do.” However, should Robinson play in the NFL, he would NOT be the first player to play a game in the NFL and NBA. According to ELIAS, at least 6 players played in both the NFL and NBA (or BAA), including Bud Grant, who played for the Lakers and then played in the NFL before gaining the most fame as head coach of the Vikings.”

Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on Nate Robinson: “Does Robinson have a chance, or is this idle chatter? An NBA/NFL hybrid career is unprecedented in the modern era, made impossible because of their concurrent schedules. That said, elite athletes in the NBA are likely to be elite athletes in the NFL, given the similar demand for quickness, strength and agility. One would think the outside positions, wide receiver and cornerback, along with special teams would be the easiest places for a basketball-to-football transition to occur. And, at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, Robinson is in the right ballpark to play corner and clearly has superior leaping ability, evidenced by his three NBA Slam Dunk crowns.” Keep Reading…

Wing options aplenty for the Thunder, if they want one

by Royce Young on July 12, 2011 at 3:11 pm 58 Comments

Brian Babeneau/NBAE/Getty Images

Prior to the draft, it was pretty much agreed upon that if the Thunder needed anything, it would probably be a capable wing to spell Kevin Durant when needed. Preferably a player with some defensive chops and the ability to drill an open shot.

Why? Mainly because with the high probability of James Harden moving into the starting five, the bench loses a little bit of firepower. Reggie Jackson certainly might alleviate some of that as a combo scoring guard, and Thabo can slide over to a natural backup of Durant, which might be better suited for him (10-15 minutes a game for Thabo makes a lot more sense than 25-30).

That’s the probable scenario and truly, the Thunder standard operating procedure. Don’t overextend on a veteran that may or may not help. Instead, bring in a talented but raw player, put him in the program and watch him grow into the piece you need. That’s the idea with Jackson and with his ability, I’m confident he could become a bit of a Russell Lite off the bench and help replace Harden’s scoring punch.

Still, it’s likely there will be a roster spot available (Oklahoma City’s full at 15 right now, but Royal Ivey isn’t guaranteed and there hasn’t been a resolution on Daequan Cook yet) and the Thunder will have some cap space — I think. (You know, that whole CBA thing could affect that.) If Cook stays with the team there might not be a lot of cash to spend, but there will be some at least, if Presti is willing. Keep Reading…

KD to play with Kobe and Derrick Rose in Philippines exhibition

by Royce Young on July 12, 2011 at 2:02 pm 4 Comments

KD has been on his now annual tour of China the past couple weeks and with word of him possibly looking into overseas options to play this year if the lockout drags on, it’s pretty obvious he’s becoming a major international star. If he isn’t already.

And to just drive that home even more is news that KD will join Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose in an exhibition game in the Philippines for charity.Via SLAM:

The three stars will be part of a selection that will play a pair of charity exhibition games against SMART-Gilas Philippines national team and an all-star squad from the Philippine Basketball Association. Proceeds of the games will go to the MVP Sports Foundation, whose goal is to uplift Philippine sports and to develop Filipino athletes.

There isn’t a date set yet for the game, but it would be held in Manilla.

I don’t necessarily think the stuff about KD maybe playing overseas is related to this, but it’s obvious that Durant is fine and comfortable outside of the United States. And it definitely doesn’t hurt to expand the brad globally either.

Tuesday Bolts – 7.12.11

by Royce Young on July 12, 2011 at 11:40 am 17 Comments

Kevin Durant with one of life’s great problems: “Who else Mother be on the phone with them and make you kiss her thru the phone? I had to do that in front of 30 ppl jus now…”

KD’s agent is exploring overseas options: “If the opportunity presents itself and the lockout persists, he’s going to have to consider it just as other players are considering it,” Goodwin told SI.com. “Kevin has shown some interest to know what the situation is and we’ll reach out to the players’ association and make sure that they’re aligned with the guys in case they do take an offer. But I think what you’re going to see happening is a lot of players are going to look at the opportunity if the lockout prolongs that they can go somewhere and play basketball.” Keep Reading…

Former Thunderer Desmond Mason is in a Chris Kattan movie

by Royce Young on July 11, 2011 at 4:30 pm 18 Comments

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

So this is what happens when you finish a 10-year NBA career and then become an artist living in Oklahoma. You start getting roles in Chris Kattan movies.

Former Oklahoma State star and inaugural Thunder player Desmond Mason is going to be in some movie called “Just Crazy Enough,” which is about two twins separated at birth and one is a mental patient and the other is a psychiatrist. How wacky!

Mason is playing a mental patient in an asylum and he only speaks in cliches, unable to hold a normal conversation with anyone. A former NBA player only speaking in cliches? Scott Brooks is like, “That’s acting? I call that, ‘talking’.”

The movie is being filmed in Oklahoma and Mason says his role is “a pretty big part,” according to the Tulsa World.

So why is Desmond Mason in this movie, if we’re OK calling it that? How did he get involved? The World explains.

Keep Reading…

Understanding and fixing this whole CBA mess

by Royce Young on July 11, 2011 at 1:45 pm 7 Comments

Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

By Max Trueblood

It’s a depressing time to be an NBA fan. Right about now, we should be ready to start watching the recently drafted rookies playing ball, albeit sloppy ball, in the Vegas summer league.

The moratorium on free agent activity should be coming to a close with the actual trading and free agent signings starting up this week.

Internet chatter and debate should be at a yearly high and thankfully, it would’ve been a “Decision” free off season.

Most importantly, the Oklahoma City Thunder are contenders for the crown and any basketball missed is bad for any diehard Thunder fan.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Instead, we have ourselves in the midst of a lockout, the first one in the NBA since 1998 and since it’s just day 7 of this mess when this article went to press, we’re most likely looking at a best case scenario of another 2 months of no basketball and possibly much more. Keep Reading…

Headlines