Daily Thunder.com

Fanhouse looks at 10 NBA players under 30 fighting for their NBA lives: “Robert Swift (Oklahoma City) — The former lottery pick has never been able to stay healthy and has never developed into a dependable NBA center. He is a legit 7-footer and does have a decent touch around the basket, but his knees have failed him and he doesn’t have much of a resume. Swift has played 97 games in five years and has had two major knee surgeries. The market for him will be thin.”

One man dares to doubt the genius of Sam Presti: “Which leads me to ask, is Sam Presti really the genius he is portrayed as?  From a transaction standpoint, I can’t argue with the results.  He turned a going nowhere roster into a team with a lot of potential, but I still think he has botched the last two drafts.  Considering his laurels rest in how great he is at talent evaluation, that scares me. Perhaps he’ll make some trades or make a shocking free agent acquisition in the next couple of weeks that will change my mind, but right now, I think there is more myth to Presti’s mystique than a lot of fans want to admit.”

Reminiscing about the Thunder’s move: “It took 61 truckloads to carry the 786,000 pounds of freight the franchise moved halfway across the country – piling up 110,000 miles. The franchise also paid to relocate the employees who wanted to stay with the team, which wouldn’t reveal the total cost of the move. The early days of the Oklahoma City NBA franchise – then without a new name or colors – were centered in a plain, second-floor conference room at the Skirvin Hilton downtown. What would become the Thunder’s office at the Leadership Square building was still unfinished, with wires hanging from the ceiling.” Keep Reading…

One year ago today, a professional team started to make its way to Oklahoma City. It wasn’t pretty and we didn’t make any friends, but through a lot of hard work and tremendous dedication, Clay Bennett and his group gave us what we’re sitting here talking about today. And I just want to say thanks to all those involved. Without this team, I can safely say my life would be quite a bit different. Happy anniversary Oklahoma City.

Berry Tramel on the anniversary: “Bennett spent Father’s Day 2008 in a Seattle high-rise, prepping for the federal trial in which the city had sued the Sonics, trying to force the franchise to play out its lease at KeyArena. He was Public Enemy No. 1 in a major U.S. market, and just because he wasn’t the first sports owner to feel such wrath – Art Modell, Walter O’Malley, Bob Irsay – didn’t make the notoriety any easier. Bennett traveled to Seattle that weekend with full-time, armed security. He stayed in a secret location, a condo outside the city, with guards in the hallway and guards in the lobby. The rest of the Sonics party from OKC stayed at a hotel under aliases.”

ESPN’s Ultimate Standings are out and the Thunder ranked 57th, one spot in front of the Red Sox: “Looks like the move from the Emerald City was a fan-friendly one. Clay Bennett may have been the worst owner in last year’s Standings, but Oklahoma City fans have given their new franchise a 59-spot overall bump and an increase in nearly every category. The fans are excited by a future that includes young talent (Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook) and community initiatives such as the Rolling Thunder Book Bus and fitness clinics run by the players themselves. And with tickets, soda, beer and parking going for less than the league average (though the price of a hat is tied for most expensive, at $22), fans are more than okay with OKC, declaring the Thunder the eighth-most affordable franchise in sports and the cheapest of any NBA team. The only negative is their home, the Ford Center, which lacks luxury amenities, well-lit concourses and leg room. But even that negative has a positive upside: The Thunder will sink $100 million into the facility over the next two years, adding restaurants, bars, premium seating and a new scoreboard. As Oklahoma City proves, there really is no place like (a new) home.” (Click here to see the scoring system) Keep Reading…

Chris Sheridan looks at cap killers: “Nick Collison ($6.25 million against Oklahoma City’s cap) Collison also is on the books for $6.75 million in 2010-11, meaning he’ll earn nearly as much money in the next two seasons as Kevin Durant will have earned over the first three seasons of the rookie contract he currently is playing under. The good news for the Thunder: Earl Watson’s $6.6 million salary comes off the books next summer, and Collision will come off the cap a year later when Clay Bennett and his partners have to start digging deep to pay veteran money to Durant, Jeff Green and then Russell Westbrook and James Harden. (Another positive note for OKC fans: The Thunder own Phoenix’s unprotected 2010 draft pick, which means they could have two lottery picks next June.)”

Darnell Mayberry watched some tape on James Harden and wrote down some notes: “He has a maturity to his game that’s rarely seen in 19-year-old ballplayers. His court vision is excellent, his decision-making is terrific and his all-around impact is invaluable. It could be that I caught Harden on a great night, a 74-67 home win over the Bruins in which he nearly recorded a triple-double with a team-high 15 points and a career-high 11 assists to go with seven rebounds. But considering the point total was five below Harden’s Pac-10-leading scoring average and he finished with eight turnovers, I’d say his performance was closer to average than great.”

Tim Kawakami ranks the Western Conference: “The Thunder, with smart GM Sam Presti, has about $17M in available cap space, if they want to go chasing one or two free agents, which they probably will. Potential problems: Defense is not their speciality, and may not be for a while, given their roster. But give Presti (a Spur product) a little time.” Keep Reading…