Press release from the official site:
The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard James Harden, center Byron Mullens and forward Serge Ibaka to contracts, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
As far as Ibaka’s deal goes, according the story we had earlier this week, it looks like a four-year, ballpark $4 million deal (around $1M per).
(Morning party people. Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Talk amongst yourselves.)
With the Sergeant of Slam, Serge Ibaka, knocking our socks off with his skill in Orlando last week, he’s kind of all I’ve been thinking about lately. And while he won the Spanish League slam dunk contest back last September, this video is sort of relevant again. There’s really no way to describe his winning, TRUE free throw line flush. Majestic? Soaring? Freaking long? Behold Ibaka’s awesomeness starting at the 1:42 mark.
It’s Friday afternoon and I’ve watched five straight days of Summer League basketball, writing nearly 10,000 words total about it. My brain needs a release…
I haven’t heard Serge Ibaka speak yet in an interview, but we can only hope he sounds like Dikembe Mutombo. I’d be thrilled at the prospect of hearing that voice for at least the next four or five years. But I think it’s very cool that Moses Ehambe has been serving as his makeshift interpreter. Just another wonderful example of how on top of things this franchise is. They’re bringing over a guy that speaks little to no English and so what do they do? Add a teammate to the roster that speaks his language and can help him feel comfortable while he learns English. The Oklahoma City Thunder: Ahead of the Game.
I have come to the conclusion that cycling is far more impressive than NASCAR. Blah, blah, blah they’re going 200 miles per hour and it’s super hot in their cars. I don’t care. Watch 15 minutes of those guys pedaling like crazy at speeds of 35 miles per hour while two inches away from each other. All while slamming down some water and eating a Gogurt or whatever the crap that stuff is. AND THEY’RE NOT JUST PUSHING A PEDAL SITTING ON THEIR BUTT. They’re riding like 75 miles a day on a bike. Tell me that’s not impressive. Boring to watch, yes, but impressive nonetheless.
Five things we learned this week in Orlando: Keep Reading…
Oklahoma City lost its last game in Orlando to the Utah Jazz 70-60 to finish at 3-2 for the week, but instead of looking at that disaster of a game, let’s just get some overall thoughts and put a bow on this week. (Cumulative stats from the week.)
James Harden – 14.8 ppg (25.6 per 48), 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.4 turnovers per game, 53 percent from the field, 40 percent from three (6-15).
Grade: A+
Well color me giddy and happy and tingly all over. Harden looks like he’s ready to make a major impact on this team. He slashes, he passes, he scores, he shoots. But wait, there’s more! He’s just so cool and collected on the court. He played a little point guard Thursday and a lot Friday. I think that’s one of the advantages to Harden’s creating ability – you can move Westbrook off the ball if you want to play them together or Harden can just run point and you can move any and everybody around. Oklahoma City may have the most versatile roster in the league this year. No really. (One interesting stat: Harden actually led the team in defensive rebounds. Now Ibaka and D.J. White just played four games and Harden played four and half, but still.)
Serge Ibaka – 12.3 ppg (26.4/48), 3.3 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 68 percent shooting
Grade: A
Nobody was more surprising in Orlando than Serge Ibaka. He went from fringe D-Leaguer to possibly a certain rotation player in just five days. You can’t say enough about how polished his offensive skill set looked. He had post moves, he had an elbow jumper, he could put the ball on the floor and he could face up. You would’ve loved to have seen his rebounding numbers been more in the 5-7 a game territory but I’ll take what we got. I know I’m ready to buy my Serge Ibaka replica jersey. Keep Reading…
The Las Vegas Summer League starts today, but Oklahoma City doesn’t play until Sunday. The Thunder do play at 10 
a.m. today to wrap up the Orlando Pro Summer League. Russell Westbrook will not be playing, I’ve heard. Let’s just be economical and make this an open thread for the game as well as your typical bolts. (Click HERE to watch the game.)
James Harden says he’s not intimidated by Kobe: “When he starts trying to defend the likes of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, he may find himself a little more blistered than he thinks. “Kobe is the best player in the world, but he laces up his shoes just like I lace up mine,” Harden said earlier this week. “Sure, I’ll get a welcome-to-the-NBA moment, but it’s just basketball. I’ve played against him before [in the summer]. I won’t be intimidated.”
Susan Bible of HoopsWorld on Robert Vaden: “He’s counting on the Thunder recognizing his value. “Hopefully I can make the final roster,” he shared. “I’m just going out there, trying to play hard, make sure I’m playing good defense because that’s a lot of questions a lot of teams had about me was my defense. Everybody knows I can shoot the ball, so I’m just trying to make sure I can play on that end of the court.” Keep Reading…
Make that 3-1 in Summer League play everybody. Are we going to get a trophy for this?
Oklahoma City Thunder (2-1) vs. New Jersey/Philadelphia Scrapple (0-3)
Time: 2 p.m. CST
Watch the game HERE!!!
Tony Meija hinted in an article on Tuesday that Russell Westbrook and D.J. White may sit out the last two days of action, so we may not see them today. But we don’t really know. James Harden sat the first half yesterday, but I’d imagine he’ll see a solid amount of playing time today as well as Serge Ibaka who didn’t play at all (he was just resting). And who knows if Shaun Livingston will dress as he sat Tuesday after playing Monday. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Kyle Weaver played much, much better yesterday scoring 12. He asserted himself and played point guard for a lot of the day. He’s desperately trying to develop a consistent 3-point shot, but for the most part, he’s just taken forced threes. Robert Vaden went 1-7 yesterday so I’m sure he’s aiming to come out and impress. And we can only hope that if Moses Ehambe gets in, he at least fouls someone or turns it over.
Tip at 2 p.m. CST.
Vegas Summer League Preview
Onward to Vegas. The Thunder Summer League roster will shed a few players and pick up some replacements. (If you want to watch the games, you can get all Summer League games for the low, low price of $14.99 by clicking here or you could click here… shhhhhhhhhhh.) Westbrook is just playing one game Sunday and Tony Durant is a late addition, likely stepping in for Kyle Weaver who is doubtful after injuring his thumb in Orlando.
ROSTER
Russell Westbrook
Shaun Livingston
D.J. White
Serge Ibaka
Moses Ehambe
Robert Vaden
Byron Mullens
DeVon Hardin
James Harden
Kyle Weaver
Marcus Dove (F) – VOO Verviers-Pepinster/Oklahoma State
I’ve always liked Marcus Dove for some reason. Watching him shut down Adam Morrison was almost as fun as seeing a guy go off for 50. Defensively, he’s an extremely gifted player at 6-foot-9, which is why I’m a little surprised he hasn’t gotten much of a look. But as good as he is defensively, he’s as bad offensively. At OSU he took bad shots and was incapable of putting together consistent stretches of offensive play. He played last season in Belgium and averaged 10.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg, shooting 56 percent (but was just 1-13 from three). He’s got ability and I hope one day he catches on with someone. And he’s worth watching if for nothing else because of those incredibly thick, almost mutant eyebrows. Keep Reading…