We’re drawing in folks. Trades are starting to fly, people are feeling it and within 48 hours, we will have one, maybe 
two new guys in Thunder blue. I’m excited. What say you? (And if you haven’t entered the Daily Thunder MockTest, you best hurry up. All the cool kids are doing it.)
I teamed up with The Lost Ogle to put together an extensive mock draft. Part I is over there and Part II will be here later today: “Memphis – James Harden. This one is tough. With Ricky Rubio’s contract situation seemingly taken care of and there being no way for him to go back as bridges have been burned, Memphis would seemingly be in position to call (Rubio’s agent, Dan) Fegan’s bluff but at the end of the day, there is still risk involved. Harden represents more of a sure thing as he is more NBA ready than either Rubio or Hasheem Thabeet. Memphis needs someone who can give them immediate hope to inspire a deadbeat fanbase. Harden represents that. Look for management to follow through on their word and make O.J. Mayo the point guard of the future with Harden playing the 2 spot.”
Bad news about OKC’s arena deal – we’re a little short right now: “City officials are reassessing an ongoing $100 million renovation of the arena where the Oklahoma City Thunder play, because a sales tax that was supposed to fund it has brought in less money than expected. With shoppers buying less so far this year, the tax approved by voters as a way to lure the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics to town — where they were renamed the Thunder — has produced $4.2 million below projections.” Does anybody know if T. Boone is a Thunder fan?
I joined Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxsym for a podcast. Listen to me talk (first is Kevin Arnovitz and I’m on like 10 minutes in):
Chad Ford reports a rumor that OKC is after the 14 pick:” One rumor that won’t go away has the Suns and Thunder talking about a draft-day swap that would give Oklahoma City the 14th pick and land the Suns the Thunder’s 25th pick and, more importantly for the Suns, the return of their first-round pick in 2010. The Suns traded that pick to the Thunder several years ago as part of the Kurt Thomas trade. The trade is unprotected next year, and with the Suns flirting with rebuilding, they don’t want to lose it. Sources say the Thunder have an eye for Ohio State center B.J. Mullens and likely will take him if he’s available at No. 14.” Keep Reading…
Strong and Handsome: The Royce Young Story.
Finally, eh? Just four days until this madness is over and then we get to start the next round of it. Right now, there’s so much information, misinformation and whatever else circling around, it’s hard to keep up. So forgive me if I don’t. I think for this week, I’m going to keep the Bolts live, so check back for any potential additional updates throughout the day.
Draftbusters: What makes up a bust and who is likely to be one
Coming into a draft, there’s so much hope. Hope to land the next big thing. Hope to fill a major need. Hope to find that diamond in the rough. Hope that this player can turn it all around or maybe make a good thing better.
Every team has their picks and every team has the highest of hopes for the guy they take. But the inevitable happens every year. Players bust.
They don’t live up to their potential. They never contribute. They don’t find the success that they were supposed to. Like Ricky Barnes at Bethpage, they just fold.
The thing is, everybody has different definitions for bust. Maybe it’s a guy that was taken in the top 10 and never averaged more than 20 minutes a game in his NBA career (Kwame Brown) Maybe it’s a guy that came into the league with a ton of hype, had a fairly productive career but yet didn’t live up to the expectations placed on him (Joe Smith). Maybe it’s an international player that never makes it over the United States (Yotam Halperin, among many). Maybe it’s a talented guy that gets plagued by injuries and can’t produce (Michael Olowokandi). Or maybe even it’s just a nice college player taken in the late first round that never makes any kind contribution. It all just depends on how you look at the player.
Obviously, the highly regarded and highly drafted players that bust are the most visible. Those disappointments are unavoidably going to come up around this time of year. The Darko’s, the Robert Swift’s, the Michael Olowokandi’s. A guy like Andrea Bargnani is a nice NBA player but since he was the top pick in the 2006 draft, he could potentially be tagged as a bust. The expectations on the No. 1 overall guy are higher than anybody else. Really that’s true for any top five pick. They are supposed to be game changers. Guys that may need some grooming, but will surely have a positive impact on the team they are on. Keep Reading…