Daily Thunder.com

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…

Oklahoma City ranked 28th on Steve Aschburner’s top free agent destinations: “Oklahoma City: The talent on the roster, and the brainpower in the front office have lots of admirers, and the Ford Center fans can be among the league’s most active and loud. But there’s no cachet to being the first franchise in, at the big league level, and the Thunder will need to win soon to convince young players to stay or come aboard.”

Darnell Mayberry with some great analysis about the Paul Millsap rumor: “He’ll create a logjam. Where will Millsap play? The Thunder isn’t really worried about positions right now. The team is playing Green out of his customary small forward position at power forward just to get him the most minutes as possible. But acquiring Millsap will either move Green to the bench (highly unlikely) or mean Millsap will continue coming off the bench (making him one of the league’s most expensive reserves). Add to that, Green already plays 37 minutes, mainly at power forward, and Durant plays 39 per game, mostly at small forward. There is little wiggle room in the rotation at those positions (unless you want to move Durant back to shooting guard, Green back to small forward and cut off minutes for Thabo Sefolosha and third overall pick Harden. Again, highly unlikely).”

Layup Drill on the Harden pick: “James Harden was not only one of the best talents available, but fits well into the Thunder’s plan. The pick solidifies Russell Westbrook as their Point Guard of the future and gives them a solid scoring punch at the Shooting Guard position. Harden is one of the more NBA-ready prospects, and will be able to contribute immediately. The lefty can shoot well, uses his solid frame to rebound and has been praised for his highly unselfish game and ability to feel out the game. This again fits well for the Thunder, who have a lot of options in Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Westbrook.” Keep Reading…

Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune reports that Sam Presti is hot for Paul Millsap: “There also was speculation Sunday that Oklahoma City might be preparing to make a push to sign Paul Millsap as a restricted free agent. Former Jazz director of player personnel Troy Weaver now is an assistant general manager with the Thunder. The Thunder unsuccessfully tried to sign away C.J. Miles from the Jazz last summer. They are expected to have $11 million in salary-cap space and could offer a contract in the neighborhood of five years and $65 million to a free agent. Detroit and Portland also could be potential Millsap suitors.”

Tom Ziller on Millsap to OKC: “The one question about Millsap in Oklahoma, however, is what the team will do about the center position and Jeff Green. The team grabbed B.J. Mullens in the late first round, but even my friend Steak Tartare thinks the Buckeye is too raw. Among returning players, steady Collison and Nenad Krstic shared pivot duties last season. Green played predominantly at the power forward, which is the only place Millsap can legitimately play. Unless Presti feels paying top dollar for a back-up is smart, or if he plans to trade Green sometime soon, I’m not sure exactly where Millsap fits. If the price were cheaper, you could plunge now and let Scott Brooks figure it out in October. But cap space is precious. Filling it with a foreign puzzle piece doesn’t make sense.” Keep Reading…