An excellent, excellent story about how detailed oriented this Thunder organization is, passed along by reader Nix:
So I mentioned the other day in a thread that I won a prize from the Thunder’s Twitter page. I ended up winning one of those MASSIVE player banners that hung in the Ford Center. You know, the ones with the player’s face, number, & name. The only problem was that it was Chucky Atkins’ banner. Bamboozled.
I’m good friends with the owner of Buffalo Wild Wings so I asked him if he’d trade the banner for food. I told him it was Chucky’s and he replied, “Kevin Durant’s would have gotten you food for a year, Chucky’s might get you lunch.”
Well had that convo with Ed via Twitter. A thunder rep apparently saw our convo back and forth and he ended up tracking me down and saying, “I saw you didn’t seem to like the Chucky Atkins banner, would you prefer a jersey or Thabo’s shoes?”
Of course I was shocked because I wasn’t upset or anything. I was actually just happy to have one. Turns out I went by today and they took me to the Thunder shop and let me pick out whatever I wanted. KD Swingman jersey baby! Value: $100. It’s just a great organization.
How outstanding is that? With this story, the story from HoopsWorld this week about being in the playoffs and the Joe Smith story about missing OKC, it just shows you that these guys are building something special. Little things like that show how much attention to detail this organization pays attention to. They are 100 percent committed to doing things the right way. From big things like player development and scouting, all the way down to the tiniest things like prize giveaways and free agent mini-camps.
It may seem small and may seem like it’s no big deal, but it’s not like this is an isolated incident. This Thunder organization is just committed to doing things properly. OKC is rumored to be “very interested” in like six players in this draft, because they have scouted them so much. Again, that says something right there. When you stick to doing things right, it’s trickles down (or up, whichever way you want to look at it) and effects everything in a positive way.
Like I said in the Bolts, how long has it been since you’ve seen an OKC bashing story (knock on wood)? I know it’s been a while for me, and I look. We knew this organization could and would win people over. But because it’s doing things the right way, it’s happened sooner than later. Needless to say, I’m extremely proud to call the Thunder my team.
unavoidably become part of the 2009 draft conversation despite already having completed an encouraging rookie season. That’s nothing. Randy White, a 1989 first-rounder, is back in, too.Four weeks until the draft, and it is impossible to avoid the intersection of past and present in a sign that lottery teams are grabbing for any safety vest while staring at greater risk than usual. So, UCLA’s Jrue Holiday is eerily Russell Westbrook and Memphis’ Tyreke Evans is a little bit. And in breaking news, White didn’t work as the No. 8 pick 20 years ago.”
than the No. 2. Oh yeah, that’s right, OKC picks third!: “First up is a simple, what should you expect, performance-wise from a given pick number? If you have say the 5th pick in the draft, what are your chances on average of landing a star player? … Keep in mind the stats are career per game averages so lower than the peak performance years of a player. Moreover, there is also some bias in that using recent years some of the current players may well spike up their career ‘standing’ with more years under the belt.”
haven’t read The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac, well, then you should read it. I can’t wait for it to get made into a movie. I hear Michael Bay is directing.
Rubio available to the Thunder at No. 3 and open the door for a swap with the Clippers for Griffin. And you can forget about packaging Jeff Green or Russell Westbrook to land Griffin, although any potential negotiating by L.A. is sure to start there. But Thunder general manager Sam Presti likely wouldn’t part with Green or Westbrook and the No. 3, and history suggests he might not have to. Let’s revisit the 1993 draft. There was a power forward named Chris Webber who declared following his sophomore season. He was the consensus No. 1 pick out of Michigan and went first overall to the Orlando Magic. A point guard prodigy named Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was also available. The Golden State Warriors were able to select him third overall only because the Philadelphia 76ers, with the No. 2 pick, went gaga over a 7-foot-5 center out of BYU named Shawn Bradley. The Magic and Warriors swapped selections, with Golden State also giving up three future first-round picks for Webber’s services. The Thunder sits in position to do the same with two potential lottery picks to offer next year, its own and Phoenix’s. OKC could also throw in its 2011 first-round pick and still avoid mortgaging its future by building a core that includes Westbrook, Green, Griffin and Kevin Durant.”
Ricky Rubio, hype and the great unknown
Really all you see streaking up the court is the hair. At least, it’s the first thing you notice. And to many, they see the hair, the flash and the crafty plays and they see someone else. Something bigger. They see something that makes them nickname this guy LaPistola. That’s right, the Spanish Pistol Pete, Ricky Rubio.
Rubio dashes across halfcourt and busts out his signature play, the fake-behind-the-back-wrap-around. It’s truly a fantastic play that not only brings you to your feet and makes you start clapping out of pure reaction, but also a slick play that helped score two points. But best of all, it’s sexy. It’s flashy. It just looks awesome. And because of plays like that, we’re lured into this young prospect and we don’t even really know why. We watch the mixtapes with the no-look lobs, the between-the-legs dishes and the behind-the-back-wrap-arounds. For the same reason people like And 1 Mixtapes, they like Ricky Rubio. He epitomizes the beauty of basketball. Nothing showcases how breathtaking the game can be like a perfectly executed pass. And because of this, we’ve fallen for this guy, yet we don’t really even know anything about him.
Henry Abbott had a tremendous breakdown of Ricky Rubio this week and it really hit my brain hard. Why are we all so high on this guy? Myself definitely included.
Read Henry’s breakdown. He’s basically saying everything I’m saying here, but much better. So if you want to just open a new tab and read Henry’s article and never read another word of this, I won’t be offended. Seriously, go right ahead. But today, Chad Ford dropped this little nugget that’s sure to get people chattering:
Well then. You have to wonder how much of this is posturing. Maybe Donnie Walsh is saying this because he’s praying Rubio will drop all the way down to him. Maybe Geoff Petrie is running around saying, “Nah, he’s not that good. Seriously guys, he can’t even shoot!” but is lighting Spanish vigils each night before he goes to bed. You can never tell with these guys. They’re all playing the game and they all want their guy. So it may mean nothing and in fact, it probably does mean nothing. Keep Reading…