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I Believe In Sam Presti

by Royce Young on May 22, 2009 at 10:56 am 31 Comments

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If you’re head’s not spinning by now, then you just haven’t been paying much attention. Ever since Tuesday night’s last envelope was opened, the NBA rumor mill and speculation factory (speculation factory?) have been on fire. On fire I say.

Will the Thunder move up? Move down? Take Thabeet at three? Harden at three? Someone else at three? Will Rubio fall to three? Does OKC even want Rubio? Should the Thunder trade its pick for a proven veteran? Who does OKC like? What are the Thunder’s needs? Trade the pick to the Lions so they can draft a wide receiver? Questions, questions and more questions. There’s so much to talk about right now, it’s almost hard to keep up.

Some people love Hasheem Thabeet. And there’s good reason to. He’s 7’3″, can protect the rim, is a raw player that is sure to improve both, is a two-time Big East defensive player of the year and fills a need for OKC. But there’s also good reason not to. Big guys like him are hit and miss. He doesn’t move his feet very well. He has hands of stone. Can he defend more agile NBA big men? You’re banking on an offensive game to develop and it may not.

Some people love James Harden (raises hand). He’s a complete offensive player that can pass, shoot, dribble and make people better around him. He’s a perfect complementary shooting guard for Russell Westbrook. He doesn’t need others to create his offense. But there are defensive questions. Is he big enough? Is he quick enough? Is he athletic enough? Does he have enough range on his shot?

And all this goes on and on and on. You can play this guessing game with every player in the draft. Ty Lawson, DeMar DeRozen, Jordan Hill, whoever. You can play the game with trade options. You can play it all over the place. I know I will. Heck, it’s kind of the point of this here place. To speculate, analyze, discuss and debate all things Thunder. It’s pretty freaking fun honestly. Keep Reading…

Friday Bolts – 5.22.09

by Royce Young on May 22, 2009 at 7:48 am 57 Comments

This is extremely exciting news – three members of the Thunder have been invited to Team USA camps in July. thunderbolt2315 Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green will all take part and have a chance to fill what’s believed to be four open spots. Chris Sheridan on their chances: “Kevin Durant: He played so well the past two summers, there was serious talk of adding him to the Beijing roster before the powers that be whittled the competition for the 12th spot to Tayshaun Prince and Tyson Chandler … Jeff Green: Barring an injury between now and late July, he and Andre Iguodala will be the only players in camp to have been on the ’07, ’08 and ’09 Select Teams … Russell Westbrook: It will not rain in Vegas in July, but there will be plenty of Thunder. And don’t forget, Colangelo likely will set his sights on inviting a couple of high draft picks, so Oklahoma City might actually have four players in Team USA camp.” If that doesn’t tell you something about OKC’s pool of talent, well… uh, that should tell you something about OKC’s pool of talent.

Thunder to work out Rubio – and the NBA has not had any issues with him, contrary to yesterday’s report: “But the Thunder is in the process of scheduling workouts with all the players it is considering with the third pick in next month’s draft, including Rubio. The Thunder has not encountered any issues with Rubio or his representatives regarding playing in Oklahoma City, contrary to a report on the Web site Draftexpress.com. The holdup in scheduling Rubio’s workout most likely stems from the fact that Rubio’s DKV Joventut team is still playing in the postseason … Aaron Goodwin, the agent who represents Kevin Durant and projected lottery pick DeMar DeRozan, said the Thunder likely should never be affected by public stances from draft-eligible players who say they don’t want to play in the city. “A general manager and an owner are not going to succumb to an agent saying, ‘If you select my player he’s not going to come here,’” said Goodwin, co-founder of Seattle-based Goodwin Sports Management. “If a GM does, he won’t be a GM much longer.” Keep Reading…

More trade talk – Green for Griffin or maybe moving down?

by Royce Young on May 21, 2009 at 2:46 pm 93 Comments

Let’s be clear – I love Blake Griffin. He’s a monster, he’s a hometown boy and he’s everything this team needs. And I’d do anything to get him on my team.

Except trade Jeff Green.

Eddie Sefko wrote in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram today that there is that possibility.

There will be no shortage of competition, however, particularly from Oklahoma City, which has the third pick in the draft. The Thunder is expected to make a play for Griffin, using the third pick and one of their young core players (Jeff Green or Russell Westbrook) as bait for the top overall pick, which would allow them to keep Griffin in his hometown. That would be a huge move in terms of local interest and, by extension, ticket sales.

Again, I’d love Blake. But not at the expense of Jeff Green. I’ve made my decision there. A lot of people are going to throw that possibility out there, but I’m not in on it. And I’m sure a lot of people would gladly trade Uncle Jeff for Blake, but not me.

Green fits perfectly with Kevin Durant and you can’t replace the chemistry him, KD and Russell Westbrook have built. Plus, Green made a huge leap from his rookie to sophomore season. He’s a completely different player – in a much, much better way. I feel like you’re forcing the issue at some point trying to get Blake. You may be doing what’s in the best interest for the fanbase but are you doing what’s best for the team? Now of course I’d be thrilled if something happened that landed The Terminator here, but I’m not holding my breath. Because there’s not much chance anything is going to happen anyway.

While those type of trade talks are ambitious and exciting, the one Chad Ford hinted at today is an excellent proposal. Excellent.

Look for the Thunder to be pretty active in trade discussions with the No. 3 pick. They like Rubio, but if they draft him, they’d have to move Russell Westbrook to the 2-guard position. I talked to Thunder head coach Scott Brooks on Tuesday and he said that he believes Westbrook can play the 2, but that Westbrook wants to be a 1.

I think the challenge is that Westbrook is most effective when he has the ball in his hands and struggles more when forced to play off the ball. With Rubio and Kevin Durant likely to have the ball a lot in that offense, Westbrook would have to make an adjustment. When you factor in that neither Rubio nor Westbrook is an accomplished shooter yet, there is an issue.

That’s why a couple of teams think the Thunder might be willing to trade down in the draft. Two league sources said the Wizards and Thunder already had discussions about a swap of the No. 3 pick for the No. 5 pick and the Wizards’ 2008 first-rounder JaVale McGee.

The Wizards want Rubio and would settle for Thabeet if he’s the one who falls. The Thunder would get a long, lanky shot-blocker in McGee and can then get another guy they like, Arizona State’s James Harden, at No. 5.

Before we move on, just take a look at JaVale McGee’s mix. He is an unreal athlete and is 7-foot, 240 lbs. This is the type of Presti move that makes sense. You improve the position that you’d cover by drafting Thabeet by getting an athletic shot blocker, but still improve another position with Harden. That’s a seriously excellent move.

When stuff leaks out like this, it seems to rarely happen, but I think this could be the type of thing we see Presti do. He’ll shop the pick for someone that desperately wants Thabeet or Rubio and use that to fill a need and still land a guy he wants. Let me just say, I would absolutely love this move, especially if Memphis takes Rubio at two. You get the guy you want at five, plus pick up another excellent talent. I’m on board.

Q&A with 3 Shades of Blue

by Royce Young on May 21, 2009 at 1:28 pm 10 Comments

With all this talk of Memphis possibly liking Hasheem Thabeet, I thought it might get some insight from somebody that knows that team better than anyone. So I asked Chip Crain from 3 Shades of Blue a few questions.

1. Simple question: Hasheem Thabeet or Ricky Rubio?

Chip: That isn’t even a question. Thabeet is a nice big man and you can’t teach size but no one believes this player will become anything more than a defensive stopper in the middle. Rubio could be an all-star and a crowd pleasing player as well. If Memphis publicly contemplates taking Thabeet it would most likely be an attempt to get Oklahoma City to buy the 2nd pick for the 3rd pick and another asset. Oklahoma City would be making a mistake taking Thabeet over Rubio in my opinion however. If Memphis moves down to 3rd and Rubio and Griffin are gone I doubt Thabeet would be the player they take at three anyway. James Harden, DeJuan Blair, Tyreke Evans and others have more upside in the NBA the way I look at it than Thabeet. Thabeet is another Roy Hibbert to me.

2.What makes you want Rubio, when Memphis already has Mike Conley? Conley was the fourth overall pick just two years ago and played better in the second half of the season. If Memphis takes Rubio, are the Grizzlies basically giving up on a top five pick just in his third year?

Chip: Every team needs more than one point guard. Rubio is 18 and will take time to adjust to a new country and a new brand of basketball. If Rubio can beat out Conley for the starting role then moves can be made further down the line. Besides, you don’t draft for need. You take the best player available. Drafting for need causes teams to do really dumb things. Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan springs to mind as an example. Keep Reading…

Thursday Bolts -5.21.09

by Royce Young on May 21, 2009 at 8:37 am 67 Comments

So here’s some semi-disturbing news – (allegedly) Ricky Rubio wants nothing to do with a small market: ”Rubio doesn’t thunderbolt2314 want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so. Fegan [Rubio's agent] wants him in L.A., and if he can’t have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City. ” Unlike Griffin or Hasheem Thabeet, who don’t really have any choice where they will play next season if a team decides to play hardball, Rubio has a reasonably attractive alternative option at his disposal-returning to Spain. “He’ll pull out if he doesn’t like what he’s hearing,” the NBA source tells us. “Or he can stay in and force the Grizzlies to call his bluff-would they really take him knowing that he may never come over? That’s one way to get him to fall to three.” All that is is an “NBA source.” So who knows. Believe me, sources have been incorrect about those type of things a lot. But a couple scenarios could come out of this: 1) Rubio is serious and the Clips take Blake and Rubio pulls out of the draft. 2) Clips posture with Blake, take Rubio and leave Blake somewhere to be had at No. 2. 3) Rubio is serious but Memphis/OKC go ahead and take him anyway and we’re stuck with another Yi Jianlan situation (also Fegan’s client) or 4) It’s all just talk.

Also, within that article is some interesting stuff about Blake Griffin and the Clippers: “While it may seem strange for the Clippers to so quickly anoint Griffin as their choice before really possessing a full picture of what’s on the table, many in the league think Dunleavy (also the Clippers GM in addition to their head coach) wants to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that Griffin is going first, in an effort to get teams to make their best offers. “The Clippers need a point guard more than anything. They can easily trade Baron Davis back to the Warriors if they want to. I think they are going to move down to 3 or 4 and try to get Rubio there.” There’s no attribution to that quote, so I’m going to just assume it’s from the “source.” I guess we’ll hold off on calling this over. I think more than anything it is over and this is just sort of an effort to keep us interested.

Another random mock draft: “OKC Thunder- Tyreke Evans, SG Memphis. If Thabeet is still here, then I’ll go with Thabeet. But if Memphis takes him, then I am not sure if OKC would take Rubio and keep him (*see LA trade scenario above). There is talk that OKC would move Westbrook off the ball, but why? We all saw first hand what Westbrook can do when he has the ball in his hands. Why fix what is not broken? OKC covets length and defense. Evans would provide that at the 2, along with elite scoring capabilities. His athleticism and potential on both sides of the ball seem like a good fit.” Keep Reading…

John Hollinger and trade options

by Royce Young on May 20, 2009 at 3:20 pm 49 Comments

Hollinger looked at the top five team’s trade options. For OKC he said:

If the pick is Thabeet, then it’s no worries for the Thunder. They would get the shot-blocking big man they were looking for when they made the revoked Tyson Chandler trade in February.

If it’s Rubio, things get a lot trickier. Oklahoma City already has Westbrook at the point, and he had an exceptional rookie season considering his youth and inexperience at the position. It’s not as simple as moving Westbrook to the 2, either. He has the size to play there, but he’s not a good shooter. Since Rubio is a lousy shooter too, it would invite opponents to double- and triple-team Kevin Durant while sagging way off the Thunder’s guards.

Yet the Thunder don’t seem anxious to trade Westbrook either, not after the season he had as a rookie, and not when his aggressive mentality seems to be exactly what the team was looking for as the yin to Durant’s laid-back yang.

So we need to at least ask the question: Would Oklahoma City trade down a spot with Sacramento? The Kings are dying to get Rubio, while at No. 4 the Thunder could snag a much-needed wing sniper like James Harden and earn a few other goodies in the process. As enticement, Sacramento could offer its No. 23 pick and/or Spencer Hawes, or agree to swap Jason Thompson for Thabo Sefolosha.

What an interesting scenario. Really, Sam Presti is going to have a chance to prove his worth come June 25th. At three, OKC is going to have more options than any other team. You can throw out the No. 1 pick – we know what’s happening there. But at two, there’s questions. So depending on what Memphis does, the Thunder could have their phone ringing off the hook. And Hollinger’s trade proposal doesn’t sound bad at all to me. I love James Harden and though I’d absolutely kill for Rubio, Harden may make for a more sound fit. And to be able to pick up a thing or two as a result wouldn’t be all bad either. I just don’t want to give up Thabo. Plus, it would be a little ironic to bring in Spencer Hawes after his little “fashion statement” earlier this year. I don’t think OKC needs another player at 23, especially with a pick at 25, but I wouldn’t object to Hawes or Jason Thompson.

And let’s say Memphis takes Rubio. There’s a lot of teams behind the Thunder that like Thabeet as well. So if whoever Presti pegs as his guy – Harden, DeRozen, Holliday, Hill, whoever – he could work his way to still getting him and picking up something extra. But then again, we thought the same thing might happen last year with Russell Westbrook. Presti’s hand was forced and he had to pull the trigger at four to get his man.

This doesn’t even include the outside trade scenario that could bring in something bigger to Oklahoma City. Toronto has been said to be interested in acquiring picks and possibly moving up. Chris Bosh is reportedly unhappy in Toronto. Put two and two together there.

So the question is, would you pass on Rubio to move down and take Harden and maybe pick up an extra pick or player? Common sense says yes, but the lure of Rubio says no. Tough question to answer.

Wednesday Bolts – Well I’m glad that’s over… Edition

by Royce Young on May 20, 2009 at 8:17 am 87 Comments

So we march on to the next step. Harden or Rubio or Thabeet or someone else? I have a feeling some moving around thunderbolt2313 is going to happen before or on draft day. I’m sure I’ll be letting you know what I think in the near future. Get ready though, because a large portion of Bolts are coming your way.

Some saw it last night, but here’s Chad Ford’s first mock draft. And it’s got a very interesting twist: “The Thunder will have an easy choice here if Rubio is still on the board. Russell Westbrook can play off the ball, and he and Rubio would give the Thunder one of the best young backcourts in the NBA. Neither guy is a great shooter, but they have Kevin Durant for that. If the Grizzlies take Rubio, Oklahoma City will have a tough choice between Thabeet and James Harden.” I trust Chad Ford’s comments on the Grizzlies potentially taking Thabeet. He knows more people than I do. Though it wouldn’t make a bunch of sense and I’m sure the Grizzly fan base wouldn’t be that psyched.

Tom Ziller of Fanhouse has a mock draft as well and oh boy, he’s got the same scenario as Chad Ford: “No one knows whether Sam Presti believes Russell Westbrook is a point guard or two-guard in the NBA. If Rubio is on the board, we’ll find out in rather quick order. This would also be a tradable pick, depending on how the top two picks shake out.”

This came out late yesterday, but SI evaluates the 14 lottery teams: “Griffin isn’t just the dream sequence because it would mean a team already on the rise would also add the best player in the draft. Griffin grew up just outside of Oklahoma City and starred at OU. His addition would be more popular around the Ford Center than any other Griffin landing spot.No matter what, the Thunder covet interior scoring and interior defense, having been unexpectedly forced to continue the search for a defensive upgrade when they scuttled the Tyson Chandler acquisition because of an injury concern. OKC can also use a dependable shooting guard and should be in the range of Arizona State’s James Harden.”

Sam Amick of the Sac Bee: “With a dire need for improved point guard play and some of the sizzle Rubio is expected to deliver, the Kings may not be out of the Rubio sweepstakes just yet. The Clippers were awarded the first pick and are expected to take Griffin. Memphis picks second, and the improved play of point guard and 2007 No. 4 pick Mike Conley could mean the Grizzlies pass on Rubio and instead opt for 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet of the University of Connecticut. The more mysterious spot is third, where Oklahoma City has a productive young point man in Russell Westbrook and a need to improve its frontline that went unfulfilled thanks to an aborted midseason trade for New Orleans center Tyson Chandler. The counterargument from those who expect the Thunder to select Rubio, of course, is that Westbrook is not a true point guard and Rubio would take their offense to a new level.” Keep Reading…

Live Lotto Diary (and open discussion if you please)

by Royce Young on May 19, 2009 at 5:26 pm 233 Comments

Who’s ready? I just got back from Quail Springs Mall. I ended up throwing $600 worth of pennies into their fountain. I hope that’s not wasted cash. We are in a recession you know. Truthfully, I’m just ready for this to be over and done with. Come 8 p.m. tonight, we’ll all know where we’re picking and then we can spend a month talking about what will happen with the next step. But I’m just ready to be on to that next step.

7:26 p.m. CST: Let’s do this. I just got through with my 114th viewing of Sons of Thunder, so I’m almost there.

7:29: A mock lottery has about as much chance of being right as a mock draft, but I’m going on record: 1. Wizards 2. Kings 3. Thunder 4. Clippers 5. Timberwolves 6. Grizzlies 7. Golden State 8. New York 9. Toronto 10. New Jersey 11. Milwaukee 12. Indiana 13. Charlotte 14. Phoenix. I didn’t have the stones to pick it (as if my picks really matter), but for some reason I really feel like the Knicks are going to win it. I have no idea why, just a feeling.

7:30: By the way, I would have just live Twittered this thing, but I can’t keep comments to just 140 characters. I just can’t. I have to write more than that. Because… I just can’t stop typing. I just always want to say more. I write and write and write. See? I’m doing it again. I mean, what’s wrong with me? (trails off, mumbling to myself)

7:32: I’m not going to lie, I really dig Ricky Rubio. The guy is likable. He always struck me as a “rock star” type player, but he said in a little featurette that he’s extremely shy and doesn’t like to be the center of attention. Nice to know. Keep Reading…

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