Daily Thunder.com

Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World says give up everything short of the farm to get Griffin: “The Thunder has a boy-genius in 32-year-old general manger Sam Presti, who was a Rhodes scholar nominee. But it doesn’t take a hoops Einstein to figure out that this state’s NBA franchise better figure out a way to get the draft rights to the best player this state’s produced since Tulsa’s very own wonderful Wayman Tisdale. It will, however, take someone with Presti’s intelligence to put together a deal that puts Griffin in a Thunder uniform without giving away the farm.”

Cavs.com’s awards: “Already coming off a solid freshman campaign that saw him win Rookie of the Year, Durant was even better this season – improving his scoring average from 20.3 ppg to 25.6. His shooting average is up (.430 to .479) and he’s grabbing over two more rebounds per game (4.4 to 6.5).”

In case you can’t find it, Ric Bucher’s interview with OKC’s Big Three. Man, I love these guys.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports looking at potential suitors for Griffin:  ”For a team that’s scraping the bottom of the standings, the Thunder have an impressive array of assets at their disposal, starting with four first-round picks in the next two drafts. In addition to his own first in ’09, GM Sam Presti will receive another No. 1 from either San Antonio or Denver (whichever is better). They have no second-rounder this year, but the big payoff comes in ’10, when the Thunder get Phoenix’s unprotected first-rounder from the Kurt Thomas trade. Throw in the rights to Serge Ibaka and DeVon Hardin (who was almost sent to New Orleans as part of the aborted Tyson Chandler trade), plus $13 million in cap space this summer (including draft picks) followed by even more space in ’10, when the expiring contracts of Earl Watson and Damien Wilkins come off the books, and you have the makings of a potentially impressive turnaround.” Keep Reading…

Ball Don’t Lie Behind the Box Score: “First, the “112.” Because the Thunder just continue to grow, game in and game out. Kevin Durant’s shot wasn’t falling, in relative terms (9-20, 2-6 from behind the arc), so he took it to the line 12 times and finished with 31 points. Russell Westbrook was using his dribble to set up his … shot? 14 and 11 assists for this firebrand, who did turn it over five times. Jeff Green (24 points) is savvy beyond his years. And I’m not saying that, as many do, because he’s slow. He’s slow and savvy and young and awesome. Shaun Livingston had six points, two rebounds, three assists, a turnover and two steals off the bench in 17 minutes, and though he had no chance trying to guard Chauncey Billups, considering how he’s spent his last two April 8ths, I’d say this was a step forward. And the Thunder lost. Because they’re young, and the Nuggets are not.”

David Aldridge has 10 things that would help the NBA: “It would be good for the league if Blake Griffin goes to Oklahoma City. Obviously, having Griffin — can I say his name now? — play professionally 40 minutes from where he starred in college would be huge for the Thunder’s bottom line. Oklahoma City’s management team has astutely built a promising nucleus, and needs a space-eater inside. But Griffin to OKC would also benefit the league by assuring that Kevin Durant, a superstar in waiting, gets the kind of exposure he deserves as he enters the meat of his career. Durant’s game is hellacious, but if the Thunder keep losing 50 games a year, nobody’s going to notice.”

ESPN has this “clip reel” thing that’s got a bunch of Thunder links and videos and such. Very neato: “In our new issue, we have a feature on the Oklahoma City Thunder—potentially the Western Conference’s new “it” team a few years down the road—which you can read by clicking here. Ric Bucher’s words are epic, to be sure, but sometimes when reading a story about something that hasn’t quite happened yet, you want a few more resources on the squad, both print and video, right? That’s where this comes in.”

The best Kevin Durant clips on the web (according to some guy): “The GM of the Thunder, Mr. Sam Presti, is a Spurs guy (RC Buford, the leader of the Spurs, might be the most underrated exec in all of sports) and he’s building a pretty good team in OK City. The number one dude is Kevin Durant, a ridiculous offensive talent who could be a consensus bar debate answer to “ten best players in the Association” in three or four years. This Thursday, we’re dropping a feature about the Thunder’s future (can you imagine if they nab OK boy Blake Griffin?) which you should read. In the meantime, it’s time to evaluate the best KD clips on the world wide web.” Keep Reading…