Daily Thunder.com

Bill Simmons of Grantland says the Thunder should pay James Harden now: “Is there some wealthy maniac out there who would pay 30 percent over that Forbes sticker price without blinking? The short answer: YES! That’s why the NBA owners were so disingenuous during the lockout — they were crying poverty, and meanwhile, they had a waiting list for new owners! And we fell for it! Never again. That’s why I think Oklahoma City’s owners are full of an entire sewage system of shit. Let’s just say it wouldn’t be the first time. So don’t settle for less than what you’re worth, James Harden. They’re playing possum. They will cave. You will get paid. Let the dynastendery begin.”

Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle: “Even with Westbrook dominating the first quarter and Durant taking over in the second, the Rockets’ starters played the Thunder evenly while running few plays, but running the floor well. Kevin Martin played only in the first quarter, making 3 of 4 shots for his 11 points. The starters overall made 16 of 31 shots. At halftime, when Westbrook and Durant were done for the night, it was a one-point game.” Keep Reading…

John Hollinger of ESPN.com’s forecast: “And still, it may not matter if Perkins becomes a reasonable facsimile of the player the Thunder thought they were getting two years ago. Nonetheless, it’s a lingering problem, and one that may only worsen once Maynor goes. With all that said, it’s hard to see much empty in this glass. The Thunder have four All-Star-caliber talents in their early 20s, and if they can lock all four up for the long term it will take very little in the way of support to put them over the top. For that reason, I’d bet on a return engagement with the Heat this June … even if they have to a win a series or two on the road to get there.”

Nolan Clay of NewsOK on how one Thunder fan is suing a another over season tickets: “He said he got his share of the tickets last season but Strube has refused to turn over his share for this season. He said a check for the tickets was returned. Friesen told District Judge Bill Graves in his lawsuit that he had a verbal contract for the tickets. He is asking the judge to order Strube to turn over his tickets. The lawsuit also seeks “damages in excess of $10,000 for fraud, attorney fees, costs and other just and equitable relief the Court deems just and equitable.” Keep Reading…

Aaron McGuire of Gothic Ginobili profiling KD: “When I say that I think Durant is roughly what he’ll be in the end, I’m not saying there’s no chance of the other possibilities. It’s possible Durant’s shooting has been overachieving a bit, and that it’ll temper off. It’s also possible Durant will get better — I outlined a few ways above, like a better sense of how the hell a player should assert to get open in a pressured situation. It’s a confidence interval, with a reasonably large confidence that Durant stays about the same and a small tail at either end for the other two options. The thing is, when you look at essentially every big piece on the Thunder, you start to see a similar picture. The Thunder are young in years, but old in experience — everyone but Harden has played more than enough minutes in their career to consider their developmental period over (or at least highly close to it) and their peak years beginning. There are certain individual things each player could potentially work on, but in terms of wholescale revamping of their games, there aren’t a ton of realistic possibilities.”

Kelly Dwyer of BDL on KD and LeBron: “It’s a non-story that we’re putting to rest now. A “story” we won’t even revisit even if LeBron James individually shuts down Kevin Durant while averaging a triple-double as his team sweeps the season series against the Oklahoma City Thunder and then tops Durant’s squad 4-0 in the 2013 NBA Finals. Eight days of workouts between the two, spread out between summers in 2011 and 2012, won’t have made a lick of difference in a one-sided outcome such as that; because James is that good. If the most talented and fearsome physical presence to come along in decades absolutely dominates Durant from here on out, it’s because LeBron is fully capable of establishing such a length between the NBA’s Number One and Number Two. It’s not because they worked out in Ohio once in early September.” Keep Reading…

Cub Buenning of SLAM on Serge Ibaka, who is their 43rd best player: “But it was Ibaka who has been the most important “other” alongside KD and Russ. It was Ibaka who made their up-tempo offensive attack flow when he was able to knock down the open 16-footer. It was Ibaka who gave the Thunder even a shred of defensive backbone and an active presence on the offensive glass. It was Ibaka who gave this team of slashing, athletic dynamos that “other” dimension. It wasn’t Harden. Harden was the backcourt compliment on the wing to Durant and on-the-ball to Westbrook. The 6-10, 235-pounder was the tough rebound in traffic. Ibaka was the intimidation. He was the grit on a team that preferred to do far more running and gunning than setting up in the half-court and grinding out possessions.”

Interesting note from Darnell Mayberry: “I learned something interesting today. The NBA doesn’t allow roman numerals on jerseys. Never has, apparently. Might not be news to some of you — especially if you followed the Robert Griffin III situation with his NFL jersey. But I never had a reason to pay attention. Even though PJIII has a strong preference to be called Perry Jones III, his jersey will just say Jones. But as PJIII said today, at least he was able to get the number three, which kind of helps the situation.” Keep Reading…