KD’s on his annual trip to China and guess what he made time to do? You’ll never believe it, but he played some basketball. And can you believe it, he dominated completely. The off-the-backboard dunk was nice and all, but it wasn’t near as good as this one.
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In 2005, Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson’s AAU team from D.C. took on Blake Griffin and Sam Bradford’s team from Oklahoma. Random, but in a randomly cool kind of way.
This time, on camera!
Harden’s exact quote: “It’s decisions. But I love the Thunder. I’m excited to be here. I think we’ve definitely grown a brotherhood. So hopefully, I definitely want to be in Oklahoma.”
We all know the situation and the challenges in making Harden’s wish come true. But if you want to see what Sam Presti is probably staring at constantly, try out this Thunder luxury tax calculator made by reader Matthew.
Andy Kamenetzky of ESPN LA on how the new Lakers would’ve helped the old: “Westbrook earns an and-one after beating Kobe off the dribble, then drawing the reach foul from Gasol, who’s caught from behind on a backscreen. In the meantime, a flat-footed Bynum makes no real attempt to prevent Westbrook’s easy score after the foul. While obviously impossible to prove a negative, it’s tempting to wonder whether Howard would have done better as the last line of defense.”
Royal Ivey on something we don’t know about KD: “He doesn’t like greens. He just started eating salad like a year ago. He loves chicken wings though, but yeah, he won’t eat greens, and he’ll tell you that he doesn’t like greens or salad. I don’t know how he got so tall, or how he stays so skinny without eating greens, but he doesn’t. I sit next to him on the plane and have never seen him eat greens.” Keep Reading…
Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images
Do you think Kevin Durant would consider restructuring his contract (take a pay cut) to create cap space for James Harden? — Tommy F.
It seems to make so much sense, right? These guys are talking sacrifices, so why not walk the walk? And nobody talks it and walks it better than KD.
He’s already said he’d do it, actually. Problem is, he can’t. Nor can Russell Westbrook. I actually wrote about this exact thing back in January. A person with direct knowledge of the collective bargaining agreement told me that while players can restructure, a player on a max deal can’t. Because a restructured deal has to include an extension and you can’t extend a more than the max. KD is on a designated player five-year max deal. So is Westbrook. You can’t add on a sixth year, because five is the max. Keep Reading…
Sam Amick of SI.com polled NBA executives on the Finals: “The final tally, with three of the voters submitting only first-place votes: The defending champions in Miami received 15 first-place votes, one second-place vote and two third-place votes; their Finals foe, Oklahoma City, garnered two first-place votes, six second-place votes and eight third-place votes; and the Lakers, who have added Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, got two first-place votes, nine second-place votes and six third-place votes. The Lakers may not be seen as the favorites to win it all, but the idea that they’re the top threat to the Heat is not only a topic of much discussion in the media but also clearly a very real sentiment in NBA circles.”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on the poll: “When the Lakers first landed Howard, there was excitement, but also a move to consider how good Oklahoma City still is, and how they match up with the new-look L.A. after bouncing them in five games last year. But the more you look at the Lakers’ roster, and how good it looks, the more the feeling is established that the Lakers may have leap-frogged the Thunder. This poll is a reflection of that. It doesn’t mean anything, of course. “They still have to play the games” and all that. But that goes both way. Oklahoma City isn’t guaranteed to have the same success, nor the injury luck they’ve managed over the past two years. Things could just as easily go wrong for OKC as they could for the Lakers, or Miami. Basketball and its chemistry is a tenuous, delicate thing.” Keep Reading…
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on OKC’s offseason: “Re-signed Serge Ibaka on a bargain. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook got better. Drafted Perry Jones III on a steal late in the first-round. What else do you want? The NBA title? Well, that’s going to have to wait.”
Zach Lowe of SI.com on Kobe fitting in with the new Lakers: “But a lot of those plays, especially the isolation attacks, have a lower general efficiency than catch-and-shoot chances, shots off cuts and other spot-up looks. Even an efficient isolation player costs his team slices of points in the long run by overdoing the one-on-one stuff at the expense of better actions, particularly when the shot clock allows for those actions. Toss away enough slices, and you’re down 3-2 to Oklahoma City.” Keep Reading…
Headlines
- KD named All-NBA first team, Westbrook second team
- Perk donates $25,000 to help build shelters in schools
- Report: Mo Cheeks to interview with the Pistons
- Thunder land the 12th pick in the 2013 draft
- Thunder donate $1 million to aid with disaster relief
- Kevin Durant donates $1 million to disaster relief
- Serge Ibaka named first team All-Defense
The Eric Maynor situation(s)
Serge Ibaka this, James Harden that. All summer the focus has remained on those two players and what their future in Oklahoma City might look like.
But there’s actually a third player on the roster that’s eligible for an extension too. And one that doesn’t want to go anywhere either.
Thunder fans haven’t forgotten about Eric Maynor even if it seems a lot of other people have though. There were draft stories about OKC taking a point guard to replace Derek Fisher. Stories about OKC pursuing point guards in free agency to do the same. Ridiculous trade rumors. And all this time maybe the league’s best backup point guard is already on the roster. Keep Reading…