Wednesday Bolts: 5.10.17
Tramel’s report card for Enes Kanter: “Kanter’s defense has gotten better in some areas. As the primary defender, Kanter actually holds up well. Opponents shot 46.6 percent against him as the primary defender this season, which puts him in the category of DeAndre Jordan (46.0), Tristan Thompson (46.2), Hassan Whiteside (46.4), Brook Lopez (46.4) and Steven Adams (47.6). But it’s in the pick-and-roll, when Kanter has to switch or hedge, that trouble arrives. Kanter was virtually unplayable when James Harden was on the court for Houston, and other pick-and-roll teams routinely make it hard on Kanter.”
Fox Sports with a brutal assessment of the Thunder’s situation: “Oklahoma City is set to pay Enes Kanter $36.4 million over the next two years, Victor Oladipo $85 million over the next four years (an average of $21.25 million a season), and Steven Adams $100 million over the next four seasons. It’s highly unlikely that the Thunder would be able to add another max-value player until after Kanter’s contract ends; Westbrook would be 30.”
Fred Katz on Doug McDermott: “Increasing playing time isn’t just a goal of McDermott’s though; it’s mutual. McDermott has to put himself in a better position to play, whether because he improves his defense marginally or because he turns into such a great shooter and off-ball threat that the Thunder have to play him. But OKC coach Billy Donovan also has to put him in the actual game.”
Jon Hamm’s salary cap Q&A from yesterday: “As of this writing, the Thunder have $110M in salary cap commitments next season. That doesn’t count an additional $2.8M in potential guarantees to Jerami Grant and Semaj Christon. The salary cap is expected to arrive at around $101M. The maximum salary for a superstar with 7-9 years of experience will be right around $30 million.”
Bleacher Report has OKC taking TJ Leaf at 21 in their latest mock draft: Leaf is a 6’10” PF out of UCLA, and NBADraft.net says his NBA comparison is Nick Collison. He averaged 16.3 PPG last season and shot 46% from downtown.
Brett Dawson looks ahead to the Thunder draft: “The Thunder has size. On paper, it needs shooting. But a quick check of NBA mock drafts shows a string of sites projecting Oklahoma City to go big with its 21st pick in next month’s NBA Draft.”
