Wednesday Bolts – 8.5.15
Berry Tramel: “Sure, basketball coaches have to know the game. Have to know how to deal with professional athletes. But does anyone believe Hammon or Lieberman doesn’t know the NBA game? And as for dealing with ballplayers, we’re not talking about stock personalities. Everyone is different. Do Russell Westbrook and Anthony Morrow have the same personally? Dion Waiters and Kevin Durant? It takes different kinds of people to reach different kinds of athletes. Some athletes will recoil at the idea of taking direction from women. Some athletes will revel in it.”
Dave Cathey of NewsOK: “Then an impromptu news conference broke out, KD fielding questions about his plans for free agency, what the Thunder’s chances were for the coming season and what was up with his sneakers. ‘I’m just focusing on this year,’ KD answered to the question every Thunder fan has. ‘I think we’re gonna win it this year.’ They asked him about what he did to be a leader when he was young, how cool was it to play in the NBA and what it felt like “to be that tall.” KD basked in their sincerity, perhaps enjoying respite from the demands of super-stardom. He conversed with them, listened and wasn’t shy about tickling someone’s ribs, palming someone’s head or using it as an elbow prop.”
Good thoughts from R.K. Anthony of Welcome To Loud City on Josh Huestis: “Whether one approves of Huestis’ on-court game or not, there is no other way to look at it. The draft-and-stash deal was a brilliant move. Obviously Huestis wanted to play in the NBA and altering Presti’s perception of Josh’s value from a D-League project worth only $80,000 overseas to a possible first round NBA pick was the perfect way to make that happen.”
Hedo Turkoglu called out Enes Kanter.
Kobe says the Lakers can make the playoffs.
Shaun Powell of NBA.com on the game in Africa: “The purpose of the four-day trip to South Africa, of course, was to stimulate the appetite for basketball in a place that’s slowly producing professional players and hoping that one day, a trickle of talent turns into a gusher. Africa has a billion people but is slower to become a basketball factory, for several reasons, which puts it well behind Europe, Asia and South America. Even Australia has turned into a faucet in relatively short time.”
