Friday Bolts – 6.10.11

Mo Cheeks is a candidate for the Raptors job. Last season the Thunder lost their top assistant to Chicago and nearly lost Cheeks to the Bulls as well. He has been quite the mentor to Russell Westbrook, so it would be a bummer to lose him.

Berry Tramel on the rescinded Tyson Chandler trade: “The rescinded trade still worked out for OKC. With Chandler on board, there would have been no trade with Chicago that landed Thabo and eventually Eric Maynor. With Chandler on board, there would have been no cap room to sign Nick Collison to the kind of contract he signed. So this deal had a lot of moving parts. It worked out well for OKC. And remember, two teams after the rescinded trade dealt away Chandler. The Hornets for something, the Bobcats for nothing.”

Darnell Mayberry on the prospect of losing Cheeks: “Cheeks’ contract with the Thunder, which could have been the barricade that prevented him from jumping to Chicago, is believed to be expiring. If Cheeks does depart Thunder coach Scott Brooks’ staff, his loss could potentially be a big blow in Oklahoma City. Since joining the Thunder prior to the 2009-10 season, Cheeks has been instrumental in the development of point guard Russell Westbrook. With Cheeks’ guidance, Westbrook has become a better lead guard and, in 2010-11, developed into a first-time All-Star and a Second-Team All-NBA selection.”

Tyson Chandler talked about the trade that was rescinded: “I honestly feel it had more to do with the salary. Because when I looked at it, it just didn’t make sense … I just didn’t see that being that big of an issue. It all seemed fishy to be honest with you.”

About time Dallas shot the ball well again. I knew the Thunder’s defense wasn’t that much worse than the Heat’s.

Loved this TrueHoop TV with NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein.

Pretty cool James Harden wallpaper.

A writer from SLAM thinks OKC should swap Rondo for Westbrook: “The Thunder need a point guard who passes first, setting up Kevin Durant and James Harden to be the leading scorers rather than one who tries too hard to make things happen on his own. Unfortunately, Westbrook is shaping into the latter. In fact, it looks like he might be more of a shooting guard trapped in a point guard’s body than anything, much like Allen Iverson when he first started in the league. Once Iverson was allowed to roam free as a shooting guard who sometimes brought the ball up, he was able to develop into prolific the scorer that he became.”

Via ESPN Stats and Info: “Dirk Nowitzki has now outscored LeBron James 52-11 in the 4th Qtr this series…including 8-2 tonight.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com’s mock draft has OKC taking Davis Bertans: “High upside player falls to the Thunder. Perimeter scoring and good size. A Euro replacement for Jeff Green.”

Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com’s mock: “Kyle Singler, SF, Duke: There’s so much to like about OKC’s rotation and while the 3/4 spot isn’t an area of particular need, an extra smart, hard-working, talented, team-first player in that role is hard to pass up.”