Friday Bolts: 7.28.17
Terrance Ferguson agreed to his four-year rookie contract: “Ferguson, who based on the NBA’s rookie salary scale will earn $1,487,000 million in his first season, will likely see most of his minutes this season in the G-League with the Oklahoma City Blue. ”
Russell Westbrook is working out with other NBA stars in Vegas: “Westbrook spent the beginning of the week with Thunder teammates working out in Santa Monica, Calif., and was spotted in Las Vegas on Thursday with the likes of LeBron James, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Eric Bledsoe and others for voluntary summer workouts.”
Ryan Phillips of The Big Lead asks — Is LeBron recruiting Russ?: “It’s worth asking if inviting Westbrook was an opportunity for James to do some recruiting. After all, Westbrook and James can both become free agents after next season and could decide to team up. Whether with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder or elsewhere, the duo would create quite a tandem. It could be argued that their ball-dominant styles wouldn’t fit together, but if both guys agreed to sacrifice in order to compete for a title, they could make it work.”
Kurt Helin of NBC Sports reminds everyone Russ has an unsigned super max extension (Thanks, Kurt): “On July 1 the Oklahoma City Thunder offered Westbrook a designated player “super max” contract extension of an expected $200 million, which would kick in after this coming season. It’s a massive offer that would lock Westbrook into the Thunder through his prime. He has yet to sign it.”
Andre Roberson’s teammates won’t let go of that tipping incident: “Here’s proof your friends don’t ever let you live anything down … the OKC Thunder taking shots at Andre Roberson and his (non?) tipping habits after a dinner out in L.A. Remember, Roberson found himself in a public tipping scandal a couple weeks back, when a server claims the $30 million man bricked his gratuity … leaving a $14 tip on a nearly $500 check.”
Nick Gallo on adding Dakari Johnson to a group of developing bigs: “The scoring, rebounding and bully ball that Johnson displayed is of course the most obvious aspect of his game. Against G League competition, he could surely dominate, even without high level athleticism or a profound vertical leap. But what makes his game remarkable as the NBA continues to evolve is the way he otherwise impacts the floor. His 2.3 assists per game were first amongst centers in the G League last season. At Summer League in Orlando in early July, Daigneault gave Johnson the freedom to handle the ball out top on the perimeter, attack his man off the dribble and make plays for teammates. Whether it was acting as an inside-out point guard distributing from the paint or putting on the deck to drive and dish, Johnson showed that he can put pressure on the defense in different ways.”
Josh Huestis wrote about depression and Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington: “It’s terrible that a life has to be lost for discussions like this to be had. Although I never knew Chester personally, I can imagine that he would want his death to be used as a way to bring depression to the forefront of the people’s minds. All I can hope though is that we can all see that for every Chester, there are millions of others out there silently suffering as well. Reach out to people. Be an ally to others you feel may be struggling. And if you are one of those with depression, know you’re not alone.”
NBA.com counted the Top 10 Thunder Plays from 2016-17: May the Nuggets buzzer-beater live forever.
Have a good weekend, friends.