Friday Bolts – 9.25.15

Dan Devine of Ball Don’t Lie

: “With Donovan on board in place of Scott Brooks, Westbrook
coming off the best season of his career and plenty of capable contributors up and down the roster, Presti and company certainly seem to have put together a crew capable of meeting their high expectations. Whether they do so figures to depend mostly on whether Durant’s ready to don his “Slim Reaper” shroud once again; in getting him fully cleared, Oklahoma City has jumped that first significant hurdle. That’s sour news for Thunder opponents, but an exceptionally exciting update for the rest of us who just missed watching the game’s purest scorer work.”

Anthony Slater on KD’s partnership with the Players’ Tribune: “But as the site nears its first birthday, it has roped in arguably its most important partnership. On Thursday morning, Thunder superstar Kevin Durant was officially named the Deputy Publisher. It’s unknown what, if any, extra duties are attached to that title. But during what’s expected to be a highly scrutinized contract season, Durant will write exclusive articles and draw plenty of traffic to the site. Per the press release, he’ll begin publishing editorial content in the coming weeks.”

KD was at the Redskins’ game last night.

Albert Burneko of Deadspin on the Players’ Tribune: “Interestingly, he’ll be Editorial Director Kobe Bryant’s immediate superior at the Tribune. This could be a source of tension in the newsroom; Bryant, a famously proud and strong-willed journalist, has never had to go through an intermediary to get his editorial initiatives on Jeets’s desk before. Bet that’s gonna make for some awkward Monday morning status meetings.”

Kyle Singler appears to have confirmed the orange alternate.

Nick Collison at 252 in #NBARank.

Cindy Boren of the WaPo: “Derek Jeter’s publication, designed to give athletes the chance to “write” pieces without the bother of going through the filter of ink-stained wretches and the people who edit them, announced the addition of the Oklahoma City Thunder star, who seems to have rocketed past Kobe Bryant — the editorial director — on the masthead of mumbo jumbo. Just what does deputy publisher mean? Well, you know where to go when Durant, who can become a free agent after the season, decides where he’ll play next. That’s for sure. In spite of Caroline Wozniacki’s suggestion, he won’t really be proofreading.”