Monday Bolts – 10.6.14

Adi Joseph of USA Today has OKC third in watchability: “The newly crowned MVP has been showing more and more of the other side of his attitude and along with it the kind of drive and determination that some questioned as he ascended up the NBA ranks. What does that mean now? Well, for one, he’s not going to let go of that MVP trophy. Durant was particularly happy about not being second place for once.”

Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders on MVP: “Durant continues to exemplify what it means to be a professional, leader and teammate both on the court and off, but don’t take that to mean he isn’t as fierce a competitor as anyone else. While on the outside he may appear to have a generally laid-back personality, these last two years of losing in the Conference Semifinals (2013) and Conference Finals (2014) seemed to only add fuel to his internal fire. The likelihood of Durant remaining in the vaunted 50-40-90 discussion – at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc, 90 percent from the charity stripe – while remaining around the 30 points per game mark are relatively high given his current career arc, as are his team’s chances to be in competition for one of the West’s top spots. For these reasons, Durant should be considered one of the frontrunners in this discussion as we head into the season.”

Anthony Slater: “Playoffs. Regular season. Preseason. Practice. Brushing his teeth. Taking out the trash. Russell Westbrook seems to do everything in his life with a high level of energy. And he certainly brought it to the Choctaw gym on Sunday afternoon. Westbrook was fired up from the tip, barking out defensive signals, chirping at the other team and shouting out frustrating obscenities to no one in particular. At one point, after a defensive breakdown, Westbrook was so livid he called a timeout to have more time to get his point across. It seemed to work, as Westbrook’s team immediately went on an extended run after the break.”

LeBron could maybe lead a push to end max deals.

ESPN and TNT have extended their TV deal with the NBA, totaling some $24 BILLION.

Tom Ziller of SB Nation on the new deal: “Let’s put it another way. Kevin Durant will be a free agent in 2016. Assuming the TV deal kicks in at $2.67 billion and the NBA doesn’t work out a way for more gradual salary cap increases, Durant would be eligible to sign a five-year deal worth $162 million with the Thunder. If he wanted to sign with another team, he’d be eligible for four years, $120 million. There is just a ton of money on the table for players here. But not yet, which brings us to our next point.”