Monday Bolts – 11.21.11
Royce is out of town for his annual hunting trip so Bolts will be slim. Bear with me!
Darnell Mayberry says the NBA’s most recent offer could be beneficial to the Thunder: “Although players ultimately rejected the offer, two significant issues surrounding the Oklahoma City Thunder emerged from that final slide: a possible preview of what Russell Westbrook’s extension could look like, and a glimpse of how the Thunder might be able to retain its core. Under the league’s proposal, a team should be able to field a 15-man roster in 2013-14 for $75 million, or the projected luxury tax line annually established to penalize teams that greatly exceed the salary cap.”
Kevin Durant still loves his Texas Longhorns: “For the time being (and perhaps the foreseeable future) Kevin Durant is a basketball player without a game to play. With the NBA lockout in full force, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward has no league and has taken the unwanted time off to rove around. Lately, that has meant spending time around the Texas basketball program. A former stud with the Longhorns during his one year in college, he joined them Tuesday for their game against Rhode Island and hung around. Saturday night he, along with former Longhorns Royal Ivey and Chris Mihm, sat a row behind the Texas bench. But Durant wasn’t just there to watch. During timeouts he would stand in the huddle and coming out of them he would pull a player aside to give a few quick words.”
The Obama Classic Basketball Game will be in Washington D.C. : “A number of NBA stars have committed to play in an exhibition game to raise money for President Barack Obama‘s re-election campaign. The venue for the game has not been finalized, but a number of former and current NBA players already have committed to participate. They include: Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant,Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Ray Allen and Chris Bosh. Tickets, which range from $100 to $5,000 for courtside seats, are not on sale yet but will made available to the general public, an Obama campaign official said. Proceeds will go to the Obama Victory Fund, which is jointly held by the Democratic National Committee and Obama’s re-election campaign.”
Also, look for a post recapping The Basketball Jones’ time in OKC this past week. Just as soon as I can figure it out.