Monday Bolts – 6.29.09

Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune reports that Sam Presti is hot for Paul Millsap: “There also was speculation Sunday

that Oklahoma City might be preparing to make a push to sign Paul Millsap as a restricted free agent. Former Jazz director of player personnel Troy Weaver now is an assistant general manager with the Thunder. The Thunder unsuccessfully tried to sign away C.J. Miles from the Jazz last summer. They are expected to have $11 million in salary-cap space and could offer a contract in the neighborhood of five years and $65 million to a free agent. Detroit and Portland also could be potential Millsap suitors.”

Tom Ziller on Millsap to OKC: “The one question about Millsap in Oklahoma, however, is what the team will do about the center position and Jeff Green. The team grabbed B.J. Mullens in the late first round, but even my friend Steak Tartare thinks the Buckeye is too raw. Among returning players, steady Collison and Nenad Krstic shared pivot duties last season. Green played predominantly at the power forward, which is the only place Millsap can legitimately play. Unless Presti feels paying top dollar for a back-up is smart, or if he plans to trade Green sometime soon, I’m not sure exactly where Millsap fits. If the price were cheaper, you could plunge now and let Scott Brooks figure it out in October. But cap space is precious. Filling it with a foreign puzzle piece doesn’t make sense.”

Ballerblogger reviews the draft: “The only reason I have a problem their draft is because they passed on Rubio. I don’t care if Russell Westbrook would be upset (lets be clear on this, Russell Westbrook is NOT a point guard). You have an amazing young core of athletes, and you’re going to bet on Westbrook developing point guard skills instead of drafting the prodigy point guard whose passing evokes comparisons to Maravich and Magic? I can’t be too mad though, because I think Harden fits really well there, and adds another nice piece to their core. Mullens is also a good pick at 24. He’s a longshot, but this is a guy who would’ve been a top 5 pick out of high school and has outrageous physical tools. In a draft that really only had 2 legit center prospects, the Thunder needed a center and got one of them. He may be a flop, but in a draft this weak, a talent like Mullens is certainly worth the risk.”

Memphis received a bunch of offers for the No. 2 pick, including a package that included Nick Collison: “Sources confirmed to the Memphis Commercial Appeal on Friday that the Grizzlies received a number of offers for the second overall pick … The Cavaliers offered Daniel Gibson and JJ Hickson, the Bobcats put Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed on the block, the Mavericks offered Josh Howard and the Thunder made a play involving Nick Collison.”

KD has put the challenge out there to all HORSE players: “Ok im get into talking trash….i garuntee that i will win the H.O.R.S.E competition next yr..who yall wanna see in it..cuz i got new shots!”

A nice little story about Robert Vaden’s path to the NBA: “Looking back, the former Cathedral, Pike and Indiana University basketball standout realizes he took the road less traveled to the NBA. But the only thing that matters to Vaden is that he now has a good chance to make an NBA roster. “When I look back, I made sure that I would never regret the decisions that I made and I was certain they were right for me,” Vaden said. “And when I was drafted, I was sure that they were the right decisions. It wasn’t exactly where I wanted to go, but being able to see your name on TV and hearing your name get called is really special. “But I wouldn’t change anything that I did. I made all of the decisions myself and I always had people in my corner who I knew would be there for me.”

This Rubio situation is getting stranger by the day: “Tim Shea, a representative for Rubio’s agency in Spain told the New York Post that he expects a Turkish club to formally offer the 18-year-old point guard a chance to play in Turkey. The offer would be “about $1 million, with another $2 million going toward a $6 million buyout for his Spanish team, DKV Joventut.” The Turkish offer would be a pay raise for Rubio, who made $180,000 last season. Shea also said Real Madrid is in talks with Joventut to acquire Rubio.”

But team’s are after Rubio. I doubt he’ll be in Minnesota this November either way: “Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reported that the Wolves turned down a deal with the Houston Rockets that would have resulted in Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier headed to Minnesota for Ricky Rubio.”

Dime looking at winners and losers from the draft: “Oklahoma City: Looks like they killed the draft again. James Harden will be a star, B.J. Mullens could have gone in the Lottery but fell to 25th, and even Robert Vaden has potential to be a rotation guy. If we were talking about the Sonics, I’d have put them #1 on the list.”

All that draft wear you out the last few weeks? Well, it’s almost time for free agency!: “Thunder fans should be forewarned: it’s unlikely general manager Sam Presti will make a major splash for three reasons: 1.) Presti wants ample salary cap space for when Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook are due major pay raises. 2.) The plan is to allow young players to grow together instead of acquiring veterans that could provide immediate help. 3.) Presti essentially purchased two “free agents” when he signed Nenad Krstic last December and traded for Thabo Sefolosha in February.”

SI grades the draft: “Thunder – A: Why all the talk about James Harden as a surprise pick at No. 3? He was, in many ways, the obvious pick, and certainly a sound pick. The Thunder needed a shooting guard and got the best shooting guard available, a player who didn’t generate much predraft buzz because he isn’t as flashy or as controversial as other top picks but is NBA-ready with a polished game. No. 24 pick B.J. Mullens is a young center from Ohio State whose personality has created doubts around front offices about whether he will ever be good, but it’s low-risk given the draft slot. Just being in the league in four or five years makes any selection that late a successful outcome, and Mullens has lottery-pick potential. Robert Vaden, a shooter from UAB, went 54th.”

Coach Capel spoiled the Taylor Griffin pick: “The NBA issued an edict before the draft for teams not to spoil draft picks by posting them on Twitter in advance of podium announcements from David Stern and Adam Silver. This rule didn’t apply (or at least didn’t reach) college coaches, as Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel tweeted “Taylor Griffin to Phoenix at 48!!!!!!!!” at least three minutes before the pick was unveiled. The tweet would have been better had he added, “Suck it, Globetrotters!” at the end.”

The Pacers cut Marquis Daniels free: “The Indiana Pacers will not pick up Marquis Daniels’ $7.5-million team option, a person with knowledge of the situation said today. Daniels, who has spent the past three seasons with the Pacers, will become an unrestricted free agent July 1. His salary was seen as relatively high for a reserve. The Pacers could re-sign Daniels to a multi-year contract at a lower annual salary during the free agency period.”

As we head toward free agency and the names pop up about potential targets, I just want to remind folks about this column I wrote about not wanting Ben Gordon: “I was on the Gordon wagon early in the year. I thought a scoring shooting guard was everything OKC needed. He is an excellent player. An excellent shooter. An excellent scorer. His career stats are very impressive. He’ll make some team very happy this offseason with his abilities. But I hope it’s not the Thunder. Because like a fat guy in bicycle shorts, it’s just not a good fit.”

Pro Basketball News looks at bargain free agents: “Desmond Mason. In his first seven seasons, Mason missed just 34 games. But he has missed 66 over the last two, will turn 32 in training camp and does not appear to part of Oklahoma City’s long-term plan, especially with the selection of shooting guard James Harden in the draft. Mason still has the ability to defend two positions and score a little bit, too. He still can be a rotation player for a good team. He may warrant a multi-year deal but not anywhere near the $5.3 million he made last season.”

Some video of the Thunder’s three new guys getting welcomed to OKC: