Monday Bolts – 8.18.14

: “Meanwhile, the Thunder let starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha and mid-season acquisition Caron Butler walk in free agency, while also losing Derek Fisher to retirement. In the draft, OKC selected promising big man Mitch McGary but also came away with two players who are headed for the Development League in Josh Huestis and Semaj Christon. None are moves that will get the Thunder over the hump. But take a moment to compare the Thunder’s summer to the rest of the conference. You’ll see that few West competitors found the success that allegedly eluded OKC. And, remember, with the exception of defending champion San Antonio — which has had an even quieter summer than the Thunder despite battling injuries and an increasingly aging roster — everyone else is playing catch up.”

David Thorpe of ESPN Insider on Mitch McGary: “Fans had not seen McGary play in a long time, but he quickly reminded us in Vegas that he has significant talent. He plays with energy and passion, which are great complements to a big man with some strength. He showed a good feel for the game on both ends, too. Drafted No. 21, McGary can play fast, which gives the Thunder an interesting option in the middle when Kevin Durant is at power forward and the opponent doesn’t have an oversized center in the game.”

KD is behind LeBron in ESPN Forecast’s MVP rankings.

Sekou Smith of NBA.com on free agency: “That decision is a testament to LeBron’s confidence and belief in himself from an early age that he would be just as comfortable doing things his way. And it’s very much the same as Kobe’s confidence and belief in himself before James ever was an NBA player. Both of their approaches have produced championship results. So there is no right or wrong way to navigate this process. Maybe it’s just the evolution of things, from one era to the next, from one face of a generation to the next.”

Mitch McGary takes the Ice Bucket Challenge. As does Jeremy Lamb.

When, where and why the Ice Bucket Challenge took off.

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN Insider projects the top 10 point guards: “Westbrook also was second last summer at point guard, but this time around he crawled a couple of WARP closer to Paul. Westbrook missed 36 games last season and as a result finished 30th in WARP, down from third the season before. On the other hand, Westbrook’s winning percentage was a career best, and if he goes back to playing 82 games a year, he’ll rank as one of the top six or seven players in the league. Westbrook’s primary improvement was in shot selection; he increased his frequency of 3-point attempts. If he ever becomes consistent on those deep shots, look out.”