Thursday Bolts: 5.11.17

Have a great Thursday, friends. Almost there.

Brett Dawson on the future of Kyle Singler in OKC: “The Thunder also could opt to keep Singler around. Stretching his contract wouldn’t create significant cap relief next season, and if no trade materializes, he could remain on the bench in much the same spot-duty role he’s played the past two seasons. Whatever the future holds, Singler won’t obsess with production matching payment. ‘I mean, of course like I want to do the best that I can,” Singler said, ‘and with that being said, I have a whole work to look at, and the contract is not just what I’ve done in the past, it’s what I’m going to do in the future, as well.'”

Tulsa World’s Bill Haisten takes aim at KD and asks: Is this really fulfilling?: “Durant might get a championship ring, but how can it possibly be as satisfying as it would have been with a Thunder team that he and Russell Westbrook carried from a 23-59 record in 2008-09 to four Western Conference finals appearances and the 2012 NBA Finals?”

Dime Magazine on the Thunder’s critical offseason: “But the Thunder are in a quagmire with the rest of the roster. Andre Roberson and Taj Gibson will both enter free agency, and the organization should probably do everything in their power to retain them. Gibson is a scrappy vet who plays defense and can knock down open shots when necessary. Roberson is also a tenacious defender, but his brutal shooting will make paying him big money that much more of a bitter pill, especially with their overall payroll already heading toward luxury tax territory.”

Erik Horne on whether the Thunder will keep or trade Enes Kanter: “The organization values Kanter’s skill set, but questions remain. Can he continue to progress defensively? If not, can he consistently negate points he’s giving up on the defensive end with efficient scoring and passing? Can he expand his game to the 3-point line, where he dropped from 47.6 percent to 13.2 last season?”

Tramel with Kyle Singler’s report card: “Singler took 37 3-point shots this season. He made seven. How did this happen? In Singler’s second pro season, just three years ago, he made 48.5 percent of his corner 3-pointers. When traded to OKC just 27 months ago, Singler was making 40.6 percent of his 3-pointers for Detroit. Since then, Singler’s long-distance shooting has dropped straight down — .370 for OKC the rest of that season, .309 last season, .189 this season. Singler made just three of 15 corner 3’s. Andre Roberson has outshot Singler each of the last two seasons.”

NBA Mock Draft from Basketball Insiders: Justin Patton (C) out of Creighton, Semi Ojeleye (PF/SF) from SMU, Tyler Lydon (PF/SF) from Syracuse and John Collins (PF) from Wake Forest are all mentioned as possibilities at 21. There seems to be building suspicion that Sam Presti will go big in the first round, but both Ojeleye (42.4%) and Lydon (39.2%) shot well enough from deep in college to feel OK with the direction.

Odds & Ends

Enes Kanter appeared on CNN Philippines this morning and wore a basketball jersey.

Shenanigans ensued.