Thursday Bolts – 6.10.10
Chad Ford’s newest mock has Daniel Orton falling to OKC: “Orton is a bit of an enigma. His 3 ppg and 3 rpg as a freshman at Kentucky certainly don’t wow you. But he’s got the raw tools to be a successful big man in the pros. The Thunder were among the teams that were on him early and they might just get lucky and get him here. While Orton is in the discussion starting at the 10th pick, concerns about his knees and his relative lack of playing time over the course of the past two years are weighing on teams. He could easily end up in the lottery, but I doubt he slips further than this.”
Orton has a draft journal on NewsOK: “”When people continue to bring up my three-point, three-rebound average at Kentucky, I just smile and say I understand. I know that I’m making the right decision, though. I’m working to improve my shooting and a lot of little things in the post, basically technique. Working out in San Francisco has helped me. It’s gotten me in better shape and has made me tougher mentally. I’d love to play for the Thunder. I know I could help them out a lot and could really see myself playing well with them.”
You think Pete Carrol had an idea of what was coming at USC? Twenty scholarships, two-year bowl ban and wins vacated. Yeah, I’d leave too.
Waiting for Next Year reported yesterday that Tom Izzo was intending to take the Cleveland job. Avery Johnson, has taken the New Jersey Nets job.
Charles Barkley on MJ’s Hitler stache: “I have got to admit when I saw that commercial I had to take a double take… That is one of the stupidest things that I have seen in a long time. First of all, I can’t believe that they let that commercial get on the air like that. I mean in making commercials, they have got little ladies there making sure the cheese is right. When I am shooting the Taco Bell commercial they have got this little woman making sure that every cinnamon twist and every piece of cheese is in order and now they let my man get on TV with that terrible mustache. I was totally in shock and just, I just can’t believe that. That is really not good at all.”
David Thorpe looks at 10 potential impact rookies: “[James] Anderson is another guy who seems ready to score at the NBA level. Like Turner, he’s been an extremely productive player without tremendous physical talents, always something I look for in players. He can be utilized as a spark off the bench, where his size and length work in his favor against second-unit shooting guards.”
Golden State of Mind with a pretty spot on draft breakdown for the Thunder.
KD was asked at the World Basketball event about Wade and LeBron and everyone else. His response: “We still got Kobe Bryant (with the Lakers), so it doesn’t matter to me,” Durant told the New York Post during an event for USA Basketball. “LeBron is his own man. There’s a lot of burden on him to choose where he wants to go and it doesn’t matter to me. I’m sure his crew is worried, but I’m not worried about anything but my team.” During the event Kenny Smith said Durant will be better than James in three years. “I want to be the best player I can be,” Durant said. “Guys like LeBron, Kobe, Carmelo Anthony, Wade, those guys are great, great players. I pattern myself after them. I want to be the best I can be and lead my team to the Finals. If that means I become better than LeBron, then so be it.”