Thursday Bolts – 6.18.09
Ah yes, the U.S. Open begins today and that means it’s Father’s Day weekend. I’m excited. One of my
absolute favorite weekends of the year. Oh, and did you realize we are exactly one week away from the 2009 Draft? I know, finalllllyyy.
Sean Deveney looks at draft rumors: “Ricky Rubio is slipping in the draft – false: Most of the smoke-screening and posturing is centered on Rubio. The Grizzlies are No. 2 but remain likely to trade the pick, and they have a range of options. They are hoping to move down and get a big man – leaving whomever winds up with No. 2 to take Rubio.”
Russell Westbrook met the President this week and also talked about his China trip: “What was it like to have dinner with the President? “It was good. We got to meet him for 20 seconds, not too long. Just get his picture. It was nice. It was nice to meet him and interact a little bit. But we didn’t really get a chance to talk to him at all. You’ve just got to run through and take a picture. You know how that goes with the President. But he spoke for a good 15 minutes or so.”
James Harden worked out for the Thunder yesterday, but I think Presti had the thing guarded by the secret service, because there’s no info about it. Darnell Mayberry did say this: “Meanwhile, the player many think is a perfect fit for the Thunder, James Harden, is in Oklahoma City today going through an individual workout at the team’s practice facility. The Arizona State shooting guard is the second player to workout by himself in OKC. USC’s DeMar DeRozan also worked out alone. My guess is the Thunder walks away with one of those two some how or another. Something tells me it’ll be Harden.”
A great Q&A with Sam Presti: “It must be interesting to have to deal with the rumor mills and blogs around this time of year. Do you pay attention to that stuff and do they affect the team in any way? “Well, you know it’s part of the business and we understand that people have a job to do. Sometimes that’s part of the industry that we work in, there is competition for those covering the teams as well. We can’t control it, so we accept the fact that there will be a fair share of misinformation presented, and we know that on draft night the weeks of speculation wilt away. They have no permanence so you have to keep perspective. In terms of if we factor it into our process, we simply can’t. It is all part of the draft experience and makes it fun for the fans. As a team, we have to make decisions based on realities and organizational disciplines. We are no different than any other industry in that respect.”
Ian Thompson’s newest mock draft (and let me tell you, it’s a little different than what you’ve been seeing the past few weeks): OKC – Ricky Rubio: “The up-tempo point guard would create shots in transition for Kevin Durant and others. And because Rubio often played off the ball in Spain, he could pair with the more athletic Russell Westbrook to have two playmakers on the court at the same time. Another possibility: Trade down with Sacramento, New York or Toronto, who all want Rubio.”
KD’s next pair of shoes will be out in 2010, but here’s what they’ll look like: “After a stellar year in his KD1, Nike and Kevin Durant are ready with the Nike KD2. Continuing their mission to bring simple and affordable sneakers to retail, the Nike KD2 features midfoot strap over a minimal upper sitting on a low profile Zoom sole. The Nike KD2 is set to release during the Spring of 2010.”
Mike Baldwin on Jordan Hill: “But if Thunder general manager Sam Presti trades down, Hill could be one of his top options. The 6-foot-10 power forward was the first Arizona player in 30 years to average a double-double (18.3 points, 11.0 rebounds). “He came light years this past season,” said one Eastern Conference scout. “He was one of the most improved players in the country. If he continues that type of growth somebody is going to get a really good player.”
Dallas now has a D-League team. Rivalryyyy: “A new basketball team is coming to North Texas with the National Basketball Development League ready to place a team in Frisco, a source said Wednesday. A news conference is scheduled for today at American Airlines Center where the announcement is expected to be made. The Mavericks, Frisco officials and NBA executives have been in talks for nearly two years to bring a team to the fast-growing city north of Dallas. Frisco already is home of the Double-A RoughRiders baseball team and a minor league hockey team, the Tornado.”
The NBA may be returning to its glory days: “Although the NBA Finals just ended in fizzling fashion with the Los Angeles Lakers disposing of the Orlando Magic in five games, the league gives me that tingling feeling I had when watching it as a kid. Here’s why: The star power today is unlimited. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony are the elite of a tremendous core of great players. Back in the day, you had Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon leading the way. The collection of talent today rivals that group. The young talent sizzles. Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Danny Granger, Brandon Roy and Deron Williams are just bubbling over with the potential of joining the greats like Bryant, James and Wade. Everyone knows these guys are going to get their shine on. It’s just a matter of time.”
An extremely in-depth evaluation of the draft’s shooting guards (tons of information here): “I’ve been waffling between Evans and Harden as the top player here. I give Evans a slight edge, because Harden finished the season so poorly. But they’re pretty much even. Harden’s numbers look great. I mean few college SGs ever have had a 2-year run like Harden has had. He scores both often and efficiently and his defensive and passing numbers are solid. That’s everything a SG prospect needs to do. But a look at Harden’s freshmen and sophomore years compared with players who also scored often and efficiently suggests this isn’t always a sure ticket to greatness. Here’s frosh and sophs who, like Harden, scored over 20 P40 with a 2 pt. FG pct over .540.”
Sam Amico looks at the Grizzlies’ options: “Either way, the Rubio rumors don’t really matter to the Grizzlies. “If we want (Rubio), we’re going to take him,” Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We wouldn’t have taken a 10-hour flight to Spain if we didn’t have interest in him.” Of course, that doesn’t mean the Grizzlies have to take Rubio. Especially since he may not even bother working out for them. (It actually seems unlikely at this point.) So what will the Grizzlies do? Well, when you have the No. 2 overall pick, you have options. There’s 7-foot-3 Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet — and we all know it’s hard to go wrong with that kind of size. There’s Arizona State shooting guard James Harden, a very good one-on-one player with room to grow. Then again, the Griz already have a guy like that in O.J. Mayo, who just completed his rookie season. There’s also local kid Tyreke Evans — a guard from Memphis whose stock has been on the rise. And of course, you can always trade the pick. Various outlets have reported that everyone from contenders like Houston and Boston to lottery teams like New York and Sacramento have inquired about the No. 2 selection.”
Song choices for Hasheem Thabeet could be endless. Not a good enough reason to draft him though: “This is literally just the tip of the iceberg. Something like 4% of all recorded music can be interpreted as an theme or anthem for Hasheem Thabeet. That makes him the second luckiest person in the world, behind whoever it is that does game operations for whatever team it is that drafts him.”
