Thursday Bolts – 8.7.14
: “The idea that Brooks is the problem comes from a perception which isn’t actually backed by any evidence, and by a feeling which mostly springs from default. When we don’t know what else to say, we chalk it up to “the coach sucks.” And if you look at what Brooks has done, from developing one of the best cores in the league to integrating new components to the overall record and playoff success, you come to realize that if you’re going to pin everything on Brooks (and he certainly deserves a little pinning as everyone on a team does for failure to reach a goal), you’re probably just throwing darts because you don’t know what else to aim at. Your other option of course, is to blame the roster.”
Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com on the NCAA and FIBA: “So why is the NBA establishment content with college and uneasy with FIBA? It might have something to do with just how many people in the NBA establishment are college basketball fans. The NCAA fan demo skews older and wealthier than NBA fandom, matching up well with the demographics of those who actually run the NBA. There are many positive, nostalgic associations with the college game among pro basketball’s power brokers. The FIBA World Cup just doesn’t have that kind of emotional pull. College ball is familiar, playfully tribal. FIBA is quite literally foreign. Perhaps that difference is why one kind of basketball inspires fondness and the other evokes fear.”
Meet the new NBPA executive director.
Bill Simmons with a fun idea: “I think if you do this midseason tournament, you go to a 75-game schedule. I think you cut it back by seven games, and you say, “We’re going to give you a week off for All-Star [weekend], and we’re also going to have this tournament. You guys are going to have two breaks during the season and we’re going to stretch the season out.” The winner of this tournament gets paid and the franchises are invested because you get 5 million bucks to add to your salary cap if you win. If you finish second, you get 2 million bucks.”
The Kobe-Jordan video is outrageously great.
Kelly Dwyer of BDL on best remaining free agents: “Allen’s future has also been discussed recently in these parts, and his future is entirely up to him. Should he decide to return for his 19th NBA season, he’ll have the pick of the litter as just about every NBA team after his mix of sensibility and shooting. The Los Angeles Clippers, with former Allen cohort Doc Rivers running the show, would seem to be a candidate alongside Cleveland and Miami, but they’re just about hard-capped out entering 2014-15.”
Under Armour is reportedly offering KD a 10-year, $320 million deal with equity in the company. Wow.
Drake is recruiting Kevin Durant. Yay.
James Herbert of CBSSports.com grades OKC’s offseason: “The Thunder never do anything huge in free agency. Their entire championship-contending core is composed of guys they’ve drafted. While changing that to add Gasol would have been nice, it doesn’t mean the offseason was a failure. It just means it wasn’t a smashing success. No one wanted to take a discount to come to OKC, so the franchise will again look to grow from within. The progress of Jackson, Adams, Jones and Lamb was a significant subplot last year in Oklahoma City, especially before the All-Star break. As the regular season came to a close, it was clear that half of that group had been lost in the shuffle. The Thunder have developed players better than almost any team in the league, but it can be tricky to do that in the thick of a tight race for the conference’s best record. Their relative inactivity in the offseason means that they’re betting on more playing time and experience for the new class bringing better results. This is risky, but each of them has a high ceiling. It could very well work out.”