Tuesday Bolts – 5.19.15
Chad Ford of ESPN Insider on Stanley Johnson: “Johnson is the highest player on the board to hit the “safe” category. He has an NBA body and toughness, plays with aggressiveness and possesses an adequate jump shot. His lack of explosive athleticism and his struggles finishing at the rim this year are points of concern, but nothing that suggests he’ll fail in the NBA. ‘He’s not as good as we thought he’d be coming into things,’ one GM said. ‘But he’s not as bad as I think we’ve made him out to be either.’ He’ll work hard and if he improves, he’ll be a very good value pick here.”
Anthony Slater grading D.J. Augustin: “There are a number of things Reggie Jackson does better than D.J. Augustin on a basketball court. But shooting isn’t one of them. Jackson is a career 29 percent 3-point shooter who shot it at 28 percent for the Thunder this season. Augustin is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter who shot it at 35 percent for OKC. In that aspect, he was an upgrade. And, particularly when he’s playing brief stretches alongside Russell Westbrook, that’s helpful.”
What happens if somehow the Thunder win the lottery?
Darnell Mayberry: “Presti, who salivates over the idea of flexibility like it’s a Ranch Steakhouse filet, has shrewdly avoided boxing in the Thunder like Doc did the Clippers. That’s why he’s going to make every attempt to re-sign Kanter and Singler. If he let them walk, Presti wouldn’t have a way to replace them, and that would be a blow the Thunder can’t afford to take to the roster’s overall talent. It’s as much of a business decision as it is a basketball one. Kanter and Singler might have their flaws. But being in position to bring them back sure beats than the alternative. Just look at the boxed-in Clippers.”
Everything you could want to know about tonight’s lottery.
Mayberry on tonight’s lottery: “Trading is the best means for the Thunder to bring in quality talent at this point given its salary cap situation and draft pick debts. But with the organization having a core that it feels extremely comfortable with moving forward, only players at the back end of the roster would be put in trade packages. That severely limits what the Thunder could get in return. It all makes Tuesday’s unexpected lottery appearance all the more significant for the Thunder. No matter how the ping-pong balls bounce.”
Serge Ibaka is looking forward to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Shoals for GQ on Harden: “But maybe this is a matter of personal preference as much as hardened strategy. Harden’s entire style of play is based on quick bursts of activity, seemingly awkward feints and Eurosteps, and a thoroughly deceptive ability to do pretty much whatever he wants, whenever he wants. It goes beyond any single fake; James Harden is a one-man misdirect. His ceaseless trips to the line may cripple the overall flow of a game but it’s entirely possible that Harden feels totally at home in this fractured, screwed-and-chopped version of basketball action. If Harden stops the game cold, it’s possible that for him it’s just a long pause or grace note. We groan at James Harden on our own terms instead of appreciating just how original he is.”