Tuesday Bolts – 6.1.10
: “That’s why I think Sam Presti is standing on solid rock with his master plan, which is hard for some to stomach but will be the best thing for Oklahoma City. The Thunder general manager is not trying to build an NBA champion. He’s trying to build a perennial winner. There’s a difference. A big difference.”
Marc Stein on the possibility of OKC trading for Leandro Barbosa: “Sensible as all this sounds for Phoenix, someone out there has to be willing to take on the final two years of Barbosa’s contract ($7.1 million next season and $7.6 million in 2011-12) without sending any salary back to the Suns. Our initial research into teams with cap room that could accommodate the Suns — such as Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Minnesota and Washington — didn’t turn up any volunteers.”
Team USA will likely be young: “I’m predicting that we would have a lot of young guys,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. “But we have a very deep roster. We will see who shows up. There will be a number of them who might not play because of free agency and personal issues. There could be five or six from the Olympic team that won’t be there. We’re prepared for that.”
I missed this story yesterday, but it’s an interesting one. Darnell Mayberry on the possibility of Serge Ibaka starting next year: “The most obvious advantage to starting Ibaka is the opportunity it would give him to develop more rapidly. A starter’s role doesn’t necessarily equate to more minutes, but it does inevitably allow Ibaka to cut his teeth on better competition more regularly. From a team standpoint, promoting Ibaka could turn an already strong defensive unit into a much more dynamic bunch. Although Krstic is the superior position and team defender, Ibaka is better at providing weak side help and resistance at the rim. Ibaka’s length and athleticism could change the face of games, much like when his inspired play at times staggered the Lakers. Moving Krstic to the bench might also boost a second unit that sometimes struggled for scoring sources.”
P.J. Carlesimo is set to join the Toronto Raptors staff.
Avery Bradley is drawing Russell Westbrook comparisons and Holly Mackenzie for The Score talked to him at his workout with the Raptors: “Do you think you could adjust to the pro game easier as a scorer than college?: “I definitely do, like you said seeing the Russell Westbrooks, there’s a lot of guards that are in the league that play two and now are playing one. It’s just a whole different game and I really think the NBA is going to help me a lot when I get there.””
Tramel ranks the West and has the Thunder third.
Chad Ford with a lot of great stuff on first round bubble guys: “Alabi has the size NBA teams covet. He also has the motor. However, he’s still raw and coming off knee surgery. He’s got to show teams that he’s not the next in a long line of big-man busts mostly by convincing them that he’ll be content as a shot-blocking/rebounding specialist. If he plays physical and does the dirty work in workouts, he should be a lock for the first round. He could be a great fit on a team that needs more size, such as the Celtics, Thunder or Spurs.”