Tuesday Bolts – 6.17.14
: “Hood could go as high as No. 13 to the Wolves and has other spots at Phoenix, Atlanta and Chicago where he could go. But I doubt he slides past the Thunder here. They can always use more shooting on the wing backcourt, and Hood has great size for his position.”
Anthony Slater on Thabo’s future: “Better than zero. But not much better. These past five seasons, the relationship has been mutually beneficial to both. But this breakup should be, too. The Thunder needs to go in a different direction, get some offensive punch in that starting lineup and go younger. And Sefolosha could benefit from a fresh start, maybe rejuvenate his career a bit. The only reason it’s not zero percent is because his struggles severely lowered his price on the open market. But it’s still highly doubtful he returns to OKC.”
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider fixes the Heat: “Instead of allocating any and all cap space to Anthony, the Heat need to get younger and use that money to fill out the rest of the roster with able bodies. And that requires money. Unrestricted free agents like Shaun Livingston and Marcin Gortat aren’t lining up to turn down tens of millions of dollars and take a veteran minimum deal just to play for the Heat. The Heat need to spend their money wisely and that may mean splitting up Anthony’s money for rotation players like the Spurs did with Splitter and Diaw. A Finals exit doesn’t mean the Heat need to blow up the Big Three and completely scrap the model that got them there. The Spurs didn’t panic last year and the Heat shouldn’t, either. They need to reinvent themselves on the fly. Just like the Spurs.”
Jurgen Klinsmann is smarter than Kobe Bryant.
Jenni Carlson: “Don’t want Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook going into panic mode and hero ball late in playoff games? You have to build trust among the entire team with continuity and flow during the regular season. It won’t magically appear during crunch time. Perk referenced the final moments of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals when LeBron James passed up a potential game-winning shot, throwing the ball instead to Chris Bosh in the corner. Bosh missed, and Indiana survived to play another day.”
Darnell Mayberry grades Perk: “Say what you will about Perkins. But one thing you can’t call him is a cancer. He couldn’t have handled Steven Adams’ arrival and his subsequent minutes crunch any better. Not once did the outspoken center publicly complain about his shrinking role. Even when he was benched in the second half at Miami, he put out a positive message in support of the team. It might not sound like much, but one over-inflated ego can ruin an NBA locker room. Perk did a great job not letting his ego compromise the team’s success.”