Tuesday Bolts – 8.21.12
Matt Moore of PBT on Ibaka’s extension: “The Thunder made the right call, and it’s one that reflects their approach as an organization. Now, there’s every reason to think that keeping Harden is nowhere near off the table. It is still very much possible that Harden remains a Thunder, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Presti quietly announced it on Monday on his way to his honeymoon. But even if this move lead them to terminate their relationship with Harden in the short and long-term, it would be the right one.”
Beckley Mason of ESPN.com: “For those NBA players than can pretty much choose where they play, answering “where do you I want to play?” involves a complex calculus. They have to weigh the impact of the local lifestyle with workplace conditions, family considerations, real estate, etc, etc. But the Thunder, like the Spurs before them, are proving that a first-class organization and teammates you truly like can go a long way to overcoming other shortcomings. Presti’s crew won this negotiation over the course of years, not weeks, by building an club that values and develops personnel and makes being in Oklahoma City seem fun to exceptionally wealthy young men. This contract is an organizational, rather than personal achievement. If there is a “Thunder Model,” that’s it.”
Have you seen the picture of James Harden everyone is talking about? Here’s Trey Kerby of TBJ’s breakdown: “The internet is the best. And so is that picture. And so is James Harden, for that matter. Shirtless at a white party with an insane cowboy hat, dookie chain and drinking straight from the bottle? That’s livin’ the life, gold medalist style. Or, I suppose, Rick Ross style, which really makes sense with that beard.”
Berry Tramel: “If the Thunder somehow signs Harden before Halloween, it will be a landmark day. A sign that the Thunder core is intact for the next half decade and a sign that management, despite the limitations of a small market, believes enough in the market and the team and the league to take great financial risk. If Harden doesn’t sign before Halloween, well, it’s either a sign that the Thunder was prudent or Harden wanted full market value, and you can’t blame either side for that.”
Zach Lowe of SI.com: “Is Oklahoma City, the league’s second-smallest market, willing to spend something like $85 million or even $90 million to fill a team? My hunch is that they are — at least for those two seasons. Deals attached to Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison expire after 2014-15, leaving the Thunder in 2015-16 with about $66.5 million committed to the four stars in and all their draft picks between now and then — and the ability to slide under the tax or nuzzle right up against it. Of course, there are huge unknowns here, including the Thunder’s place in the league’s revenue-sharing system and the financial state of Aubrey McClendon, a minority owner whose energy company (Chesapeake) has come under increased scrutiny for its financial state and internal practices.”
Tony Manfred of Business Insider: “Three years, three under-25 budding stars, three drama-less contract negotiations. How do they do it? On paper, these are the exact types of players that would use free agency in absurd, Dwight Howard-esque fashion. They’re young guys drafted into the smallest market in the NBA — who could move to a more glitzy city than OKC, and make more money in endorsements. Yet they’re all staying with the Thunder without even flirting with free agency.”
A survey of a bunch of ESPN writers and contributors have OKC with 59 wins.
Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com projects 57.9 wins for OKC: “Oklahoma City’s projected age (weighted by minutes) for this season is 25.8 years, which ranks 22nd in the league. To give some context, the teams just behind the Thunder are Sacramento, Toronto and Washington. In other words, OKC sports a collective age typical of a franchise in rebuilding mode, yet the Thunder are coming off a Finals appearance.”