Wednesday Bolts – 10.22.14

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports on lottery reform: “In conversations with small-market executives, Presti, a member of the influential NBA competition committee, has tried to warn peers that changing the system is a risky proposition for small-market teams. Presti declined comment to Yahoo Sports, but his case, laid out to others, is this: The big-market teams badly want this change because it’ll give them one more advantage over small markets in securing top talent. Big-market teams have an advantage signing superstar free agents and an advantage trading for them because those players are far more apt to agree to sign a contract extension. And, now, the big market teams will get better access to top players higher in the draft.”

Kelly Dwyer of BDL on Durant: “The bigger, more important ‘win’ here is the idea that Kevin Durant is taking his time with this. There has never been a player like Kevin Durant, asked to work through screens on the perimeter like a guard while possessing a body that would have put him in the low post as recently as 15 years ago. The Thunder haven’t been incorrect in their use of KD, that’s just how the man plays – a fracture like this from a man who has consistently played deep into the playoffs while working with Team USA in the summer makes sense, though. And it makes sense to take the slow route to recovery before asking a nearly 7-foot tall man to run around like Ray Allen until spring and maybe summer. It’s good to see Kevin Durant, at possibly his lowest point, acknowledge as much.”

Kurt Helin of PBT on the lottery: “What Philadelphia did is model that, but take it to the next level — if you’re going to be bad, be very bad. For years. That has led to discussions of tanking in the media and among fans, and with that frustrations among owners at the system. But is throwing out the system really going to solve the problem? Under the current system, if you have the worst record you have a 25 percent chance at the top pick and can’t fall lower than fourth, and if you are the second or third worst your odds are significantly higher than others down the board. In the new, likely to be approved draft lottery system the four teams with the worst records all have a 12 percent chance at the first pick, fifth is at 11.5 percent, then six at 10 percent, and teams farther down the board have better odds. The team with the worst record could fall to seventh. What that is designed to do is encourage teams not to be Philadelphia bad because you don’t gain any real advantage.”

Deadspin’s Thunder preview is pretty good.

James Herbert of CBSSports.com on KD: “The Thunder are obviously going to be a different-looking team for the first part of the season. Durant has told reserve forward Perry Jones — who will likely get his first chance to play extended minutes since coming into the league — to just play his game, to try not to overthink anything. There’s going to be pressure on Jones and several other role players, but Durant wants everyone to just move the ball and take advantage of the opportunities that are available. The MVP is not sure how long it will take to get back in game shape when he returns, but he’s staying positive for now.”

Alex Roig on lottery reform: “You see, Presti knows what’s at stake. Under the current system, a couple seasons of drought can lead to gold if you draft well and spend your money wisely. But under the proposed system, those couple of seasons of drought can lead to gold or they can lead to iron pyrite. And while draft position is never an exact science, a lot more superstars are drafted in the top 5 picks than anywhere else in the draft. Presti is always looking ahead and knows that there will come a time when Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka will no longer be donning Thunder uniforms. It could be in the next 2-3 seasons, just like it could be in the next 10 seasons. But when that day comes, the Thunder will likely look to the draft to rebuild.”

Zach Lowe of Grantland in their League Pass rankings: “Look, using a first-round pick on Josh Huestis and sending him to the D-League would grate a bit if I were Durant. That’s one potential contributor down the drain until next season. But the Thunder have a ton of unproven young guys, and they’re only about $2 million below the tax line. Paying the rookie scale for Huestis and signing someone with the full midlevel would have taken them over the tax — and hard-capped them. This is the part where you mention that they could, you know, just pay the tax.”