Wednesday Bolts – 6.18.14
Berry Tramel on KD’s season: “Marginally better. Most players are better at 26 than at 25. Durant was better at 25 than at 24. He should peak around 27-28. So we’ve got a couple more seasons of Durant improving before he plateaus. But it won’t be remarkable gains. Guys that good don’t have huge upsides. They’re already on the upper side of upside.”
Zach Lowe of Grantland on max deals: “Blowing up the max salary would bring some uncomfortable changes in team-building. Take the Thunder. They were smart enough to draft four star players over a three-year span. They already traded one of them, James Harden, to duck the luxury tax. Imagine how they’d have to prep for Kevin Durant’s free agency in a world with no limit on maximum salaries and a hard team cap. Other teams would clear the decks for Durant, and the Thunder might have to hoard as much as $40 million in space to keep him. Remember, they’d have no Bird rights in this scenario, since there is no going over the cap. Maybe they’d just lose him outright to the highest bidder. Maybe they’d have to trade one of Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook to have the cash reserves for Durant. That’s the point, of course — to split up the stars. But not every team acquires its stars the same way. An unlimited max salary might derail a team like the Thunder before it gets rolling.”
Darnell Mayberry: “It was one of Durant’s best years defensively despite some inconsistency. He showed significant improvement in staying with and stopping his man. That’s when Durant was at his best, according to Synergy Sports data. Using his footwork and length to hound his men, Durant limited opponents to 0.66 points per possession on isolations and held them to 27.6 percent shooting in those situations. A year ago, Durant gave up 0.73 points per possession and 33.8 percent shooting when isolated. Off the ball is where Durant struggled most, as he often got caught ball-watching or simply napping as his man beat him backdoor or in transition for layups and dunks. Durant’s blocked shots fell from 105 a year ago to 59 this season, perhaps one indicator of his defensive struggles off the ball. Still, that doesn’t overshadow what was a promising season for Durant defensively. He took a big step toward shedding his reputation as a poor defender. Now he must build on it.”
Tramel: “That’s an NBA success story, but let’s not pretend the Spurs found a diamond in the rough. Let’s not pretend they spotted another Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili or even Leonard and nurtured him along. The Spurs cut Green once and let him languish on the bench for long stretches another time. Sometimes the very thing you’re looking for is the one thing you can’t see. Even if you’re Gregg Popovich. So while the Thunder seeks a quality shooting guard, Presti can look to the draft or look to the free-agent market or even look on the Thunder bench. He might also look under a rock. Sometimes that’s where you find gems. They’re hard to find. But they are out there.”
Tom Ley of Deadspin on KD: “Poor Kevin Durant is just so dang bad at the internet and feuds, mostly because he seems to have a gift for doing and or saying completely innocuous things that he later has to back down from because the internet is stupid.”
