Wishing Everyone a Thunderous Christmas

As the Oklahoma City Thunder head into their Christmas meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves, we here at Daily Thunder would like to wish all of our readers (and lurkers) a Merry Christmas. May your time be filled with the people you love and may you get every present you wanted on your wishlist.

As a little fun, we decided to ask some question in relation to the Thunder this Christmas. So, without further ado, enjoy.

What are the 3 things on the Thunder’s wishlist? (Be realistic with these).

Dustin Ragusa (DR): A healthy Victor Oladipo.  Oladipo has now missed 6 games heading into Christmas day.  It’s made a negative impact on both sides of the ball.  They need him back and healthy as soon as possible. Better 3-point shooting. I know this has a lot to do with how their current roster is structured, but you’d like to see Morrow get back to around his career average after an awful start along with Abrines and Singler improving their accuracy from distance.  It’d also be nice if Roberson could bump his up a percentage or two into the 32-33% range. A healthy Cameron Payne.  This will also help with #2 above.  The thought is that he will be back for the December 29^th matchup against the Grizzlies, and I hope this turns out to be the truth and his return isn’t delayed any longer.

Jon Hamm (JH): A knockdown catch-and-shoot wing player, a healthy Cameron Payne, and one or more rival GM’s willing to make a trade.

Tyler Parker (TP): Health, health, and some team in need of a Turkish big is also looking to deal a two way small forward.

Daniel Wojciechowski (DW): Good health, playing time for Josh Huestis, and a trade before the deadline that continues to help re-tool the Thunder going forward.

Royce Young (RY): Good health, a secondary scorer, and good health. This Thunder team is paper thin in terms of depth. An injury to Victor Oladipo has reset them significantly, and one can only imagine how ugly this would look if Westbrook needed a week or two to recover from a sprained ankle or something.

Alex Roig (AR): Continued health moving forward, a free throw shooting coach, and a gullible GM for Sam Presti to target.

If the Thunder could wish for anything this Christmas, what would it be? (You can be outlandish with this one)

DR: A 3-and-D type wing who can space the floor on offense, but hold his own on the defensive end.  Maybe say, Kawhi Leonard? I mean it is a “wish”, might as well shoot high.

JH: The ability to go back in time and put the 2017 CBA into effect in 2011. This new CBA gives teams the ability to extend two rookie scale contracts for up to five seasons at maximum money, and also puts teams in much better position to offer veterans lucrative extensions before they hit free agency. Would have been awfully cool to have those available over the past 6 years.

TP: A bunch of trumpeters who announce Westbrook’s arrival in the way trumpeters do for kings and queens in movies and television shows involving kings and queens. I imagine they’d play when he was announced in the starting lineups, any time he checked in, and any time he’s still in the game after a time out.

DW: A second superstar to pair with Westbrook, looking at you Paul George.

RY: Anthony Davis to demand a trade, and only want to go to Oklahoma City. He shares the same agent with Westbrook and obviously Davis’ situation in New Orleans seems… unpleasant. A Westbrook-Davis combo with Adams, Oladipo and Roberson supporting quickly becomes a contender again. Hey, you said outlandish.

AR: For one of either Blake Griffin, Paul George, or Anthony Davis to demand a trade to OKC.

Who is the Thunder’s Grinch this Christmas season?

DR: Nick Young.  That buzzer beater he hit earlier this year to win the game hurt.  Especially since he stole a pass that was intended for his own teammate like the Grinch stole those presents from the Who’s in Whoville… and he traveled.

JH: Serge Ibaka for his 31-point and game-winning-shot performance in his OKC return.

TP: Jerry West, who this summer called Kevin Durant and whined about the lack of success in his own career, causing Durant to feel like he’d regret not joining the preeningest bunch of peacocks the world has ever known. I wish, with most of what I have inside of me, that Durant had heard these arguments, thought quietly for one minute with West still on the phone, realized the stupidity of what was happening, broken the silence with, “Yeah, but you’re the logo so seems like things went fine,” and hung up.

DW: The NBA’s official 2-minute reports.

RY: Kevin… ahh, what’s his name? That guy.

AR: Wayne Pratt…from everything that I hear, Mr. Durant Sr. (aka Wayne Pratt) heavily influenced Durant’s move to the Bay Area.

If the Thunder were to sing a Christmas carol, which one would it be and why?

DR: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.  The Thunder players and we as fans need to enjoy Christmas because come January, the Thunder schedule becomes brutal with a slew of road games and matchups against the Cavs, Clippers, Jazz, Rockets, Spurs and Warriors.

JH: Whatever Victor Oladipo is in the mood to sing about. Because Victor Oladipo’s voice.

TP: I’ve thought about this for thirty minutes and cannot come up with one that makes sense as a metaphor so I’ll just say “Christmas Don’t Be Late” so that I can hear Steven Adams sing the words hula hoop.

DW: Brodie it’s cold outside. Russ has ice in his veins.

RY: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. This shouldn’t need too much explanation.

AR: “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas” by Jose Feliciano. Why? Because half the roster speaks Spanish and the other half speaks some semblance of English.

DR: I know this is the obvious choice, but Kyle Singler.  From having the same horrible hair-do as the Iceland coach from D2: The Mighty Ducks to the continued poor shooting, he hasn’t helped the Thunder much since he joined the team.

JH: Kyle Singler is getting enough coal from the other folks, I’m sure. I’ll go with Semaj Christon. Not to pick on the rookie, but he showed promise in the preseason that’s rarely been seen since.

TP: I’m certain I’m being unoriginal here but the answer kind of has to be Kyle Singler, right? It’s the law? Feels like one of the true givens in this world, yeah?

DW: Gotta be Sam Presti. He robbed the Orlando Magic this offseason by trading Serge Ibaka for Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo and eventually Jerami Grant. He’s been bad.

RY: Kyle… Sing… ler.

AR: Andre Roberson. Get your free throw shooting in order, Dre.

DR: “Merry Christmas, Cupcake. From Russ and the rest of the selfish guys you used to play with.”

JH: The card will be blank. Front, back, center pages. All blank. Psychological warfare.

TP: The mind is capable of amazing things. A bunch of monks found out they could change the brain’s structure and functioning. I sincerely believe that Russell Westbrook dedicates probably two hours a day to trying to forget that Kevin Durant exists. I also believe he’s not been able to do it. I think one day he will. That said, I think Westbrook would be massively petty in the card. Something like: I’ve been meaning to tell you for years—you look weird in hats.

DW: The card doesn’t say anything, it’s blank on the inside.

RY: It’s one of those cards that plays music when you open it. “Now I do what I want, now I do what I want, now I do what I want…”

AR: Durant opens the card up and it’s a Rorshach inkblot of Westbrook’s most damning glare.