National Basketball Association

[dankrutka]

I would not expect Dakari Johnson to contribute to the Thunder in any meaningful way any time soon. He's done okay in the G-League, but his celing is probably an-end-of-the-bench big. Josh Huestis is more likely, but he just hasn't shown he has the overall skills to contribute either. Relying on either player would send a strong message to Russ that the Thunder are incapable of filling out their roster with NBA-level players.

Out to prove me wrong, Huestis and Johnson looked great in summer league today, not sure of either can contribute, but maybe one or both will get a chance...

[Laramie]

Markel Brown showed a little spark, 20 points in 26 minutes; he has 2 years of NBA experience.

Good hustle play with wins over Detroit Pistons 92-91 and New York Knicks 98-87: http://www.espn.com/nba-summer-leagu...summer-orlando

[OKCRT]

Sure would like to see Waiters back on the Thunder team somehow.

[OKCRT]

KD taking less money so he can stay with the Warriors . This is one of the reasons they were able to resign Iggy and Livingston. What a nice guy

[dankrutka]

KD taking less money so he can stay with the Warriors . This is one of the reasons they were able to resign Iggy and Livingston. What a nice guy

It actually only saved the owners money and didn't really affect what the Warriors could offer either player (at least directly): http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/07/kevi...aun-livingston

Some fellow players, namely LeBron, have been outspoken about players taking pay cuts for billionaire owners. Interesting to see how it goes over.

[emtefury]

Millionaires against billionaires. That is interesting.

[OKCRT]

They are making KD out to be some kind of hero for keeping the team together by taking less money. What a joke. I'm sure this was all orchestrated before hand to make KD look like the good and loyal guy he likes to portray.

[d-usa]

I'm just going to guess that his various sponsors are more than making up the difference by him agreeing to stay on a bigger market and on a championship team.

[dankrutka]

Thunder signed Patrick Patterson to 3/16 deal (third year player option). Great signing. Definitely prefer Patterson to Gay. Presti is on fire!

This also marks the biggest free agency signing in Thunder history.

[Thomas Vu]

They are making KD out to be some kind of hero for keeping the team together by taking less money. What a joke. I'm sure this was all orchestrated before hand to make KD look like the good and loyal guy he likes to portray.

Yeah, like 9 years wasn't loyal enough.

[jerrywall]

I'm just going to guess that his various sponsors are more than making up the difference by him agreeing to stay on a bigger market and on a championship team.

This. I mean, just his deal with Nike that he signed in 2014 is 10 years of up to $30 million a year. Last I read KD has more sponsorship deals than any other NBA player, and that was before winning a ring. We could work for free and still come out better than 90% of the players in the NBA, especially if they win another championship.

[jerrywall]

Yeah, like 9 years wasn't loyal enough.

To me any many, the problem with KD leaving wasn't about loyalty or length of time here. When (not if, imo) Westbrook decides to leave, many folks will be disappointed but if he does it the right way, he won't engender the anger the KD did. But constantly hyping up your loyalty to Oklahoma, then performing the way he did against the Warriors in the playoffs, and then announcing his move which was obviously in the process during the playoffs? Well, that's just bad optics. I think he could have moved to any other team and not gotten the reaction he did.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^
Right.

Here's why people here are mad at KD:

• Made lots of unnecessary statements about "want to retire here," "hope to see my jersey hangning in the rafters" etc. Russell OTOH, has never made such claims, though he admittedly has been much more lovey-dovey about OKC of late
• Often let Russ twist in wind when people (media, KD's own crew) grumbled about how Russ was somehow denying KD success (even though he led league in scoring for multiple years)
• Got cozy with team he was playing in WCF, and specifically with a member of that team who did stuff like kick's KD's teammates in the nuts during play
• Appeared to re-enact scenes from "Thunderstruck" while arguably tanking vs said team in WCF
• Hems and haws during free agency for days, letting players like Al Horford slip through Thunder's grasp before peaceing out himself
• JOINS hated rival after items above
• Tells people on his team - people he claimed were his ride-or-die "brothers" via FREAKING TEXT MESSAGE
• Doesn't bother to thank teammates, fans or organization on the way out the door, for the most part
• Allows/encourages narrative to take hold that somehow holds HIM out as jilted party

I promise you, if he had simply said in so many words "I really want everyone in OKC to know that I valued my time here, I appreciate the support, I will miss you and miss my teammates, but I think it is time for me to move on and try a different way of doing things..." he would have been greeted by a standing O on his first visit back. Book it.

Instead, he acted like a turd at pretty much every turn. The notion that OKC fans are the petty ones here is pretty comical.

[Laramie]

Next season's NBA schedule poised to start seven to 10 days earlier:

Sources told ESPN that the 2017-18 campaign is earmarked to start in the Oct. 15 to Oct. 20 range -- up from Oct. 25 this season -- to create additional wiggle room that allows the league's schedule makers to further reduce the number of back-to-backs and four-games-in-five-nights sets on the current schedule.

Read the full article: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...0-days-earlier

[Thomas Vu]

I've always seen him as non committal when asked about what his future plans are, always talking about how he's currently focused on the season at hand. Really get the impression that he catches flack for joining a team that beat him.

In the grand scheme of things, he made a lateral move pay wise and got into a better environment. Taking sports outside of the equation, is there any other occasion when somebody gets hated because they leave their employer to better their life?

[jerrywall]

Yes. Typically leaving poorly, no notice, co workers in the lurch, etc. The tech community in Oklahoma is a small world type thing and I know multiple people who'd have a hard time getting a job here because of how they left a job.

It's just amplified because he's a public figure.

[Teo9969]

^^^^^^^
Right.

Here's why people here are mad at KD:

• Made lots of unnecessary statements about "want to retire here," "hope to see my jersey hangning in the rafters" etc. Russell OTOH, has never made such claims, though he admittedly has been much more lovey-dovey about OKC of late
• Often let Russ twist in wind when people (media, KD's own crew) grumbled about how Russ was somehow denying KD success (even though he led league in scoring for multiple years)
• Got cozy with team he was playing in WCF, and specifically with a member of that team who did stuff like kick's KD's teammates in the nuts during play
• Appeared to re-enact scenes from "Thunderstruck" while arguably tanking vs said team in WCF
• Hems and haws during free agency for days, letting players like Al Horford slip through Thunder's grasp before peaceing out himself
• JOINS hated rival after items above
• Tells people on his team - people he claimed were his ride-or-die "brothers" via FREAKING TEXT MESSAGE
• Doesn't bother to thank teammates, fans or organization on the way out the door, for the most part
• Allows/encourages narrative to take hold that somehow holds HIM out as jilted party

I promise you, if he had simply said in so many words "I really want everyone in OKC to know that I valued my time here, I appreciate the support, I will miss you and miss my teammates, but I think it is time for me to move on and try a different way of doing things..." he would have been greeted by a standing O on his first visit back. Book it.

Instead, he acted like a turd at pretty much every turn. The notion that OKC fans are the petty ones here is pretty comical.

To say nothing of the fact that he ruined at least 1-year of the NBA for the league as a whole, if not the next 2. The complete anti-competitiveness of the move pissed off a large segment of the NBA ***PLAYERS***.

The salary cap dropped from the predicted $101M to $99M for a reason, and it has to do with a complete lack of interest due to no competition. Were it not for Russ chasing Oscar, the newness of the Warriors and the KD return to OKC, and the late season push for Harden to get MVP over Westbrook, that number probably would have dropped a bit closer to $97M.

If no one out West can push GSW for the #1 seed, then we're probably looking at a stagnant cap next season if not an outright drop. The league was anticipating $108M for 2018/19 and could be as much as $10M less, and a very large percentage of that blame could arguably be lain at Durant's feet. $10Mx30 is not a small number for the 100+ free agents that will be out there next season.

[SoonerDave]

I've always seen him as non committal when asked about what his future plans are, always talking about how he's currently focused on the season at hand. Really get the impression that he catches flack for joining a team that beat him.

In the grand scheme of things, he made a lateral move pay wise and got into a better environment. Taking sports outside of the equation, is there any other occasion when somebody gets hated because they leave their employer to better their life?

It would be delightful if it were quite that Disneyland simple. And it's disingenuous to imply it was.

[Teo9969]

I've always seen him as non committal when asked about what his future plans are, always talking about how he's currently focused on the season at hand. Really get the impression that he catches flack for joining a team that beat him.

In the grand scheme of things, he made a lateral move pay wise and got into a better environment. Taking sports outside of the equation, is there any other occasion when somebody gets hated because they leave their employer to better their life?

You can't take sports outside of the equation, because that's what he's doing. Sports is his job. From a competition aspect, he has done real damage to the entire NBA. When all is said in done, a billion dollars of damage might not be as far-fetched as it seems. When you're one of the Top 5 players of your generation, you have a responsibility to the sport.

[Bellaboo]

I've always seen him as non committal when asked about what his future plans are, always talking about how he's currently focused on the season at hand. Really get the impression that he catches flack for joining a team that beat him.

In the grand scheme of things, he made a lateral move pay wise and got into a better environment. Taking sports outside of the equation, is there any other occasion when somebody gets hated because they leave their employer to better their life?

Check out the Utah Jazz fan forums about Gordon Hayward. Real hate going on and they are comparing him to what Durant did last year. You can't be loving on your organization and fan base clear to the end and then skip town. Would be much less hate if they would be forthright and let it be known of other interests involved.

[Bellaboo]

Duplicate post -

[Thomas Vu]

[/B]

Check out the Utah Jazz fan forums about Gordon Hayward. Real hate going on and they are comparing him to what Durant did last year. You can't be loving on your organization and fan base clear to the end and then skip town. Would be much less hate if they would be forthright and let it be known of other interests involved.

Whether he did let it known intentionally or not, there were leaks saying that he was interested in both Boston and Miami. Not only that, he also thanked his organization. In addition, it's being reported that he's helping the Jazz out by doing a sign and trade instead of leaving straight up. That way, the Jazz get assets out of Boston.

Not to mention that Hayward isn't joining a team that beat him, and it's not even a super team. Optimistically, the Cavs lose 2 games next year instead of 1.

The home team is always going to be salty about their star leaving, no matter how it's done.

[Bellaboo]

Whether he did let it known intentionally or not, there were leaks saying that he was interested in both Boston and Miami. Not only that, he also thanked his organization. In addition, it's being reported that he's helping the Jazz out by doing a sign and trade instead of leaving straight up. That way, the Jazz get assets out of Boston.

Not to mention that Hayward isn't joining a team that beat him, and it's not even a super team. Optimistically, the Cavs lose 2 games next year instead of 1.

The home team is always going to be salty about their star leaving, no matter how it's done.

The sign and trade request is a wishful rumor by the Jazz fan base.

Don't forget, Durant interviewed 6 teams but his interest as proven out was only with one.

[Thomas Vu]

Woj reporting it is a step up from a "wishful rumor by the Jazz fan base" for me.

[Bellaboo]

Woj reporting it is a step up from a "wishful rumor by the Jazz fan base" for me.

From this morning -

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/07/06/nb...latest-updates


Boston shopping 3 players is different than Utah getting pieces in return as we all know.

Will have to wait and see -