Presti Talks Draft Lottery
So much for Blake Griffin
General manager Sam Presti had a 14 1/2 minute teleconference following Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery. The Thunder moved up a spot and got the third pick in the draft, and Presti talked about the prospects that are expected to be available at No. 3, whether he’s open to trading the pick, whether to move up or down, and what it was like to be locked in the room where all the magic happened. The transcript is quite long, but I’ll post it in its entirity.
Opening statement
SP: Well first, we’re thrilled as an organization to be picking third. We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us to add a player that we think can grow with our team as we continue to build the franchise. It’s a great day for our fans. We’re truly excited for them as well because this will be their inaugural draft. We’ll welcome another player into the Thunder family, and our fans have been incredibly supportive throughout the season and continue to be. So we’re ready to start to get to work, get to know this group of players on a more intimate level and we’re thrilled that we moved up a spot.
Q: What is the likelihood that you will examine a trade, whether up or down?
A: At this point in the year we’re charged with examining everything. We’ll take calls. We’ll make calls. It’s like that every year. This year we’ll approach it the same way that we have every year, which is we’ll take a look at everything and ultimately decide what’s best for the organization.
Q: What are your early impressions of Hasheem Thabeet and do you think he could be what this team needs as far as interior defense?
A: We’ve followed him as we have all the players in the draft and we’ll continue to study him more. He’s had a nice career in college and he’s someone that we’ll look at in the group of players that we continue to study. Much will be said up until the draft about players will go here and players will go there. I can tell you that we won’t have it all figured out. We continue to do our work, collect information and on the 25th we’ll be ready to make a pick.
NBA Draft Lottery Live Blog
On Stage At The Draft Lottery
Here’s an early list of the folks you’ll see representing their teams on stage tonight at the NBA Draft Lottery.
D.J. Augustin — Charlotte Bobcats
Larry Riley — Golden State Warriors
Larry Bird — Indiana Pacers
Baron Davis — Los Angeles Clippers
Lionel Hollins — Memphis Grizzlies
John Hammond — Milwaukee Bucks
Kevin Love — Minnesota Timberwolves
Rod Thorn — New Jersey Nets
Allan Houston — New York Knicks
Scott Brooks — Oklahoma City Thunder
Alvin Gentry — Phoenix Suns
Chris Webber — Sacramento Kings
Bryan Colangelo — Toronto Raptors
Ernie Grunfeld — Washington Wizards
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UNC'S Danny Green Talks Thunder Workout
The Thunder just wrapped up its second pre-draft workout session of the off-season this morning at the team’s practice facility, bringing in a group of six players that included North Carolina’s Danny Green, Wisconsin’s Marcus Landry, Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks, Memphis’ Antonio Anderson, Missouri’s Leo Lyons and DePaul’s Dar Tucker.
The entire workout was closed to the media, but the team made Green, the 6-foot-5 swingman, available for interviews. He talked about the workout process, his strengths, the Tar Heels’ national championship and playing ball with President Obama.
Q: How did the workout go?
A: It went all right. I think I started off a little slow. We had the testing in the beginning. I don’t think a lot of guys were warm or ready for the vertical jump and defensive slides. But everything went OK. We got some shooting up. I did pretty well in the shooting. Once we got into doing some drills I tweaked my ankle a little bit but after that I was good to go. We started doing some fastbreak and 2-on-2 stuff and getting competitive with screen and rolls and doing a lot of the things they do in this league.
Q: Do all the teams do the same thing or does it vary?
A: It varies. Today was more of a lighter workout. Even though it didn’t seem like a light workout, some guys were a little tired. But other teams might do some more conditioning, other teams might do more 2-on-2, 1-on-1 stuff or screening. Some teams do some shooting. It varies team to team. But today I think was more of a shooting and seeing whether you can play defense, penetrate and kick and work in a system.
Q: Where do you see your strengths?
A: I don’t have many strengths. I can shoot outside shots a little bit and play defense. They want to see if you can play defense. Today, we have a lot of scorers in the league. A lot of guys can get to the basket and score. But there are not too many defenders out there.
Q: When the team interviews you what kind of questions do they ask you?
A: Just questions to see what kind of person you are. It’s not really an interview. It’s more of a dialogue. You’re just having a conversation with them. They’re trying to find out where your head is, what kind of person you are, if you’re a good guy. There are some personal questions. Do you have a girlfriend, things like that. Other than that it’s just what’s your strengths, what’s your weaknesses, what can you bring to the program?
Q: How did going through this process last year but returning for senior year help you?
A: Last year I went into it not knowing what to expect. I think now that I’ve gone through it I know what to expect from teams and what they’re expecting of me. Having a year experience helps a lot.
Q: What do you like about the Thunder?
A: They have a lot of young guys. They get up and down. They’re pretty athletic. That’s kind of like my style of play. I like to get up and down, run and gun a little bit, get to the basket, make some plays happen. And a lot of these guys are my age so I think it’ll be a lot of fun.
Q: What were your impressions of the guys you went up against today?
A: They’re really good. Dar Tucker is pretty strong. He uses both hands. I think I saw him shoot with both hands, which kind of shocked me a little bit. Antonio Anderson is real good. He’s a leaper. He can jump. A lot of those guys can play, they can shoot and score. Lyons is a long guy and he can stroke it a little bit. They all have talents and they’ve shown some of the things that they can do. Some of those guys I didn’t see them play during the year but to watch them play today I know that they’re really good and talented guys.
Q: Have you come down yet from the winning the national championship?
A: I don’t think I’ve been up, really, to be honest. I didn’t have much time after the season to really celebrate or to really let it sink in. Right after the season we started barnstorming. That’s where you travel around the city and play in different All-Star games here and there in different towns throughout the state and a lot of people get to watch you play. After that we had a couple of days off and I had to get back to working out because graduation was around the corner and then workouts.
Q: What was it like going to the White House?
A: It was good. It was a lot of fun. You get to walk around. Got to meet Obama for the second time. We had a lot of fun. We took the day to walk around the house for a couple of hours so it was nice.
Q: When was your first meeting with President Obama?
A: Last year, before he became president he came down and played pick up with us in the summertime. He played a little bit, got some shots up. He did all right.
Q: You didn’t try to dog him did you?
A: Nah. I sat out. I was hurt last year. I was doing this process so I just sat on the sidelines and watched him play. One of our walk-ons definitely tried to dog him a little bit. It was kind of funny.
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UNC’S Danny Green Talks Thunder Workout
The Thunder just wrapped up its second pre-draft workout session of the off-season this morning at the team’s practice facility, bringing in a group of six players that included North Carolina’s Danny Green, Wisconsin’s Marcus Landry, Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks, Memphis’ Antonio Anderson, Missouri’s Leo Lyons and DePaul’s Dar Tucker.
The entire workout was closed to the media, but the team made Green, the 6-foot-5 swingman, available for interviews. He talked about the workout process, his strengths, the Tar Heels’ national championship and playing ball with President Obama.
Q: How did the workout go?
A: It went all right. I think I started off a little slow. We had the testing in the beginning. I don’t think a lot of guys were warm or ready for the vertical jump and defensive slides. But everything went OK. We got some shooting up. I did pretty well in the shooting. Once we got into doing some drills I tweaked my ankle a little bit but after that I was good to go. We started doing some fastbreak and 2-on-2 stuff and getting competitive with screen and rolls and doing a lot of the things they do in this league.
Q: Do all the teams do the same thing or does it vary?
A: It varies. Today was more of a lighter workout. Even though it didn’t seem like a light workout, some guys were a little tired. But other teams might do some more conditioning, other teams might do more 2-on-2, 1-on-1 stuff or screening. Some teams do some shooting. It varies team to team. But today I think was more of a shooting and seeing whether you can play defense, penetrate and kick and work in a system.
Q: Where do you see your strengths?
A: I don’t have many strengths. I can shoot outside shots a little bit and play defense. They want to see if you can play defense. Today, we have a lot of scorers in the league. A lot of guys can get to the basket and score. But there are not too many defenders out there.
Q: When the team interviews you what kind of questions do they ask you?
A: Just questions to see what kind of person you are. It’s not really an interview. It’s more of a dialogue. You’re just having a conversation with them. They’re trying to find out where your head is, what kind of person you are, if you’re a good guy. There are some personal questions. Do you have a girlfriend, things like that. Other than that it’s just what’s your strengths, what’s your weaknesses, what can you bring to the program?
Q: How did going through this process last year but returning for senior year help you?
A: Last year I went into it not knowing what to expect. I think now that I’ve gone through it I know what to expect from teams and what they’re expecting of me. Having a year experience helps a lot.
Q: What do you like about the Thunder?
A: They have a lot of young guys. They get up and down. They’re pretty athletic. That’s kind of like my style of play. I like to get up and down, run and gun a little bit, get to the basket, make some plays happen. And a lot of these guys are my age so I think it’ll be a lot of fun.
Q: What were your impressions of the guys you went up against today?
A: They’re really good. Dar Tucker is pretty strong. He uses both hands. I think I saw him shoot with both hands, which kind of shocked me a little bit. Antonio Anderson is real good. He’s a leaper. He can jump. A lot of those guys can play, they can shoot and score. Lyons is a long guy and he can stroke it a little bit. They all have talents and they’ve shown some of the things that they can do. Some of those guys I didn’t see them play during the year but to watch them play today I know that they’re really good and talented guys.
Q: Have you come down yet from the winning the national championship?
A: I don’t think I’ve been up, really, to be honest. I didn’t have much time after the season to really celebrate or to really let it sink in. Right after the season we started barnstorming. That’s where you travel around the city and play in different All-Star games here and there in different towns throughout the state and a lot of people get to watch you play. After that we had a couple of days off and I had to get back to working out because graduation was around the corner and then workouts.
Q: What was it like going to the White House?
A: It was good. It was a lot of fun. You get to walk around. Got to meet Obama for the second time. We had a lot of fun. We took the day to walk around the house for a couple of hours so it was nice.
Q: When was your first meeting with President Obama?
A: Last year, before he became president he came down and played pick up with us in the summertime. He played a little bit, got some shots up. He did all right.
Q: You didn’t try to dog him did you?
A: Nah. I sat out. I was hurt last year. I was doing this process so I just sat on the sidelines and watched him play. One of our walk-ons definitely tried to dog him a little bit. It was kind of funny.
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A Pre-Draft Workout Weekend
The Thunder announced today 18 players that will participate in pre-draft workouts Saturday and Sunday.
The first group of six will include:
Jodie Meeks, G, 6-3, Kentucky
Dar Tucker, G, 6-3, DePaul
Danny Green, G/F, 6-5, North Carolina
Antonio Anderson, G, 6-5, Memphis
Leo Lyons, F, 6-8, Missouri
Marcus Landry, F, 6-7, Wisconsin
The following 12 players will be divided into two groups of six:
Robert Vaden, G, 6-5, UAB
Dionte Christmas, G, 6-5, Temple
Terrence Williams, G/F, 6-6, Louisville
Josh Shipp, G, 6-4, UCLA
Josh Heytvelt, F/C, 6-10, Gonzaga
Shawn Taggart, F/C, 6-10, Memphis
Vladimir Dasic, F, 6-9, Buducnost (Montenegro)
Dominique Archie, F, 6-7, South Carolina
Nate Miles, G/F, 6-7, Southern Idaho
Gordon Watt, F, 6-6, Houston Baptist
Devan Downey, G,5-9, South Carolina
Tyrese Rice, G, 6-0, Boston College
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Remembering Wayman Tisdale
The Thunder released statements today regarding the passing of former OU and NBA forward Wayman Tisdale.
Said general manager Sam Presti: “On behalf of the Oklahoma City Thunder organization, players and staff, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to the Tisdale family. Wayman was a tremendous representative for the game of basketball as well as the state of Oklahoma. His passion for life and endless positive energy will remain an inspiration for us all.”
Said coach Scott Brooks: “Wayman was an amazing competitor and an even better person. His smile and enthusiasm for life was contagious and something that will live on forever.”
Said team chairman Clay Bennett: “The entire organization is deeply saddened by the loss of Wayman Tisdale. We will forever remember the April night he was honored at a Thunder game. His smile radiated throughout the arena as dans and players on both benches all rose and cheered in tribute. He was a remarkable athlete and competitor, but most of all a tremendous person. his courage fighting cancer and helping others along the way are a lasting inspiration for us all. We extend our thoughts and prayers to Regina, their children and the entire Tisdale family.”
The Thunder also has several tributes to Tisdale on its official Web site, www.thunder.nba.com. Vice President of Corporate Communications and Community Relations Dan Mahoney shared his memories, a video of Tisdale receiving the Thunder’s Community Hero Award and a sideline interview can be seen here. And an emotional video of Tisdale receiving the NBA Legends Award at All-Star Weekend can be seen here. At the end of the last video, Tisdale voiced the courage he so often embodied when he assured a crowded room, “I will not give up this fight, not one minute.”
The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com in April also chronicled Tisdale’s impact on today’s NBA players and his adjustment to his surgery and prosthetic leg in this story and video.
We’ll have much more coverage in Saturday’s editions of The Oklahoman and on NewsOK.com, including a column from Berry Tramel remembering Tisdale’s charisma, a column from Jenni Carlson reflecting on his inspirational life, a piece from John Rohde talking with Billy and Tommy Tubbs as well as a timeline of Tisdale’s life and legacy.
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Durant: "I wish I was in the playoffs"
Kevin Durant recently took time to be a guest on one of my favorite sports talk radio shows, the John Thompson show on ESPN 980 AM in Washington D.C. During the nearly eight-minute interview, Durant talked about the playoffs, the Kobe Bryant v. LeBron James debate and the Thunder’s outlook for next season.
Here’s a few snippets of the interview……
Q: Who’s better, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James…..
KD: “It’s hard to determine that. Once you play against those guys it’s hard to determine who’s best because they do different things for their teams. Just looking at different aspects of the game, I think Kobe’s a better scorer. Passing, I think LeBron’s a better passer. Rebounding, I think LeBron’s a better rebounder. So it’s just about what kind of player you want on your team. Both of those guys are great. So I’d have to say they’re the 1a and 1b of the best players in the league.”
Q: Which player he’d want on the Thunder…….
KD: “I think I’d rather have LeBron, because he does so much on the floor. He rebounds, he blocks shots and he passes.”
Q: On playing playoff basketball……
KD: “That’s what you live for. That’s what all the competitive great players live for is to try to take their team to the Finals. Once the regular season is over and it’s time for the playoffs, I think your whole mindset changes. You have to win games or you go home, or your season’s over with. It’s plain and simple. Every team wants to be the last team standing. With me, I know if I’m in that position I don’t worry about anything else but winning. Coming into practices and shoot-arounds being focused. Coming into film sessions being focused and not playing around. I think that once you step on that floor it’s all business. I can’t wait until our team gets in that position and hopefully we (don’t) take it for granted.”
Q: On what the next step is for the Thunder…….
KD: “If we continue to get better as a team as training camp and preseason games roll around, just every small thing we need to get better at as a team because we’re still young. I think that we have a good chance to be there. But guys got to fed into what we’re bringing into training camp and get better. It starts off with the guys we’re drafting now and getting ready for that and working out as individuals in the summertime and making our individual games better. I think if everybody comes back more focused and ready to be a winning team and not think that we’re so young and we’re going through lumps, if we come into training camp thinking we’re a playoff team I think that’ll give us some momentum.”
Q: On who he thinks will win the championship….
KD: “I think Cleveland will win because every game they play they’ve locked teams up on the defensive end. And you’ve seen last year with Boston that’s what wins championships. Also, they have the MVP of the league in LeBron who’s doing everything for his team. So I think they have the best defense in the playoffs so far and those guys know what to do with that. And they help each other out a lot. They’re the best help defense team I’ve seen this year. And like I said, it doesn’t hurt that you have the MVP on the other end scoring for you and rebounding and passing the ball and doing everything for his team. So I think Cleveland’s going to win it.”
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Durant: “I wish I was in the playoffs”
Kevin Durant recently took time to be a guest on one of my favorite sports talk radio shows, the John Thompson show on ESPN 980 AM in Washington D.C. During the nearly eight-minute interview, Durant talked about the playoffs, the Kobe Bryant v. LeBron James debate and the Thunder’s outlook for next season.
Here’s a few snippets of the interview……
Q: Who’s better, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James…..
KD: “It’s hard to determine that. Once you play against those guys it’s hard to determine who’s best because they do different things for their teams. Just looking at different aspects of the game, I think Kobe’s a better scorer. Passing, I think LeBron’s a better passer. Rebounding, I think LeBron’s a better rebounder. So it’s just about what kind of player you want on your team. Both of those guys are great. So I’d have to say they’re the 1a and 1b of the best players in the league.”
Q: Which player he’d want on the Thunder…….
KD: “I think I’d rather have LeBron, because he does so much on the floor. He rebounds, he blocks shots and he passes.”
Q: On playing playoff basketball……
KD: “That’s what you live for. That’s what all the competitive great players live for is to try to take their team to the Finals. Once the regular season is over and it’s time for the playoffs, I think your whole mindset changes. You have to win games or you go home, or your season’s over with. It’s plain and simple. Every team wants to be the last team standing. With me, I know if I’m in that position I don’t worry about anything else but winning. Coming into practices and shoot-arounds being focused. Coming into film sessions being focused and not playing around. I think that once you step on that floor it’s all business. I can’t wait until our team gets in that position and hopefully we (don’t) take it for granted.”
Q: On what the next step is for the Thunder…….
KD: “If we continue to get better as a team as training camp and preseason games roll around, just every small thing we need to get better at as a team because we’re still young. I think that we have a good chance to be there. But guys got to fed into what we’re bringing into training camp and get better. It starts off with the guys we’re drafting now and getting ready for that and working out as individuals in the summertime and making our individual games better. I think if everybody comes back more focused and ready to be a winning team and not think that we’re so young and we’re going through lumps, if we come into training camp thinking we’re a playoff team I think that’ll give us some momentum.”
Q: On who he thinks will win the championship….
KD: “I think Cleveland will win because every game they play they’ve locked teams up on the defensive end. And you’ve seen last year with Boston that’s what wins championships. Also, they have the MVP of the league in LeBron who’s doing everything for his team. So I think they have the best defense in the playoffs so far and those guys know what to do with that. And they help each other out a lot. They’re the best help defense team I’ve seen this year. And like I said, it doesn’t hurt that you have the MVP on the other end scoring for you and rebounding and passing the ball and doing everything for his team. So I think Cleveland’s going to win it.”
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Demolition Time In Dallas
ABOUT DENVER-DALLAS
Denver’s 124-110 series clincher over Dallas on Wednesday night should officially mark the end of the Mavs as we know them. Dallas isn’t going anywhere or getting any better as currently constructed, and the Mavs could be in store for a very busy off-season, perhaps the most interesting throughout the league when you consider owner Mark Cuban presides over all activity. The Mavs have several holes to fill if they want to continue being a mainstay in the playoffs and get back to championship contender status. When you look at that roster, Dirk Nowitzki seems to be the Mavs’ only building block. Sixth Man Award winner Jason Terry is great at his role but was disappointing in the playoffs and is now entering into vastly overpaid territory with $32 million remaining over the final three years of his contract. Josh Howard, Dallas’ second best player, is still one of the most underrated players in the league, but injuries set him back this year and it’s starting to look like his off-the-court issues have taken a toll on him mentally. Howard has one more year left on his contract and a team option for 2010-11, but the Mavs have to decide if he’s really worth moving forward with, if his increasing distractions are worth his decreasing production. And then there’s point guard Jason Kidd, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Kidd had a solid season, and even though he makes the Mavs better I’d be shocked if the Mavs brought him back considering he’s 36, can no longer keep up with the upper echelon point guards in the game today and might want more money than he’s worth at this point. Of course, there are differing opinions on the matter. As an aside, I couldn’t help but consider Kidd the NBA’s version of Brett Favre while watching Wednesday night’s Game 6. Many of the sweet passes Kidd once made that made us drop our jaws have now turned into turnovers. Kidd averaged a career-low 2.28 turnovers this year, but his five giveaways Wednesday night, many in the first half, proved he no longer can be the up-and-down, innovative playmaker he once was. He should stop trying to be. Here are Dallas’ needs in order of importance: a (young) point guard, better individual defenders, a bench, a low-post scorer and a rebounder. The best the Mavs could come with off the bench was Brandon Bass and J.J. Barea. Toss in Terry when coach Rick Carlisle didn’t decide to start him and that’s still way too little. Defensively the Mavs have issues. Erick Dampier’s days as an anchor in the middle are long gone and, at 34 in July, you have wonder how much more effective he can be while he is on the court. Howard, Bass and Antoine Wright are solid defenders, but Bass is a free agent and Wright got exposed against the Nuggets. But more than anything, the Mavs need some toughness and a leader. It’s been the same story throughout this decade, through three coaches, nine straight 50-win seasons and one trip to the NBA Finals…
You have to think Denver is playing the best ball of the remaining teams in the playoffs. Sure, they’ve lost two games and the Cleveland Cavaliers still have an unblemished postseason record. But the Cavs ran through an overmatched and reeling team in Detroit and an overmatched and content team in Atlanta. The Nuggets had two formidable opponents in New Orleans and Denver — both with their respective flaws — and made them look pedestrian. With Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Nene, J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets have too many offensive weapons for most teams. And with Kenyon Martin, Dahntay Jones and Chris Andersen, they have enough defenders to make them a tough team on both ends of the floor. That said, I still think the Nuggets are the third best team in the playoffs. The Nuggets are becoming the darlings of the postseason, but in a seven game series against L.A. or Cleveland I’m not yet sold on their ability to secure four wins………..Back to Carmelo, he has arrived, folks. The man raised his level of play from the regular season to the first round and took it up two more notches from the first round to the second. I’ve hoped for the Lakers to meet the Cavs in the NBA Finals all season. It can’t get any better than Kobe Bryant v. LeBron James, the two best players in the game today going head-to-head in a seven game series for all the marbles. But while watching Melo on Wednesday night, a part of me suddenly wanted to see Denver advance past L.A. (presumably) so that Melo could go up against LeBron. The two have been linked since entering the league together back in 2003. LeBron, however, has separated himself through individual accomplishments (three more All-Star appearances, a scoring title and an MVP trophy) and team success (an NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and a league-best 66 wins this season). But what would winning a title before LeBron then do for Melo?
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