• Serge Ibaka sported a headband and said he will rock the look throughout this season. There are some guys that should never try it and some who just need to give it up. But it actually works for Ibaka. My first thought was this guy is about to have kids all throughout the Ford Center (Yeah, I’m still calling it that) rocking headbands. Ibaka’s high-flying act has the potential to create a cult-like craze, and it might not be long before he causes fans to bust them out. Credit James Harden, the leader of the Thunder’s headband-wearing pack, for encouraging Ibaka to go with the look.

• As for the highly-debated question of what position Ibaka is, he answered that question today by saying he’s a defensive player and can guard both so it doesn’t matter. So that settles that. Well, not really. I still like him best at the 4.

• Harden, meanwhile, said that winning the starting shooting guard job isn’t important to him and it’s not something that he desperately covets. It sounded more like Harden was taking the professional approach in answering the question than sharing his true feelings. But he followed that up by explaining that he found a comfort zone coming off the bench and knocking down shots last season and that he is willing to help out the team in any way that he can. That struck me as believable.

• Jeff Green seemed to still be positive about his contract situation. I’ll have more on it in Tuesday’s paper and on NewsOK.com tonight. But he said that if he doesn’t get extended before Oct. 31 he won’t let it affect his play. Green skirted around providing any insight into how close the two sides are in reaching a deal, but he did say he doesn’t have any hard feelings about not having something finalized.

• Green also told me that he doesn’t have any plans on rejoining the Twitter community. And he sounded pretty adamant. I told him he’ll be back.  He assured he won’t be. If not, bummer.

• About five or six players wore the third edition of Kevin Durant’s signature shoe, the KD III, scheduled to hit stores sometime during the regular season. By my standards, they’re the best version yet.

• Nenad Krstic apologized to almost everyone on earth in every was possible for his ugly chair-throwing incident in the FIBA  World Championship. He looked to be genuinely remorseful for his actions and cited fear as the reason he picked up the chair. Here’s more from Krstic.

• Two physical observations on Krstic. The first was he showed up with his right index finger wrapped in a soft cast. As you probably know by now, he had surgery last week to repair a fracture he sustained in Serbia’s final game in the world championship. Krstic said he will still be able to do some drills, weight lifting and conditioning but isn’t sure whether he’ll be able to play this preseason. A doctor’s appointment has been scheduled to get a better idea of how soon it will heal. The other thing I noticed is Krstic looks bigger. He looks like he’s spent time eating or lifting weights. His body was the best I’ve seen it since he joined the team.

• As for other injuries, Eric Maynor said the thumb injury he sustained in Orlando is healed and he’s ready to go. Nick Collison said his knee is fine after undergoing arthroscopic surgery early in the off-season and also shouldn’t experience any limitations this preseason. And I want to make sure I clear up a brief report I posted on Twitter last week. Cole Aldrich did not have to rehab his knee this summer. As I posted last week, the then-unidentified ailment wasn’t believed to be serious and I received confirmation Monday that it wasn’t. Aldrich did therapy in an attempt to strengthen his legs this summer. He’s good to go for camp.

• I asked several players what they thought the Ford Center should be named. Thabo Sefolosha wasted no time in declaring it should be renamed the “Sefolosha Center.” Aldrich’s vote was “Thunder Nation.”

• The new material the NBA is using for jerseys this season is supposed to cut down on moisture and be more comfortable to the players. Maybe they do. But after getting my first look at them up close, if I’m a fan who likes to pony up for jerseys I’m disappointed if these will be the new authentic tops for purchase. With all those holes in the chest area and down the sides, they’re not my cup of tea.

• Know those pre-game interviews the Thunder broadcast does? Well any time it’s Aldrich’s turn in the rotation, brace yourself for a steady stream of “whatnots.” The rook is a whatnot machine. Russell Westbrook has “Why not?” Aldrich has “Whatnot.” I lost count at three during Aldrich’s interview session. Must be a Minnesota thing.

• Aldrich is a breath of fresh air to the Thunder’s locker room. He likes to joke around, have fun and play pranks. The Thunder has a lot of guys like that but the problem is most of them turn off the switch in front of the cameras and microphones. On Monday, Aldrich borrowed a reporter’s video camera and began filming the tail end of Green’s session for “Sony HD TV.”

• The quote of the day came from, surprise, surprise, Collison when he responded to a probing Berry Tramel inquiring about his longer hair by quipping, “It’s a non-story.”

• Looking to end all the speculation about his frame, Durant said he’s now 231 pounds and 6-10 with shoes and 6-9 1/2 without shoes. He added that he’s hoping to keep the weight on throughout the season. Durant said that in his previous three seasons he always lost the weight he entered the season with.

• Someone noted that Westbrook appeared the most relaxed that he’s ever been at media day in his third appearance. Westbrook  explained that he’s gotten more comfortable with things as time has passed. And his growth was indeed noticeable. He still, and probably always will be, jovial and fun-loving. But once he sat down he displayed the most maturity I’ve seen out of him and as clear of an understanding of the relationship between players and the media as I’ve ever seen him have. He patiently explained how he expects this year’s team to develop, what he learned from the playoffs last year and how he is still learning the balance between scoring and setting up teammates. Westbrook is beginning to sound like a wily old veteran point guard. And that’s a scary thought considering he’s still only 21 and has the athleticism of an antelope buried in his blood.

-DM-

Upon the team’s arrival two years ago, Thunder ownership had the power to renegotiate or terminate the original naming rights contract to the Ford Center, which was an $8.1 million deal for 15 years with the Oklahoma Ford Dealers. New naming rights are expected to be worth considerably more, given the high-profile impact the Thunder has had locally and throughout the NBA.

Which company will become the arena’s new namesake? The most logical candidates could be tied to Thunder ownership: Chesapeake Energy (Aubrey McClendon), SandRidge Energy (Tom Ward), MidFirst Bank (Jeffrey Records) and American Fidelity Assurance (William Cameron).

There is no rule against NBA ownership putting its company name on its home arena. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is chairman and founder of Quicken Loans, which adorns the Cavs’ home arena. Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos is co-founder of Amway, and the new Amway Center will become the team’s home this season.

Other local possibilities for the Thunder’s arena include Sonic and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores. The Sonic name might be too awkward for the owners’ taste, given the franchise was called the Sonics while in Seattle.

Whatever the new arena name becomes, nicknames inevitably will follow. Love’s Country Stores could bring the Love Shack (or Love’s Shack), with an already established theme song compliments of the B-52′s.

If Dell Corp. or an Internet company secured naming rights, the arena could become “The Web,” which figures to make the ”Durantula” (All-Star forward Kevin Durant) feel right at home.

Keep in mind, the arena might not have a local flavor. The namesake could just as easily be a company like Walmart, Coca-Cola, General Electric, ConocoPhillips, Nike, Under Armour, an insurance or investment group, whoever.

“Thunderdome” would fit nicely if the company would be willing to call it that. Then again, why pay millions for naming rights if your name is not on the building?

• OKC drew a relatively easy schedule. There are no prolonged road trips and there is not an overwhelming amount of back-to-back sets. The longest road trip is a pedestrian four game slate — at the end of the season. The Thunder also will play just 15 back-to-backs, three fewer than last season and eight fewer than league leaders Chicago and Milwaukee. In addition, the Thunder has a six-game home stand and three other four-game home stands. Expectations already are through the roof for this team. But after seeing how favorable the schedule is it’s probably safe to bump up even the boldest predictions.

• It took two years, but it’s no longer about which team is coming to town on which date. Think about it. The excitement in the annual first look through the schedule now has everything to do with the Thunder’s talent and potential and little to do with other team’s star power. A random December date with Sacramento now stimulates as much as a visit by Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. That alone shows how much this Thunder team has grown.

• I thought the Thunder would receive more than 15 nationally televised games. Don’t get me wrong, 15 is a lot and it’s a sign of just how popular the team has become. Nine broadcasts on ESPN is about right. And two on ABC’s showcase Sunday is more than sufficient. TNT, it seems, is missing the boat. Having only four Thunder games — one in the first five games of the season and the other three in January — means TNT will miss out on what undoubtedly will be one of the top five most exciting teams this season, perhaps even top three. The Thunder’s four TNT games is less than half of what Boston and Miami, each with 10, and the Lakers, Denver and Orlando, with nine apiece, received. The issue might have more to do with the Thunder rather than TNT. The Thunder prefers Sunday home games to placate a family-oriented market. And the Thunder has a whopping 11 Sunday home games. That’s not conducive to tons of Thursday tilts.

• I know I just wrote that it’s no longer about which team is coming in. But if ever there was a game to circle on your calendar it would be Jan. 30. That’s when Miami and its new threesome of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh makes its lone visit to the Ford Center. This one still has the feel of something special thanks to the Heat turning into the league’s most hated (but anticipated) team.  And the game is one of the two that will be televised by ABC, this one at 12 p.m. It will no doubt feel like a playoff atmosphere inside the Ford Center. I suspect this will be one of those games where James, and Bosh to a lesser extent, are booed each time they touch the ball and the Ford Center fans will erupt at every basket the Thunder scores against the Heat. Only the Lakers’ visit on Feb. 27 (the other ABC game) will even come close to matching the buzz.

• A rival finally could emerge this season. Yes, rivalries are born out of playoff basketball. But that very matchup could take shape this postseason. During the regular season, though, pay close attention to Portland, Utah, Denver and Dallas. The Thunder already has a compelling history with each of those four teams, and three of them — Denver, Portland and Utah — are young enough that the battles between the current cores could play out over the next five seasons or so. It helps that the Nuggets, Blazers and Jazz are all in the Northwest Division, meaning the Thunder is guaranteed to see each of them four times apiece every year. Dallas will alternate between three and four games each season and has a core that is fading. But the Mavs are close enough in proximity that they make a natural rival candidate. Expect some heated meetings between the Thunder and these four teams. And soon, maybe even next May, one of them might emerge as OKC’s fiercest foe.

-DM-

It’s one thing for talking heads to tout Oklahoma City’s rabid fans. But it should become flat out flattering for Thunder heads to hear (read) other team’s hardcore contingent crediting Oklahoma’s crowds. And for their class of all things.

A few samples…

The Oklahoma City crowd are the poster fans for the NBA. Loud but not rude. It’s inspiring to to see such innocent spirit for a professional basketball game.”

I’d like to give credit to the OKC crowd and the Thunder. If they had played ANY other team in the western conference, I probably would have picked them to advance to the next round…which would have been scary.”

The team turned heads, too, and got plenty of love from Laker land.

OKC gained so much respect from playing hard against us. They weren’t dirty players, they laid it all out on the floor. They respected the game of basketball and their opponents. Admirable young men!”

Take a bow, Oklahoma.

-DM-

Because when I did, the video gave me goose bumps and sped my heart rate.

It’s unbelievable how much has been done to the Ford Center in such little time — and how much more will be done a year from now. I’ve seen every NBA arena with the exception of Charlotte’s (on tap for March 17) and can say unequivocally that the Thunder’s home digs will indeed be one of the best venues in the league when the drills stop drilling and the hammers finish hammering.

Nationally, it might seem like no big deal. But for Oklahoma natives and folks like me who grew up here, the development taking place throughout the city is really an amazing sight. So much has changed over the past 10 years. The Ford Center project is just one small example.

-DM-