More On The Durant Free Agent Front
This time next year, Kevin Durant will be eligible to re-sign with the Thunder for up to five more seasons beyond the 2010-11 season.
In Monday’s paper I wrote about Durant’s contract situation and how he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, in large part because, no matter how hard it might be for some to believe, he really has grown fond of Oklahoma and the Thunder. But I wanted to post some additional information about Durant’s forthcoming decision and give you an even clearer idea of why Durant isn’t likely to leave after his rookie deal.
In short, players like Durant just don’t walk after their rookie contracts.
Whether we believe Durant will do what he’s repeatedly said he wants to do — remain with the Thunder for as long as possible — is up to us at this point. It’s certainly understandable how fans and media types have revoked the benefit of the doubt from athletes and coaches. There are far too many examples of a player or coach insisting his or her heart is somewhere only to jump ship weeks later.
But if Durant’s good old-fashioned word isn’t enough, let’s examine history.
Out of 70 top 10 picks from 1999-2005, 40 players went on to sign an extension with the team that drafted them or the club that traded for them.
(I chose this seven-year time frame because the second most recent CBA was instituted in 1999 and still contained rules with similar structuring of rookie contracts to today. I stopped at 2005 because the jury is still out on the class of 2006, which just became eligible to sign extensions this summer and so far has seen No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani become the lone top 10 pick from that class to re-up.)
Of the remaining 30 players from 1999-2005 who didn’t sign extensions, 15 were players who can be considered busts or simply didn’t live up to early expectations: Marcus Fizer, Rodney White, Nickoloz Tskitishvili, Dajuan Wagner, Jarvis Hayes, Stromile Swift, Keyon Dooling, Joel Przybilla, Channing Frye, DeSagana Diop, Michael Sweetney, Darko Milicic, Rafael Araujo, Ike Diogu and Luke Jackson.
Brooks Breaks Down Summer League
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Watson Released, Thunder Falls To 0-4
LAS VEGAS — Sort of a crazy day out here. The Thunder made its first transaction of the off-season, and it’s one fans have long craved, seemingly by any means necessary. Oklahoma City released veteran point guard Earl Watson, making the man a free agent and finally ending his unhappy stay in Oklahoma City.
Watson has agreed to sign with Indiana but can’t until he clears waivers after seven days.
I’ll try to sum up this move quickly by providing clarity on what seems to be the biggest question of the day. Why did OKC waive Watson instead of trading him?
The answer: the Thunder couldn’t trade Earl Watson for two reasons, 1) his trade value likely wasn’t high and 2) you have to get something of value in return when you trade a player. GMs don’t just trade a player to satisfy his desires without getting something in return, even if that’s peanuts that turns into money off the books (read, expiring contracts).
Oklahoma City would have had to take back a salary if they did last season. And it’s now clear whatever offers were out there clearly didn’t appease the front office. And the Thunder is way under the cap this summer. That means two things, 1) OKC doesn’t have to match salaries in a trade for Watson and 2) any trade would mean OKC would again be seeking something of value in return. It wasn’t there.
A trade would have brought somebody that the team clearly doesn’t want, either because of his skills or because of his contract. There was no way the Thunder was going to trade Watson and take somebody with another two, three or even four years on his contract. It would have messed up the cap flexibility that’s been built. The only logical instance would have been if it were a darn good player, which Watson alone doesn’t warrant.
So the Thunder saved some money, added an additional roster spot and got rid of a potential locker room cancer. All in all, it’s not a bad day at the office. I don’t know how much the Thunder saved, but teams generally don’t do things like this unless a player makes it worth their while. And the Thunder had the upper hand because Watson was desperate to get out of OKC. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave up half of his $6.6 million to get out of his deal. His agreement with the Pacers might be a good indicator of how much he forfeited. For example, if he signs a one-year deal worth $3.3 million, it likely means he gave up $3.3 million with the Thunder but is coming out even with his new contract with the Pacers.
As for the actual guys who are still members of the Thunder and are down here busting their tails in Vegas…..
Thunder Enjoys Off Day, Griffin Enjoys Dazzling Debut
LAS VEGAS — The Thunder was not one of the 12 teams in action Monday in the NBA Summer League. Oklahoma City got a much needed day off after playing five games in seven days dating back to last Monday’s opening day of the Orlando Pro Summer league.
The Thunder did go through a practice at a local high school in preparation for Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 p.m. Central Time. As for the game, Oklahoma City is simply looking for continued development out of the roster, individually and collectively, and for players to continue focusing on playing as a team.
It should be an interesting match up from the standpoint that the Lakers have a vagabond bunch with the two most familiar names being Adam Morrison and former OSU forward David Monds. Former Arizona standout Mustafa Shakur once was a big name, and some of you might remember Michigan State product Alan Anderson from his successful college days with the Spartans. But the Lakers roster is awfully sketchy after that, so the fact that L.A. has only one NBA player on its summer league roster should bode well for the Thunder executing its game plan. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, former Oklahoma star Blake Griffin torched that Lakers squad in his debut Monday night. A buzz began building in Cox Pavilion for Griffin’s debut about 30 minutes prior to the Los Angeles Clippers tip-off. Before the final horn even sounded on Phoenix and Dallas’ game, media and league personnel began making their way across the hall to the Thomas & Mack Center to get a good seat. And Griffin didn’t disappoint, scoring 27 points with 12 rebounds in 30 minutes.
Orlando Observations: Day 5
For the first time all week, the Thunder was out-hustled and outplayed by another team. The Jazz beat OKC to loose balls, took advantage of numerous defensive lapses by the Thunder to run their offense effectively throughout the game and turned the contest into a layup drill in the second half.
Add to that, the Thunder couldn’t get much of anything going on the offensive end, scoring more than 15 points in only one quarter. OKC was plagued by turnovers (20), poor shot selection and simple misses (37.9 percent shooting from the field, 2-for-12 from 3-point range) and sloppy execution all day.
Final score: Jazz 70, Thunder 60.
Don’t know if it was the white jerseys, the fifth game in five days or the Jazz just playing that much better. I’m going to say it had a lot to do with the absence of Russell Westbrook, who sat out the finale. At any rate, the Thunder wrapped up its 2009 appearance in the Orlando Pro Summer League at 3-2, a very encouraging start to the summer league schedule not because of the record of course but the way the young guys played and competed throughout the week.
Not much to say from this one, so I won’t bog down this post with minor details. Check out the box score to see who did what. Meanwhile, I’ll lace you with some words from coach Scott Brooks, who told me in a telephone interview just before tip-off that he was actually proud of his team’s effort heading into the final game. I imagine he wasn’t so pleased with what he saw over the next hour and a half after hanging up the phone with me.
But first a few observations and notes.
Orlando Observations: Day 4
And down the stretch they come.
Game four of the Thunder’s schedule at the Orlando Pro Summer League is in the book.
Thunder 83, New Jersey/Philadelphia 62.
In today’s edition, Russell Westbrook proved once and for all he doesn’t need to be in Orlando. James Harden showed once again that he’s as efficient, effective and savvy as advertised. And Byron “Don’t call me B.J.” Mullens proved he deserves to be called whatever he wants as long as he continues scoring like he did today and matches his point production with strong effort.
Seven minutes into the game, Mullens had outscored the N.J./Philly squad 6-4 as OKC raced to a 16-4 lead. Mullens had 10 of his “career-summer-league high” (I just made that up) 18 points in the first quarter. In the first period he had two mid-range jumpers, two dunks and a nice layup in transition. He also attempted and missed a 3-pointer. Mullens made nine of 12 shots and finished with five rebounds, two steals, one assists and zero turnovers to go along with his point total. I’d say it was a great performance from the young fella.
But I’m still waiting to see a solid post move out of Mullens. That figures to come with more experience and more time in the weight room. I guess the Thunder has to live with him shooting 17-footers for now. Not bad if he makes them, I suppose, and if OKC is looking for him to become more of a Mehmet Okur type of center than, say, a Chris Andersen or Emeka Okafor or even Brook Lopez type of presence.
Orlando Observations: Day 3
So the Thunder beat Boston, 94-82, on Wednesday in what had to be one of the most boring summer league games of all time.
Russell Westbrook did his best to turn up the entertainment value with a few nice dunks en route to his third straight 20-plus-point game. Aside from that, Shaun Livingston is the only other player that stood out to me.
But it was much more than Livingston’s modest production of 10 points, six rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.
The first thing I noticed about Livingston — because I didn’t catch Monday’s first game and he didn’t play Tuesday — is he is no longer wearing the bulky brace that once covered most of his left leg. Now, Livingston is wearing only a sleeve over his rehabilitated left knee. I’m not sure whether this is just something he’s doing for summer league or if he will bring back the brace during the season. But if he’s shed the protective gear, it’s a good sign that his knee is closer to full strength and bodes well for his prospects of regaining some of the explosion that many believe he’s forever lost.
I caught the first glimpse of Livingston’s surprising explosion early in the second quarter, when he froze his defender with a backdoor cut from the right corner and finished with a wide open layup. It’s plays like that that I rarely saw out of him during his eight-game stint with the Thunder at the end of last season.
Orlando Observations: Day 2
The Thunder played its second game of the Orlando Pro Summer League on Tuesday and fell to the Indiana Pacers, 91-88, after beating Orlando on Monday’s opening day. OKC lost behind some obscure summer league rule that allows a team two foul shots for each foul an opposing player commits after his sixth foul. D.J. White was whistled for an offensive foul while trying to set a pick for Russell Westbrook at the top of the key in the closing seconds with the game tied, and 13th overall pick Tyler Hansbrough (I think) hit two free throws to put the Pacers up two with about 2.9 seconds left. The Thunder then fouled and some dude made one of two free throws for the final margin. James Harden missed a good look at the buzzer that would have tied it at 91-91.
But who really cares if you win or lose, right? The most important thing is the team’s young players got another chance to play together collectively and 40 more minutes of experience individually. And nobody on the Thunder walked out of the gym on crutches. Can’t say the same thing for Indiana’s Josh McRoberts.
View the box score here. As for my impressions……
Thunder Announces Summer League Roster
The Thunder has announced its roster for the 2009 summer league schedule. Some of these names will appear in the Orlando Pro Summer League from July 6-10, and some (likely Russell Westbrook) will not participate in the Vegas Summer league.
The names you know…..
Russell Westbrook
D.J. White
Shaun Livingston
Serge Ibaka
James Harden
Kyle Weaver
Robert Vaden
B.J. Mullens
DeVon Hardin
The names who aren’t on the current roster….
DeAngelo Alexander, G, 6-4, 215, Charlotte
Marcus Dove, F, 6-9, 212, Oklahoma State
Moses Ehambe, F, 6-6, 200, Oral Roberts
Kyle Hines, F, 6-6, 230, UNC Greensboro
Keith McLeod, G, 6-2, Bowling Green State
Richard Roby, G, 6-6, 205, Colorado
Doug Thomas, F, 6-8, 245, Iowa
UPDATE: Upon further examination of the press release, we know exactly which players will play in which summer league. Russell Westbrook, DeAngelo Alexander andKyle Hines will play in Orlando only. Marcus Dove, Richard Roby, Doug Thomas and Keith McLeod will play in Vegas only.
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