Aubrey McClendon, who was part owner of the Thunder, died in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City today, Royce Young of ESPN.com relays. McClendon was indicted Tuesday for allegedly conspiring to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma, Young notes. “He pretty much drove straight into the wall,” Oklahoma City Police Captain Paco Balderrama said. “The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway, and that didn’t occur.”
McClendon owned an estimated 20% of the Thunder and was part of Clay Bennett’s ownership group that relocated the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008, the ESPN scribe adds. Here’s more from out West:
- Despite his halftime outburst Saturday that saw him share heated words with Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Draymond Green‘s fiery nature is normally a benefit to his game and the team in general, Marcus Thompson of The Bay Area News Group opines. Green has apologized for his behavior and insists this incident shouldn’t define perceptions of him, Thompson adds. “It’s one thing when you’re going into an arena and they’re booing you and you’re the villain,” Green said. “I love that. But to paint me as a bad guy? I don’t get in trouble off the court. I don’t disrespect people. Your kid doesn’t walk up to me and I’m the biggest [jerk] they’ve ever seen. I don’t get arrested. You can try to paint me as that, but anybody who knows me knows that’s false.“
- Mavs small forward Chandler Parsons is thankful that all the hard work he put in while recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee is starting to pay off on the court, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes. “It was just a mess,” Parsons said regarding his rehab. “It was something that was very hard to go through, but I’m glad because all the pain, all the struggle, all the work I put in, I use that every time I step on the floor. I realize no one’s worked as hard as me to get here.”
- The Warriors have assigned combo forward Kevon Looney to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Looney’s third jaunt to Santa Cruz on the season. He is averaging 9.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.9 minutes over five D-League contests.