Poll: Will The Lakers Or Thunder Win More Games?
Kevin Durant believes the Lakers have the best team in the NBA on paper, but he also says the Thunder, who won the 2012 Western Conference Finals before losing in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, are still an elite team.
Which of these two teams do you think will finish the 2012/13 regular season with a better record? Or will they tie?
Which Team Will Win More Games In 2012/13?
-
Los Angeles Lakers 57% (694)
-
Oklahoma City Thunder 39% (472)
-
Tie 4% (49)
Total votes: 1,215
Latest On Durant, Lakers, Magic
Ever since the Lakers traded for Steve Nash and Dwight Howard earlier this offseason, many have been projecting them to reach the 2013 Finals and even win the title. However, this is being taken as a slight by Kevin Durant and the defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are Durant's thoughts on the newly retooled Lakers, as well as some early speculation about Durant's own free agency:
- Durant told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he understands why the Lakers are receiving the majority of the offseason buzz: "People outside, fans, media, of course they are going to say [the Lakers are the favorites] because on paper they have the best lineup in the league. But you still got to play the games. We respect everybody. We are going to go through the league respecting everybody as well. We already view ourselves as an elite team, but we have to prove it again. Last year is over with."
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel wonders whether the Magic plan to eventually target Durant, who is scheduled to hit free agency following the 2015/16 season.
Kevin Durant Says He’s Ready To Dominate NBA
Michael Lee of The Washington Post recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Thunder star Kevin Durant. Even though he's yet to turn 24, Durant says he's ready to take his game to the next level and dominate the league. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
On where he's at in his career and how he sees himself within the league:
“I’ve heard a few times, in three or four years, this league is going to be yours. . . . I don’t like that. Because I think I’m established now. My time is now. I feel as though I’ve proved myself these last five years that I can be one of the top players in the league. I’ve got a long way to go to being the ultimate best, but I think my time is now. And I’m starting to enter my prime.”
On what it was like to play with the top players in the world during the Olympics:
“I always felt that I belonged on top with those guys and I just have to continue to keep working to maintain that. It feels good to be a part of a great group of guys, to do something special for the country. We all respected each other and they never looked at me as the younger guy coming up and waiting his turn. They were just, ‘Go out there and play, do what you do.’ And that’s what I did.”
On his decision to make a movie during the NBA lockout last summer:
“The thing that I was more concerned about is that I was just so shy. I didn’t want to look dumb. [My mom] told me don’t worry about that. You can’t let other people dictate how you live. She gave me a whole little speech. I said, ‘Why not?’ I want people to see another side of me that they don’t see on the basketball court."
On what not winning a championship would mean for his career:
“I’m not going to let people define my career as a player thus far if I don’t win a championship. They are going to say I’m a bust or I flopped or that I didn’t have a good career in the NBA because I didn’t win a championship in the time that they wanted me to do it? I’m just going to keep enjoying what I’m doing and hopefully I get there sooner than later.”
Extension Candidate: Eric Maynor
With all of the hoopla surrounding the recently-inked contract extension for Serge Ibaka and the concern over whether the Thunder will have enough left over to retain James Harden, there hasn't been much talk about a new deal for point guard Eric Maynor. The former VCU star saw his season end just nine games into the season on January 7th when he tore his ACL on a drive to the basket, so he won't be dealing from a position of strength. He also doesn't have the kind of stats that scream for a sizable multi-year deal with career averages of 4.5 PPG and 3.1 APG in just over 15 minutes per contest.
However, as John Rodhe of The Oklahoman rightfully points out, the one-guard's numbers don't tell the entire story. The 25-year-old carries himself with the maturity of a much older player and plays a decidedly conservative game, especially when juxtaposed with starter Russell Westbrook. Maynor's career assist-to-turnover ratio is 3.04-to-1, a number that Rodhe notes would have ranked seventh in the league last season.
So, how much is a young point guard with a skyhigh basketball IQ but a less-than-skyhigh stat sheet worth? That's a tricky question to answer, especially when considering the financial quandry facing the Thunder. Of course, their top priority will be to keep the 2012 Sixth Man of the Year in place for the foreseeable future. Journalists and rival executives are already wondering if Sam Presti & Co. will be able to find space for Harden as they'll be pressed up against the luxury tax threshold. Maynor obviously won't command as much as the club's big four, but a multi-year commitment for a few million per season could be an indulgence that is simply to rich for their blood.
Maynor's agent Andrew Vye is keeping mum on how talks are progressing between him and the Thunder, but we can safely assume that the club won't come to the table with a solid offer until they know what the future holds for Harden. Maynor will earn just over $2.3MM this season and Rodhe suggests that locking him up could require anywhere between $14MM and $18MM over four years. With all due respect for Maynor's skillset, it's hard to imagine a club pressing the high end of that range for a backup point guard. The Thunder can probably get a deal done with an average annual value around $3.5MM – the question is, will they instead look to save some scratch and look to build a cheaper bench for the next few seasons.
Poll: How Many Games Will The Thunder Win?
While several teams underwent serious makeovers this summer, one elite team more or less stood pat and instead focused on keeping its successful core in tact. The Thunder re-signed Serge Ibaka to a four-year, $48MM extension and even though they appear to be hard-pressed for financial flexibility, they will now turn their attention to keeping James Harden in Oklahoma City for the long-term.
Some may say that a team that doesn't improve from one year to the next will get left behind, but it's hard to imagine that being the case for the richly-talented and young Thunder. Another year of experience under the belts of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka accounts for more of an upgrade than most clubs could ever hope for. Meanwhile, the Thunder will have to butt heads with improved conference rivals including the Nuggets, Clippers, and of course, the super-charged Lakers. All things considered, how many games do you see the Thunder winning in 2012/13?
How Many Wins For The Thunder?
-
56-60 42% (275)
-
61-65 30% (196)
-
51-55 13% (84)
-
66 or more 7% (49)
-
45 or less 5% (31)
-
46-50 3% (21)
Total votes: 656
Odds & Ends: Griffin, Sacks, Harden, Davis, Nash
Blake Griffin believes the Clippers have become a "free agent destination," and he thinks player personnel director Gary Sacks is the right man to pursue them from the GM's chair, according to comments he made to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Sacks, along with team president Andy Roeser and coach Vinny Del Negro, have shared the GM duties since Neil Olshey jumped to the Blazers, but Griffin made it clear which one he wants to assume the job full-time. "With the moves that the front office made — and now with Gary Sacks, who hopefully steps into that GM role — that made it easy for me and I think this is the place where everybody wants to come," Griffin said. "I think Gary has a great relationship with all the players and the players like him. If he is finally named GM, I think that's just the icing on the cake of having a franchise that is complete." We've got more weekend rumblings right here:
- James Harden believes Serge Ibaka deserved his four-year extension from the Thunder, and while saying he's unsure if he and the team will reach a similar accord this summer, Harden expressed a desire to stay in Oklahoma City, where he feels at home with his teammates, as he told the Spanish website Marca.com (translation via HoopsHype).
- Hornets No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis dishes about his time with the U.S. Olympic team, his similarities to Kevin Garnett, and his thoughts on playing with Eric Gordon in a Q&A with Joe Brescia of The New York Times.
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star examines the relationship between Lakers point guard Steve Nash and Blazers assistant coach Jay Triano, who are teaming up to lead the Canadian national team as GM and head coach, respectively.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at whether it's worth it for the Magic to wait to make a big splash in free agency until 2016, when Kevin Durant becomes a free agent. Putting aside the connection Durant has with Magic GM and former Thunder executive Rob Hennigan, that seems like an awfully long time to wait.
Southwest Rumors: Rookies, Mavs, Lopez, Duncan
NBA.com conducted a survey of 39 rookies, and to no one's surprise, Anthony Davis was the pick for Rookie of the Year, as NBA.com's John Schuhmann writes. The No. 1 overall pick by the Hornets also topped the list of rookies who'll have the best career, but lost the best defensive honors to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of the Bobcats. Perhaps most revelatory is the ranking of players who are most overlooked. Tony Wroten of the Grizzlies tied for first with Draymond Green of the Warriors, Perry Jones of the Thunder and Andrew Nicholson of the Magic. Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com takes a look at how Mavericks rookies fared in the survey, and we have plenty more from Dallas and the rest of the Southwest Division:
- Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com wonders whether the Mavericks might shift their focus for next summer from pursuing marquee free agents to a plan that involves re-signing their own players and going after second-tier stars, a la Josh Smith.
- Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com takes a stab at guessing the framework of the aborted Mavs–Lakers deal from 2007 that would have brought Kobe Bryant to Dallas, which Mavs owner Mark Cuban made public earlier this week. Jason Terry, Josh Howard and Devin Harris seem the most likely players to have been headed to L.A. in that near-deal, Kamenetzky says.
- We heard a little from Robin Lopez earlier, but the 7'0" center had more to say Thursday as he met with New Orleans media for the first time. He said he hopes to bring some intensity, fire and toughness to the Hornets, as Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com chronicles, and had high praise for Anthony Davis, saying, "From what I’ve seen, he looks like a great player, with great instincts, and he’s freakishly athletic. I’m especially looking forward to playing with him on the defensive end. I think we both can definitely make a strong impact there."
- Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News notes that Tim Duncan's per-36-minute stats last season were remarkably similar to those from his rookie year, one possible reason the Spurs were willing to offer Duncan the three-year, $30MM deal he signed last month.
Thunder Notes: Redd, Ibaka, Durant, Harden
Earlier today, we heard that the Thunder may be one of a handful of teams with interest in Michael Redd. With James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, and Daequan Cook at the two, the club doesn't have a pressing need for a player like Redd, but if he's willing to play for the minimum salary, adding another shooter to the mix certainly couldn't hurt. Here are a few more of today's updates out of Oklahoma City:
- Serge Ibaka's extension is worth $49MM ($12.25MM annually), but that number could increase to $51.5MM based on Ibaka's performance. According to John Rohde of the Oklahoman, the $2.5MM in incentives are believed to relate to winning the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award and earning future spots on the All-Defensive first team.
- Kevin Durant participated in a Q&A with ESPN.com's Marc Stein that focused on his upcoming film Thunderstruck, but also touched on a few other topics. Durant told Stein that he was excited about Ibaka's extension, adding, "He easily could have said no, waited for next summer, played well this year and got more [money]. But he sacrificed for us and we appreciate him for that. He's the ultimate team player."
- Asked by Stein about a potential extension for James Harden, Durant replied: "I haven't asked [Thunder GM] Sam [Presti] about anything and I haven't asked James about anything. I'm just going to let that take care of itself, be the best teammate I can be and hopefully by the time camp starts we have him locked up."
Latest On Michael Redd
After seeing his playing time and production decline significantly due to injuries during his previous three seasons, Michael Redd had a bit of a bounceback year in Phoenix in 2011/12, averaging 8.2 points in just 15.1 minutes per game. Those numbers should be enough to earn him another NBA contract, and according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, there are a number of potential suitors in play. While Amico says the Cavs don't have interest, he lists the Nuggets, Wizards, Grizzlies, Bulls, and Thunder as possible fits (Sulia link).
I outlined yesterday why the Nuggets could use a shooter, and I could see the Wizards and Grizzlies wanting to add a little more size at the two. While we heard of the Bulls' interest earlier in the summer, I can't see them as a real possibility at this point, considering their cap situation — they'd have to trade away a player before they'd even have room to sign Redd. As for the Thunder, they could add one more backcourt player to replace Derek Fisher, as Amico notes, adding that he wouldn't be surprised to see Fisher end up in San Antonio.
Redd is probably unlikely to land more than a minimum-salary deal this offseason, which may limit his earnings, but should open up plenty of options. While a number of teams no longer have cap space or mid-level exceptions available, clubs can use the minimum salary exception as many times as they like.
Odds & Ends: Austin Rivers, Cooper, Stoudemire
John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Austin Rivers is on schedule to be fully healed in time for Hornets' training camp in October after undergoing surgery on his right ankle three weeks ago. The rookie joins a list of teammates, namely Xavier Henry and Robin Lopez, who are recovering from recent surgeries. Regardless, head coach Monty Williams looks to have all three ready by the time the regular season starts. With that aside, here are more noteworthy tidbits from around the Association:
- C.J. Miles elaborated more on the opportunity he has to expand his game with the Cavaliers, especially for a coach like Byron Scott, who believes that Miles has a lot of untapped potential (Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com reports).
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that former Timberwolves and Trail Blazers assistant Dean Cooper is headed to the Rockets to join Kevin McHale's coaching staff.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link) mentions that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is encouraged about Kelenna Azubuike, who looks like he's moving well and could be a contributor this season.
- Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he'll return to the court "stronger than ever" this upcoming season.
- 76ers GM Rod Thorn acknowledges heightened expectations and says that Philadelphia fans appear to be especially excited because of the acquisition of Andrew Bynum, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly.
- Jenni Carlson of NewsOK thinks that James Harden is better suited to thrive in a small market city with the Thunder rather than be potentially distracted in what she terms "hot spots."