Thunder Rumors: Harden, Ibaka, Vorontsevich
Game 4 of the 2012 NBA Finals will get underway in a little over seven hours, and it's essentially a must-win game for the Thunder. No team in Finals history has ever come back from a 3-1 defecit to win the series.
According to John Hollinger of ESPN.com (Insider link), the key to the game for Oklahoma City will be its big-man rotation. Hollinger argues that some of Kendrick Perkins' minutes should be allotted to Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka. As Scott Brooks and his team prepare for tonight's contest, let's round up a few more Thunder-related items….
Draft Updates: Thursday
The countdown until the 2012 draft is down to two weeks, and this week has been heavy on workouts and trade speculation. We'll track the latest news and rumors on both fronts, along with a handful of other draft-related items, right here. New updates will be added to the top of the page throughout the day….
- According to their official website, the Pacers will work out Evan Fournier, Ashton Gibbs, Travis Hyman, John Jenkins, Josh Owens, and Tony Wroten Jr. on Friday.
Odds & Ends: Noel, Spurs Prospects, Thunder
It has been extremely rare for a college basketball team to deliver a number one pick in consecutive years. However, with incoming freshman Nerlens Noel already being touted as the top selection of the 2013 NBA Draft, Kentucky could be the first program to do it since 1955 and 1956, when Duquesne’s Dick Ricketts and Sihugo Green were each selected number one overall on draft day in those respective years. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld provides some background on Noel, from his early beginnings as strictly a defensive minded player to now, a time when some marvel at the possibility of him being the NBA’s next great big man.
Here's more of what we've heard this evening, including two possible international gems whose draft rights are owned by the Spurs, an offseason dilemma for the Thunder, and some insight on two former Dream Team members looking for work in the NBA…
Odds & Ends: Bosh, Battier, Harden, Sixers
One of the most highly anticipated NBA Finals in recent history doesn't kick off until tomorrow night, but here are a few links relating to both teams involved—as well as some that, unfortunately for them, are not.
Kyler On Draft, Olshey, Harden, Celtics
While most mock drafters simply forecast the first 30 picks, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld doesn't stop after the first round — in his latest mock, he predicts all 60 selections, from Anthony Davis at No. 1 to Kris Joseph at No. 60. He also shares a few more items of interest in his NBA AM column and via Twitter. Here are a few highlights:
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Bobcats, Wroten
With the eighth, 37th, and 56th selections in this upcoming NBA Draft, the Raptors could potentially draft three rookies in addition to bringing last year's draft pick, Jonas Valanciunas, into the fold for next season. Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld spoke with GM Bryan Colangelo, who is looking to explore multiple scenarios with his second round picks. Colangelo admits that bringing in three rookies may not be the best scenario, and that he will consider packaging picks in order to move up the draft board or possibly make a second round selection with the intention of developing that prospect in Europe for a few years. Here's more of what we're hearing from around the league this evening, including an update of the Bobcats head coaching search.
Odds & Ends: Lowry, Raptors, Heat, Jennings
John Havlicek's famous steal in the 1965 Eastern Division finals might be the most storied of many Game 7 moments between the Celtics and Sixers, who look to add another chapter in tonight's Game 7. Still, many Boston fans have another theft on their minds as they file into the Garden this evening, since it's the 25th anniversary of Larry Bird's game-saving steal against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. Here's the rest of what's going on around the Association today:
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun believes Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo and Daryl Morey, his Rockets counterpart, are likely to discuss a trade for point guard Kyle Lowry. Earlier today, we passed along a report from Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle about Lowry's dissatisfaction in Houston.
- Feigen disagrees with Kyle Lowry's conclusion that he can't flourish under Rockets coach Kevin McHale, pointing to Lowry's early-season play as evidence.
- Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier, who both signed multiyear deals when the lockout ended in December, are two of the role players who paid dividends for the Heat in this week's elimination of the Pacers, writes Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.
- Brandon Jennings isn't worried about whether the Bucks will offer him an extension this summer, as Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel reports. "I will let (agent) Bill Duffy handle that," Jennings said. "That's what he does. I will leave it up to Bill Duffy and (Bucks general manager) John Hammond. It's really not my department." Earlier this month Duffy said he was surprised by Hammond's comment than a Jennings extension "is not something we have to do."
- Howard Beck of The New York Times looks at what James Harden brings to the Thunder as the decision of whether to extend his rookie contract looms for GM Sam Presti this summer.
Odds & Ends: Williams, Lorbek, Thunder
With the Grizzlies looking to stay alive in Los Angeles against the Clippers tonight, it sounds like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will play. Here are some links from around the league as we wait for that contest to get underway:
- While we don't yet know who will be the Trail Blazers' new general manager or head coach, we do know who will not be their assistant coach. Chris Haynes from CSNNW.com reports that the team will not renew Buck Williams' deal, as they will let the new head coach choose his own staff.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets that the Spurs signing 6-foot-10 center Erazem Lorbek is "very close to being a done deal." The Spurs acquired the rights to Lorbek via a 2011 draft day trade with the Pacers for George Hill. The Spurs figure to be desperate for size this summer, and bringing Lorbek over from the Spanish League could prove pivotal.
- HOOPSWORLD's Tommy Beer gives his take on a question we posed several weeks ago: Long term, should the Thunder pair Serge Ibaka or James Harden with their already-dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook? Ideally Oklahoma City would like to keep both promising youngsters, but given their emergence as impact players that doesn't seem likely.
James Harden Wins Sixth Man Of The Year
3:21pm: Harden has officially received the award at a Oklahoma City press conference. He received 115 of 119 possible first-place votes, with Williams receiving the other four. Williams was the runner-up, with Terry, Al Harrington, and Manu Ginobili rounding out the top five.
10:23am: The Thunder will hold a news conference this afternoon where the team is expected to officially announce that James Harden has won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, according to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. The news conference is scheduled for 3:00pm local time, Mayberry tweets.
Harden came off the bench in 60 of his 62 games for Oklahoma City this season, taking a giant step forward in his third season in the league. The 22-year-old averaged 16.8 PPG on .491/.390/846 shooting, and earned an invite to Team USA’s preliminary Olympic roster. In addition to winning the Sixth Man of the Year award, Harden also received a few votes for the league’s Most Improved Player award, finishing 18th.
Lou Williams of the Sixers, Jason Terry of the Mavericks, and Taj Gibson of the Bulls were among the other players expected to be considered for Sixth Man of the Year.
Team USA Olympic Roster Updates: Thursday
5:38pm: In a statement released to the media, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo has announced that James Harden and Anthony Davis will be added to Team USA's preliminary Olympic roster.
12:31pm: James Harden will likely be added to Team USA's preliminary Olympic roster, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
10:36am: With the 2012 London Olympics less than three months away, Jerry Colangelo and Team USA are inviting new partipants to the U.S. select team. Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that John Wall has received an invite for the select team, while Kyrie Irving will also be invited, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
Members of the select team aren't considered finalists for the London roster, but will scrimmage against the Olympic team and will be part of the player pool for future international competition. According to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, DeMarcus Cousins will also be invited to join the select squad.
Given the recent injuries to members of the Olympic player pool, including Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge, Colangelo has said one or two big men could be added to the list of finalists. Anthony Davis is rumored to be one of those additions.