Are the Thunder and Pistons up to the Devil's Bidny?

Courtesy of Jonathon Givony of Draft Express:

"With the Detroit Pistons looking to get as far under the salary cap as they can this summer, and the Oklahoma City Thunder being one of the few teams who are able to help them shed salary, the two teams have emerged as natural trade partners, multiple NBA sources told DraftExpress this past weekend.

With very few teams projected to have cap space this summer (Oklahoma City, Memphis, Portland, Sacramento and Atlanta being the main ones), it appears that Detroit could be in great position to take advantage of the strength of this free agent class and nab a couple of pieces that would put them right back in the mix to compete for the Eastern conference finals. Detroit is currently slated to be around 20 million dollars underneath the cap, but could shed another five million or so by unloading the contracts of Amir Johnson and their first round pick (#15).

Enter the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are reportedly high on B.J. Mullens (as is Milwaukee), and likely would be able to nab him with the 15th pick. Considering how far under the cap they’ll be this summer, they would have no problem taking on Amir Johnson’s expiring 3.66 million dollar contract. They should be able to find a suitor for their late first round pick if they choose to do so, as teams like San Antonio, Houston, Toronto

and Orlando are all in the market for a draft choice in that range.

With the money Detroit frees up, they could go after their top two free agent targets, rumored to be Paul Millsap and Ben Gordon."

According to basketball-reference.com, Johnson averages 9.9 rebounds, 9.9 points and 3.1 blocks per 36 minutes of court time over his career. It appears he has a cult following, as evidenced here.

Johnson is an athletic freak who has spent the first three years of his career filling his body out and learning the game.

So leave it to Sam Presti to come out smelling like roses if this thing pans out. You swap this year's 25 pick and some cash for this year's 15 pick, a guy who was barely out of that 25 pick range three years ago, is only 21, appears to be poised to blossom into a double-double type player with more playing time and has a small expiring contract.

Pick 15 gives the Thunder a shot at Terrence Williams, B.J. Mullens (who the Thunder are rumoured to be intrigued by) or Gerald Henderson. Choices at pick 25 could include Gani Lawal, Chase Budinger or Marcus Thornton. Maybe not a massive upgrade but an upgrade.

If you get Johnson then you can take a chance on a project Center like Mullens and take the risk out of selecting Hasheem Thabeet with the 3rd pick. Common sense and my detective skills tells me that if this rumour is true then the Thunder are much more interested in James Harden, Stephen Curry or possibly Ricky Rubio.

Exit Interview

So the season is over. What to do now? Well, NBA players go through exit interviews so I might as well also.

I'm cleaning up my locker, grabbing some extra shoes for my summer workout (I probably won't need them) and addressing the media before I head off for parts unknown.

Overall I'd say I did a fair job throughout the season. I faltered down the stretch no doubt. It wasn't from lack of interest so much as the personal and professional life getting in the way.

Probably the best way to sum it up would be to do a list of the top 10 things I loved and hated from the season that was.

Top 10 things I hated:

1. PJ Carlesimo's final game. The Thunder played the Hornets at the Ford Center and it was the poorest effort I've ever seen from professionals. The Thunder had completely given up on PJ. At that point there were two choices for the Thunder front office. Be the de facto laughingstock of the NBA or get rid of PJ. They did the right thing.

2. The media practically boycotting the Thunder because of the move. I understand it sucked and it needed to be discussed but after a while the cheap shots at every opportunity started making grown men sound like someone had stolen their woobie.

3. The Wave. I treat that bitch like 7-Up. I never have I never will.

4. The halftime magician who almost drowned. Not only was the simultaneous realization by 18,000 people that they were witnessing someones death a "buzzkill" but it almost doomed everyone to being "treated" to pre-teen cheerleaders for halftime acts for the remainder of the season.

5. The Thunder online store. Gouging people on the web is both seedy and unnecessary.

6. Me not getting chosen to shoot a halfcourt shot. No one made it this season. I guarantee I will make it if I can only figure out how to get chosen.

7. Robert Swift. I went through all the trouble of making a t-shirt for god's sake and the thanks I get is a goofy looking soft whitey riding the pine all season.

8. Getting trounced by Portland at home. Portland is supposed to represent the Thunder's future. A bonafide ass-beat proved just how far there is to go for the Thunder.

9. My mom and sisters running into Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, Jeff Green and ESPN's Ric Bucher at a yokel City Bites instead of me. WTF?

10. My wife hitting the Rookie Wall and calling into question my need to renew my tickets for season 2. Thankfully she caught a second wind and we came up with a plan to make it happen but it was nip-tuck for a while.

Top 10 things I loved:

1. When the Thunder and OKC fanbase "clicked". It happened sometime right around New Year's. OKC fans up until that time were comparing everything to the Hornets and wondering what they had and which player's could fill the void left by Chris Paul et al. But there was a game where the fans were into it at the end. They were cheering their guts out for their team and the players realized that their fans were on board with them. Still gives me chills.

2. The media changing their tune from "OKC Thieves" to "OKC- Team on the rise". The cheap shots began to fade once Scotty Brooks was named interim coach and the Thunder starting showing signs of life. Suddenly they were a team on the rise and loaded with so much young talent that people enjoyed the hell out of watching them.

3. Scotty Brooks. The guy just seems like an OKC kind of guy. Now he and his family are living here full time and hopefully he can stick around for a good long time.

4. The likability of the players. There doesn't seem to be a douche among them (except Earl Watson if you ask my wife). Everyone seems very happy, laid back and happy. Nobody moaned about being in OKC.

5. Winning a ball autographed by the whole team. Not one of those chintzy mini balls either. An official NBA ball. Sweet.

6. Sam Presti and/or any move made by Sam Presti. Vetoing what appeared to be an awesome trade for Tyson Chandler, picking up Nenad Krstic, picking up Thabo Sefolosha, getting a draft pick for Johan Petro. The guy just makes great moves and has put the Thunder in great position for the future.

7. The unsuspecting lady in front of me who got pegged in the boobs by the t-shirt cannon. Once I found out she was alright it quickly became the highlight of my night. Be on your toes when the t-shirt cannon is involved.

8. Still not having a favorite player. It's still a toss-up between KD, Jeff Green and Rust Dust. So much to like about each of them.

9. Rumble the Bison. Yeah it's a mascot but in a season where the move was poo-pooed, the logo, colors and uniform were poo-pooed, even the city was poo-pooed, Rumble proved to be a well-timed hit.

10. Having season tickets to a professional sports team in my home town. A lifelong dream realized.

Other notables: The win over the Spurs, the season-ending de-pantsing of the Clippers. George Karl saying nice things about the Thunder's future, the ongoing improvement of in-game festivities, the Thunder Girls.

Late Season Reflections

Some reflections and musings on a Sunday morning:

As thrilled as I am to have a professional team to call my very own I must admit it's been a little difficult keeping up with them this past month. Spring is in bloom, spring training started and there was March Madness. It felt like there was two weeks between home games at the end of March. I'm looking forward to the home stretch.

I hope DJ White plays tonight.

The Point Guard situation is getting interesting. Earl Watson hasn't played for about as long as I haven't blogged (~month). Shaun Livingston was picked up, another low-risk, high-reward move. Kyle Weaver was sent down to Tulsa where he picked up 11 assists in one game's worth of action. My guess is the Thunder carry three PG's next season; Russel, Livingston and Weaver. Possibly Chucky but he should be some kind of player-coach.

Last game against Portland, a woman two rows below me wasn't paying attention and got hit right in the boobs by the t-shirt cannon. She was alright and, sadly, this along with the mascot action provided most of the highlights for the night.

My growth as an NBA fan continues. I learned the other night what it looks like when a team is getting ready for the playoffs. They fine-tune their game like Portland did. They play at a high level. The Thunder, conversely, looked they were feeling out roster spots for next season.

Truckin'

The Thunder are inexplicable winners of four out of their last five. You would never guess that a squad not featuring Kevin Durant would have much of a chance. But, if you watched the games you know it's defense and sharing the basketball.

Watching this team of youngster's, throwaways and no-names play basketball the way it's meant to be played has been a treat. It should give them a tremendous amount of confidence when KD and Jeff Green return.

Another plus to watching this depleted unit is that, simultaneously, everyone stands out and yet nobody does. Nenad Krstic has been great. So has Thabo Sefalosha and Kyle Weaver. Nick Collison continues to do all the dirty work. Earl Watson has been solid. Russell Westbrook is doing a much better job of getting everyone involved. But they've done it all collectively, rising at once as a unit.

I'm ready to have KD back but these guys deserve so much credit for playing really hard at a very high level.

Durant, Green and Smith all Notably Absent Tonight

Kevin Durant went down with a severely sprained ankle Friday night against the Mavericks. He'll be out a while even though he says he'll be back in a couple days. It would be foolish to rush the franchise back. Jeff Green is has a sore back. I can sympathize as I'm going through this myself. It sucks. It's painful putting on socks and shoes much less dunking and running up and down a hard court. Lastly, Joe Smith was released/bought out, allowing him to go find the greener pasture of his choosing.

I'd like to bid a sincere and fond farewell to Ol' Joe. He is clearly a class act and the type of professional every team covets. He'll have no problems finding a place to land. He's been rumoured to be going to a contender all season. I don't know whether he liked it here but up until Saturday night he was saying the right things and having a good time on the bench.

He was the Thunder's version of the Hornet's P.J. Brown when they were here. Brown and Smith were both respected, savvy veterans who clearly had the ear of younger teammates. Brown went on to win a championship with Boston last year. Here's hoping Smith goes and gets his.

Player's who have paid their dues and who are professionals are given the professional courtesy of freedom. It may not seem like it but this is the Thunder's way of saying thanks.

Now the Thunder have an open roster spot. They could sign a free agent or a D-League prospect to a 10-day contract. I'm wondering if they might activate D.J. White. I hadn't thought of him in a while and he might be done for the year but it'd be interesting to see what he brings if he's ready.