It’s the first of the month, wake up, wake up, wake up…..Here are the Rumblings for Tuesday.
Is Oklahoma City on the cusp of being the next superteam: “James will once again be a free agent in 2018, and we’ve learned our lesson: Be prepared for anything. It’s time to start sketching the free agency possibilities now and try to map out where the next superteams will be. So, who is most likely to assemble the next powerhouse to challenge the reigning-champ Golden State Warriors? Joining up with ESPN’s Bobby Marks with an eye toward 2018 free agency, we look at the three primary models to building a superteam. This list looks beyond current contenders Cleveland, Houston and Oklahoma City — each of whom already has at least two superstars — to the next generation of potential superteams.”
An article looking at Dakari Johnson being a worthwhile investment: “For starters, Johnson has been developing nicely in the Thunder’s pipeline. He has played three seasons in the Summer League with Oklahoma City and in two G-League seasons. Each year he has shown growth and development, especially offensively. Playing for some loaded Kentucky teams, Johnson never had much of a chance to showcase his talents and flourish. But once he joined the Thunder’s organization, that changed. Johnson increased his scoring output from 12.3 points per game in his first season with the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League to 18.5 per game this past season.”
A look at the enigma that is Kyle Singler: “While the future of Singler and the Thunder remain unclear, what he brings to the locker room is. Singler is a team guy, he puts the needs of the squad above his shoulders. I truly believe this is undervalued in basketball. Sometimes, you just need a guy who’s been in a Championship environment before. Singler has been there with Duke. He may never be able to average more than seven points a game. However he can provide the team with the presence of mind to help them toward a championship.”
Daryl Morey taking the ‘if my guy doesn’t win, nobody deserves to win’ approach: “I don’t know if this is a good process,” Morey told The Crossover. “The ones that are decided by players or executives or media, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. I honestly don’t think there’s a good process. You could argue for eliminating the awards altogether. I don’t really see a good way to do it that doesn’t have major issues. I like clean answers. If there’s not going to be a set criteria and there’s going to be issues with how it’s structured, for me it might be better to not have it.”
Steven Adams might pick up a second job.
Great interview of Patrick Patterson from Slam magazine: “The opportunity to compete for a championship. I saw this as my best chance to get to the Finals, and a chance to play alongside two All-Stars—two Hall of Famers in my opinion—in a great city that breathes basketball. And being in the Western Conference as well, I want to earn everything that I can get.”
Former Thunder player Jeff Green talks about his heart surgery after getting traded to the Boston Celtics: “In one day, everything I knew about my body had changed. And all the confidence I had felt about maintaining this body had been completely drained. Standing in front of the mirror, I started crying. It was hitting me — this is forever. About a week into recovery, I headed to a physical rehab in Waltham, MA that the Celtics had set me up with. A lot of people there were recovering from various kinds of heart operations themselves — but I was the only person there under 60 years old. I remember this one older man and one older woman who were always on the treadmills next to me. They would be walking for 10-20 minutes at a time, no problem. At that time, in the first weeks after my operation, I could walk for about five minutes on the treadmill, but then I’d be exhausted. My doctor promised me that each day I would get a little bit better, but it was easy to get depressed about my progress. Sixty-year olds were lapping me on the treadmill.”
Apparently, Doug McDermott will be changing numbers next season.
Now That's Thunder Basketball 