Tag Archives: Alex Abrines

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 01 September 2017

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img_4133-5Wake up, wake up, wake up, it’s the first of the month……Here are the Rumblings.

Nick Gallo of OKCThunder.com looks at Jerami Grant’s impact on the team: “Heading into his second season with the Thunder, Grant will get a chance to get his feet under him a little more thanks to a full training camp with Head Coach Billy Donovan. A chance to integrate on the group during a month straight of practice was a privilege Grant wasn’t afforded last season when he was acquired in a trade just a week into the season. His fellow wing Andre Roberson called the trade a turning point early in the year for the Thunder. Part of the reason why is Grant’s flexibility as a player, which helped the Thunder immensely when it came to choosing lineups, rotations and matchups.”

Russell Westbrook is bringing a comedy show to Oklahoma City.  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 01 September 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 23 August 2017

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img_4133-5So Kyrie Irving is a Celtic and Isaiah Thomas is a Cavalier. We are all officially living in the Upside Down. Here are the Rumblings for this Hump Day.

Another member of the Oklahoma City Thunder finally got his 2K rating. This time it is Alex Abrines.

In a bit of comedy gold, Abrines acknowledged in a tweet that his character finally looks like him. The tweet basically translates to “This year, yes!” (For reference, just look up Alex Abrines 2K17).  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 23 August 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 21 August 2017

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img_4133-5Let’s start things off right this week. Wait, why has the sun disappeared??? Here are the Rumblings for Monday.

Billy Donovan gave a coaching clinic this weekend and here are the highlights from it.

One of Sam Presti’s assistant GM’s, Michael Winger, has been offered the GM job for the Los Angeles Clippers: “Winger, a lawyer and salary cap expert, has been with the Thunder for seven seasons after coming over from the Cleveland Cavaliers and is one of the most well-respected young executives around the NBA. He would work directly under new Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who was recently hired into that position. The Clips have shaken up their front office this summer, promoting Frank and bringing in NBA legend Jerry West while sending Doc Rivers back to just a coaching role.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 21 August 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 11 August 2017

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img_4133-5Hello, Friday. It feels like it’s been a week since we last talked. Here are the Rumblings:

Berry Tramel looks at the Sonics/Thunder franchise records, especially the scoring record: “The Thunder, of course, once were the Seattle SuperSonics. And the Sonics had quite the history before relocating to OKC. Payton. Jack Sikma. Downtown Freddie Brown. Gus Williams. Shawn Kemp. Dale Ellis. Xavier McDaniel. Lots of great players over the years. When a franchise moves, there’s always debate about what to do with the history. Leave it in the original city? Take it with you? The answer is easy. The emotional stuff, you leave behind. The colors, the retired jerseys, the trophies, you leave behind. Oklahoma City shouldn’t and doesn’t care that Sikma’s 43 is retired. If Dakari Johnson wants to wear No. 43, let him.”

Kevin Durant talks about the combination of Russell Westbrook and Paul George: “But they got Russ and PG and Steven Adams to be their Big 3. I think if they feed off each other, it could be great. I’m a fan of the game. So I can see if something is going to work or not and I think that’s going to be a really, really great pairing. It’s going to suck for us and the rest of the league. But as a fan of the game, it’s going to be tight to see how they work that thing out.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 11 August 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 09 August 2017

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img_4133-5Mike, Mike, Mike…guess what day it is???? Here are the Rumblings.

The schedule will look a little different this season than in season’s past. A lot more emphasis on rest: “In a memo given to teams this week, the league outlined how it hopes to reduce the stresses of travel and give players a chance to recover more than in the past. This is a proactive measure aimed at both player safety and to reduce the number of games in which teams rest healthy players. After a series of high-profile players didn’t play in major matchups last season, the new schedule protects key national television matchups to make sure teams aren’t playing on back-to-back nights.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 09 August 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 04 August 2017

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img_4133-5Happy Russell Westbrook Day to all. Although I doubt he signs his extension today. Here are the rumblings for this Friday.

Daniel Hamilton signs a two-way contract with the Thunder: “Hamilton, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, played 49 games for the Blue last season. The 21-year-old averaged 14.9 points, eight rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, shooting 42.6 percent from the floor and 37.4 percent from 3-point range. “Daniel has shown significant strides in his development since entering our program,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a release. “We are thrilled that he will receive the first two-way contract in Thunder history as we expect him to spend time with both teams this season as he continues to evolve as a player.”

Royce Young drops an opinion many won’t like, but that is perfectly true: There is a better chance that Paul George stays if the Thunder make a deep run. Listen to the video in the article. The article itself is almost click-baitish.  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 04 August 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 31 July 2017

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img_4133-5Hello new week. Let’s get this thing going. Here is Monday’s edition of DTR…

The Thunder signed UCLA guard Bryce Alford. The deal is likely a training camp invite.

Russell Westbrook was rumored to be playing in the Drew League against former teammate James Harden. Instead, he was at Disney Land with his new teammate, Noah Westbrook: “Westbrook even brought baby Noah, who despite being a few months old has been a major part of the Westbrook family’s travels this offseason. Westbrook took his newborn son to Paris back in June. Westbrook was reportedly supposed to play in the Drew League on Sunday night against a team which featured Chris Paul and James Harden. If Westbrook has enough energy to play pickup basketball after a day at a hot amusement park, he truly has a non-stop motor.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 31 July 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 13 July 2017

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Had a great time at the Paul George welcoming party and introductory press conference. Hopefully next year, at this time, we’ll be celebrating his contract extension. Here are the Rumblings.

Royce Young looks at the year long recruitment the Thunder are about to undertake with Paul George: “George was supposed to arrive at 1 p.m., and word had circulated on social media. Thunder fans, as has become their tradition, deployed to meet at their usual spot. On what was of course the hottest day yet of summer in Oklahoma, George’s flight was delayed an hour and a half. Bottles of water were passed around. A dozen or so pizzas showed up. Fans chanted, played music, fanned themselves with homemade signs and exchanged conversations that mostly started and ended with some variation of “Paul George? Paul George!” But George was here now, and he walked to the fence and pressed his hand up against it, dragging it from one end of the line to the other. Fans chanted “P-G-O-K-C!” as he posed for a selfie up against the fence. He waved and jumped in a black SUV. Fans hustled their way to line the road that exited the hanger and waved at George and his family as they were chauffeured off into OKC. And thus began Day 1 of a one-year recruiting trip.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 13 July 2017 →

Thunder Draft Options: Standing Firm at 21

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NCAA BASKETBALL: JAN 02 Indiana at Nebraska

Oklahoma City comes into this draft with only one pick: no. 21 in the first round. There are options to move up, move down, or trade. But another scenario would be the Thunder staying at 21 and drafting a player there. Luckily for them, this is an incredibly deep draft with talented players scattered all they way into the first third of the second round. With that said, there are also disclaimers. Picking in the 20’s is a crap shoot. For every Reggie Jackson or Serge Ibaka the Thunder have drafted in the 20’s, there’s also a Mitch McGary or Byron Mullens.

There are a number of factors that could come into play with this draft pick. Are the Thunder looking for someone that could play immediately as a role player? Or are they looking for someone with more upside that could possibly be more than a role player once they fully develop? Players that can fit into a role immediately are usually older players that have several seasons of either college experience or international play under their belt. A good example of that from the Thunder would be Alex Abrines, who was able to step into the role of floor spacer after about the first quarter of the season. Domantas Sabonis, on the other hand, had only two years of experience at Gonzaga, and is more of a developmental project for the Thunder. The Sabonis the Thunder get in 2 years will likely be a much different player than the Sabonis they had last season.

With that said, here are 5 options the Thunder may choose from their draft spot at 21. Continue reading Thunder Draft Options: Standing Firm at 21 →

Do the Thunder have a chance at acquiring Paul George?

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paul george russell Westbrook

At around 2:00 PM CST on Father’s Day, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski released the following tweet:

First off, the timing of the tweet makes it very purposeful. Over four days before the NBA Draft is due to take place gives the Indiana Pacers plenty of time to receive trade offers that have some meat behind them. While many will look at this as a negative move from Paul George’s part, it actually likely helps the Pacers in the long run.

No one in the NBA wants to see a lame duck season from a player or a team. That’s what the 2017-18 season would’ve been like for the Pacers had they allowed George to just go through the motions next season. With this definitive statement from the George camp, both sides can now put into motion the necessary steps to move forward from this break-up. Continue reading Do the Thunder have a chance at acquiring Paul George? →