Tag Archives: Dakari Johnson

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 21 July 2017

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img_4133-5Hello, Friday. And hello, Dakari Johnson. Here are the Rumblings on Friday’s edition of DTR….

The Thunder signed 2015 2nd rounder Dakari Johnson to a 2-year contract on Thursday: “The Vertical did not report terms of the deal, but Johnson is likely to sign for the minimum. A 2015 second-round pick, Johnson has not played an NBA game, making him available at a minimum salary of $815,615 in his first season. That makes Johnson a cost-effective option for Oklahoma City, which will be above the NBA’s cap threshold of $119 million by the time it rounds out its roster. And Johnson has support in the organization. He’s made significant strides since he entered the draft in 2015 after his sophomore season at Kentucky. He’s improved his conditioning and his skills, growing in particular as a passer.”

Russell Westbrook finally gets his triple-double achievement commemorated with…….some bobbleheads.  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 21 July 2017 →

Thunder sign Dakari Johnson

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dakari johnson

According to Shams Charania of the Vertical, the Oklahoma City Thunder have signed center Dakari Johnson to a guaranteed two year deal. Johnson, who was drafted by the Thunder in the 2nd round of the 2015 NBA Draft, has been playing on their D-League affiliate for the past two seasons.

Johnson is a big, burly center in the Kendrick Perkins mold. He’s a legit 7-footer with a 7’2″ wingspan. He played two seasons at Kentucky, mainly at back-up center, averaging 15.2 minutes, 5.8 points, and 4.3 rebounds over 78 games. On a different team he may have had better numbers, but playing for Kentucky meant Johnson was usually lower on the depth chart. In Johnson’s two seasons in Kentucky, the players ahead of him were Julius Randle, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Willie Cauley-Stein. All three of those players were selected in the Top-10 of their respective drafts.  Continue reading Thunder sign Dakari Johnson →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 19 July 2017

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img_4133-5Happy Hump-Day all. Here are the Rumblings…

A moment of silence for the orange Sunset jerseys (according to Erik Horne).

On that same note, here are some interesting tidbits about the upcoming apparel change for the NBA.

Dakari Johnson is getting a lot of attention in his quest to make it to the NBA: “The Developmental League (re-named to the NBA Gatorade League) has given Johnson the minutes he has needed to prove he’s capable of producing for an NBA organization. “Playing in the D-League, they put you in a lot of different positions where I can expand my game. Shooting the mid-range (jumper), handling the ball, doing different things. I feel like my game has grown,” Johnson said. “In college, it was kind of a system thing. Up in the NBA or in the D-League, there’s a freedom. It’s players making decisions.” His expanded game was evident in the Orlando Summer league. Mark Daigneault — head coach with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G-League affiliate, and the coach of OKC’s Summer League team — has worked with the talented big man every step of the way this offseason, mentioning he sees a lot of a former Thunder player in Johnson’s abilities.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 19 July 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 12 July 2017

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img_4133-5The offseason continues to be a very active one for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Last week were all the moves. This week are all the introductions. What a time to be a Thunder fan. Here are the DTR’s for this hump-day.

Nick Gallo of the official Thunder page chronicles the arrival of Paul George. And if you look within the words, you’ll see I provided an assist.

Patrick Patterson and Raymond Felton were introduced as members of the Thunder on Tuesday: “It was almost like a contest. Patrick Patterson discussed his love of fishing, mudding and simply getting to cruise the open road in his truck. Raymond Felton guessed, or perhaps bragged, that no one has ever heard of his hometown of Latta, S.C. To these two new Thunder veterans, Oklahoma City will be a booming metropolis compared to where they were raised. It also might just be the closest thing to feeling the comfort of home that they’ve had so far in their NBA careers.”  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 12 July 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 07 July 2017

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Happy Friday to all! Here are today’s edition of DTR.

Brad Botkin of CBS Sports looks at how quickly OKC has recovered from Kevin Durant’s departure: “Look what happened to the Cavs when LeBron James left for Miami. Kevin Garnett left Minnesota for Boston in 2007, and the Wolves, after making eight straight playoff appearances with K.G., haven’t finished higher than 10th in the West since. Yet here are the Thunder, barely more than a year after Durant’s departure, again ready to launch a two-superstar attack on the NBA with the addition of Paul George next to Russell Westbrook. Indeed, it has been a home run offseason for OKC, which also added Patrick Patterson on a three-year, $16.4 million bargain before re-signing Andre Roberson to a three-year, $30 million deal Wednesday.”

After re-signing Roberson, Oklahoma City may enter this upcoming season as the best defensive team in the league: “OKC was already in the top 10 for defensive rating last season, and that was before adding George and Patterson. The Thunder have now become one of the biggest winners this offseason, with a much-improved roster from last year. They’ve made moves to be a strong contender in the West, and have formed a defense strong enough to at least challenge the high-powered Warriors. The question now becomes whether their offense can keep up. We know about Westbrook and George’s offensive strengths, but Roberson is a liability on that side of the ball.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 07 July 2017 →

Seven things from Summer League

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Charlotte Hornets v Oklahoma City Thunder

With Thursday’s loss in the 3rd place game, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished out the 2017 Orlando Pro Summer League with a record of 2-3. After winning their first 2 games of summer league, the Thunder went on to drop their next three to finish in the fourth position of the 8-team league.

There honestly isn’t much that can be gleaned from this year’s summer league team. When you are a perennial playoff team, summer leagues are usually to see what you have in the cupboard, as the main dishes of the team usually don’t have to play summer league. Of the 13 players who were available to play for the Thunder, only about five have realistic chances of playing in the league.

Here are seven things from summer league: Continue reading Seven things from Summer League →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 06 July 2017

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Happy the Thunder re-signed Andre Roberson. I was beginning to get worried that would be a long, drawn out situation. Instead, Roberson wanted to come back to OKC and OKC always longed to bring Roberson back. I guess $10 million was the middle ground. Here are the Rumblings for this Thursday.

Royce Young and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN team up to talk about the Roberson extension: “Roberson’s market was a tough one to gauge in the NBA because of his specialist role as a defensive stopper. After turning down an extension in October, Roberson didn’t garner the kind of interest he expected this offseason. His offensive issues are well-known, highlighted by his struggles at the free throw line during this past postseason, when he hit only 3-of-21 free throws and was a target of intentional fouling.”

Erik Horne looks at the trade market for Enes Kanter: “The NBA is trending small at the expense of the traditional big man. It’s not that Kanter isn’t effective. He was one of the most efficient offensive threats in the NBA last season, averaging 24.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per 36 minutes.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 06 July 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 09 June 2017

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Forbes ranks the world’s highest paid athletes: Russell Westbrook comes in as the 13th richest athlete and the 5th richest in the NBA. Who said you couldn’t get paid if you played in Oklahoma City?

Apparently, the Westbrooks finally got a night out on the town. As a veteran of several children, I know how appreciative new parents can be of their “we” time.

Steven Adams is back in New Zealand. And his beloved camo jacket is back on Steven Adams.  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 09 June 2017 →

Summer League: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers preview (Game 3 of 5)

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christon thunder payton magic

  • When: Tuesday, 07 July 2015 at 4:00 PM CST
  • Where: Amway Center – Orlando Magic practice facility, Orlando, FL

The Oklahoma City Thunder showed what a team with a little bit of chemistry can get accomplished in their last game against the Orlando Magic Blue team. This Thunder team, which is mostly comprised of players from the Thunder’s Developmental League affiliate, the Blue,  have something a lot of teams in summer league do not have: familiarity. Whether its Semaj Christon knowing exactly what sets to run, Frank Gaines setting up in optimal spots to get wide open shots, or Talib Zanna and Richard Solomon knowing when to roll or where to rebound, its a team that knows itself. And that becomes very evident in the first couple games of summer league.

The Thunder find themselves sitting at 2-0, behind the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic White team, who are also undefeated, but have either won more quarters than the Thunder or have won by a larger margin. There comes a point in summer league, where the players who are bonafide NBA players, rise to the top of the heap. That’s what happened in the last game as Mitch McGary and Aaron Gordon put on a show. Gordon finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8-11 shooting, while showing a vast array of ball-handling skills and play-making ability. McGary on the other hand, finished with 19 points on 9-12 shooting, and showed a Magic Johnson-like ability to grab a rebound on one end of the court and start a one-man fast break towards the other end of the court, usually ending with a transition basket.

The Opponent

los angeles clippers summer league

The Los Angeles Clippers summer league team is currently 0-2, one of four teams in the Orlando Summer League to yet win a game. The team is comprised of several players who have NBA experience, but the chemistry appears to be lacking. The strength of the team lies in its backcourt duo of Nate Wolters and CJ Wilcox. Wolters has been in the league two years and is looking to latch onto to a team for this upcoming season. Wilcox, the Clippers’ first round selection from last season, played in only 21 games and is looking to expand his role on the team with the departure of Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes. Another player looking to get picked up by a team for this upcoming season is Jordan Hamilton, who has four years of experience in the NBA. Hamilton is a versatile power forward who has played with Denver, Houston, and Los Angeles (Clippers) in his short career. Diante Garrett comes off the bench for this team and can be a spark plug 6th man. Royce White, who was last with the Sacramento Kings, is looking to get back in the league after issues with various front offices over his mental health caused him to get waived. Second round pick Branden Dawson is looking to see some action this season in the NBA and has shown a knack for rebounding and defense.

Three keys in the Game

1. Power forward match-up – Mitch McGary will have another tough match-up on his hands today going up against Jordan Hamilton. While not as versatile as Aaron Gordon, Hamilton is more of a post player, but can step out for the occasional 3-pointer. With the word out on McGary’s transition ability, look for the Clippers to get back on defense as soon as a shot goes up. McGary will likely further showcase his perimeter game today.

mcgary thunder

2. Attack the defense – Los Angeles has proven they can score in their two games, but they’ve also shown to be a bad defensive team, giving up 75 and 77 points, respectively. None of their players are known as defensive stalwarts and with Semaj Christon’s ability to get past the first line of defense and into the teeth of the defense, it could spell trouble for the Clippers.

3. Rebounding – Rebounding has been an issue for the Clippers this summer. Their only good rebounder is Branden Dawson, who has grabbed 19 boards total in the Clippers’ first two games. Look for Dakari Johnson and Talib Zanna to have double digit rebounding games today.

Orlando Summer League: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Orlando Magic Blue Team preview (Game 2 of 5)

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thunder summer league

  • When: Monday, 06 July 2015 at 2:00 PM CST
  • Where: Orlando Magic practice facility, Orlando, FL

Summer league games are, in essence, exercises in hope. If you’ve watched summer league long enough, you know 80-90% of the guys on the court won’t ever make it to the NBA. If your name was not called in the first round, your chances of making it to the bigs drop significantly. With all that said, though, we still watch. If you are a true fan, you become familiar with all the players on the roster and even start to pick up little tidbits about them. A week later, unfortunately, all that knowledge gets cycled into the memory dump of our brains, and most of those players become but a distant memory. But as you watch the games, you start to notice things about players that may actually help your NBA roster.

After one game, the Oklahoma City Thunder sit at 1-0, having defeated the Charlotte Hornets 76-74. Lacking a dearth of NBA experience, the Thunder summer league roster depended on defense for key stretches in the game and on their back-court duo of Semaj Christon and Frank Gaines, who combined for 31 points. Christon notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists, while also hitting the deciding basket on a drive on the Thunder’s final possession. Mitch McGary and Dakari Johnson cleaned up well around the basket, each grabbing double digit rebound totals (24 rebounds total between the two). The spark off the bench came from Travis Bader who came into the game in the 2nd quarter, and quickly racked up 10 points on 2 3-point shots, a mid-range jumper, and 2 free throws. Defensively, McGary struggled a bit with Hornets’ rookie Frank Kaminsky, losing him several times on the pick and roll. Kaminsky finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hornets, but did not score in the 4th quarter.

The Opponent

mario hezonja magic

Orlando brings two teams into their summer league. Their White team is made up mostly of guys that will likely spend most of their time next season in the Developmental League and overseas. The Blue team on the other hand, is made up of all the first and second year players that will likely see significant minutes in the NBA this season. This is an extremely smart move by the Magic who would like to see their young guys play together to develop a rhythm, instead of having them mixed with players who, honestly, likely will never sniff an NBA court. The Blue team won its first game against the Los Angeles Clippers, 75-74, in overtime. The Blue team is led by point guard Elfrid Payton, who was first team All-Rookie last season. Joining him on the wing are Magic first round pick Mario Hezonja and second year player Devyn Marble. Hezonja hit the deciding 3-point shot in overtime in the Blue team’s first summer league game. Up front, Aaron Gordon and Brandon Davies all have NBA experience. Off the bench, the Magic (Blue team) will likely use their 2nd round pick Tyler Harvey as an offensive spark plug.

Three Keys in the Game

1. Experience – The bulk of the minutes doled out to players on the Magic team will be to those players with NBA experience. While the Thunder don’t have the same amount of NBA experience, they do have a team that is quite familiar with itself as most of the Thunder’s roster is composed of players who were on the Thunder development team, the Blue.

semaj christon thunder II

2. Summer league superstar match-ups – While there aren’t necessarily any superstars in summer league, there are some interesting match-ups in this game. Aaron Gordon and Mitch McGary will likely match up a lot in this game. Both are athletic forwards that have a year’s worth of NBA experience under their belt. The other interesting match-up will be Elfrid Payton against Semaj Christon. The Thunder love Christon’s game and this will be a good barometer as to how ready he is to play in the NBA.

3. Mario Hezonja – Aside from the Thunder players, I’m most excited to see Super Mario. He was okay in his first game, but when the spotlight shined the brightest in the closing seconds of overtime, he hit the dagger three. This guy is far from a finished product, but his confidence and swagger make him a must-watch in summer league action.