Monday Bolts – 6.27.16
Anthony Slater: “Forget the cases made by others. Those will be explored below. The
Thunder may just have to battle a case of staleness. At his shoe event in Austin this past week, Durant glowed about his time in OKC. But he also talked about his time in D.C. and Austin and even Seattle and how living different places shapes you in different ways. He’s a free-spirited, self-aware 27-year-old. There’s a chance he’s searching for a new adventure, or, at the very least, intrigued by the idea. Most people in his situation would be.”
Nate Scott of FTW: “For one, Victor Oladipo immediately can come in and complete the backcourt that the Thunder have been looking for. A Westbrook-Oladipo pairing is absolutely devastating defensively (if Westbrook is interested in defense, which admittedly comes and goes), and Oladipo is a better shot creator and shooter than any of the Thunder’s guards outside Westbrook. Ersan Ilyasova has had an up-and-down few years, but he’s a big who can shoot, and he’s going to have a lot, lot, lot of open looks playing with Westbrook, Oladipo and Durant. Sabonis is a 6-foot-10 big out of Gonzaga who will immediately be enrolled in the Steven Adams School of Turning Raw Big Men Into Polished Centers and Want To Read Good Too.”
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider has KD as the second best free agent: “With James indicating he’s headed back to Cleveland to defend the title, Durant is the best free agent realistically on the market. His projection is a bit more conservative since similar players did drop off a bit in their late 20s, but that shouldn’t be a concern for possible suitors. Barring injury, Durant will remain one of the league’s top stars through his next contract.”
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Now he’ll take those improvements, along with his trademark grit, to an NBA championship contender. If Kevin Durant re-signs with the Thunder and if Durant and Russell Westbrook avoid injuries, Oladipo will play meaningful games for the first time as a professional. The new role, whether it’s as the starting shooting guard or as the Thunder’s sixth man, should fit Oladipo well. The Magic selected him second overall in the notoriously weak 2013 NBA Draft, and lofty expectations accompanied his lofty draft status.”
Anthony Slater: “Durant is fiercely loyal to UT, but left after his freshman season. He loves D.C., shown through his tattoos and NFL fandom, but has expressed little interest in playing professionally back home. So while his authentic connection to OKC is a strong free agency selling point, it’s attached to no guarantee. Durant remains a free spirit. He still talks about cycling through various European cities last summer. He’s always searching for a new adventure or hobby. That’s not to say he’s searching for a new home. But even though he labeled this process strictly a “basketball decision,” it has never been just about basketball for him.”
Here’s Zach Lowe’s take on the Ibaka trade: “The Magic paid a steep price for Ibaka — steeper than bounties that netted Batum, Dragic, Morris and Hill for other teams. They are betting that even in a league trending toward speed and off-the-bounce playmaking across all five positions, a huge dude who can shoot 3s and swat shots is more valuable than other players in the same general tier. If Ibaka doesn’t rediscover his vigor, they will lose that bet. Lots of rival executives think they lost it the second they flung the former No. 2 pick away. Maybe so. They definitely outbid the market for a guy who will hit free agency in a year. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Ibaka helps the Magic more than expected. That might not justify the deal in the end, but delivering the verdict early is dangerous.”
