Monday Bolts – 7.29.13

Anthony Slater: “Because starting next season and for the foreseeable future, with the escalating contracts of its star players, OKC is all but guaranteed to violate that threshold. So if they can find a way to escape it in 2013-14, and despite being about $500,000 away it seems like they are desperately determined to do so, the franchise’s “repeat offender” clock will be pushed back a year. And that means, for example, a tax bill three years from now that could have cost them, say, $10 million, will only cost $6 million. And for a cash-conscious small market franchise (who will pay Roberson 120 percent his suggested value starting in year two of his contract), that’s a big deal.”

Paul Palladino of Yahoo Sports: “Former NBA All-Star Baron Davis and rapper The Game made headlines when the latter tweeted that they agreed to a $50,000 bet on the outcome of Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Drew League. Davis’ three-time reigning champion LAUNFD (pronounced L.A. Unified) took on The Game’s Money Gang in a rematch of last season’s championship contest. Davis declined to comment on the wager pregame, and whether or not money exchanged hands remains unknown. If indeed a bet was made, The Game walked away richer thanks to Metta World Peace as Money Gang survived Kevin Durant’s 35 points and 17 rebounds to win 92-90.”

KD was the fifth-most mentioned athlete on SportsCenter last year.

Rob Mahoney of SI.com on OKC’s offseason gamble: “I’m optimistic about OKC’s chances to pull that off, but admittedly curious to see how Jackson and Lamb fare. Jackson showed legitimate progress through Westbrook’s postseason absence, but he’s in no way the complementary cutter and shooter that Harden and Martin were for the Thunder — a difference that could make him a slightly more awkward fit alongside the Thunder’s two stars. (Durant, Westbrook and Jackson played just over 100 minutes together last season.) Lamb, on the other hand, just isn’t NBA-tested after playing only 147 minutes as a rookie. Though he’s scored well in the D-League and summer league, he doesn’t have much to draw from in terms of baseline chemistry with his Thunder teammates. Both players could well answer the call with strong individual seasons. But let’s not understate the risk of trading Harden, parting ways with Martin, and trusting two young players to pick up the slack.”

KD is one of the most popular players in the league. Shocking.