Monday Bolts – 9.21.09

Kevin Durant’s birthday present from… someone.

A picture from Friday night’s birthday celebration for Kevin Durant. Pictured (for those that don’t know, but should): Jeff Green, Kyle Weaver, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook.

SLAM looks at the “Tank n’ Draft” philosophy: “The polar opposite of the Grizzlies are the Thunder. General Manager Sam Presti knows Durant is a lock for superstardom, but still isn’t adding the veteran pieces that will get the Durantuala his first taste of playoffs basketball. And no matter how high Durant’s ceiling is, chances are the Thunder are going to struggle again with James Harden being their only real addition this summer. They’re probably holding onto mediocrity for one more season, trying to grab another top draft pick and adding their veterans during the insanity of 2010. While this strategy has an obvious upside, one has to wonder if Oklahoma is squandering a year’s worth of honestly competing.”

Remember how Elie Seckbach was looking for someone to write KD a rap song? Well, there’s one out now by a fellow named “Yung Prez.” Enjoy?

D.J. White went back to Indiana to host a basketball camp: “More than 140 young basketball players between the ages of 6 and 14 beat the early chill on Saturday morning to learn from former Hoosier basketball star and current NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder forward D.J. White. White sponsored his first youth Hoosiers Star Basketball Camp with ProCamps Worldwide and Bloomington Twin Lakes Recreation Center in the city where his collegiate athletic experience stood out.”

It was a rematch in the Euro finals as Serbia beat Slovenia to get a crack at Spain in the Gold Medal game. Nenad Krstic had 18 as the Serbs skipped by 96-92. But Spain got revenge, whooping Serbia 85-63 as Krstic had 12.

FanHouse helps out the new refs – the top five foulers in the NBA: “Nick Collison: Thing about Collison is he isn’t without athletic ability. He’s got some, for sure, just not as much as virtually all of the players he must face each night in the frontcourt. He’s smart enough to make up that athleticism gap with a timely wrap up or hard one.”

I hope KD is as good in real life as he is in the new NBA Live: “Of course, a big part of online game play is always the gimmick factor. In Live 2009 gimmicks included Kevin Durant, who can easily score 100 points in a game. Even with the improved defensive features, Durant is completely untouchable.”

This made me chuckle. A former fired NBA ref has been invited to replacement training camp: “Michael Henderson was an official who was at the center of a controversy between the NBA and its referees’ union back in 2004. Oh, and he was previously fired by the league. But guess what? Henderson’s going to the training camp for replacement refs, which is set to begin in New York next Thursday.”

HoopsWorld lists the smartest franchises: “Let’s put the Thunder on this list with an asterisk. I personally love the way they have gone about rebuilding the franchise through the draft and inexpensive young talent, but the asterisk comes because they haven’t proven anything with it yet.”

A major sale is going on in the Thunder shop until September 25th. All women’s apparel is 40 percent off throughout the store, and all other items in the store are 30 percent off, excluding jerseys. The items currently selling for 30 percent off include everything from Thunder t-shirts, balls, key chains, player photos, pennants and hats.

A little Thunder fantasy preview for those interested in that sort of thing. Speaking of, for those interested, we plan on having our very own Daily Thunder fantasy basketball league. I know we’ve got some pretty good interest so I’ll set it up and when it’s done, I’ll let you know.

What’s next for the Ford Center renovation project?: “But the highlight of a $53 million project next summer will be a new entry way on the southwest corner of the Ford Center near Robinson and I-40. “It will be an iconic entrance to the arena,” said Tom Anderson, Oklahoma City’s special projects manager. “It will have a major glass element but it won’t look like an add-on. It will complement the existing building with some brick components.” Other 2010 improvements include a new restaurant and bar lounge for all fans and updated concession stands.