Thursday Bolts – 6.11.15
Chad Ford has Kelly Oubre 12th on his big board: “Oubre is another controversial prospect. On sheer physical tools and upside, he belongs five or six spots higher on the board. He’s one of the biggest wings in the draft, is a very good athlete, and has the potential to be a coveted “3-and-D” type player. The question marks all center on his maturity and work ethic after he got off to a very rocky start at Kansas. His trainer, Drew Hanlen, swears he’s one of the hardest working players he’s ever trained and that his improvement has been dramatic the past few months. If teams see that in workouts, he’ll go much higher than projected here. He has the same sort of window that Johnson does — Pistons, Hornets, Heat, Pacers, Jazz and Suns. I could also see the Thunder rolling the dice on him at No. 14.”
Darnell Mayberry on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: “Clearly, if the Thunder drafted Hollis-Jefferson with the 14th overall pick in the June 25th draft, Oklahoma City wouldn’t be getting just an intriguing player, but the Thunder also would be getting an interesting personality. Spend five minutes in the presence of Hollis-Jefferson and it becomes abundantly clear how much the young man believes in himself and his abilities. His superb defensive skills have drawn comparisons to former San Antonio forward Bruce Bowen and current Spurs defensive ace Kawhi Leonard, and it’s Hollis-Jefferson’s sky-high confidence that could help him reach such heights.”
Good look at what the Cavs are doing right.
Forbes has KD as the seventh highest paid athlete in the world: “The four-time NBA scoring champ won his first MVP trophy in 2014 after leading the Oklahoma Thunder to the second best record in the NBA. The 2015-16 season is the final year on the $85 million contract he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2010. Durant inked a blockbuster, 10-year deal with Nike in 2014 that could be worth up to $300 million, including royalties. It is the richest endorsement deal of any active athlete.”
Dion Waiters is close to being Shaqtin’ a Fool royalty.
Andre Roberson on his offseason focus: “Ball-handling. Maintaining my weight and growing bigger, stronger, faster. Shooting-wise, definitely getting a lot better there. And just overall confidence. Going out there, getting more familiar with the wing roles and where I’m going to be on the court. Obviously defense is the last thing. I can always polish and get better there. So those are things I’ve been working on.”
Nike is the new official outfitter of the NBA starting in 2017.
