Wednesday Bolts – 4.29.09
George Gervin sees Kevin Durant as the most comparable player to him: “Wesley (Gainseville): Which current NBA
player do you think is most comparable to yourself? George Gervin: I guess I would say Kevin Durant because he is long, he can put the ball on the floor, and he can shoot from anywhere.”
KD’s brother signed yesterday to play college ball with Western Kentucky: “Cliff Dixon, the half-brother of NBA star Kevin Durant, has signed with WKU. Dixon, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward, averaged 15.3 points and eight rebounds at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College last season. He chose the Hilltoppers over Seton Hall and Missouri and will have two years of eligibility remaining. “We’ve been on him a couple of years,” McDonald said. “(Dixon) is very versatile. He can play all over the floor. He’s long. He’s a good athlete. He’s skilled. He’s got to continue to get better, but he’s a tough mismatch at a lot of different positions. He has a really high skill level and talent level.”
Robert Sarver (Phoenix’s owner) talked about the Suns’ offseason decisions. You know, kind of important considering OKC has their unprotected first round pick next year. But it doesn’t sound like Sarver is that thrilled about rebuilding: “I didn’t get into this business to make money or sit and watch my team lose,” Sarver said. “I’m not prepared to do a three- or four-year rebuilding period and win 25 or 30 games a year. I feel I’d be letting the community down. Plus, I like to win. Losing would be too difficult for me.” Blow-it-up! Blow-it-up! Blow-it-up!
Looking like the Jazz will pick Millsap over Boozer: “Boozer angered franchise officials and teammates alike early in the season, when he spoke openly of wanting to test his free agency this summer. It didn’t help that he made the comments while he was nursing a quadriceps injury that cost him more than half the season. After Monday’s season-ending loss, Boozer now says he’d like to return to the Jazz, adding that he feels like “one of those cornerstone people who brought this team back to prominence.” In truth, the decision might not be entirely up to him. Even if Boozer doesn’t opt out of his contract, the Jazz are expected to explore trading him and devote their resources to keeping Paul Millsap. As if the Jazz needed any more evidence of Millsap’s value, he helped lead Monday’s comeback while Boozer watched from the bench.”
Interesting thoughts about 2010’s free agency, the economy and a potential lockout: “What does that mean for the NBA? Is a lockout inevitable? Stern makes it sound very simple, that the owners will sit down with the players and just work something out. Simple as can be. Only it isn’t. Things could get ugly, especially if the economy continues to spiral downward. Don’t be surprised if many of the would-be free agents of 2010 go ahead and commit to long-term contracts with their current teams. The money might not be there if they wait.”
Could David Lee pull a Ben Gordon this summer?: “If David Lee believes he’s a $10M per player, then maybe he will follow the path of Ben Gordon, who twice turned down contract extension offers from the Bulls, did not find a likable offer sheet as a restricted free agent and accepted a one-year $6.4M qualifying offer to buy himself unrestricted free agency this summer.” I’ll tell you, David Lee is no $10M per type of player. You give David Lee five years, $52 million or something and in 2014 we’ll all be sitting here joking about Lee’s expiring contract and how valuable it is. He’s a very nice player, but more like a $7-8M per type of guy.
NBADraft.net had Oklahoma City taking Jordan Hill yesterday. Now, the Thunder takes Demar DeRozen with the fourth overall pick. Meanwhile, Draft Express has DeRozen going eighth. DeRozen is certainly an interesting prospect, a 6-6 shooting guard in the mold of Vince Carter, but boy is he raw. Basically, he’s the anti-Harden. A super-athlete that gets things done with his raw athleticism and not his wit and ability. But then again, you can develop ability. Hard to develop athleticism.
HoopsHype has one of those types of lists I just looked at for 15 minutes straight. It lists every player that’s in this draft and the agents they’ve hired and what their projection is. Blake and Taylor Griffin are sharing Jeff Schwartz with Tyler Hansbrough and it looks like Bill Duffy is a popular dude. Anybody still looking for an agent? I’m a tough negotiator.
