Wednesday Bolts – 9.23.09

As we said yesterday, Ryan Bowen and Michael Ruffin will be at the Thunder’s camp, but two more players are

coming along. Point guard Tre Kelley from South Carolina and Michael Harris, a power forward from Rice who played briefly with Houston last year.

The New York Times with a cool feature on Kevin Durant: “Some of it is based on where he is. Oklahoma City is the league’s smallest market. And although this city may have accepted its professional basketball team — the Ford Center had 18 sellouts last season, the franchise’s first after a move from Seattle — it is still discovering the players. Most of it, though, is based on who Durant is, a person with a quiet sense of humor and a demeanor so modest that it is as if he is a star who does not quite realize he is one.”

The Orlando Sentinal has a preview/power poll out and OKC comes in No. 24: “The status of the Oklahoma City Thunder is perhaps best explained by a comment Kevin Durant posted on his Twitter account this summer. He said while in Hong Kong, when he told people he played for Oklahoma City, they’d say maybe if he worked hard, he’d someday make the pros. Durant is pretty sure he’ll show them, and the Thunder probably have the most exciting young corps of players with Durant, Russell Westbrook and draft pick James Harden. As those guys progress, so will the team.”

TSN with a Thunder preview: “Of course, the most perplexingly enjoyable aspect of getting hyped up to watch this club is that they haven’t proven they are capable of doing anything of substance in the league yet. This is that brief moment when no one knows if they’re going to continue their upwards climb to respectability or if they are going to stall at the bottom of the hill. People look at the talent reserves and drool at the possibility, and to a certain degree that allows excitement and anticipation to override common sense. However, in this age of unending statistical metrics designed to take all of the unpredictability out of professional sports, a little bit of unsupportable optimism is a desperately-needed distraction.”

That was fast. The Timberwolves waived Chucky Atkins yesterday. What team is next for the Chuckster I wonder…

Well didn’t this get old fast. SLAM has Kanye interrupt every franchise: “I’m very pleased like that second piece of pie hitting the spot, Thunder, and I’ma let you grow together as the season goes along, but the cast of “Mean Girls” are a better collection of young talent than you. No one end up like Lindsay Lohan, please.”

I’ve got the Daily Thunder fantasy league set up. If you want in email me (first come first serve). And if do you want in, I need a committment to keep your team updated and active. Otherwise, it’s no good.

Also, I’ve added a few pages at the top under TEAM. I’m pretty excited about the Schedule and Events tab (Google is unreal with all their features). That calendar will have all results, the schedule and also any and every Thunder related event you can think of.

The Utah Flash’s owner is quickly becoming the coolest guy in school. He’s putting up $100,000 to try and get MJ and Bryon Russell to square off at halftime of his home opener.

Hey you guys! Just 35 freaking days until the season starts. 35… hmm… what’s 35….