Oklahoma weather tends to align itself with Thunder basketball most days. Today, we’re graced with rolling thunderstorms and more draft speculation in the media. Over the past week, we’ve seen “rumors” that the Sacramento Kings have traded for the Thunder’s pick at 2, Presti is enamored with Jaden Ivey, and we’re getting married to Chet Holmgren. We are a special breed as Thunder fans. A combination of rowdy college football fanatics plus the most passionate fanbase EVER equals a very loyal, very loud, and very needy type of fanatic. The pure jubilation the entire fanbase felt when the Kings card flipped at four, then the Rockets at three, followed by the Thunder at two was met with the highest of fives, spilled drinks, and thirsting for more.
The waiting period we’re experiencing right now before the draft can be compared to that LONG week after Christmas and before the New Year. We are in good hands, Thunder fans. The hands that crafted our Finals team and then sunset our aging stars, turning them into SGA, Tre Mann, #12 and #30 in this draft AND 9 more first-round picks over the next four drafts after this one! If there’s a GM to tear it down and build it back better, it’s Presti. The man himself said he wants it to be an “Arrival”, not an “Appearance”, when OKC makes it to the playoffs next. That type of confidence starts from the top and bleeds throughout the entire organization. You see it in our coaching staff, players, and even people who come by for a quick pitstop. (Shoutout Al Horford, go get that ring, and go Celtics!)
Most of the NBA media is trying to guess what the Thunder are going to do, but please take it with a grain of salt. Only Presti knows what Presti is going to do on draft night and the rest of the offseason. I do believe the consensus top three will go: Jabari Smith Jr, Holmgren, and Paolo Banchero. At the end of the day, everything points to Holmgren being drafted by the Thunder, and I think getting a 7’1 shot-blocking, Thunder Money ball-making big will only further our rebuild. Just ask Giddey, who is drooling at the chance to play with Chet. And the love seems to be reciprocated on Chet’s end (just look at his Instagram). Buckle up Thunder fans, for the next 22 days are going to be crazy with rumors, mock drafts, the NBA trade machine, and more. The hard part is over. Now, enjoy the build-up to whoever Presti brings into this exciting team!
In the wake of the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA on Sunday, I was hit by a wave of emotion from all sorts of different angles. I, like many people, was caught completely off-guard by this tragedy. Like a flame in a thunderstorm, plane crashes and helicopter crashes have a way of bringing an abrupt finality that quickly extinguishes any form of hope. At least in most car crashes, people get taken to the hospitals in hopes that something can be done. But those aerial disasters leave us with a sense of doom before we even see the crash site.
The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that All-Star guard Russell Westbrook underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. The statement stated that Westbrook experienced some inflammation in his knee over the weekend and Westbrook, his advisers, and the team decided it would be best to have the “proactive” procedure. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal El’Attrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, Ca.
The Oklahoma City Thunder signed second round pick Hamidou Diallo to a 3 year/$4 million dollar contract. The 6’5″ guard out of Kentucky was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 45 pick and then subsequently traded to the Thunder for a 2019 second round pick and cash considerations.
In a league where it seems like only big money contracts get traded, the Thunder have made two trades in the span of a week involving three players making exactly the same amount as second-year players on rookie minimum deals. Last Friday, the Thunder traded center Dakari Johnson and cash considerations to the Orlando Magic for Rodney Purvis.