Thunder Lightning Round
By Randy Renner, Senior Writer
So what will the Thunder do with that big hole in their lineup after Kevin Durant skipped town for the Golden State Warriors?
One solution could be small forward Rudy Gay who would like to be traded away from the Sacramento Kings. The problem with Gay is he’s not very good on the defensive end and the Kings aren’t planning to just give him away.
Gay has averaged a tad over 18 points a game during his career on 48 percent shooting overall and 34 percent from deep.
He’s set to make $13.3 million next season and has a $14.2 million player option for the 2017-18 season so he’s affordable with the way his contract sets up.
Thunder GM Sam Presti said after Durant’s departure he and his staff would not be overly quick to respond, wanting instead to weigh several possible options.
The Thunder are also waiting to see what happens with Dion Waiters in free agency. That process has moved along slowly with Waiters getting just luke warm interest from several teams. Since he is a restricted free agent, the Thunder will have the ability to match whatever offer he receives if they want to bring him back.
They would also like to get some sort of commitment to the future from superstar point guard Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook was in Oklahoma City last week conducting his basketball camp and will do the same up the turnpike in Tulsa. He asked the kids at the end of one session how many of them would be back next summer and all of them raised their hands. Many of the young players then asked Westbrook if he would be returning as well and according to those in attendance he said “yes.”
Who knows what that really means but you would think Presti needs a solid answer one way or the other to help chart the course for the Thunder’s future.
The latest reports from national NBA insiders indicate Westbrook is in no hurry to leave OKC and likes the recent additions to the team.
But we heard some of the same sort of things from Durant so Presti would probably prefer to get something in writing instead of just an empty promise.
The Thunder are believed to be talking to Westbrook about re-negotiating his current contract and extending it. An early report from TNT’s David Aldridge indicated Westbrook would not agree to that because it didn’t make much financial sense.
But now with the 2017-18 salary projected to rise by less than what had originally been projected it may make more sense now.
Former Westbrook teammate James Harden agreed to a renegotiation and extension of his current deal with the Rockets over the weekend.
Westbrook would be eligible for something similar, according to salary cap expert Jon Hamm. Hamm says Westbrook could get $8.7 million added to his contract for this coming season and then have three more years worth a total of $91.5 million.
Something else they could sway things toward the Thunder is the uncertainly about the possibility of a lockout next summer. Either side can opt out of the current agreement in December which would then expire on July 1, 2017. Locking in contracts now could give those players who do so an advantage.
Thunder Summer Sensations
The Thunder summer league team finished 4-1 in Orlando and took third place in the round-robin event. Point guard Cameron Payne was named to the OSL “All-Star” team. He averaged 18.8 point a game to lead all scorers.
Payne has added 8-10 pounds to his frame and appeared to be a little stronger and more able to attack the rim. He continues to improve and with the uncertainty at the point guard position that’s what OKC needs.
Semaj Christon, who was drafted by the Thunder in the second round a couple of years ago also had a solid summer league. He played for the OKC Blue one season and then went to Italy last season. He averaged 16.8 points on 48 percent shooting and will likely be given every opportunity to win the third string point guard job for the Thunder.
Mitch McGary was sensational too with his play in Orlando but once again off-court issues keep dragging him down. The NBA announced just hours after the Thunder finished up with their game on Friday that McGary would be suspended for the first five regular games of this coming season for violating the league’s drug policy.
No details were released but by reading the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement a five-game suspension in the result after having failed a drug test for marijuana for the third time.
A first failed test results in being sent into the NBA’s drug program, a second failure for marijuana is a $25,000 fine and another trip into the program and the third failure results in a five-game suspension.
McGary missed a two-week stretch of the season for what was described as “personal reasons” and when he returned to the team McGary didn’t want to explain his absence further.
Clearly there is a problem, if McGary can solve it he can be very valuable to the Thunder moving forward. If not the team may have to give up on him.