The Genius of Sam Presti

Hoopsworld | Susan Bible | May 28, 2009... Presti was promoted to assistant director of scouting in 2002, then director of player personnel, and finally, assistant general manager in 2005. He became regarded as a salary cap wizard with intuitive scouting skills, plus designed the Spurs' scouting database (which relies heavily on quantitative and analytical data to determine a player's worth), and is now used by other NBA teams as well. In an October 2006 story in the San Antonio Express-News, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called Presti the team's "resident genius," while general manager R.C. Buford said Presti's "combination of intelligence and creativity and work ethic are unique." In Presti's tenure in San Antonio, the Spurs won three of their four championship titles.

In search of the next Westbrook

SI.com | Scott Howard-Cooper | May 28, 2009... Westbrook was at least a supreme athlete. He went No. 4 to the Thunder in what many at the time considered a big gamble, an inexperienced point guard for the position that requires instinct more than any other spot. It could have gone historically bad for Oklahoma City. Instead, Westbrook progressed, was the third-best rookie in a poll of coaches and immediately emerged as part of the foundation of a blossoming future there. General manager Sam Presti's gutsy pick turned into a great pick and Westbrook thus becomes the tease of what could be with those draft prospects who follow in attempting the same difficult transition.

Buzz from the pre-draft combine

ESPN Insider | Chad Ford | May 28, 2009... "After spending hundreds of hours and millions of dollars on scouting, what am I going to learn watching players do three hours of layup drills at half speed?" one GM said. "I think the league is going to have to come to grips with the fact that the day of a relevant and valuable pre-draft camp is behind us."

Word on the Street: NBA Combine Edition

DraftExpress | Jonathan Givony | May 28, 2009... With no competitive action to be found, most of the teams we talked to at the official networking point of the Combine—the Westin Hotel—don’t appear to be all that enthusiastic about what they’ve learned here so far. Many are already calling for changes to be made next year. The NBA's competition committee held a meeting last night, and David Stern did not look all that enthused as we watched him exit the building.

NBA teams take to Chicago for combine

NBA.com | Jonathan Givony | May 28, 2009... A new twist to the pre-draft camp, now renamed the NBA combine, is 13-plus hours of interview sessions designed to help teams collect as much data as they can on the player's off-court personality. Each team submitted a list of 18 players they'd like to talk with, ranked by preference, and are then granted 30-minute blocks. Some teams opted to bring their head coaches, some their entire front office, and others just a psychologist who administered a personality assessment. Not all the agents have been all that receptive to the idea, though.

To Blake Griffin, No. 1 pick is no given

USA Today | Andrew Seligman | May 28, 2009... In fact, the All-American forward from Oklahoma still wasn't quite ready to sign a mortgage in Los Angeles or declare himself the NBA's No. 1 pick. He'll wait for commissioner David Stern to make that announcement on June 25, even if the Clippers indicated it's really not necessary. "I'm planning it as if I don't know right now, which I don't," said Griffin, who was in Chicago on Thursday for the NBA draft combine. "I'm not going to guarantee anything. I'm going through it just like everybody else is."

As the Nuggets’ Birdman Soars, So Does His Popularity

The New York Times | John Branch | May 28, 2009... The first tattoos came a decade ago, after he returned from a stint in China. A symbol on the inside of one forearm means "good," he said. The symbol on the inside of the other means "bad." "It’s not good arm, bad arm," he explained. "I’m stuck in the middle of the good and the bad. Everybody’s stuck in the middle."

First female NBA ref leaving for college hoops

SI.com | AP | May 28, 2009...  Palmer became the first woman to officiate a major U.S. professional sport when she made her NBA debut on Oct. 31, 1997. She has spent the last 12 seasons in the NBA, and officiated four playoff games and more than 700 regular season games. She also worked in the CBA and WNBA.

Wedding Pics! Who is it?

Global Grind | Brosefolophogus | May 22, 2009... Awwww, look at the two love birds, don’t they look so lovely. Here are the details of the two love birds dreamy wedding, as the two tied the knot at the LA mansion of super baller Ed Weinberger last week. And with legends like Kyla Pratt, Gary Payton, Tisha Campbell (Big Head Gina), her husband Duane Martin, Jerry West and his fam, ESPN Analyst Steve Lavin…and some of Earl’s old teammates Boom Dizzle, Chris Wilcox, Damien Wilkens and Nick Collison all there, you know it was cracking.

Report: OKC Leaning Toward Harden

Daily Oklahoman | Darnell Mayberry | May 29, 2009... While Harden seems to be a great fit on the Thunder alongside Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, don’t read too much into the report. For starters, it’s May 29, nearly a full month before the draft. Secondly, the Thunder’s brass is impressed with the skills of Rubio and likely wouldn’t pass up on him because of Westbrook. With Westbrook in the fold, things are a little more complicated if you add Rubio to the mix. But the Thunder is looking to add talented players, not necessarily players that fit best based on need. And finally, we all know Thunder general manager Sam Presti is as meticulous as they come. He hasn’t even had a chance to get much one-on-one time with the top prospects to evaluate them so it’s unlikely he’s "leaning" either way at this point.

When the Young Seem Old: Catching Up With Sam Young

48 Minutes of Hell | May 28, 2009... The reporter followed up by suggesting that he might be a better pro than he was a college player. Young agreed. "I’m a one-on-one player," citing the increased spacing and less frequent usage of zone defense as aspects of the NBA game that would compliment his style. This comment struck me as odd; I primarily think of Young as a catch-and-shoot player who, although he can finish at the rim, struggles to create a shot for himself at other spots on the floor.

NBA draft combine: Day 1

ESPN | Chad Ford | May 29, 2009... Four players really seemed to catch the attention of the GMs I spoke with after the event, with UCLA's Jrue Holiday garnering the most attention. He was the biggest point guard of the top group and seemed to tower over several of the smaller guys on the floor. During one 3-on-2 full-court drill, Holiday looked like a power forward running on the wing. And while his size was impressive, so was his game. He was hitting his jump shot, finishing with both hands and showing versatility and an excellent handle.

2009 NBA Draft Combine: Day One

NBAdraft.net | Aran Smith | May 28, 2009... Day one of the NBA Draft Combine from Tim Grover's Attack Athletics gym in Chicago, IL was a chance to get to see a majority of the players who will be drafted in a controlled environment. The new combine format was successful in getting most of the top talent in front of the NBA GMs and scouts.  Unfortunately it was at the expense of seeing players in a game setting. The biggest positive of this format is that it gives GMs and scouts a chance to analyze player's shooting forms and their demeanors. Player's passing, ball handling, defense, and rebounding were not on display.

Clippers planning to keep No. 1 pick?

ESPN Insider | Chad Ford | May 29, 2009... The hottest rumor at the camp Thursday had the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder in hot and heavy talks about a swap of the No. 1 pick for the No. 3 pick. I heard a number of variations, including Oklahoma City sending Jeff Green to Los Angeles and another in which the Thunder take back one of the Clippers' bad contracts, particularly those of Zach Randolph or Chris Kaman.

NBA draft measurables

ESPN Insider | Chad Ford | May 29, 2009... A lot of people questioned the height of Oklahoma's Blake Griffin during the season. At the draft combine, Griffin's measurements were a mixed bag. He checked in at 6-foot-8½ inches in bare feet and measured a legit 6-10 in shoes. That part was fine. But his wingspan came in at just 6-11 and he ended with a standing reach of 8-9. That's just one inch longer than the reach registered by Tyreke Evans and an inch and a half shorter than DeJuan Blair's.

ESPN Draft Machine

ESPN... Self Explanatory

Interesting NBA Hairstyles

SI.com... Photo Gallery

Just In Case...

I'm going to add a few more older articles/links, just in case you missed them earlier. Sammy posted this first link early this week, but I'm afraid that it was overlooked (seriously people, read the fanshots). So, here it is again...

Thundering Toward The Playoffs

Hoopsworld | Mike Moreau | May 25, 2009... And that's exactly the point. If they invested this much into me and these players who are not a part of their organization, imagine how much they invest in their own players? Here's an example: The Thunder created a state-of-the-art practice facility in less than three months after arriving in Oklahoma City, and are currently creating a bigger and better state-of-the-art practice facility closer to their downtown arena.

In the Room With the Pingpong Balls

ESPN True Hoop | Henry Abbott | May 19, 2009...