More Loud Links erupting your way. Blake Griffin admits that his mother was "pretty disappointed" when the Thunder didn’t get that #1 pick. She is not the only one. ESPN says that the Spurs were the best-drafting team in the last 20 drafts. I know Presti wasn’t there the whole time, but I think he left his mark. That Kevin Love trade rumor is busted. Jennings says that Rubio isn’t all hype, but Jennings still insists that he is the best guard in the draft. There are more details about the Thunder Draft Party at Riverwind Casino and much much more.

THUNDER: Thunder Gears Up for Draft Party at Riverwind Casino
OKLAHOMA CITY, Tuesday, June 16, 2009 – The NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, and the Oklahoma City Thunder will be hosting a Draft Party at Riverwind Casino. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the Draft Party beginning at 6 p.m. The draft will be broadcast live on ESPN and five large television screens will be placed throughout the viewing area

THUNDER: A Look At: Earl Clark
Clark averaged 14.2 points on 45.7% shooting, 8.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals as a junior at Louisville. He upped those numbers during the Big East Tournament, where he averaged 18.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

THUNDER: A Look At: Tyreke Evans
The 19-year-old averaged 17.1 points on 45.5% shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Evans has close to a seven-foot wingspan, which benefited him on the defensive end.

THUNDER: A Look At: DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan finished his one-year career at USC with averages of 13.9 points on 56.2%, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Regarded with a huge upside, the Compton, Calif., native ended his college career on a strong note by earning the most outstanding player honors in the Pac-10 Tournament.

Jordan Hill: The NBA Draft's bounce-back player | NewsOK.com
Draft projections for Hill certainly bounce around. Slotted as a solid top-10 pick, he projected as low as 10th to the Milwaukee and as high as No. 5 to Washington. Before the draft lottery, some projections had him going to the Thunder, though its less likely he'd be OKC's pick at No. 3 now.

Is James Harden a perfect fit for Oklahoma City Thunder? | NewsOK.com Updated
"He's one of those kids that's a throwback from a different era," one NBA general manager was quoted. "His background came back as clean as it gets. His coach and teammates rave about him. He's all business on and off the court."

PBN | No need for Sheed
A number of NBA players contemplate retirement every summer. They think about training camp, the preseason, 82 games and possibly the playoffs ... and wonder if their bodies will be able to withstand it all.

Examiner.com NBA Mock Draft: Thunder takes Hasheem Thabeet with third pick
In college, Thabeet scored on putbacks, tip-ins, follow dunks, lobs and an occasional short jumper or hook. He has a lot of work to do on offense as his footwork is poor and he does not possess a signature move or shot. However, his mere presence will allow Nenad Krstic to play at the high post, where he is more effective.

SportingNews.com - The Sporting Blog
The Ricky Rubio situation, I think I went a little overboard about calling him all hype. You know, he's a great player, he has the most experience out of all of this in this draft, he's been playing pro ball since 15, so about him being over-hyped, that was wrong of me. I have much respect for the dude. We did a photo shoot together for Slam Magazine, so I got to know him off the court. He's a real good guy. So I just got a little overboard with that. Being vocal, you know, I just want to be the best point guard in this draft. You know, I can't be the No. 1 player of course, because Blake Griffin, he is the best player in this draft, I'm not gonna lie about that. So I'd rather be the #1 guard or the #1 point guard.

SportingNews.com - Q&A with ... Projected No. 1 Pick Blake Griffin
Q: What’s been your favorite part of the pre-draft process? A: The restaurants have been pretty good. Food’s a big part of my life. Nah, just getting to meet people, different players. It’s fun to listen to them. You’re getting perspectives and taking advice from them.

NBA Draft ‘09 Stock: DaJuan Summers | Dime Magazine
Anyway, the first time I saw Summers was at the ‘06 Jordan Brand All-American high school game. Sharing the court with Kevin Durant, Thaddeus Young and Ty Lawson, Summers — a Georgetown commit out of McDonogh H.S. in Maryland — stood out because he did everything well on the court. He wasn’t as fast as Lawson, or as athletic as Young, and he couldn’t score like KD; he just did it all: handle, pass, rebound, play D, shoot, drive, score in the post, move without the ball … he even played hard and exhibited solid fundamentals in what was really a meaningless exhibition game. At the same time Jeff Green was turning into a star at Georgetown in John Thompson III’s Princeton-like system, Summers seemed like a natural fit to be the next coming of Green.

NBA Draft Blog: Looking at Blake Griffin as a pro (06/17/09) - ESPN
The major perceived flaw in Griffin's game right now is a lack of outside shooting. Duncan and Boozer were perceived to have the same flaw when they arrived in the NBA. (You could argue Boozer has not completely fixed this view of him.) Griffin is a noted workaholic, so in all likelihood, an effective 12-foot shot can be developed within a few professional seasons.

So you’re saying there’s a chance? | Daily Thunder.com - Where Thunder Happens
Vegas has released its odds for next season’s NBA Championship and Oklahoma City’s chances aren’t more like one in a million, they’re more like one in a hundred. Oh yeah!

SLAM ONLINE | " SLAMonline Mock Draft: Tyler Hansbrough, No. 25
Hansbrough’s resume is thorough, and since we’ve all been listening to Dick Vitale orally hypnotize us about his accomplishments over the past four years, I’ll let you review it on your own time. While we’re fully aware that success under the watchful eye of the NCAA guarantees a whole lot of nothing on the next level, many aspects of Hansbrough’s game will absolutely translate to NBA success.

NBA draft: The latest trade rumors and more - ESPN Insider
There's also been talk about Minnesota trading Kevin Love to Memphis for the No. 2 pick, a rumor that one source insisted was far-fetched. If that happens, it will have to be a deal that's consummated no earlier than June 28, because the Wolves have to wait a full calendar year to trade Love back to the Grizzlies (Love was traded to Minnesota for O.J. Mayo on the night of the draft last year).

San Antonio Spurs are the best-drafting team of the past 20 seasons - ESPN Insider
Despite having had only four of their last 19 draft picks play significant minutes for the franchise, the Spurs are the best drafting team over the past 20 years, according to our analytical assessment. That's because those four draft picks were Tim Duncan (19.29 estimated wins added), Tony Parker (9.45 EWA), Manu Ginobili (6.93 EWA) and Beno Udrih (1.33 EWA), players taken over the widest draft spectrum imaginable -- from Duncan at No. 1 to Ginobili at No. 57. All four players exceeded the expected value of their draft slot. Only Udrih is no longer with the franchise, and that was after three seasons in which he contributed to two championships.

NBA At 2: Harden Fits Thunder - Basketball News & NBA Rumors -
Harden is being billed as a glue-type player going into next Thursday's draft, a player who can do for a team things like Brandon Roy did for the Portland Trail Blazers. He is athletic, can make the extra pass, can drive to the hoop, can hit the outside shot, and can fit in well with any cast. There are still the lingering questions about his consistency after his poor 2009 NCAA Tournament, but that hasn't turned off many possible suitors.

Miss a previous Loud Links Post? Find it quickly Below!

June 2009

| 06-01-09 | 06-02-09 | 06-03-09 | 06-04-09 | 06-05-09 | 06-06-09 | 06-07-09 | 06-08-09 | 06-09-09 | 06-10-09 |

| 06-11-09 | 06-12-09 | 06-13-09 | 06-15-09 | 06-16-09 |