Loud Links: May 31, 2009

NBA Twitters

Hoopshype.com... nickcollison4 Guy on the street just yelled "yo that's brad miller!!!". KevinDurant35 Watchin waterboy lol..best line of the movie: "waterboy is killin!! He is the best tackler since Joe Montana" lololol. russwest44 2k9 im a beast. nickcollison4 Just saw 2 dudes jousting with their belts like lightsabers on the subway.they were tryin 2 whip each other.dead serious.put it on my momma. DwightHoward  thank all folks who believed in us. yall inspire me to go hard. dont tell nobody lol. but i cried on the bench lol. i love yall.

NBA Draft: Top Of The Class

Hoopsworld | Susan Bible | May 29, 2009... Hasheem Thabeet: On fitting into the league:  "Since I've been playing basketball for six years, five years or whatever, it's kinda different compared to all the other guys.  I think I might need to work a little bit more on my offense to be a perfect fit.  I'm here right now and I got one month to go and I really want to be ready when the time comes."  How his game translates:  "People say I play like a combination between Yao and Mutumbo.  I've been working hard…the coaches, the whole UConn staff, they've been great, my teammates help me a lot in making me a good player right now."

NBA Draft: The Impact Guys

Hoopsworld | Tommy Beer | May 30, 2009... Declaring for the draft after just one season at Southern California, DeRozan is raw, but oozing potential.  And although he has just one colligate season under his belt, that is actually one more than his basketball idol.  When asked who he compares his game to, DeMar mentioned a fellow Californian. "My favorite player is Kobe, but at the end of the day I really don't compare myself to anybody," said DeRozan.  "I just want to the kind of player that works hard and has his own name.  That is one thing I am really trying to focus on."

Birdman doesn't want to fly away

Denver Post | Chris Dempsey | May 31, 2009... "What better place to play than at home?" Andersen said. "I love this city, I love this state. I appreciate everybody in the whole town for backing us and helping us prove others wrong." But getting Andersen back into the fold won't be easy — or cheap. Andersen played last season on a one-year, $998,398 contract. He'll command a multiyear deal that could be in the neighborhood of the mid-level exception, which was $5.585 million last season.

Nuggets say this season has marked the start of something special

The Canadian Press | Arnie Stapleton | May 30, 2009... The Nuggets' top five scorers return and their three unrestricted free agents - Chris (Birdman) Andersen, Dahntay Jones and Anthony Carter - all are practically begging to come back. Asked what's the next step for these Nuggets, Andersen cracked, "Re-signing me." He suspects the team is ready for a title run in 2010 after a season spent figuring out schemes and styles on the fly.

Oklahoma City Thunder trade options aren’t attractive

The Daily Oklahoman | Mike Baldwin | May 31, 2009... One option is Presti could use the selection to acquire a veteran. That strategy can speed up a rebuilding process. But those types of trades also can come back to haunt a GM. If Presti were to offer the No. 3 pick, who might be available? It depends on which rumor you put stock into.

Arizona prospect is hot stuff

Boston.com | Marc J. Spears | May 31, 2009... While those prospects have become familiar to hoop fans, there is one stellar prospect in their realm still trying to make a name for himself: Arizona forward Jordan Hill. "Basically, I came on the scene as a late bloomer," said Hill. "I didn't get the attention that the rest of the guys did. It's something that I want and I'm working hard to get. From where I'm at now, I have to keep working hard and get better and better every day."

OKC could be one of only three teams with a waiting list

The Daily Oklahoman | Mike Baldwin | May 31, 2009... The league record for season-ticket renewals was nearly 80 percent two years ago. That figure dropped to 78 percent this past season. Early estimates are it could drop as low as 70 percent next season. Oklahoma City could be an exception. "We’ve already added 500 new season-ticket holders,” Byrnes said. "There’s still a lot of appetite in the market place. We’re not naïve to economic challenges, but we feel we put a great product on the floor and are doing everything possible to be customer friendly.”

Discussing GM's salaries, Presti is mentioned

Talking Points | Tim Kawakami | May 13, 2009... Presti definitely was a hot commodity at the time, and is even more so now, so you’d imagine he took the low money because he got full power. (And because he took the job in Seattle as they were moving to OKC.) Anyway, Riley’s low salary is probably lower than a few No. 2 basketball ops guys in the league. If I have my numbers right, Riley’s probably making about half as much as the league average for GM/VP-types (whatever you want to call the No. 1 basketball decision-maker), which was somewhere above $1.5M per annum.

UConn's Thabeet should entice GMs

Boston.com | Marc J. Spears | May 3, 2009... While the Tanzanian is limited offensively and needs to get stronger, he can improve in both areas with coaching and weight training. The 22-year-old says he weighs 270 pounds right now and hopes to bulk up to 285 by the time the next NBA season begins. "It's going to be hard to pass on that," said Celtics guard Ray Allen, who also played at UConn. "Everyone preaches defense, and for a team that hasn't made the playoffs, their building blocks have to start on the defensive end. If you can start with a big body, you better get a body that's a shot-blocker.

Chance to upgrade Oklahoma City Thunder tickets

The Daily Oklahoman | May 31, 2009... Thunder officials will conduct a private, week-long, season ticket event June 8-12 at the Coca Cola Events Center. Top priority season-ticket holders will be given appointments to change seat locations. As the week progresses, all 2008-09 season-ticket holders who renewed will be given an opportunity to upgrade. Late in the week, fans who purchased mini packages last season and have committed to full season tickets, will be next in line to choose seats.

Starting Center’s Rebounding Numbers

Starting Power Forward’s Rebounding Numbers

NBA Roundtable | May 27 & May 28, 2009... Statistical comparison of the league's centers and power forward's rebounding rates.