Loud Links: June 5, 2009

Welcome to the Friday edition of Loud Links! An interesting tid-bit of information has leaked from the Memphis area. The Grizzlies supposedly are not planning on working out Rubio. Can we now suppose all the rumors stating that Thabeet will be Memphis’s choice are now correct? Will OKC workout Rubio? Yes sir, Oklahoma will be a stopping point on Rubio’s destination to the NBA. I’d bet Presti would scout my great grandma if he heard she had a great 3pt shot. Presti scours over every possible draftee and choose the best available. That is why OKC is rumored to like 5 or 6 different players. Presti and company are taking a serious look at every player available. Why Memphis isn’t doing the same is mind-boggling.

Other news involves the upcoming Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. Should we expect much news from that camp? Workouts in California and Minnesota have apparently helped Sam Young garner a little more attention. There is a little more news from Spain, this time concerning Serge Ibaka. A Spanish news source quotes Ibaka saying, "Me ilusiona mucho participar en las Ligas de Verano con Oklahoma, es interesante estar allí". A rough translation on my behalf would be, "I’m very exited to participate in the Summer League with Oklahoma, it would be interesting to be there". Interesting indeed, please read on.

No Memphis visit planned for Rubio - The Memphis Edge
A team insider said the Griz were unaware of Rubio's exact plans - whether he would work out for any NBA team or simply arrive in the U.S. for the draft. Long-time NBA writer and good friend, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, wrote in her blog that sources say Rubio "is suddenly amenable to participating in interviews and individual workouts with a select number of teams ...Rubio's agent, Dan Fegan, is limiting the visits to the teams with draft picks 2-4."

 

NBA draft: Eurocamp director sees deepest field yet - ESPN
The Reebok Eurocamp begins its sixth annual camp this Friday in Treviso, Italy. I sat down with the director of the camp, Pete Philo, for a little insight on what's happening. Philo, in addition to his duties with the camp, is an international scout for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

 

NBA draft: Eurocamp has delivered boons, busts and plenty in the middle - ESPN
TREVISO, Italy -- The 2009 Reebok Eurocamp gets underway this weekend. And an unusually high number of NBA GMs and executives are attending this year's camp all with the same mission: find the next international man of mystery. In years past, there has been plenty of talent at the Eurocamp. Andrea Bargnani, Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum, Johan Petro and Marcin Gortat are all alumni of the annual camp run by Timberwolves international scout Pete Philo

 

THUNDER: Thunder Pre-Draft Workouts, Day 4
The Thunder will workout draft prospects on Friday for the first time since landing the No. 3 overall pick in the June 25th NBA Draft.

 

NBA AM: Not Trading Rajon Rondo - Talk of Sam Young
Watch Out Sam Young: Several league sources say Sam Young was by far the most impressive player coming out of the Oakland and Minnesota group workouts, if any one player seems to have generated positive buzz from the workouts it was Young although several players did well, Young is the name most mention as the best player they saw. On the flip side B.J. Mullens did not show well in either workout which is sure to get the critics going again on how he'll struggle at this level. Mullens is expected to start seeing teams individually in the next few weeks. Sources close to the situation said they still expect Mullens to be a top 20 pick, but that the odds he goes in the teens to a team willing to take a chance on him are far greater than a team in the top 12 grabbing him to solve an immediate need.

 

Oklahoma City Thunder, Coca-Cola score slam-dunk package | NewsOK.com
The arrival of the NBA Thunder included a transfer of pouring rights to the team, which has signed a multiyear partnership with Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Oklahoma City.

 

Thunder notebook: Earl Watson changes agencies | NewsOK.com
Watson grew frustrated last season with his situation as a member of the 23-win Thunder and was believed to be disappointed in his agent’s handling of the matter. Watson never publicly said he desired to be traded but did say at the end of the season that he doesn’t expect to return.

 

Jeff Green, Perry McDonald, and Interim AD - Hoya Hoops
NBA star and possible Team USA member Jeff Green will be in town this weekend at the Bethesda Big Train’s baseball game. The Big Train will be facing the College Park Bombers on Saturday in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League at Shirley Povich field in Bethesda. First pitch is set for 7:30pm, but Jeff will be present to sign autographs beginning at 6:15.

 

NBA’s Collison planning on a return to Iowa Falls — and, hopefully, a return to Africa
No Nick Collison basketball camp in Iowa this summer. But the Iowa Falls native and Oklahoma Thunder power forward/cetner just wrapped up a stretch back home while attending his youngest brother’s high-school graduation. He’s planning on a return to the state in July for Iowa Falls High’s Class of ‘99 10-year reunion.

 

Let it Mock 2.0 (The Knicks Fix) - Newsday.com
Oklahoma City -- James Harden: Though the Thunder would love to have been in position to get either big -- Griffin or Thabeet -- Harden fits well into the shooting guard spot next to Russell Westbrook to make for a strong, young backcourt. The Thunder are a team that should start seeking vets to fill in around the young guns. Free agent Ben Gordon is rumored to be one, for sure, but if you draft Harden you wouldn't then go spend money on Gordon. They need a big.

 

2009 Extended Mock Draft 1.0 | NBADraft.net
#25. Damion James - Having played in college alongside Durant, James has the athleticism and abilities outside of scoring to gel with the franchise talent. James is an athletic freak who would provide excellent punch off the bench and could develop into a defensive stopper type.

 

Draft camp measurements: Where are the great athletes? | DailyHerald.com Blogs
That’s a big change from last year, when O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose all cleared 40 inches, as did Patrick Ewing Jr. Another great year was 2006, when Jordan Farmar, Ronnie Brewer, Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay all passed 40 inches, while Tyrus Thomas jumped 39.5. Of course, vertical leap measurements don’t reveal everything about a player. Dwyane Wade jumped a relatively mundane 35 inches in 2003. Another player who seems far more explosive in real life than in the predraft results was Oklahoma City rookie Russell Westbrook, who recorded a leap of 36.5 last year.

 

DraftExpress: Analyzing the NBA Combine Results
-The often cited Blake Griffin – Amare Stoudemire comparison holds weight at the combine if nowhere else. The two look very similar on paper. Griffin’s no step vert of 32" and max vert of 35.5" are the same as Stoudemire’s, his lane agility time of 10.95 is .24 seconds faster than Stoudemire, and his 3.28 ¾ court sprint mark was a fraction of a second slower than the All-Star forward. The biggest differences between the two in terms of combine measurements lie in Stoudmire's two inch wingspan advantage and Griffin’s ten extra reps on the bench. Though the two look considerably different in how they use their athleticism on the floor, their tests couldn’t have matched up any better for anyone supporting that comparison. -James Harden tested out far better than anyone could have expected, which will likely cause teams to pay keener attention to his athleticism in competitive workouts. Harden’s 37" max vert tied him with a player than many consider one of the best athletes at the wing position in this draft in Terrence Williams, and had his 31.5" no step vert bettered him by a full inch. This is a clear case of a player testing well above the level teams project him at. The best example of that is in Harden’s 11.10 lane agility time, which is only .01 seconds behind the time posted by arguably the quickest point guard in the NBA, Chris Paul. Harden also showed good strength on the bench, throwing up 17 reps, but also recording the highest body fat percentage amongst wings with 10.1%.

 

D.R.A.F.T. Initiative - Advanced stats determine the value of picks - ESPN Insider
We chose to measure a player's value using John Hollinger's estimated wins added (EWA) statistic. Simply put, EWA measures how many wins a player adds to his team's record compared to someone you could sign to a 10-day contract (to put it nicely, a replacement-level player). Basically, the metric combines player efficiency rating (how efficient a player is on a per-minute basis) with playing time and comparative value. Hollinger offers a far more detailed explanation, but for our purposes, just remember that EWA measures wins added and that LeBron James led the league at 32.3.

 

NBA Draft - D.R.A.F.T. Initiative: Pick analysis - ESPN Insider
Here at Insider, though, we're all about reality. And history has taught us that more often than not, draft picks don't exactly measure up to the hype, albeit not always on a Darko/Dirk scale. To determine what is realistic, then, we looked back at the past 20 drafts (beginning in 1989, when the NBA pared the draft to two rounds) and examined the value produced at each slot. The chart below shows the end result of a complicated process of number crunching.

 

2009 Cap Space: Oklahoma " nbaroundtable
Yes, and this is the most likely option if the money is to be spent — that it is spent not through free agency, but from a trade — similar to the Camby deal last summer except for a younger player. Sam Presti has already shown intent with the Tyson Chandler deal, so I expect him to be aggressive in the trade market this summer … and willing to take back big contracts.

 

Ibaka jugará las Ligas de Verano de Las Vegas y de Orlando con Oklahoma City Thunder
"Me ilusiona mucho participar en las Ligas de Verano con Oklahoma, es interesante estar allí. Pero estoy muy a gusto en el Ricoh y creo que estará a punto para estar con mis compañeros cuando empiecen los entrenamientos"

 

Los Thunder están encantados con Serge Ibaka y no descartan llevárselo la próxima temporada
De cara al futuro, los Oklahoma Thunder no descartan incorporar a Serge Ibaka la próxima temporada, aunque, de momento, se marchará en Julio a Estados Unidos para participar con la franquicia en las Ligas de Verano.

 

Russell Westbrook - Basketball Wallpapers
Free desktop wallpapers of Russell Westbrook.