Now that college football is back, very few of you probably care, but the NBA is in a state of labor stoppage. League owners, especially Thunder ownership, is pushing their commissioner, David Stern, to break the Player's Union. Keep in mind, they have no desire to see the Union dissolve (I discussed this at length on DailyThunder.com), they just want to make the Union their bitch.
Since organized labor generally frowns upon accepting collective bargaining proposals that simply say "Suck it" the owners locked them out. As a result, we may not get to watch any Thunder basketball this year, which kind of sucks since the team was on the verge of an NBA title just a few months ago.
That said, someone has to be blamed for why they didn't actually win the title, and that's what we ask you after the break.
Byron Mullens
Thunder GM Sam Presti is generally considered a genius in the world of NBA front office management. Unfortunately, that mental acuity has not made him immune to the sport's cancer. Everyone believes that the simple genetic trait of being seven feet tall automatically makes a person a future hall of famer.
Presti actually traded up to get Mullens who is a seven footer who wants to play on the perimeter despite an inability to shoot. Now, Mullens has cashed two seasons worth of NBA paychecks and very little time wearing an NBA uniform. That is not because he was hurt, he just sucked so much that he was sent to the D-League or on the inactive list.
If Mullens had measured at 6'11" at the combine, he would be unemployed right now.
Cole Aldrich
Aldrich isn't even seven feet tall, unless you count the measurement at the combine where he apparently wore three inch lifts, but Presti traded two first round picks and ate a large contract to get him. The idea was that Cole was the most NBA ready center in the 2010 draft and that he would be the missing link that would protect the paint and propel the team to become a perennial title contender.
After about two weeks, he was shipped off to Tulsa and played maybe two more games the rest of the season. His failure to actually be NBA ready led to the team acquiring...
Kendrick Perkins
Most people, me included, like to focus on the good that Kendrick Perkins brings to the table. His arrival single handedly transformed the team's defensive intensity and his attitude helped the Thunder shed their reputation of being soft.
On the other hand, he demonstrated some low basketball IQ during the playoffs, tried to catch passes with hands made out of something harder than admantium, and could not make a basket if he was by himself under the basket.
Russell Westbrook
I hate that I have to be the guy to defend Russell Westbrook. Anyone who has read my early thoughts on Russ knows I used to be his most vocal critic. Then, he was a catalyst in getting the team to the Western Conference Finals, and I gave up even wanting him to be a traditional point guard while the rest of the world seems to have adopted my horrible philosophy.
Kevin Durant
As Spencer pointed out a couple of weeks ago, if you put the name Kevin Durant on one of our polls, he wins. So this is more of an experiment to see if it's a moth to a flame type of thing to vote for KD, because anyone who has followed him this Summer knows he is not only the best player on the Oklahoma City Thunder, but very likely the best basketball player in the universe.
Also, there are probably a few people who will vote for him because they hate the picture above.
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