OKC Thunder In the news: KD debate, Christon yo-yo, Draft prospect series

Happy Wednesday and welcome to your OKC Thunder daily in the news column which delivers the most topical stories on your favorite team.

It doesn’t matter if you are a full fledged NBA sports fanatic, part of the OKC Thunder faithful or lean toward being a casual NBA fan. All three groups would agree this post season has been less exciting than watching paint dry on a humid day.

At issue is the year’s story line which returns to the topical narrative simply because those Warriors don’t seem to care about how their super team has affected the health of the NBA.  Aside from a (if I’m generous) handful of games the postseason has been a snore fest.

KD Debate rages on due to boring playoffs:

The fanatics try to appease with “but, hey the finals will be amazing”. Yet, thanks to holes being uncovered by a prideful Celtics team, I’m not convinced those finals won’t be over in precisely the same number of games as the first 3-series the Warriors played.

Now, here’s rub, the man almost sole responsible for the worst playoffs in the history of the NBA is none other than dearly departed Kevin Durant. There will be ample room to expound upon this theory in a later column. For now, check out Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDay, who provides at interesting take on the debate of the year.

"And forget what I think. Durant has no need to care about that, anyway. It was the voices of Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley and the greats of the recent past who said that players would never have made this move in their day, had they been given the opportunity. There’s something wholly unsatisfying about a truly great player — one capable of winning a league MVP award and four scoring titles — taking the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach, especially when his team could have beaten the Warriors had he played better in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals last spring."

Christon yo-yo:

OKC Thunder fan are more than familiar with the revolving door Semaj Christon endured this past season. After repeated attempts, he finally broke through onto an NBA squad with the OKC Thunder. But, his magic moment was never that simple. Time and again this season Christon faced the prospect of another surpassing him. Problem is someone forgot to tell Christon to roll over and die. A minimum of three times he would reclaim the back up spot to the league’s most exciting point guard. Recalling players of the ilk of Chauncey Billups and Kyle Lowry who faced adversity through the early years of their career, Christon may have the most coveted NBA trait of all–tenacity.

Fred Katz, Enid News article is a delightful read on the youngster who probably expects to fight this summer for the job he refuses to concede.

"He began the year as the backup, filling in for the injured Payne. Shortly after the second-year point guard returned, sending Christon to third string, the Thunder traded Payne to Chicago. Christon became Westbrook’s backup once again — until OKC brought in another point guard, Norris Cole, who manned backup duties for about a week until Christon leapt over him to reclaim second string.Donovan’s tendencies were Christon-driven. Just like in training camp, the Thunder coach kept coming back to him.“Being with Semaj last summer and seeing how he was in training camp and the growth that he made, for me as a coach, was really rewarding, because it was the hard road for him,” Donovan said. “It wasn’t the easy road, It was the D-League, It was overseas. It was coming back.”"

TI Draft prospect series;

Finally, Thunderous Intentions kicks off our NBA Draft prospect series courtesy of Austin Sternlicht. Leading up the draft the amazing TI team will review most of the prospects expected to be selected.  Knowing Sam Presti’s penchant for trading up and into drafts it’s a worthwhile venture to pretend we’re behind those infamous Presti glasses.

First up in the series OG Anunoby:

"Ever wonder what it would be like if Kawhi Leonard was on the Thunder, even if it was only up to 75 percent of him? That’s what OKC could potentially end up with if they draft Anunoby. Right now, he is clearly out of the Thunder’s range and shouldn’t fall outside the lottery. But there is clearly a move that can be made to go up and grab Anunoby"

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Enjoy your Wednesday! Remember to check back daily as the Thunderous Intentions writing team offers daily contributions on your favorite team.