OKC Thunder in the News: Players’ Tribune, KD, and draft prospect analysis
It’s Friday! Celebrate the end of the workweek with your OKC Thunder daily in the news column, where we serve up topical stories about your favorite team.
Today’s offerings include an update about Kanter in the big man’s own words, an interesting quote from Kevin Durant, and another installment of the draft prospect series from Thunderous Intentions.
Kanter in The Players’ Tribune:
Following his wild Romanian holiday, OKC Thunder center Enes Kanter penned an article for The Players’ Tribune. The editorial marks the second time he’s written for the online publication.
In the article, Kanter said:
"“In one second, I was countryless. Just like that.It was a very weird birthday.It is crazy how a government can take away your right to go home. Or your freedom to travel. Not for any actual crimes, but for what you say or what you believe.”"
Kanter also expressed concern for the people of Turkey, shed light on how his teammates reacted to the event, and shared his hopes for the future.
"“We should never forget how important our freedoms are here in America. That’s something you appreciate even more when they are taken away.”"
Read the entire article here.
Kevin Durant’s Feelings Aren’t Hurt:
In an interview with Michael Lee of The Vertical, former Thunder player Kevin Durant said that he wasn’t bothered by fans who voiced their opinions about him upon his return to Oklahoma City.
He told The Vertical:
"“I’m not from there. That was a two-hour time slot in those people’s lives where they got some entertainment for the day. And they were going to go home and get up the next day and go to work. It’s all it was. I didn’t take it personal. I don’t hate anybody that called me any name there. It’s entertainment. That’s what they look at it as. It’s not life or death. I didn’t walk into their homes and do anything to them personally. I’m sure most people, the same thing they did on July 3, they did the same thing on July 4, July 5 and leading up to that game.Their lives didn’t change based on what I did. That two-and-a-half hour time slot where they watched the game and called me names, they forgot all about it when they went home at night and still had to live their life, just like I had to. I have no hard feelings. It was all fun and games for me, too.”"
Of course, not all Thunder fans will agree with the idea that this is just “fun and games.” There truly are those who will never again look at July 4th the same.
Draft Prospect Series Continues:
Thunderous Intentions recently kicked off our NBA Draft prospect series, and the second installment is now available. This time around, Austin Sternlicht shares his thoughts on draft prospect Donovan Mitchell. The shooting guard out of Louisana could make a strong addition to the Thunder roster, according to Austin:
"“Oklahoma City needs a backup point guard that can play alongside Russell Westbrook. Donovan Mitchell fits that bill. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to dominate and can be a perfectly fine spot-up shooter. As someone who has matured significant in terms of decision making, Westbrook would be the perfect mentor for Mitchell.”"
You can check out the rest of the article here.
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 weekend! And, be sure to make OKC Thunder ‘In the News’ a daily stop to get up to speed on the latest and greatest about your favorite team.