Thunder in the news: McDermott settling in, mock drafts

Enjoy your Memorial Day off with a little OKC Thunder talk. Today we look at a feature on Doug McDermott and a recent mock draft from Sports Illustrated.

Even with the offseason just getting under way, there are loads to talk about regarding the Thunder. We’ll take a break from the Enes Kanter saga and look at a few more promising stories about your favorite team.

McDermott adjusting to life in Oklahoma City

Doug McDermott is a small town guy at heart, making him a perfect fit for the Thunder. Hearing the excitement he has for this team and this city is exciting; it’s just another player talking about how much he enjoys little ole OKC. Brett Dawson from The Oklahoman has the story.

"Since the Thunder acquired him as part of a trade with Chicago in February, he’s had to make his way in a new town and on a new team. He’s had to find a fit on the floor and a home off it.And though that transition was bumpy at times – there was new terminology to study, new teammates to meet, a coach and system to learn on the fly – McDermott’s chief regret, he said, is that the trade didn’t happen earlier in the season.“I’ve always really loved the Thunder,” said McDermott, who grew up in the Midwestern college towns where his father, Greg, coached basketball, and rooted for the team from the time it relocated from Seattle to OKC. “I always wanted to play here.”Now he wants to play better. On the court, McDermott is putting in work."

Sports Illustrated latest mock draft gives us..

A few players have been mentioned as targets for the Thunder: Luke Kennard, Semi Ojuleye and Rodions Kuruc. In Andrew Sharp’s latest mock draft he has Kuruc coming to Oklahoma City.

"Kurucs is still young—with help from Fran Fraschilla, the New York Post dubs him a “Latvian baby” here—but at 6’9 and 225 with a smooth shooting stroke, you can see the outlines of Latvian Bogandovic. Also whoever drafts him could stash him in Europe for another year or two before he enters the NBA. Given OKC’s penchant for stashing late-first rounders and the need for shooting around Westbrook, we’ll keep him here for now."

Steven Adams and his improvement this offseason

Dean Turner is back with his weekly segment, this time addressing the Thunder’s resident $25 million center. Interestingly enough, he says Adams needs to focus in on the defensive end if he wants to live up to that contract.

"Adams averaged a career high in rebounds per game this past season at 7.7. This probably has many wondering why rebounding would be listed as an area that needs improvement. The reason being that Adams rebounds-per-game numbers don’t actually tell the full truth.According to advanced metrics, Adams posted the lowest total rebound percentage of his career this past season. He also grabbed his lowest rebounds per 36 minutes of his career. When diving deep into the data, it actually appears as though Adams has regressed as a rebounder since coming into the league."

For those in the United States, and especially to the veterans out there, Happy Memorial Day. For those outside of the U.S, Thunderous Intentions loves you all the same.