OKC Thunder In the news: Oladipo transformation, Warriors imperfect, Evans tryout

Welcome to OKC Thunder – In the news for Saturday, June 10  featuring the most topical daily news on your favorite team.

Well OKC Thunder fans Kevin Durant doesn’t have his trophy just yet. Nor will his new team get bragging rights for a perfect season as the Warriors lost their first game of the post season.

I recognize few tears will be shed in OKC. In fact, I’ve found a great majority of fans I enter into discussions with could care less whether the Warriors or Cavaliers win. The bottom line is these are the NBA’s two Goliath’s and the other 28 teams represent the Davids. Oh wait, you do know how that story ends right?

Warriors and KD imperfect:

So the Dubs and KD will now have to wait for another day, but they’ll have plenty to ponder like all the records their opponent broke Friday night. JA Adande of ESPN has the post game report.

"With the possibility of the first undefeated NBA playoff run before them, the Warriors wound up on the wrong side of history. The Cavaliers had the highest-scoring first quarter (49 points) and first half (86 points) and the most 3-pointers (24) in the NBA Finals. Things were so tilted toward Cleveland that Deron Williams even got his first points in his first Finals after logging 44 scoreless minutes in the series, ending the longest initial scoring drought in NBA Finals history."

Officials leave blemish on record setting night:

The night was tainted by highly dubious officiating which will no doubt take center stage today  Mike Callahan’s crew assessed 2 fouls to each of Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala in the first quarter.  Moreover, they sent the Cavaliers to the line 22 times in the opening frame. It was a given there would be controversy today, but as Adande writes it was Green’s mother who took center stage.

"Green was in the middle of more controversy Friday night, as, at one point, he appeared to get ejected with his second technical foul before it was determined that an earlier tech was actually given to Kerr. Green’s mother tweeted her displeasure with the officiating, saying “These OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN OFFICIALLY PAID!” It was reminiscent of Stephen Curry‘s wife tweeting that the Finals were rigged last season.So, yeah, there’s all of that going on. More drama than good basketball from the Warriors. Kevin Durant had 35 points, but they came on less-efficient 9-of-22 shooting. The Splash Brothers were outscored 40-27 by Kyrie Irving."

From my perspective, the Cavs would have won regardless of the calls. Yet the officials put a blemish on what should have been a completely joyous event for them.  That said, I’m an old school disciple, so I believe all players should be assessed by the same rules. So, when a player touches an official (make that pushes them, grabs them and yells at them) they should be disciplined the same way any other player would.

Victor the body Dipo:

All players say the right things at their exit interviews. But, it’s not often they force us to take them literally. Once such player who can quite obviously be taken at his word is OKC Thunder guard  Victor Oladipo. Brett Dawson from News OK provided the evidence in his article.

"The day after the Thunder season ended, Victor Oladipo promised he was embarking on a serious summer.“I’m going to work and work, and I’m going to work some more,” Oladipo said. “After that, I’m going to work some more after that.” It looks like he’s fulfilling that promise, at least in the weight room.David Alexander, a Miami-based trainer who works with professional athletes, posted a photo to his Instagram account on Friday that shows an eye-popping transformation from Oladipo:"

OKC Thunder work out Jawun Evans:

More from Thunderous Intentions

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• 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

As Thunderous Intentions continues our NBA Draft prospect series the guessing game continues over who Sam Presti is working out.  Many franchises hold open work outs, but the Thunder keep their prospects under lock and key. So, when news of a tryout does leak, it offers plenty to ponder.

Adam Kemp of News OK writes Juwan Evans was one such prospect.

"Evans measured as the smallest player at the NBA combine, standing 5-11 1/2 in shoes. But his wingspan was listed at 6’5.5, which is the longest of any player under 6 feet in the history of the NBA Combine, according to Draft Express.Various mock drafts have Evans going anywhere from the back end of the first round to early in Round 2. The Thunder have pick No. 21 in the first round."

Outside of the occasional leaks of this nature It is unlikely fans will learn much more about Sam Presti’s plans. In the interim, visit TI daily as our prospect profiles will be coming fast and furious.

That’s if for OKC Thunder – In the news, June10. Enjoy your Saturday and see you back here tomorrow