Thunder in the news: Paul George and power forwards

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Happy July 4th everybody. Unlike last year this is a happy time. Paul George is waiting to make his Chesapeake Energy Arena debut, the Summer League team is 2-0 even without Domantas Sabonis and Terrance Ferguson and Rudy Gay is still available. What a time to be alive.

Jon Hamm on Paul George

You gotta love Jon Hamm, the salary cap guru from nearly every Thunder publication on the web (we’re waiting for your application Jon). Anyways, he spoke on the Paul George extension situation for Daily Thunder. As always it was very informative yet witty.

"It’s always possible that George locks long-term next season wherever he goes. But if he wants to potentially maximize his earnings, he’ll need to take a shorter deal so he can re-enter free agency as a 10-year veteran.In that case, he could seek a two-year deal with a player option for a third season. That’d essentially pay him an estimated $63.6 million in Oklahoma City or $62.7 million elsewhere.So much for that advantage.But, those are details to stress out about at a later date. For now, just appreciate that not many teams lose a player of Kevin Durant’s caliber and bounce back this quickly."

Rudy Gay is lurking

I’m not the biggest supporter of Rudy Gay coming to Oklahoma City. But the reported Carmelo interest in only two teams has me looking more and more at Gay. It’s been quiet on the Thunder front since the George trade, so here’s hoping Presti has another bomb waiting for us. The Undefeated’s Marc Spears to have the scoop.

"Time will tell how much Paul’s departure truly hurts the Clippers. They still have the ability to create salary cap space to get a quality free agent. Free-agent forward Rudy Gay is meeting with two teams on Monday, one of which is the Clippers, sources told The Undefeated. With the Western Conference being so tough, the Clippers will need a healthy Griffin and a quick-jelling team of newcomers if they hope to avoid snapping their streak of six straight playoff appearances. ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne has reported that a wealthier Griffin is expected to be back from his toe injury by season’s start."

An interesting name for backup point guard

My fantabulous Co-Expert Tamberlyn Richardson is the biggest Raptors stan I know. And she wrote a piece for this very site explaining why Cory Joseph, one of her favorite players, would be a perfect trade target for the Thunder. Give it a read because I’m all in on this idea.

"Further he’s capable of playing on or off the ball which would present Donovan with the opportunity to play Westbrook, Joseph and George together to close games. Talk about an ideal scenario. Suddenly a Thunder squad who struggled to find playmakers outside Westbrook would have three capable of creating for themselves or others. Something the Thunder were almost completely void of last season."

Have a Happy July 4th everyone. We deserve it.