Oklahoma Thunderballs

Follow this story stream to get our full coverage of the 2013 NBA draft to be held on June 27th. To help those affected by the May 20th tornado, you can donate to the Red Cross via redcross.com or by texting REDCROSS to 90999. It's unusual for a team to hope for failure. Sure, fans of bad teams love to see tanking at the end of the season. We all want a chance at a true superstar, and whether a team finishes with 30 wins or 35 wins doesn't matter to most people. But in something like the NBA Draft Lottery, most teams want their pick to finish as high as possible, no matter what. Yet, tonight, the Thunder will find themselves hoping that their pick fails to get into the top three. You see, as part of the James Harden trade, they received the Raptors' protected first round pick. But if that pick, by some stroke of luck, lands in the top three, the Thunder will have to wait until next year, or longer, to make their selection. The conditions of the pick are a convoluted mess, but I'll make clear that the Thunder are in a win-win situation. Either way, they're going to find themselves with a lottery pick within the next few years. It would take a multi-year streak of Raptor success or extreme failure to make the pick fall out of the lottery. The table below shows where the pick has to land in order for the Thunder to get it. Currently, the pick sits at #12. 2013: Pick #4-14 2014: Pick #3-14 2015: Pick #3-14 2016: Pick #2-14 2017: Pick #2-14 2018: Unprotected. Still, I'm betting that most fans want to make the pick right now. You might have heard that the draft class this year is weaker, and while that is true near the top, it's also true that the solid talent is deeper, extending into the late lottery. That means the Thunder could draft a player who makes an impact immediately. That wasn't so important two or three years ago, but now the Thunder are going to have to start mixing up their rotation. Kevin Martin and Derek Fisher may not return next year, and the bench is going to need some serious scoring help. If Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones aren't up to the challenge, it could be a Dennis Schroeder, Kelly Olynyk, or Michael Carter-Williams that gives the Thunder a boost next season. So, what's the likelihood of Toronto moving up to the top three and taking the pick back? Well, they have a 0.7% chance of getting the first pick. Then, a 0.8% chance of getting the second pick. Finally, they'll have a 1% chance of getting the third pick. All in all, the chance is there, but it's like cheering for the Bobcats to beat the Heat and Spurs on a back-to-back. How the ping-pong balls will bounce is anybody's guess, but we'll be finding out tonight at 7:30 Central Time on ESPN. In addition to the Raptors pick, the Thunder also unconditionally own the #29 pick and the #32 pick. The NBA Draft is on June 27th at 6 PM.

Follow this stream as we document the destruction of the Moore Tornado that has decimated OKC, but more importantly, how the city, its residence, and supporters will rebuild it. The Oklahoma City tornado disaster recovery is underway, and at the forefront is the city's professional franchise, the Thunder. Yesterday, Chesapeake Energy made a $1 million cash donation, and today, their franchise superstar followed suit. Per the American Red Cross: @kdtrey5 steps forward and gives $1mil matching gift to the ARC for disaster relief, text "REDCROSS" to 90999 for a $10 donation. — Red Cross Oklahoma (@redcrossokc) May 21, 2013 I agree with Daily Thunder's Royce Young, where he writes that, "Here’s the thing about Durant’s donation: It’s almost not news. Because it’s the least surprising thing ever. We’re so lucky to have him playing basketball in our city." Obviously Durant can afford such generous measures, but I think that his willingness to step to the forefront has a strong leadership quality as well. He cares about his city so much that stroking a 7 figure check is an easy decision. Most of us cannot afford such sacrifice, but we can afford smaller sacrifice, so let us follow Durant's lead and give what we can. The Red Cross of Oklahoma's Twitter feed has the pertinent information if you want to help, or you can call 1-800-RED-CROSS: Best way to help tornado victims is to donate to the Red Cross at redcross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999. #okwx — Red Cross Oklahoma (@redcrossokc) May 20, 2013 Want to help out in some other way? Take a look at this and consider what you do have that might be useful: Kendrick Perkins is hosting a fundraising event on May 22nd at the Quail Springs Mall: Please come out tomorrow and donate at Anthony David Platinum by Quail Springs Mall 10am 5pm — Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 21, 2013 Visit the Norman Chamber of Commerce Twitter feed and see what they could use. Here is a sampling: Right now, Norman Regional is hosting a Blood Drive on the 7th floor of the HealthPlex. Please give blood! — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 OUneeds: DIAPERS, formula and bottles, toiletries, cell phone chargers, dog and cat food, board games for kids... — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 new or clean good quality T-shirts, shorts, flip flops, underwear (new), kids clothing -shirts, shorts, underwear (new), shoes — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 To help out with care for individuals, check out Sunbeam Family Services. Note - the email here is wrong - use tlong@cns.gov. For animal rescue relief, check out the Moore Animal Shelter: The Moore Animal Shelter will be setting up at the Cleveland CountyFairgrounds here in Norman. — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 Oklahoma City Animal Welfare will accept animals from the affected areas of Moore and will coordinate with Moore Animal Shelter as needed. — OKC Animal Welfare (@okcpets) May 20, 2013

The Oklahoma City tornado disaster recovery is underway, and at the forefront is the city's professional franchise, the Thunder. Yesterday, Chesapeake Energy made a $1 million cash donation, and today, their franchise superstar followed suit. Per the American Red Cross: @kdtrey5 steps forward and gives $1mil matching gift to the ARC for disaster relief, text "REDCROSS" to 90999 for a $10 donation. — Red Cross Oklahoma (@redcrossokc) May 21, 2013 I agree with Daily Thunder's Royce Young, where he writes that, "Here’s the thing about Durant’s donation: It’s almost not news. Because it’s the least surprising thing ever. We’re so lucky to have him playing basketball in our city." Obviously Durant can afford such generous measures, but I think that his willingness to step to the forefront has a strong leadership quality as well. He cares about his city so much that stroking a 7 figure check is an easy decision. Most of us cannot afford such sacrifice, but we can afford smaller sacrifice, so let us follow Durant's lead and give what we can. The Red Cross of Oklahoma's Twitter feed has the pertinent information if you want to help, or you can call 1-800-RED-CROSS: Best way to help tornado victims is to donate to the Red Cross at redcross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999. #okwx — Red Cross Oklahoma (@redcrossokc) May 20, 2013 Want to help out in some other way? Take a look at this and consider what you do have that might be useful: Kendrick Perkins is hosting a fundraising event on May 22nd at the Quail Springs Mall: Please come out tomorrow and donate at Anthony David Platinum by Quail Springs Mall 10am 5pm — Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 21, 2013 Visit the Norman Chamber of Commerce Twitter feed and see what they could use. Here is a sampling: Right now, Norman Regional is hosting a Blood Drive on the 7th floor of the HealthPlex. Please give blood! — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 OUneeds: DIAPERS, formula and bottles, toiletries, cell phone chargers, dog and cat food, board games for kids... — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 new or clean good quality T-shirts, shorts, flip flops, underwear (new), kids clothing -shirts, shorts, underwear (new), shoes — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 To help out with care for individuals, check out Sunbeam Family Services. Note - the email here is wrong - use tlong@cns.gov. For animal rescue relief, check out the Moore Animal Shelter: The Moore Animal Shelter will be setting up at the Cleveland CountyFairgrounds here in Norman. — Norman Chamber (@NORMANCHAMBER) May 21, 2013 Oklahoma City Animal Welfare will accept animals from the affected areas of Moore and will coordinate with Moore Animal Shelter as needed. — OKC Animal Welfare (@okcpets) May 20, 2013

To help those affected by the May 20th tornado, you can donate to the Red Cross via redcross.com or by texting REDCROSS to 90999. It's unusual for a team to hope for failure. Sure, fans of bad teams love to see tanking at the end of the season. We all want a chance at a true superstar, and whether a team finishes with 30 wins or 35 wins doesn't matter to most people. But in something like the NBA Draft Lottery, most teams want their pick to finish as high as possible, no matter what. Yet, tonight, the Thunder will find themselves hoping that their pick fails to get into the top three. You see, as part of the James Harden trade, they received the Raptors' protected first round pick. But if that pick, by some stroke of luck, lands in the top three, the Thunder will have to wait until next year, or longer, to make their selection. The conditions of the pick are a convoluted mess, but I'll make clear that the Thunder are in a win-win situation. Either way, they're going to find themselves with a lottery pick within the next few years. It would take a multi-year streak of Raptor success or extreme failure to make the pick fall out of the lottery. The table below shows where the pick has to land in order for the Thunder to get it. Currently, the pick sits at #12. 2013: Pick #4-14 2014: Pick #3-14 2015: Pick #3-14 2016: Pick #2-14 2017: Pick #2-14 2018: Unprotected. Still, I'm betting that most fans want to make the pick right now. You might have heard that the draft class this year is weaker, and while that is true near the top, it's also true that the solid talent is deeper, extending into the late lottery. That means the Thunder could draft a player who makes an impact immediately. That wasn't so important two or three years ago, but now the Thunder are going to have to start mixing up their rotation. Kevin Martin and Derek Fisher may not return next year, and the bench is going to need some serious scoring help. If Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones aren't up to the challenge, it could be a Dennis Schroeder, Kelly Olynyk, or Michael Carter-Williams that gives the Thunder a boost next season. So, what's the likelihood of Toronto moving up to the top three and taking the pick back? Well, they have a 0.7% chance of getting the first pick. Then, a 0.8% chance of getting the second pick. Finally, they'll have a 1% chance of getting the third pick. All in all, the chance is there, but it's like cheering for the Bobcats to beat the Heat and Spurs on a back-to-back. How the ping-pong balls will bounce is anybody's guess, but we'll be finding out tonight at 7:30 Central Time on ESPN. In addition to the Raptors pick, the Thunder also unconditionally own the #29 pick and the #32 pick. The NBA Draft is on June 27th at 6 PM.

This guy. Per the Red Cross, Kevin Durant has given a $1 million donation to the disaster relief fund. “The Red Cross relies on its donors to perform its mission in relieving human suffering following disasters,” said Janienne Bella, regional CEO in a release. “Mr. Durant’s gift and support to Oklahoma comes at a time of great need and we’re forever thankful for his generosity.” Yesterday Durant tweeted, “Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!” Here’s the thing about Durant’s donation: It’s almost not news. Because it’s the least surprising thing ever. We’re so lucky to have him playing basketball in our city. Primary Thunder sponsor Chesapeake Energy made a $1 million cash donation yesterday also.

What a day yesterday. The relief efforts are on in Oklahoma right now and one thing’s for sure: We’ve been through this kind of thing more than once and bouncing back strong is kind of our thing. We’ll be alright. I just want to say thanks to the amazing weathermen and women in our state though. The death tolls are painful to hear but know without them, they’d be far greater. True lifesavers. A couple things if you want to help: First, donate to the Red Cross. I was going to set up a Daily Thunder contribution thing, but why have a middleman. Just give straight to the people that help most. You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 right there on the spot. Or take bottled water, canned goods, diapers, wipes and all sorts of stuff to a drop-off area. It’s a horrible thing, but we Oklahomans shine through this type of stuff. Not a more resilient people in the world than us. KD tweets: “Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!” Serge Ibaka: “Again, pray for OKC… Everybody stay safe!” Nick Collison: “spent much of yesterday watching the news out of Moore. My heart hurts for the people who lost loved ones. Thank you to all who are helping” James Harden: “Praying for everyone in Oklahoma City. This is crazy!” Other athletes react. Perk is doing a donation thing at Anthony David Platinum by Quail Springs Mall today from 10-5. A lady finds her dog alive in the rubble of her house on live TV. Amazing. Tons of wild videos and such here. A shirt with all proceeds — every penny — going to the disaster relief. Russell Westbrook on his Instagram offered up some encouragement. Chesapeake Energy reportedly gave a $1 million cash donation last night to the relief efforts. A few basketball related links: Andrew Sharp of Grantland: “Does Serge Ibaka become a star if he’s a top-five pick asked to contribute immediately on a bad team? Or to take the most obvious example: Paul George, who suddenly looks like a future NBA superstar. Simmons mentioned last week that the Clippers could’ve kept their pick in ’09 and taken George over Al-Farouq Aminu in 2010, giving them a murderous core for the next decade. But let’s say they still traded the ’09 pick and just drafted Paul George over Aminu. There’s no way George develops fast enough to convince the Clippers to keep him out of the Chris Paul discussion a year later. And in that case, he probably gets traded to New Orleans (just like Aminu), which leaves us wondering … does Paul George become a budding superstar if he’s stuck on a 30-win Hornets team the past two years?” Draft lottery preview. Darnell Mayberry: “In a draft that appears to be void of a single franchise player and short on can’t-miss stars, the Thunder must either hope the Raptors jump into the top three and try again next year or be prepared to make the best of an imperfect situation. But only with the benefit of hindsight can you question what the Thunder received. When Oklahoma City made the deal, Toronto was coming off a 23-win season. By all accounts, the Raptors were headed for another year near the bottom of the standings. That’s when things started to go awry.” Chad Ford of ESPN.com on combine winners: “Indiana’s Cody Zeller stopped his slide in the rankings on Friday with a terrific performance in the athletic testing. While NBA teams take the athletic testing with a grain of salt, Zeller’s numbers were hard to ignore. Not only were his numbers terrific for a big man, they were great for a guard. Zeller’s stock dropped, in part, because there were several games in which he really struggled against long, athletic front lines. Seeing how well he performed in Chicago has given pause to NBA scouts and GMs who were ready to write him off.” Adonal Foyle talks about KD on THTV.

The sad day has come; the day all of us in Thunder Nation have dreaded and knew was going to come sooner than welcome, the end of the season. The Thunder lost the Western Conference Semi-Finals to the Memphis Grizzlies, exiting the playoffs. Six main players and Coach Scott Brooks have talked to the media in their "Exit Interviews." Daily Thunder picked it up here. We start with our point guard, the one we missed so dearly, Russell Westbrook. Westbrook got asked questions like he was a coach, or an owner, not a player. He fielded questions like, "How close did you watch the officiating?" and "How do you feel like the team did this season?" Westbrook responded to both of those with great class; He feels like 60 wins is a hell of an accomplishment and a great season, he's just not happy how it ended. Are any of us? We hated seeing him go down, the court-general we needed so badly in the clutch situations. When it comes to officiating, Westbrook watched officiating a lot more closely. He said, "I yelled from the box like a crazy fan." He also added how he wasn't able to argue the calls, so he got a lot more worked up. When asked about Kendrick Perkins, Westbrook came out with a bold statement, "Perk man, he's the best defensive post defender in the league." Is this true? The Perk we have seen lately has looked like a clueless wanderer on defense. He's good, but he hasn't been in his groove as of late, maybe. Time to put it to rest. Moving on to shooting guard Kevin Martin, his exit interview began with the question, "How do you look at the experience?" Which he responded with, "It ended too soon. That's what I'm going to say about the whole experience. I think we set ourselves up to be Western Conference champions this year." More rambling, talks with reporters got interesting. One man put him in a pause when asking about the future. Martin seemed very positive, but also skeptical. "This is a place I'd love to be [pause] I'm going to have some options out there so I'm going to have to see how the process plays out." It didn't sound good right there, but then he came back with, "I'm at the point of my career where I don't need to get what I can get. It's more happiness." That put a smile on everybody's face. Is he telling the truth or shushing the media? You can't tell at this point. He talked to Sam Presti and Scott Brooks, but let's hope for the best. Speaking of leaving, let's check in quickly with the oldest member on the team, Derek Fisher. Fisher said, "I definitely would love to play next season.. I've enjoyed my time here the last couple seasons." He's still confident he can contribute, so that's a good sign, right? The bad note, if Presti doesn't resign him, I guarantee he's done. He most likely will not relocate. Kendrick Perkins was not open to sharing much with the press. He told media he left Sam [Presti's] office, and that's why he was sweating. "What'd Sam say?" asked one media member. "The usual Sam, ya know." Later in the interview, Perkins talked about the possibility of being amnestied. He didn't count the idea out, saying, "Mark Cuban said they could amnesty Kobe Bryant, so anybody is capable of being amnestied." On a good note, Kendrick Perkins said, "I'm pretty sure I'll be back next year." I don't know how much confidence I have remaining in him, but I'd like to bring him back along with the help of Nick Collison. Star Kevin Durant was probably the most disappointed in his game after losing the series to Memphis. Durant talked a lot about improving his game. He wants to improve how he shoots. He wants to improve his offensive boards. How can you change video game like performance? He's unbelievable and has great work ethic. I love it. When Durant was asked about his teammates, he had nothing but positive comments. For example, when asked about Kevin Martin, KD said, "I love him as a teammate. But free agency and what he feels I have no control over. I would love for him to do whatever he thinks is ri

Remember- You can donate to the Red Cross via redcross.com or by texting REDCROSS to 90999. I'm not one of those affected. The soon to be infamous May 20th tornado crossed a block south of my sister's High School, and stopped just short of hitting my home across Draper Lake. Meanwhile, I was taking a mid-day nap, and slept through the whole thing. All I can do is give thanks for my dumb luck. Many of those who live in Moore can't be grateful for their dumb luck. They might have lost their car, their home, or a loved one. It's hard to know exactly what those people feel right now. There's no scapegoat, no enemy to blame. It was simply a case of being at the wrong place during the wrong time. The mood in Oklahoma City is understandably bleak right now, as everybody deals with the tragedy in their own way. Some pray. Some scramble to find loved ones. Some donate. Some go to provide physical help. All of them are perfectly valid and helpful ways to cope, and I hope that everybody can find their own way to make peace. However, as I sit here today, I can't help but feel extremely grateful. One of the deadliest tornadoes in the history of the world only claimed a fraction of how many people died per day during World War II. Modern technology and the tireless work of meteorologists and public servants saved countless lives yesterday. I can only imagine how devastating this tornado could have been if there weren't huge teams of people working to ensure our safety. I also can't help but thinking of people on this earth who aren't so lucky. People who were unfortunate enough to be born into a warzone. Or a modern-day concentration camp. Or in a place that isn't nearly developed enough to deal with a natural disaster. I'm not here to guilt anybody, nor am I here to make light of the situation. But as we all honor the dead and pick up the pieces from this devastating event, I hope that we can put it into perspective. This tragedy shouldn't be about playing the blame game, or gawking at graphic videos of dead bodies. It should be an appreciation. Not only for what we're so lucky to have ourselves, but for those around us. Those who dedicate their lives to making things as easy as possible for those who have lost so much. I think Mr. Rogers put it best: Keep it real, everybody. And don't forget to smile.

According to a source, Kendrick Perkins will stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder heading into the 2013-14 season. There were rumors spreading of a possibility that Perkins could be amnestied, but General Manager Sam Presti told The Oklahoman differently. Said Presti: "We think Perk has a lot of value to our team," he continued, "He's a member of a team that won 60 games and helped us to our third division title in three years. I don't know that we can discount that." Well said, Mr. Presti, well said. Despite Perkins' poor performance in the Playoffs, obviously the Thunder find something positive in Perkins. What is it? His work ethic? His aggressiveness? All of the above, more than likely. He's determined to come back better than before, as he said in his exit interview. So, will he? The fear of the unknown is probably hitting Presti and Coach Scott Brooks pretty hard, but you won't know if you don't try. Plus, with Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka to help him out, I'm personally not to worried. Read more on the issue here.

Oklahoma has seen its fair share of horrible weather related events in the past and the past two days are no exception. People have lost homes, and in some cases, loved ones. As I'm writing this, I'm glued to the TV as the current storm is being compared to May 3 of 1999. If that turns out to be true, many people will need as much help as they can get. For those of you in Moore and south Oklahoma City, please be safe and know that we're thinking of you. The situation is ongoing, so, again, please be safe. Sorry for brevity, but this is a "if you're not below ground you will not survive" storm and I've got my get-the-hell-out bag packed just in case. From The Oklahoman: The American Red Cross continues to respond to the areas impacted by Sunday tornadoes, according to a news release Monday morning. Officials report at least 310 structures were damaged or destroyed in Oklahoma. Most of the tornado damage Sunday was in Pottawatomie County. The Red Cross of Oklahoma's Twitter feed has the pertinent information if you want to help, or you can call 1-800-RED-CROSS: Best way to help tornado victims is to donate to the Red Cross at redcross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999. #okwx — Red Cross Oklahoma (@redcrossokc) May 20, 2013 Also, here's a link from the City of Oklahoma City that should be included w/ general information on tornado safety. The University of Oklahoma is opening up spaces in Housing for displaced families (405) 325-2511. For blood donations, http://obi.org/donor-centers/. The destruction is growing, so if you're local, do what you need to do to be safe. If you're watching the events unfold, consider donating to the Red Cross so that peoples' lives will be able to be restored. It's just... gone RT @stormyweather25 @mikefranciswx Moore Oklahoma is flattened..... twitter.com/MikeFrancisWX/… — Colin Schultz (@_ColinS_) May 20, 2013