Thabeet and Thunder agree to two year deal

To say Hasheem Thabeet has had a disappointing start to his NBA career would be generous. He’s been an absolute bust, but you don’t give up on a seven foot three center who was once the number two pick in the NBA draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking a flyer on the former Big East defensive player of the year and have agreed to a two year deal with the University of Connecticut product.




The deal cannot officially be signed until the league’s free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 11. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately known, but the contract, which will be fully guaranteed for both seasons, is believed to be a minimal salary, or roughly $880,000 in the first year of the contract.

Thabeet will be playing for his fourth team in four years. He was picked one spot ahead of current Thunder guard James Harden. It is a minimal investment for the Thunder and could turn out to be a bargain if Thabeet realizes his potential. If not, cut him loose and move on. What could work in Thabeet’s favor is that he won’t be looked upon as a savior and can just play basketball.

“Playing in that environment is positive,” said Thabeet’s agent, Bill Duffy. “Sam Presti has done a great job of not only building a winning organization but a culture that’s conditioned to developing and nurturing. So we think it’s a really good fit. So now the onus is on Hasheem to buy into that and to develop and to reach his potential.”


It would seem to be the perfect landing spot for him, but I’ll just wait and see.

Russell Westbrook’s Cool Skates

I never was much of a skater and never will be. But if I ever decided that I wanted to lace up a pair I would go with the skates that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook has.

Westbrook converted a pair of Air Jordan III’s into some ‘Roll Bounce’ specials. Now if he can get some of the Jordan XI Concord’s made into skates I’ll really be impressed.    

Nate Robinson Needs To Learn How To Use A Toilet

Oklahoma City Thunder reserve guard Nate Robinson is one of my favorite players in the NBA. Don’t ask me why because even I don’t know. I do like Robinson because he’s a little guy, feisty, and likes to fight.

Well, Robinson found himself in a bit of trouble recently for urinating in public. 

WHITE PLAINS — NBA point guard Nate Robinson made quite a splash on Main Street early Friday when police said he was spotted urinating on the sidewalk outside the City Center.



The 5-foot-9 member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who has also played for the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, was arrested shortly before 2 a.m. after cops said he was seen doing his business outside the Barnes & Noble store at 230 Main St.


He was taken Police Headquarters where he was issued a ticket charging him with a public urination violation. Robinson was released on $100 bail and is due in City Court on June 22. The violation normally carries a $50 fine. Police said he gave a Seattle, Wash., address.

I have a sick sense of humor so I find this funny. Damn funny. You would think that Robinson would mix in a toilet or something. I know it was late at night and all but he could at least went behind a dumpster. With his short stature he would’ve been pretty hard to spot.

Tyson Chandler Won’t Be On Kendick Perkins’ Christmas List

Anyone that watches the NBA knows that Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins is one of the meanest, if not the menaest players in the league. So it should come as no surprise that he came out after game 1of the Western Conference finals and made it no secret that he doesn’t like Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler.   

“Me and Tyson never got along. I’m serious,” said Perkins, whom the Thunder acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Boston Celtics. “He don’t like me, I don’t like him and that’s pretty much how it’s been. Everybody always looks at me as kind of like a dirty player if you’re on the opposite team, but he’s just as dirty as anybody else.”

The two got tangled up 70 seconds into game1 and both were assessed a technical foul. The thing is Chandler doesn’t harbor the same feelings toward Perkins.

“I have nothing against him,” Chandler said of Perkins. “He won a championship with the Boston Celtics, and that’s where I’m trying to take my team. I mean, I’ve got respect for him, what he was able to accomplish. But all the chippy stuff, the after-the-ball stuff, that’s all nonsense and I’m not going to get involved with it.”

“Honestly, my motive is not to get into it with Kendrick Perkins,” Chandler said. “My motive is to make my team better when I’m on the floor and give my team an opportunity to win. My team is not going to be better with me off the floor, so there’s no reason for me to get into it with him. The only benefit that’s going to have is me off the floor and giving them a better chance to win, so I’m not getting into it with him.”

Perkins needs to watch himself since he already is the owner of four technical fouls. Three moreand he’s gone for a game and the Thunder need his defense and rebounding. The officials will be watching the paint a little closer with this coming out. Just chill and stop trying to out-macho your opponent.

On the other hand it is good to see someone just flat out hate their opponent. There’s not a lot of that these days in te NBA. It’s kind of refreshing.

It’s safe to say that Chandler won’t be getting a Christmas card from Perkins anytime soon.   

House Lighter In The Wallet

Eddie House of the Miami Heat is a little lighter in the wallet after what the NBA called an “obscene” gesture. House made the ‘big balls’ gesture after nailing a key three pointer in the Heat’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While I do think the fine is excessive, I don’t remember House doing things like this while he was at Arizona State.

Durant Has Some Harsh Words For Bosh

You don’t hear too much about Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant trash talking anyone. He just goes out and plays. Until Miami’s Chris Bosh decided he wanted to get in his business then it was on. He called Bosh one of the “fake tough guys” in the NBA. And he added more than that. Durant got a rare technical foul for jawing with Bosh.

“I was talking to my teammate and he decided he wanted to put his 2 cents into it. I’m a quiet guy, a laid-back guy, but I’m not going to let nobody talk trash to me. He’s on a good team now, so he thinks he can talk a little bit,” Durant said. There’s a lot of fake tough guys in this league and he’s one of them.”

Bosh had interrupted a conversation between him and teammate James Harden.

“I think he was telling Harden to dunk on me, or dunk the next one,” Bosh said before giving a cleaned-up version of the exchange. “I expressed that, `No, he’s not going to dunk that.’ And he expressed, `Yes, he is.’ It just kind of went back and forth.”

Bosh has never been a tough guy and needs to just go out and continue being the third wheel. I like Bosh but he’s trying to pull some of that Kevin Garnett stuff and that isn’t him. Durant had more for Bosh.

“I’m no punk. I wasn’t even talking to him, first off. He decided to butt in and I’m not going to just let that slide, especially in our house,” Durant said. “Like I said, he’s not one of those guys that I look at and say, `Oh, he has a rep for talking back to guys or always getting into it.’

“No, he’s a nice guy. He’s not one of those guys, so I’m not going to let that type of person say something to me like that.”

Me and some friends at work had this conversation before and concluded that there are very few tough guys in the league. When you see an NBA fight they miss punches at point blank range. I don’t advocate violence but damn, I think I’d be willing to take one of them on as long as it wasn’t Kenyon Martin or Nate Robinson.

Bosh needs to quit the tough guy act because he’s far from an enforcer.