I really think some of you are over thinking this issue about the Blue. On the list of priorities for the Thunder, attendance for the Blue is near the bottom. The goal of the Blue is to develop players, then coaches.
I really think some of you are over thinking this issue about the Blue. On the list of priorities for the Thunder, attendance for the Blue is near the bottom. The goal of the Blue is to develop players, then coaches.
Couldn't hurt to develop players where you put them in a city where they will draw bigger crowds; you challenge their skills under pressure. Minor league farm basketball doesn't mirror the college environment from where most of these players were elevated.
You have Thunder rookies who played at storied programs like Kentucky, South Carolina, Connecticut & Iowa State; they are accustomed to being in the showtime spotlight. You assign them to the 'Blue' where on a good night you might draw 300 fans in a spacious black tarped arena retrofitted for 9,000 where you could hear a bird tweet or a commode flush in the nearest restroom while a player shoots a free throw.
Put our development team in a situation where they continue to perform in front of more fans. The Thunder 'Loud City' fan experience should carry-over from the players minor league development.
There are cities that would welcome a G-League franchise into their communities. Wichita, Lawton or Enid take your pick. It would be better than the drafty environment they are in right now.
I understand this and clearly acknowledged that these things are obviously the Thunder’s priority. My point isn’t about ticket sales for the Blue so much as it is about developing NBA (and Thunder) fans in a nearby city. I promise it has been considered by the organization - and I’d also expect that the marketing people share my opinion about Wichita - but the basketball operations people won out for the reasons you (and I) already cited.
Also to be clear Enid and Lawton are not even close to being in the same ballpark as Wichita, which is very comparable to Tulsa in population and demographics - actually with a higher median household income than Tulsa - for those who aren’t familiar with our neighbor to the north.
I fully understand that! I was just proposing a compromise to keep the players close and helping branch the brand out a little further from OKC. Building some brand equity with Army people in Lawton isn’t bad as they will literally be all over the world when they finish training.
Hey, I’d love to see it, but seems the Thunder has moved away from the market for whatever reason.
Didn’t work in Tulsa...sure won’t work in Lawton or Enid. Not in Wichita either.
Thunder wants the flexibility given with them being in the same city. Isn’t just on game day. Their training facility, medical staff, coaching, etc is right here with lots of daily interaction and sharing.
Agree or disagree with the trend toward minor league franchises that act as the top farm system below the majors; in MLB baseball, NBA basketball & NHL hockey the development clubs are moving into the city, close to the metro area of the major league city or within a 100-mile radius. Here are a sample of examples that involve NBA & G-League/MLB & AAA minor league & NHL & AAA minor league affiliates:
NBA/G-League affiliate:
Oklahoma City Thunder/Oklahoma City Blue
Utah Jazz/Salt Lake City Stars
Memphis Grizzlies/Memphis Hustle
Chicago Bulls/Windy City Bulls
Washington Wizards/Capitol City Go-Go
Golden State Warriors/Santa Cruz Warriors
Sacramento Kings/Stockton Kings
Phoenix Suns/Northern Arizona Suns
Major League Baseball/AAA affiliate:
Cleveland Indians/Columbus Clippers
Cincinnati Reds/Louisville Bats
Philadelphia Phillies/Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Seattle Mariners/Tacoma Rainiers
Toronto Bluejays/Buffalo Bisons
National Hockey League/AAA affiliate:
Toronto Maple Leafs/Toronto Marlies
Pittsburgh Penguins/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Carolina (Raleigh) Hurricanes/Charlotte Checkers
Philadelphia Flyers/Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Columbus Blue Jackets/Cleveland Monsters
Buffalo Sabres/Rochester Americans
Just an observation of a trend with major league/minor league top affiliate in sports. You don't have this in football because the NFL has collegiate football as its minor league breeding grounds.
Notice the strange MLB affiliation between AL Cleveland & IL-AAA Columbus and NHL Raleigh & AHL Charlotte where MSA #32. Columbus is slightly larger than #33. Cleveland and #22. Charlotte has a much larger MSA than #43. Raleigh.
MLB: AL Cleveland Indians/IL AAA Columbus Clippers
NHL Carolina (Raleigh) Hurricanes/AHL AAA Charlotte Checkers
Tale of Oklahoma's two arch rival blood-thirsty cities; has it really gotten that bad?
Why do you think a close affiliation between MSA #41. Oklahoma City & #54. Tulsa didn't work in the NBA/G-League; would OKC (larger city) have been willing to be a minor league affiliate of a smaller city like Tulsa had our sister city obtained an MLS franchise with OKC as the USL affiliate?
Thunder win total in Vegas is 50.5. Houston 54.5. GS 62.5.
ESPN NBA Oklahoma City Thunder Schedule/Results - 2018-19: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedul...a-city-thunder
Thunder will be on ABC Primetime on Saturday 3 times this year. 2 times on NBA on ABC Sunday Showcase
Thunder will be on ESPN 10 times
Thunder will be on TNT 11 times
NBA TV 7 times
33 games on National TV this year
Oklahoma City Thunder New Release: https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-schedule-1819Regionally, 70 of the Thunder's 82 regular-season games will be broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma, which reaches viewers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. All games can be heard via the Thunder Radio Network, led by flagship station WWLS-The Sports Animal (98.1 FM) in Oklahoma City
So does the Thunder TV region include Stl and KC?
I totally agree with this and often wondered why Wichita was not given a chance. I am aware of many folks from wichita who come down for thunder games, and given the city's lack of sports scene - I agree that they would pack it for the NBA development games as many of the athletes make it on up. Very impressed with Wichita's support of OKC Thunder, I bet theyd love to have the farm team - unlike Tulsa who now has nothing (no WNBA, no G/D-League).
Oklahoma City, the RENAISSANCE CITY!
Oklahoma City, the RENAISSANCE CITY!
You forgot some games.
abc +1 Christmas Day game (total of 6, tied for the most for the network - same as last year btw)
nbatv +2 (total of 9)
Grand total national games = 36 (same as last year, by far the most of any small market city)
I also think there's a chance OKC could get a few more national games, UTAH comes to mind (+2) and perhaps @ATL (+1). I also consider the @Toronto game as national televised since it is on TSN. So we could get to 40 games. I think we got a few extra games last year too.
Also, appears OKC will have less home games televised nationally overall compared to last year when it was more even (and years past when it was more home games than away). I suppose this gives OKC more time to get construction finished for the networks to showcase more home games in 2019-2020.
Oklahoma City, the RENAISSANCE CITY!
.
Oklahoma City Thunder 2018-19 roster: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/...a-city-thunder
00 Russell Westbrook PG $35,654,150
13 Paul George SF $30,560,700
08 Steven Adams C $24,157,303
17 Dennis Schroder PG $15,500,000
21 Andre Roberson SG $10,000,000
09 Jerami Grant SF $8,653,847
08 Alex Abrines SG $5,455,236
54 Patrick Patterson PF $5,451,600
15 Kyle Singler SF $4,996,000
23 Terrance Ferguson SG $2,118,840
03 Nerlens Noel C $1,757,429
07 Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot SG $1,544,951
02 Raymond Felton PG $1,512,601
- - Abdel Nader SF $1,378,242 https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/nader-180723
G-League: Oklahoma City Blue
- - Hamidou Diallo SG $838,464 https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/diallo-180728
30 Deonte Burton SF Iowa State https://www.nba.com/thunder/summerle...eburton-180708
34 *Tyler Davis F/C Texas A&M
- - *Devon Hall SG Virginia
- - Kevin Hervey PF Texas-Arlington
Unsigned NBA Free Agency:
3 Corey Brewer SG 32 6-9 186 Florida
34 Josh Huestis SG 26 6-7 230 Stanford
14 solid roster spots appear to be filled with Abdel Nader SF who hasn't been assigned a number are we set for 2018-19?
* Signed two-way player contract.
The only notes I'll add:
- Diallo signed a 3-year contract with the Thunder officially so he's on the roster; But yeah, he'll likely spend time with the Blue
- Nader's official date was pushed back to September 1st so we should know soon if he's on the roster
- Surely a Singler waive or trade is coming soon...
- Devon Hall did not sign a two-way contract; He signed to play in Australia; Word is he might be with the Blue the Australian season ends, the Blue season will still be going
- Burton and Davis are the 2 two-way contracts
Is Woodring Regional Airport still in operation? Didn't realize the airport situation would be a problem since most of the NBA & G-League cities use charter flights--Enid's less than 70 miles from OKC. The 6,000-seat Garfield County Expo Center (formerly Chisholm Trail Coliseum) was used on occasions by the USBL Oklahoma Storm coached by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 2002. The franchise disbanded when the league dissolved in 2007.
Don't know how long the Cox Convention Center will be in operations once the new OKC Convention Center complex is completed. Maybe the Blue will use State Fair Arena, Capitol Hill H.S. Arena or INTEGRIS Health Thunder Development Center.
Kyle Singler to be waived by Oklahoma City Thunder: Report
By Tim Brown tbrown@oregonian.com
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Best of luck to Kyle Singler
Former South Medford High School star and Oregon native Kyle Singler is being waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Thunder are using the stretch provision on Singler, who is set to make $5 million in the final year of his five-year, $25 million contract with Oklahoma City, to mitigate the financial impact of the luxury and salary tax they will incur this season.
Unless a team claims Singler, he will become a free agent upon clearing waivers and is free to negotiate a deal with other NBA teams.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks