*****Creation of a Franchise: OKC THUNDER*****

[SKA]

Game: NBA 2K9
Console: XBOX 360
Difficulty: All-Star
Quarters: 10 minutes
Sliders: Playmakers' NBA 2K9 Sliders

The Beginning

In the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, Louisiana, and surrounding area, the New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, playing the majority of its home games at the Ford Center during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In due time, the city showed they could support the uprooted Hornets and NBA commissioner David Stern commented that Oklahoma City could support a franchise of their own.

In 2006, the SuperSonics franchise was sold to a group of Oklahoma City investors led by Clay Bennett for $350 million, a move approved by NBA owners the following October. Terms of the sale required the new ownership group to use a "Good faith best effort" for the term of 12 months in securing a new arena lease or venue in the Greater Seattle Area. Bennett then spent much of 2007 attempting to gain public funding for a new arena, or a major renovation of the KeyArena. Failing to do so, he announced that the franchise would move to Oklahoma City as soon as the lease with KeyArena expired.

In June 2008, a lawsuit between the City of Seattle and Bennett went to Federal Court and nearly a month later the two sides reached an agreement to settle. The terms would award the city of Seattle $45 million to get out of the remaining lease at KeyArena, and could provide an additional $30 million payment to Seattle in 2013 if certain conditions are met. The owners agreed to leave the 'SuperSonics' name, logo, and colors in Seattle for a possible future NBA franchise; however the items would remain the property of the Oklahoma City team along with other "assets" including championship banners and trophies.

Jeff Green and Kevin Durant show off their team's new uniforms.

September 3rd, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder can be heard from miles away, an early warning that a storm is about to arrive. So, perhaps it's only fitting that the name of Oklahoma City's NBA team didn't sneak up on anyone.

Six weeks after the name first surfaced, team officials officially announced Wednesday that the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics would be known as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

To unveil the logo, six children joined players Desmond Mason and Damien Wilkins to pull down a curtain as the AC/DC song "Thunderstruck" blared over the loudspeaker. What was revealed was a large light-blue banner with the logo in the middle, and splashes of gold at the top and brick-burgundy at the bottom.

Logo Set

Bennett said the light blue color coincides with the state flag to represent the inclusion of all Oklahomans, the gold refers to the sun and the brick color to the sunset. Thunder is a fitting moniker for the Oklahoma City franchise, not only as a reference to powerful storms in the area known as Tornado Alley. The Oklahoma City-based 45th Infantry Division carries Thunderbirds as its nickname, and that's a reference to the state's American Indian heritage. Even one of Oklahoma native Garth Brooks' biggest hits was "The Thunder Rolls."

"There's just all kinds of good thunder images and thoughts, and the in-game experience of Thunder," Bennett said. "Just here was a good sense of how that evokes emotion. It's very powerful."

Following the debut of the team’s logo set, Bennett introduced more Thunder players, who modeled off their team’s new uniform set. Home uniforms feature a white backdrop with a brick red outline, along with a light-blue strip on the side of the uniforms accompanied by ascents of gold and the Thunder word mark above the numbers in the front.

Home Uniform

Away Uniform

"I just wish there was less red,” joked Desmond Mason, the former Oklahoma State star, referring to the Bedlam rivalry. "It's a great design. I think the fans will really like them.”

The road uniforms feature a seemingly reverse color design to them. With a mainly brick red showing, they also hold the same stripes as on the home uniform, with the outline replaced with light blue and the side strip now white.

Coach P.J. Carlesimo said simple is better.

"The biggest mistake you can make with uniforms is going crazy with too much detail,” Carlesimo said. "(Owner) Clay (Bennett) talked about respecting the heritage of the NBA by keeping it clean and classy. They did a good job. I've been happy with the colors since Day 1.”

[jct32]

those uni's are sick, are they really going to use them?

[SKA]

Quote: Originally Posted by jct32

those uni's are sick, are they really going to use them?

I really can't use them in the game, but I can just imagine using them. Plus, since I don't have the game right now (I'll be getting it for Christmas), I have time to edit them into pictures of my players to help add to their realism.

[jct32]

Did you come up with them?

I like those alot better than the stuff we have now.

Nice job on photoshopping in the one at the top, I couldn't tell that you did it.

[SKA]

Quote: Originally Posted by jct32

Did you come up with them? I like those alot better than the stuff we have now. Nice job on photoshopping in the one at the top, I couldn't tell that you did it.

They are a concept a user at another forum created. I liked them and decided they are way better than what OKC is using now.

[SKA]

2008-2009 Oklahoma City Thunder Player Preview

Point Guards
Thanks to the 2008 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to find themselves a star and starting point guard for the next and following seasons. With Russell Westbrook, a rookie out of UCLA expected to be named starter by the franchise’s first game, he is backed up by a much older point guard who can help guide him to success in his NBA career. Earl Watson, who was originally drafted by the Sonics in 2001, rejoined the team back in 2006, and has steadily been increasing his PPG throughout his career, peaking last year at 10.6 PPG. Unfortunately, that stat was only achievable thanks to an average of 29.1 minutes on the floor per game, an amount of time Earl will not be matching this season. With only two true point guards, currently filling in the third spot will be Kyle Weaver, a rookie shooting guard out of Washington State, who was picked by the Bobcats in the second round in the 2008 NBA Draft, but was traded to OKC for another second-round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Shooting Guards
Starting at shooting guard this season is expected to by the star of the Thunder, Kevin Durant. Although the 20 year-old was previously a small forward, he has accepted the move up to shooting guard in order to make way for the 20-pounds heavier Jeff Green, who will be starting at small forward for the team. He is backed up by a variety of players who can take over at shooting guard whenever Durant is playing small forward at any point in the game. Damien Wilkins, an undrafted 28-year-old out of Georgia, is expected to be the designated number-two shooting guard for the Thunder. He has been with the team his entire career, and is seeming to emerge slowly as a consistent scorer. Once again, Kyle Weaver is to be the third-string shooting guard for the team. He was a shooting guard in college, but he has the ability to play both SG and PG for the team.

Small Forward
As previously mentioned, Jeff Green is going to start at small forward for the team instead of Kevin Durant. The Georgetown alum is another player the team is expected to build around, along with Durant and Westbrook. Green is a capable scorer, as well as rebounder, and is a pivotal part to this team. He also has a veteran to fall back on in time of advice or help. Desmond Mason, the 9-year veteran out of Oklahoma State, was traded to the team in the off-season from the Milwaukee Bucks in the three-team trade including the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mason is expected to be the veteran presence on the team, and is excited to (hopefully) lead this young team to success.

Power Forward
You know your team doesn’t have a designated and obvious starter at one position when it has plenty of back-ups. Right now, Chris Wilcox, a 7-year veteran from Maryland is expected to be named starter for the team, but that does not guarantee his spot as the starter for the entire season. Recently though, he has become a great addition to the team. Acquired in the 2006 season, Wilcox has average 13.4 PPG during his stay two-year stay with the franchise, and has average 7.4 RPG. He will be more or less sharing the position with Nick Collison, a more effective rebounder but less of a scorer. The 6-year pro from Kansas is expected to play more in defensive situations, late in the game, trying to hold the lead, while Wilcox will be placed on the floor when the team is down point-wise. But it doesn’t stop there, as the Thunder were able to pick up a much younger power forward in the draft. D.J. White out of Indiana was the 29^th pick, selected by the Pistons, but his signing rights were traded soon to the Thunder front office. He was picked up by the team, but isn’t expected to see much playing time this season. Joe Smith is the last PF to find himself listed as apart of the OKC team, but currently only as a reserve. Signed thanks to the OKC-MIL-CLE trade, Smith isn’t expected to see much, if any playing time during the season.

Center
The weakest position for the Thunder team, in all honesty all three-contenders have the potential to start for the team, but right now, Johan Petro, straight from France in the 2005 NBA Draft, is expected to start for the team. He isn’t terrible offensively down low in the post, but is weak defensively and could use some work on rebounding. Another foreigner is expected to be the second-string center on the team. Mouhamed Sene was selected by the Seattle Sonics with their 10^th pick. He has turned about to be a bust, but there wasn’t much to choose from that year as most people consider the 2006 NBA Draft to have one of the worst draft classes in recent memory. Robert Swift is also still with the team, as he was selected by the Seattle franchise in the 2004 NBA Draft, as the 12^th pick in the 1^st round. This was by-far a worse choice that Sene, as the Sonics ended up passing on Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Jameer Nelson, and plenty of other starting players in the NBA. The center position is expected to once again by examined during the NBA Draft, where it is expected the Thunder will choose a young center with more potential that the previous three selected above.

[SKA]

Kevin Durant has stood out as the leader of this young Thunder team.

November 2008

Record: 8-10
November Record: 8-10
Division: 3rd
Conference: 10th
Team Chemistry: 39%
Cap Room: 6.83M

With the first month in the books for the new Oklahoma City franchise, many experts are surprised to say the least. With many picking the Thunder to finish with the worst record at the end of the year and to effectively be the worst team in the league, plenty of fans and analysts feel so far the Thunder have had success. They opened up the season at home, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks throughly, in a 102-120 beatdown, which gave the fans something to talk about. But as the team went on to their first road game, success did not follow down to Texas, as the Houston Rockets put the Thunder back in their place with a vicious 82-128 defeat.

The Thunder went back home though, hoping their first divisional game with result in a win, but the Minnesota Timberwolves would spoil those prayers. The Thunder were not beginning to look like the team everyone expected them to. Staying at home, the Thunder prepared and awaited the NBA Champion Boston Celtics to come into town and have an easy victory. But it wasn't easy, as the Thunder provided the Oklahoma crowd an exciting match-up with an exciting finish, as Kevin Durant was able to finish off the Celtics after blocking a last second three-point attempt by Ray Allen. Durant then picked up the basketball and dunked it home to give the Thunder a statistical and moral victory with a 97-102 defeat of the Celtics.

Their next game also ended in a good result, as the Thunder were able to win their first divisional battle, this time against the Utah Jazz, but no one expected what was to come in the next week. On the 9th of November, the Thunder began a 5-game stint against all Eastern Conference opponents, but started off with a loss against the Atlanta Hawks at home and on the road against the Indiana Pacers. In the middle of the week the Orlando Magic traveled to the Great Plains to face the Thunder, and laid down a thorough defeat, forcing the Thunder to travel to the Big Apple, falling to this time to the Knicks. Now the Thunder headed down to Philadelphia, but the 76ers would end up winning a close 99-101 game.

And then it was back home, where the struggling Thunder sought to deliver some payback to the Houston Rockets, but that would not be the case as the Rockets once again gave the Thunder a tough time, this time winning a 93-77 blowout. With the Clippers coming in and out of Oklahoma City with a win of their own, the Thunder were on a seven-game lossing streak, and hoped to end it with a match-up at home against the New Orleans Hornets, which would be followed up the next day with another game against the Hornets, this time in Louisiana. Thankfully, the Hornets struggled, and fell to the Thunder in an 83-88 game, but it wouldn't stop their as the Thunder were able to fell the Hornets even worse on their home court, beating New Orleans 109-93.

With a two day rest in between their next game, the Thunder took some time to practice on building off their success, as they had two tough opponents to face next in the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Thunder were able to rally back after a miserable third-quarter against the Suns, leading to a 98-100 victory. But the same could not be said for their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, as, although Durant put up 40 points, his team had a tough time producing leading to a 102-114 defeat. But next up were two easier opponents, as the Thunder would close out the month of November with wins against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Pertaining to the 2009 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder has spent time scouting out B.J. Mullens, a seven-foot center from Ohio State, as well as Jordan Hill (PF) from Arizona, Russ Robertson (SG) from Iowa, and Sam Horsley, another center for Baylor. All players look to become Lottery picks in the upcoming draft, but the Thunder have spent two weeks scouting out the young center for Ohio State. He looks like he could become a great offensive strength for the team, but needs work rebounding wise, and doesn't have as much up-side as hoped. But it looks as though the Thunder will not be getting as high of a pick as previously assumed in the off-season, and may finish with a pick in between 10 and 20.

Standings

Northwest Division
1. Denver Nuggets (12-6)
2. Utah Jazz (9-9)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (8-10)
4. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-9)
5. Portland Trailblazers (5-13)

Pacific Division
1. Los Angeles Clippers (10-6)
2. Phoenix Suns (11-7)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (9-6)
4. Golden State Warriors (10-8)
5. Sacramento Kings (6-13)

Southwest Division
1. San Antonio Spurs (12-4)
2. Houston Rockets (10-8)
3. New Orleans Hornets (8-7)
4. Dallas Mavericks (7-9)
5. Memphis Grizzlies (5-12)

Atlantic Division
1. New York Knicks (11-5)
2. Philadelphis 76ers (10-7)
3. Boston Celtics (10-9)
4. Toronto Raptors (8-8)
5. New Jersey Nets (6-10)

Central Division
1. Detroit Pistons (11-5)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (9-8)
3. Indiana Pacers (7-9)
4. Chicago Bulls (7-10)
5. Milwaukee Bucks (6-13)

Southeast Division
1. Orlando Magic (12-6)
2. Atlanta Hawks (8-8)
3. Charlotte Bobcats (8-9)
4. Miami Heat (7-11)
5. Washington Wizards (5-9)

Statistics

PLAYER          PPG     RPG     APG     FG%    3P%     FT%
K. Durant       23.3    3.1     2.6    .500   .316    .801
J. Green        13.9    4.0     1.3    .471   .238    .765
C. Wilcox       13.6    6.4     1.6    .500   .000    .653
R. Westbrook    11.0     2.9     5.3    .386  .386    .648
D. Wilkins      8.6     1.5     0.8    .538   .518    .689
D. Mason        7.6     3.2     2.0    .000   .000    .658
E. Watson       7.6     1.2     5.6    .563   .450    .733

Game-By-Game Results

Oct 29th: vs. Bucks (W 102-120)
Nov 1st: @ Rockets (L 82-128)
Nov 2nd: vs. T'Wolves (L 103-96)
Nov 5th: vs. Celtics (W 97-102)
Nov 7th: @ Jazz (W 106-99)
Nov 9th: vs. Hawks (L 115-108)
Nov 10th: @ Pacers (L 97-113)
Nov 12th: vs. Magic (L 108-96)
Nov 14th: @ Knicks (L 90-116)
Nov 15th: @ 76ers (L 99-101)
Nov 17th: vs. Rockets (L 93-77)
Nov 19th: vs. Clippers (L 118-99)
Nov 21st: vs. Hornets (W 83-88)
Nov 22nd: @ Hornets (W 109-93)
Nov 25th: vs. Suns (W 98-100)
Nov 26th: @ Cavaliers (L 102-114)
Nov 28th: vs. T'Wolves (W 113-120)
Nov 29th: @ Grizzlies (W 99-92)

Around the League

Oct 26th: Hawks sign Shaun Livingston to a 1yr/5.59M contract.
Oct 26th: Spurs sign Sam Cassell to 1yr/2.20M deal.
Oct 28th: Nuggets pick up Delonte West with a 1yr/5.59M agreement.
Oct 29th: Raptors sign Jamall Magloire to a 1yr/4.98M contract.
Oct 29th: Kings agree to a 1yr/512k contract with Eric Piatkowski.
Oct 31st: Rockets sign Dikembe Mutombo thanks to a 1yr/463k agreement.
Oct 31st: 76ers pick up Scott Padgett signing him to a 1yr/2.24M contract.
Nov 8th: Pistons trade Tayshaun Prince to the Nuggets for Chucky Atkins and Delonte West, resulting in more speculation that Pistons are aiming for LeBron in 2010.
Nov 8th: Raptors pick up another free agent in Aaron Williams who agreed to a 1yr/442k deal.
Nov 15th: Nuggets sign young Daniel Ewing to a 1yr/3.95M deal.
Nov 15th: Magic sign P.J. Brown to a 1yr/1.27M contract.
Nov 15th: Warriors pick up Michael Doleac thanks to a 1yr/3.13M contract.
Nov 22nd: Nuggets sign veteran Lorenzen Wright to a 1yr/442k contract.
Nov 29th: Rockets agree to trade Rafer Alston to the 76ers for Louis Williams.