Oklahoma City Thunder Lock Up Serge Ibaka With Four-Year Extension And What It Might Mean For James Harden

According to Yahoo! Sports, among other sources, the Oklahoma City Thunder have locked up the third member of the team's four-headed monster of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and James Harden when the team agreed to a four-year, $48 million deal with Ibaka to remain with the Thunder.

Ibaka's new extension leaves Harden as the only member of the Thunder's core group that isn't locked in for the foreseeable future with Oklahoma City.

With Harden emerging last season as the best bench player in the NBA, averaging 16.8 points per game en route to earning NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors, most people thought Thunder GM Sam Presti would have a deal worked out with Harden before moving on to Ibaka's.

However, for reasons that remain unknown at this time, Presti decided to lock in Ibaka first, who is one of the league's best defensive players and only beginning to scratch the surface of his potential ceiling.

At 6'10", and with freakishly long arms, Ibaka has led the league in total blocks in each of the past two seasons, averaging a whopping 3.7 blocks per game while playing and starting all 66 games this past season for OKC.

Ibaka also led the league in total postseason blocks in each of the past two seasons, including a 2.68 average this past postseason to go along with his 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as he helped lead the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals.

He was also named to the All-NBA first Defensive Team this past season, and finished second to Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.

You can't really make an argument that efficiency played much of a role in the team opting to deal with Ibaka's extension before Harden's considering they had very similar PERs this past season, with Harden narrowly edging Ibaka 21.1 to 19.0 in that category.

Both players have had extremely good luck staying healthy and on the court during their first three seasons in the league, as Harden has only missed 10 out of 230 regular season games, while Ibaka has missed only 9 out of 230 games (all nine of his missed games came during his rookie season).

It wasn't because Harden was busy with the Olympics, playing alongside Durant and Westbrook for Team USA on their way to a gold medal because Ibaka played just as deep in the tournament with Spain, settling with a silver medal after Team USA's 107-100 victory over the Spanish team.

Harden was reportedly being shopped around the league at the time of the 2012 NBA Draft, with the Charlotte Bobcats being one team reportedly very interested in making a move for him (they supposedly considered sending their number two overall pick to OKC in exchange for Harden.

I can't say with any certainty that Presti hasn't shopped Ibaka at some point over the past three seasons, although I'd venture to say it's likely Presti has shopped everyone on the roster except for KD at some point just to gauge interest in his players from around the league.

The reason Presti decided to lock up Ibaka for the next four years before dealing with Harden's extension could be as simple as he realized just how bad the Thunder will need Ibaka when they inevitably get matched up against the Los Angeles Lakers and their newest incarnation of twin towers, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, in the postseason.

For instance, remove Ibaka from the Thunder's squad and replace him with Dante Cunningham of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who had a PER of 14.94 last season (15.0 is the standardized league average and Cunningham was closet to the mark at the power forward position last season).

I don't think Oklahoma City would win more than two games against the 2012-13 Lakers in a seven game series with that swap, and that's assuming Durant AND Westbrook each have at least one out of this world performance during that series.

Now, let's remove Harden from the equation and replace him with Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, who posted a 14.97 PER during the 2011-12 season (again, the closest player at shooting guard to a 15.0 PER).

I still don't think the Thunder would be able to pull out four wins against that same Lakers squad (maybe once in every five seven game series between the two), but I do know that it would be a much, much closer fight with Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins down low battling Howard and Gasol with Durant and Westbrook still handling their business.

Basically, what this proves is that Oklahoma City will need all four pieces of their four-headed monster if they want to get past a Lakers squad being led by an insanely determined Kobe Bryant (Do you honestly think the Black Mamba is going to show any sign of mercy or focus on anything beyond the hardwood in his pursuit of his Jordan-tying sixth ring?) and an almost equally determined Steve Nash (still chasing his first ring while holding the fairly embarrassing title of having played more playoff games than anyone in NBA history without even reaching the NBA Finals at an astounding total of 118 games.. and counting).

While the Thunder NEED that four-headed monster intact to secure their best odds at a title, it's a different story entirely whether or not they can actually make it happen.

Assuming Ibaka will be earning about $12 million a season under his new extension, Oklahoma City would have around $47 million committed to Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka alone starting with the 2013-14 season.

Tack on another $15 million (approximately) for Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison, and those six players alone eating up about $63 million in cap space in 2013-14.

While Harden's qualifying offer is only $7.64 million, it's almost a certainty he will be offered somewhere between $12 million per season and a maximum contract by a team that's chasing him next summer as a restricted free agent.

Even if he draws the short straw out of those numbers, still $12 million per year, that means the Thunder would be committed to $75 million in salary in 2013-14 for Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, Perkins, Collison, and Sefolosha if they matched his offer sheet.

With the salary cap expected to be somewhere in the range of $58 million and the tax threshold at around $70 million (and reportedly getting more punitive in 2013-14, hitting teams harder that are over the line), that puts the Thunder almost $17 million over the cap and paying at least $10 million in luxury taxes with a minimum of six more spots to fill on their roster.

While Clay Bennett, owner of the Thunder, has never been one to shy away from spending, I'm not sure he is going to want to spend that kind of money when it can't even guarantee a championship with the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers on equal or higher ground than the Thunder.

In the end, although it may be tough for Bennett to swallow financially, I don't think he has a choice but to pay James Harden whatever he commands as they easily have the youngest core of the three super teams right now (Thunder, Heat, Lakers. Sorry everyone else, they're just on a separate level at this point) and would almost certainly win at least one championship over the next four or five seasons.

If for some reason Oklahoma City decides they can't afford to keep Harden around and they allow him to leave town, they may be regretting it over the next decade if they fail to win multiple titles without him, because as long as OKC has their four-headed monster of Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Harden in tact, they will remain a threat to win the Larry O'Brien championship trophy almost every season for the next five to ten years.

Will Houston Rockets Pull Off A Blockbuster Deal On Draft Day?

The Houston Rockets have probably been the most active team in the NBA heading into tonight's 2012 NBA Draft, as they have been linked to countless trade rumors and free agent interests ranging from Tyreke Evans to Dwight Howard over the past few weeks.

There's no question Houston has the ammunition to pull off a blockbuster trade tonight with any number of teams as they currently own three first round draft picks after sending Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the #18 pick on Tuesday (they already owned the #14 and #16 picks).

The most prominent rumor circulating around the internet involves Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who the Rockets have been fascinated with for quite some time now, even attempting to acquire him at this past season's trade deadline before he ultimately signed a one-year extension with Orlando.

While it's unknown if the Rockets have officially made any offers for him yet, it's almost certain they will make an attempt to land Howard from the Magic with their haul of draft picks before moving on to other players of interest.

The craziest part about Houston's infatuation with the perennial All-Star center is the fact that it's almost certain that he would not re-sign with the Rockets next summer when he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.

However, anything is possible if they somehow manage to pull off a deal with Orlando, as he could fall in love with the city of Houston and/or the fan base and decide to stay with a long-term deal in free agency.

He might decide to stay with the Rockets even if he isn't crazy about the franchise, as they would be able to offer an extra year and more money than any other team could in free agency if he is on their roster when he hits the market.

Almost everyone on the Rocket's current roster has been linked to trade rumors and could likely be had by Orlando, along with the draft picks, should they decide to send Howard to Houston.

Kyle Lowry is almost certain to be moved prior to or during the draft tonight, as he is publicly stated he wanted to be traded amidst an apparent irreparable relationship between him and head coach Kevin McHale.

The Rockets have reportedly offered him to the Sacramento Kings, along with the #14 and #16 picks, in exchange for Tyreke Evans and the #5 pick according to DraftExpress.com.

Houston also has been linked to trades involving the Toronto Raptors and their #8 pick, as the Rockets reportedly would like to draft center Andre Drummond out of Connecticut if they fail to land Howard from the Magic.

With the team clearly interested in upgrading the center position one way or another, the Rockets have also reportedly made Samuel Dalembert available, according to HoopsWorld, trying to attach with him with one or more of their picks in attempt to move up in the draft or land a proven veteran.

Earlier this month, HoopsWorld also reported the Rockets had expressed interest in Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers and Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers.

Either of those players could likely be had be had with a package of Kevin Martin (expiring contract) or Luis Scola and a pair of their three draft picks if the Rockets decided to go in one of those directions.

Another option that could be possible, although I have not seen or heard any rumors about this one, could involve the Rockets making an attempt to land Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers, whom they almost acquired last December in the failed Chris Paul to the Lakers trade.

The Lakers have reportedly been interested in trading him should the right offer come along, and quite frankly, they likely won't receive a better offer for him than Houston could offer with their plethora of draft picks and talented players.

With so many options open to them, and with so many assets stock-piled together, the Rockets have a real chance of pulling off at least a semi-blockbuster move (or two) during tonight's draft as it's highly unlikely they will stand pat and hold onto all three of their draft picks and not either move up or deal for an All-Star.

The real question for Houston is which superstar(s) will the Rockets ultimately land or how far up the draft board will they climb with their U-Haul full of assets?

Charlotte Bobcats Narrow Their Coaching Search To Three Candidates

It appears the Charlotte Bobcats are finally entering the final stages of selecting their next head coach, as Chris Broussard of ESPN reports they have narrowed their search to three candidates: Brian Shaw, Jerry Sloan, and Quin Snyder.

Each of the three will meet with team owner Michael Jordan within the next week or so according to the report, and then a decision will likely be made soon thereafter.

Recent Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Sloan is the only candidate with prior head coaching experience, resigning midseason during his 23rd season leading the Utah Jazz.

Sloan took the Jazz to the NBA Finals twice during his tenure as their coach, however, he was denied of a championship both times by the Chicago Bulls and his potential future boss, Michael Jordan.

Although Shaw doesn't have any previous head coaching experience, he was a protege of the legendary Phil Jackson and has been an assistant head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers.

He has been an assistant coach since 2004-05 and was considered for the Lakers and Orlando Magic's head coaching vacancies over the past two seasons.

Quin Snyder was an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers this past season (he still likely will be if he doesn't land the Bobcats job) and coached in the NBDL for three seasons prior to that with the Austin Toros.

Snyder was also interviewed for the Minnesota Timberwolves job last summer, before they had even fired Kurt Rambis.

The narrowing of candidates comes after the team originally had ten people interview with team executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho for the position.

Including the three finalists, the others that were interviewed were Orlando assistant Patrick Ewing, former Portland coach Nate McMillan, Golden State assistant Michael Malone, Cleveland assistant Nate Tibbetts, Charlotte assistant Stephen Silas, Memphis assistant Dave Joerger and St. John's University assistant Mike Dunlap.

In my opinion, Sloan would probably be the best choice for the job if the Bobcats were closer to being a championship contender, but considering the fact that he is 70-years old will probably mean he won't be coaching long enough to see the transformation through.

With that being said, I think the Bobcats will likely pick Shaw when all three of the meetings with Jordan are complete, as he is widely considered to be the best assistant coach in the league right now.

Shaw spent plenty of time learning coaching tactics from Jackson and has first-hand experience with the Triangle Offense, which with the right players, can be one of the most successful offenses in basketball.

I think Shaw is ready at this point in his coaching career to take a head coaching position, and a spot with the Charlotte Bobcats would be the perfect place to begin his career in the lead role on the bench.

Regardless of who lands the vacant job, they will have a massive task on their hands of turning around a franchise that finished with the worst winning percentage in NBA history last season (.106).

Which coach do you think would be the best fit with the Charlotte Bobcats? Do you think they left someone out of their final three that would've made a better coach? Share what you think about their coaching vacancy down below in the comments section.

Kevin Garnett Contemplating Retirement After the Postseason?

By: Stephen Patterson

There have been multiple reports in recent days, including one that came from NBA.com, that Kevin Garnett might retire once the Boston Celtics' postseason run comes to an end.

Garnett is finishing his 17th season in the NBA, and although he is still performing at a fairly high level, he is considering walking away from the game while he is still a solid player, not someone who stuck around a little too long and saw their game completely disappear.

In fact, a friend of Garnett's actually said that the Celtics power forward would rather walk away from the game proud and with his head held high than wait around a few more years and watch his skill set slowly dissolve.

"I think that's what we've been seeing in these playoffs," the friend of Garnett said. "The way he's been playing, it's like he wants to go out on his terms."

The Celtics' forward has had a pretty decent postseason run, including several really big games and clutch shots that have Boston in position to potentially win a second championship during his five-year run with the franchise.

For the playoffs, KG is averaging 19.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 37 minutes per game through the first 16 games the Celtics have played. Those are his best numbers since he left the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the 2007-08 season.

After being called the "dirtiest player in the NBA" by Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. following Game 5 of the Celtics first round series against his team, Garnett responded with a monster Game 6 performance that saw him score 28 points, snatch 14 rebounds, and block five shots in the deciding game that eliminated the Hawks.

Against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs, Garnett came out of the gates in Game 1 with another monster showing, as he scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also had a solid game in the deciding seventh game of the series, dropping 18 points and and snatching 13 rebounds to help Boston knock off the Sixers and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Garnett's scoring averages have increased with each series as his team advances further and further in the postseason (he averaged 18.7 points against the Hawks, 19.7 against the Sixers, and has averaged 21.7 against the Heat through the first three games of the series).

Since head coach Doc Rivers shifted Garnett over to center back in February, KG has seemed like he is almost playing with a new found energy. He also has gained a huge offensive advantage as many big men guarding him won't come out far enough from the rim to cover Garnett and his 20 foot range.

If Garnett does decide to hang 'em up and call it a career, he is almost certainly headed for a spot in the Hall of Fame in Canton when his name comes up on the ballot.

He spent his first 12 seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves after they took him fifth overall in the 1995 NBA Draft, determined to turn them into a winning franchise and carry them to an NBA title despite the fact that his best supporting casts included the likes of Sam Cassell, Latrell Sprewell, Wally Szczerbiak, and a young Stephon Marbury.

Despite the horrendous supporting role players around him, KG still picked up an MVP award (2003-04), eight All-NBA team appearances, and eight NBA All-Defensive team appearances (six of which were first team selections) while he was with the Timberwolves.

Garnett finally gave up on his mission of winning a championship with the Timberwolves and was eventually traded to the Boston Celtics for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and a 2009 first-round draft pick.

During that same summer, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge also pulled off a trade that landed Ray Allen in Boston to form the team's "Big Three" with Paul Pierce, who was already on the roster and had spent his entire career waiting for a solid team as well.

The trio led the Celtics to a championship in their first season together, however, they have failed to pick up a second one despite coming about as close as a team can in 2008-09 when they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games in the NBA Finals after Kendrick Perkins was lost for the series in Game 6.

However, Garnett has still continued to rack up accomplishments, landing another spot on the All-NBA team in 2007-08, as well as four more NBA All-Defensive team appearances, three of which have been on the first team.

Garnett also ranks fairly high in a few major categories in career totals, including minutes played (45,779; 12th all-time), made field goals (9,729; 16th all-time), defensive rebounds (10,302; 4th all-time), total rebounds (13,313; 13th all-time), blocks (1,908; 22nd all-time), and points (24,270; 23rd all-time).

According to basketball-reference.com, Garnett's probability of making it to the Hall of Fame is 99.85 percent, which is third in the league only behind Tim Duncan (second) and Kobe Bryant (first). Both of those players obviously rank higher than KG due to their massive collections of championship bling.

I think one major factor in Garnett's decision will come down to how Boston's season ends in these playoffs. If they lose their current series against the Miami Heat or advance to the NBA Finals and fall to either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder, I believe KG will be much more tempted to make one more run at a title.

However, if the Celtics somehow manage to beat the Heat and overcome the winner of the two monster heavyweights in the Western Conference to pick up another NBA championship, I think Garnett will almost certainly walk away from the game while he is on top.

If he does decide to continue playing for at least another season, the question will become which team will he be suiting up for and chasing that second championship with?

The Boston Celtics are almost certain to break up the "Big Three" during this offseason, when Garnett and Ray Allen hit the free agent market. Most reports say Allen is the most likely to find himself playing in a different uniform next season, while Kevin Garnett's situation is much more foggy.

The Celtics might find themselves in a situation where they need KG to add depth to their front court and make a reasonable offer that suits both the franchise and Garnett. Or they could find themselves heading more toward the direction of rebuilding and pass on bringing Garnett back.

Do you think Garnett will call it a career once the Celtics' postseason run comes to an end? If not, where do you envision him playing next season? Share your thoughts below in the comment section.

Kevin Love Lobbying to Join the Los Angeles Lakers?

By: Stephen Patterson

It seems Kevin Love might be lobbying for a return to the "City of Angels", Los Angeles, where he starred at UCLA during his one season playing college college basketball before turning pro.

In a recent interview with SLAM Magazine, Love said he thinks the Lakers need to make some moves when he was asked what has stood out to him to him during these playoffs.

His exact response to the question: "Yeah. As everyone can see, the Lakers need to make moves."

While he obviously isn't shouting "Hey, send me to L.A.!" at David Kahn (as far as I know anyway), it has been rumored in the past that K-Love would love to be back in Los Angeles and would also relish the opportunity to play alongside Kobe Bryant.

With Pau Gasol's days as a Laker likely numbered, a trade involving these two isn't totally out of the question, although it would be extremely difficult at this point considering the massive difference between the two players contracts ($18.7 million for Gasol compared to only $4.6 million for Love in the 2011-12 season).

Although making the money match up would be extremely tough for the Lakers and Timberwolves, Gasol might prefer Minnesota over many other potential destinations if he is traded because it would allow him to play with Ricky Rubio, who he has played alongside in the past with the Spanish national team and spoken highly of on multiple occasions.

Love signed a four-year, $60 million dollar contract extension with the Wolves back in January so the team is under no pressure to trade him, unless he has privately informed them he no longer wishes to play for them, which would seem out of character for him.

However, with his pay scheduled to increase to around $15 million next season (which much closer to Gasol's deal) under his extension, it is still very possible these two All-Stars could be swapping teams.

Would a lime-up of Steve Blake, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Kevin Love, and Andrew Bynum be good enough to carry the Lakers to a championship in the next season or two? It's very possible.

It's just as possible, however, that Metta World Peace and/or Andrew Bynum may also find themselves playing for different franchises for the 2012-13 season as it is Gasol is moved for K-Love, or anyone else for that matter.

The only thing I know for certain is that I totally agree with Kevin Love on this topic: The Lakers definitely need to make some moves this summer, especially if they want to pick up another championship while Kobe is still performing at an All-Star level.

All-NBA Teams & Vote Breakdown

What are your thoughts on the All-NBA squads? Should someone have been higher? Lower? Or did someone miss out all together that belongs on the third team? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

* Special thanks to www.iamagm.com for the image.