Wilkins Snags #21

Discussion in 'Oklahoma City Thunder' started by Shapecity, Oct 4, 2007.

  1. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Damien Wilkins reaped the reward for his three years of patience at the beginning of training camp this week. He received No. 21, a Wilkins family tradition, after Danny Fortson&rsquo;s contract ended last April.</p>

    The coveted number has sentimental value for the University of Georgia product because it&rsquo;s the same number his father, Gerald Wilkins, wore during his 13-year NBA career. His uncle, Dominique Wilkins, also donned No. 21 during his playing days as a nine-time NBA All-Star.</p>

    &ldquo;It&rsquo;s special,&rdquo; Wilkins said. &ldquo;Now I feel like, &lsquo;I got my number back, let&rsquo;s play.&rsquo; I know my dad was extremely happy about it, and my family was extremely happy I was able to get it back.&rdquo;</p>

    Wilkins could never wrestle the number away from Fortson, even though the big bruiser languished most of last season on the bench with knee problems.</p>

    &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know why, he wasn&rsquo;t using it,&rdquo; Wilson quipped. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s my guy and he called me when the season ended and was like, &lsquo;You want that number.&rsquo; And I was like, &lsquo;I already put my bid in.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p>

    Wilkins sees his return to No. 21 on his jersey &ndash; along with wholesale changes in the organization &ndash; as a new beginning. And he&rsquo;s prepared to be a key part of Seattle&rsquo;s future. Wilkins said he&rsquo;s in the best shape of his life, trimming down from 223 pounds to a lean 217 on his 6-foot-6 frame.</p>

    And he likes new coach P.J. Carlesimo&rsquo;s emphasis on defense. Wilkins was considered one of Seattle&rsquo;s best defenders in the past, taking after his father who also was considered a defensive standout. Wilkins thinks Carlesimo&rsquo;s focus on defense could be the basis for more wins for the Sonics this season.</p>

    &ldquo;That&rsquo;s our first priority, and he&rsquo;s stressed that throughout camp so far,&rdquo; Wilkins said. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t defend, you don&rsquo;t play, and he&rsquo;s going to let you know. So that&rsquo;s definitely a relief that he&rsquo;s going to be echoing defense, and he&rsquo;s going to make sure that the guys on the floor are the ones playing defense.</p>

    &ldquo;When your defense is good, your offense is even better. So as long as we can put together stops, I&rsquo;m sure we can put the ball in the hole.&rdquo;</p>

    Seattle was productive on offense the past few seasons, thanks to Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. But the team&rsquo;s defensive deficiencies over the same seasons has been well chronicled.</div></p>

    Source: Seattle News Tribune</p>
     
  2. Real

    Real Dumb and Dumbest

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    He could have a very big year for the Sonics. They're going to need him to if they're going to stay out of the cellar.</p>
     
  3. Shard

    Shard Hi2u

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Real)</div><div class='quotemain'></p>

    He could have a very big year for the Sonics. They're going to need him to if they're going to stay out of the cellar.</p>

    </div></p>

    I don't think a big year from Damien Wilkins is at the top of the Sonics' priority list. With all the swingmen we have, his importance to the team is probably at its least... besides being a mentor to Durant and Green.</p>

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  4. Iron Shiek

    Iron Shiek Maintain and Hold It Down

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    Wilkins does do what Wally and Kevin are weakest at and that is defend on the perimeter. You can't ask Kevin, Wally, and Delonte West to guard some of the premier scoring combo guards in the league for large stretches of the game and given that Gelebale can't score I imagine that Damien Wilkins will get minutes in the rotation. To be honest I think that the rotation will end up looking like this:</p>

    </p>

    Watson/West/Ridnour (OOR)</p>

    Durant/West/Wilkins</p>

    Szczerbiak/Green/Wilkins/Gelabale (OOR)</p>

    Wilcox/Collison/Green</p>

    Thomas/Swift/Petro (OOR)/ Sene (OOR)</p>

    (OOR) Out of rotation</p>

    That would give us a 10 man rotation with essentially 6 perimeter players vying for minutes at 3 perimeter spots and 4 posts vying for minutes at 2 interior spots. Withour rookies versatility, in particular Jeff Green, you will see them play spot minutes as interior players with the majority time playing on the perimeter. Either Ridnour or Watson will be completely out of the rotation and I am guessing because Watson is better defensively he will get the nod to play -- especially considering that Wally and Durant have their deficiencies defensively. Swift is recovering from his injuries which may give the nod to to Thomas early on. Eventually Swift will get the nod over Thomas as a starter but not as a finisher and Jeff Green will eventually get the nod over Szczerbiak but Iimagine that P.J. won't start two rookies on opening night. Petro and Sene will both be on the trading blocks from opening night and will only play if Swift can't because of injury. Collison will play alot and I imagine it will be at the expense of the development of Petro, Sene, and possibly Swift if he isn't right physically.</p>

    No team is effective playing more than 10 players and to be honest if everyone remains healthy I imagine that that rotation will shorten to nine with none other than Damien Wilkins being the one who ends up getting short changed. Presti brought in West and Szczerbiak and I highly doubt that they will be beaten out by in incumbant marginal player. Especially when one of those players is owed 25 million dollars.</p>

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  5. pegs

    pegs My future wife.

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    Is it just me, or did Wilkins really disappoint last season on the offensive end?</p>

    I was expecting him to pick up more scoring whenever Allen and Lewis were down, and he didn't do that much.</p>

    He's a solid defensive player tho, and I'm glad he got 21. That's cool that he got the same number as his pops and uncle.</p>
     
  6. Casual

    Casual JBB First Team

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    He improved plenty from his rookie season, it's your fault for expecting a mediocre bench player to be a good scorer.</p>
     
  7. psheehy

    psheehy Beaten down by the "MAN"

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    Ridnour will not be out of the rotation. They still love him, particularly in the Westhead fast break offense. He is a Westhead point guard. We will see Watson finish games. Ridnour is going to start. PJ is already tagging West as a backup 2 guard. He may start Szerbiak if he keeps playing the way he has in camp. I expect PJ to look to run and score in the first and third quarters to rack up some points, then play hard nosed defense in the second and fourth. I won't be surprised to see platoon lineups. Close games will close with defensive lineups...</p>

    Watson, Durant, Green, Collison, Thomas</p>

    They might use Swift or Sene to close only if they have to face a big 7 footer.</p>
     

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