Tulsa World: Thunder can focus on basketball

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Thunder can focus on basketball

Oklahoma City's Nick Collison (center) tries to get the offensive rebound between Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva (left) and Richard Jefferson in the first half at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World

By JEFF LATZKE Associated Press
Published: 9/29/2009 2:27 AM
Last Modified: 9/29/2009 5:57 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY — The moving trucks and house-hunting trips are in the past for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Season 2 will be all about basketball.

Here is an idea of how little of a factor the transition from Seattle will be for the Thunder players this preseason: Only Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Nick Collison played for the franchise when it called Seattle home.

Everyone else has had a clean start in Oklahoma City.

"It's something that we don't have to worry about anymore," Green said. "I think it's a lot of stress off our shoulders now, just not having the thought of 'Where are we going to live next year?' or anything of that nature. I think we're more comfortable with Oklahoma and our surroundings, and we know coming into this year that we're going to get a lot of support."

Instead of talking about who got lost in their new home city or whether the smaller market can support a team, the players spent media day Monday talking about ways the team can be better.

"There's no doubt it's a completely different training camp for all of us," coach Scott Brooks said. "Last season, making the transition in July, that's hard. This time of the year, I was still figuring out where do I get medicine for my kids that are sick. Our players, they were no different.

"We're just focusing on basketball this year."

Instead, the change this preseason will be that Brooks is the one directing training camp. He was named interim coach after P.J. Carlesimo was fired last season, and then hired on a more permanent basis at the end the season.

In trying to improve, the Thunder continued building on the youth movement centered around Durant and Green. No. 3 overall pick James Harden headlines the offseason additions, which also include fellow first-rounder Byron Mullens and veterans Etan Thomas (a Booker T. Washington graduate) and Kevin Ollie.

On Monday, the team added forward Ryan Bowen, guard Tre Kelley and forward/center Michael Ruffin, a former University of Tulsa standout, to the training camp roster. By JEFF LATZKE Associated Press

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