Numbers, please
In addition to coming up with a uniform design, the Oklahoma City Meteorological Phenomenon management has to assign numbers to the new guys. There’s an unwritten tradition that says you keep your old number from the last place you played, but this doesn’t necessarily apply to rookies. Still, let’s see what we can do:
Russell Westbrook: Wore #0 at UCLA; he’ll probably do so again at OKC, though the big goose-egg is nowhere near as popular in the NBA as it is in college ball. (The Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas, aka Agent Zero, is the one man to flaunt his cipher these days; Robert Parish’s double-zero hangs from the rafters in Boston.)
D. J. White: Wore #3 at Indiana; it’s open for the moment at OKC.
DeVon Hardin: Unsigned as yet. Wore #35 at Cal; in OKC this belongs to Kevin Durant, so if he comes on board he’ll be assigned something else.
Serge Ibaka: Unsigned as yet. Didn’t play US college ball. I expect him to be playing in Europe this season.
C. J. Miles: Assuming he jumps from the Jazz, where he wore #34, OKC can accommodate him with the same number.
I am thinking it might be bad form to use any of the Sonics’ retired numbers (1, 10, 19, 24, 32, 43), at least until Seattle is back in the league.
