Thunder rename their D-League affiliate “OKC Blue,” which leads to several questions

When the Oklahoma City Thunder announced they were moving their D-League team from Tulsa to Oklahoma City, it figured that the Thunder would probably have to change their nickname, since the 66ers nickname has deep ties to the Tulsa community. Still, the direction they chose to go in with their nickname is…very interesting to say the least. They’ll now be known as the Oklahoma City Blue, or “OKC Blue” if you prefer fewer syllables.

Of course, the Thunder have reasons for naming their team after a color:

"“Blue is one of our primary Thunder colors, but it has become more than just a color for us. It has come to represent the passion, loyalty and unity of our fans and our community in their support for our team. Our players wear it proudly on their uniforms, our fans sport Thunder blue shirts, Thunder blue flags fly across Oklahoma and our statewide Blue Alliance fan groups show their connection to our team and what it stands for,” said Brian Byrnes, Thunder senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. “It is only fitting that our development team, which is such an integral part of our organization, be called the Blue to represent the cohesion it has with the Thunder. We think this new name accurately reflects the enhanced unity between the two teams, which are now geographically and philosophically aligned in Oklahoma City and focused on development.”"

Granted, that all sounds nice, but there are some very practical issues the Thunder need to consider as they move forward with the new name.

• Josh Huetsis, who the Thunder drafted specifically to play for their D-League team this season, is going straight from playing on the Stanford Cardinal to the Oklahoma City Blue. As far as I can tell, this is the first time a player has gone from one team nicknamed by a color to another team nicknamed by a color. Let’s hope the Thunder are prepared for whatever fallout comes from being named after a color twice in such rapid succession.
• If Thunder draftee Mitch McGary gets sent down to play for the Blue, he’ll hear the home fans chant “Go Blue” just like he heard them chant when he played at Michigan. How do you expect him to develop if he’s reliving his college days every time he steps on the court? You can’t take a step forward if you always have a foot stuck in the past.
• Did anyone in the Thunder’s front office watch Arrested Development?
• By using Blue as a nickname, they’ve taken themselves out of the market to sign Vander Blue at any point. If he played for them, his jersey would say BLUE 13, whether he wore it forwards or backwards. He wouldn’t have to deal with that kind of stress playing for the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons, that’s for sure.
• UPDATE: Royal Ivey is going to be a coach for the blue, according to Thunder Obsessed. Do you know what that means? BLUE IVEY.