NBA Links: Andre Drummond turns 23, the Cleveland Cavaliers could get bigger (no, not DeMarcus Cousins), and more

Biggest weakness for all 30 NBA teams heading into next season -- CBS Sports

The creativity is astounding in this one:

Detroit Pistons

Free-throw shooting

This one is pretty obvious and it all stems from Andre Drummond's presence on the team. He's the worst free-throw shooter in NBA history and made just 35.5 percent of his 586 attempts last season. The new Summon-a-Drummond rules won't completely curtail the hack-a strategy this season, so he's going to have to figure out how to dramatically improve by even just making half of his free throws. That's the thing; the Pistons don't need him to become a good free-throw shooter. They just need him to not be a historically bad free-throw shooter. Detroit believes improvement is coming for next season. We'll have to wait and see.

Well, at least "Summon-A-Drummond" is cute.

Predictions For The Central Division In 2016-17 -- Hoops Habit

Hoops Habit has Detroit's 2016-17 record as 48-34, good for second in the Central Division.

The Most Unpredictable NBA Teams Heading Into the Season -- The Ringer

If I had a nickel for every time I found that Kyle Singler was kinda-sorted insulted (relatively speaking) for his basketball skills in articles online, I'd be doing quite a bit better in the pockets than I'm doing now.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka were such foundational pieces in Oklahoma City for so long that it's hard to say how Billy Donovan's second season with the Thunder will unfold. The closest baseline is the injury-ravaged OKC team that stumbled to 45 wins two years ago, but that iteration had a far different supporting cast around Russell Westbrook. How good can Steven Adams be in a featured role? How will Victor Oladipo look outside of Orlando? Will Donovan find a way to give his best shooters minutes without compromising the defense? How far can pounding the offensive glass take a team in the modern NBA? What can we expect out of their young quartet of Cameron Payne, Alex Abrines, Mitch McGary, and Domantas Sabonis? Kyle Singler and Anthony Morrow couldn't help a title contender, but can they stay in the rotation for an average team? There are a lot of questions to answer in Oklahoma City, both this season and going into the future.

Enes Gulen

Enes Kanter (now seemingly Enes Gulen) is in an unfavorable situation because of his political stance and the heightened political feud ongoing in Turkey. And now, his family is disowning him since Enes' political stance is different than theirs. Signs point to Kanter's family not being in the best of situations either, as you may imagine. Are his parents' arms twisted? Do they have an actual choice in disowning their son because of his political stance? If they don't publicly "disown" Enes, do they run a real risk of being eliminated themselves by the Turkish "government?" Think about it. What a mess.

Here's a news blurb:

Enes Kanter, a 6'11" center, has long been a follower of Pennsylvania-based Fethullah Gulen, the leader of a Turkish faction that was blamed for a failed coup against  (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan last month.

Kanter's dad, Mehmet, who said he supports Erdogan and the Turkish government, wrote a letter published by Turkish media on Monday in which he said his son was "hypnotized" by Gulen and disowned the 24-year-old NBA player.

Also, read the The Sea Of Blue article here titled, "The Heartbreaking Journey of Enes Kanter".

Emeka Okafor working out in hopes of returning to NBA, agent says -- ESPN

Emeka Okafor, the former No. 2 overall pick who has been out of the NBA for three seasons, has decided to attempt a comeback with an eye toward joining a "contending team" in December or January.

Okafor's agent, Jeff Schwartz, confirmed that Okafor, who last played for the Washington Wizards in 2012-13 before suffering a herniated disc in his neck, is in the gym training and working on his conditioning.

Big surprise -- it's going to be the Cavaliers or Warriors for Okafor -- but it will likely be the Cavaliers if new big man Chris Anderson can't give them anything at all.

Okafor turns 34 in September. League sources said last season he spoke with Cleveland, Miami and Golden State before deciding to delay his return. His decision to skip the grueling regiment of training camp and instead join a team a couple of months into the season is reminiscent of former major league pitcher Roger Clemens, who came out of retirement in 2006 to join his hometown Houston Astros two months into the baseball season.

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Happy 23rd birthday to Mr. Andre Drummond today! Go out and eat some dessert in celebration of the big fella being on this earth and playing basketball for our Detroit Pistons.