Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers-Thunder Sunday Game Postponed

January 17th, 2021 at 4:36pm CST by JD Shaw

The Sixers–Thunder game scheduled for Sunday night has been postponed due to ongoing contract tracing, the 14th postponement of the young season, the NBA announced in a press release.

Philadelphia doesn’t have the league-required eight players available to proceed, the league said. The team was seen warming up prior to the decision.

The cause is connected to the Sixers’ game against the Grizzlies on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds (via Twitter) that the 76ers have no new positive cases to report at this time.

Seth Curry (health and safety protocols), Vincent Poirier (health and safety protocols), Mike Scott (knee) and Joel Embiid (knee) were the only players listed as out on the original injury report. The game was scheduled to commence at 7:00 pm ET on NBA TV.

Philadelphia has upcoming games scheduled against the Celtics on both Wednesday and Friday. The Sixers currently own the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-5.

COVID-19 Notes: Hill, Conference Calls, Vaccine, More

January 13th, 2021 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

We can count Thunder guard George Hill among those who aren’t fans of the new, more restrictive coronavirus protocols that were agreed upon by the NBA and the NBPA this week. Addressing reporters on Tuesday night, Hill questioned the logic behind some of the rule changes, including the limits placed on postgame interactions between players, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes.

“I just don’t understand some of the rules as far as we can sweat 48 minutes with the guy next to us and the team next to us, but we can’t talk to him after the game,” Hill said. “It makes no sense.”

Hill also openly wondered if it makes sense to continue playing the season if such restrictive measures are necessary — and if even those measures can’t guarantee that there won’t be an outbreak of the virus.

“I’m a grown man, so I’m gonna do what I wanna do,” Hill said. “If I wanna go see my family, I’m gonna go see my family. They can’t tell me I have to stay in the room 24/7. If it’s that serious, then maybe we shouldn’t be playing. It’s life. No one’s gonna be able to just cancel their whole life for this game.”

Here’s more on the COVID-19 situation:

During the NBA’s meetings with general managers and team owners this week, there was no discussion of suspending the season due to the recent increasing number of positive coronavirus tests, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Marc Stein of The New York Times explains, one reason the NBA wants to avoid a pause is that officials think even more players would contract the virus without the league’s health and safety protocols in place.
While the NBA has insisted it won’t cut the line for vaccines for its players and staffers, a new idea emerged on Tuesday’s call with team presidents. According to Amick, it was suggested that players could volunteer at public distribution centers and receive the vaccine in that setting while encouraging the public to follow suit. Amick expects the idea to be explored further.
The NBA has tweaked its hardship provision to allow teams to apply to replace players who are hit hard by COVID-19 absences in addition to injuries, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. However, there are logistical challenges to bringing in new players, since they require a quarantine period before they’re cleared, so it remains to be seen how many teams will be able to actually take advantage of the rule tweak.

2020/21 NBA G League Draft Results

January 11th, 2021 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2020/21 season on Monday afternoon.

In a typical year, the G League draft lasts four rounds and teams are only required to make two selections. However, this year’s draft was just three rounds and teams weren’t required to make any picks.

Because only 17 of 28 NBA G League affiliates (plus the G League Ignite) are participating in the revamped season at Walt Disney World in Florida, and because teams aren’t permitted to bring extra players to training camp for health and safety reasons, roster spots will be at a premium in the NBAGL this season, and the draft reflected that. Only 25 players were selected.

With the first overall pick, the Greensboro Swarm – the Hornets‘ affiliate – nabbed former Wizard Admiral Schofield. The 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Schofield averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 33 games (11.2 MPG) as a rookie before being traded to the Thunder during the offseason. Oklahoma City waived him last month.

With the second overall pick, which they acquired in a trade earlier in the day, the Memphis Hustle selected former Baylor standout Freddie Gillespie, who had been in camp with the Mavericks. Gillespie recently spoke to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors about his desire to make it to the NBA and his plans to begin his professional career in the G League. He’s now in position to suit up for the Grizzlies‘ affiliate.

Here are the full 2020/21 G League draft results:

Round One:

Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Admiral Schofield (Tennessee)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Freddie Gillespie (Baylor)
Canton Charge (Cavaliers): Antonio Blakeney (LSU)
Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
Lakeland Magic (Magic): Tahjere McCall (Tennessee State)
Canton Charge: Anthony Lamb (Vermont)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
Lakeland Magic: DJ Hogg (Texas A&M)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Patton (Creighton)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Armoni Brooks (Houston)
Raptors 905 (Raptors): Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
Oklahoma City Blue: Vince Edwards (Purdue)
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield)
Raptors 905: Gary Payton II (Oregon State)
Memphis Hustle: Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
Iowa Wolves: Dakarai Tucker (Utah)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): No pick
N/A

Round Two:

Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
Westchester Knicks: No pick
Iowa Wolves: No pick
Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Quincy McKnight (Seton Hall)
Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Selom Mawugbe (Azusa Pacific)
Raptors 905: No pick
Memphis Hustle: No pick
Austin Spurs: Anthony Mathis (Oregon)
Erie BayHawks (Pelicans): No pick
Greensboro Swarm: No pick
Austin Spurs: Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown)
Santa Cruz Warriors: No pick
Memphis Hustle: No pick
Oklahoma City Blue: Rob Edwards (Arizona State)
Salt Lake City Stars: No pick

Round Three:

Greensboro Swarm: No pick
Erie BayHawks: No pick
Westchester Knicks: No pick
Delaware Blue Coats: Braxton Key (Virginia)
No picks from 43-57

The teams that didn’t make any picks will fill their rosters with affiliate players and returning rights players, meaning they didn’t need to draft anyone and/or didn’t have the open spots to do so.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Blake Murphy of The Athletic noted (via Twitter), NBAGL teams overwhelmingly opted for youth, passing on most of the notable veteran NBA players in the draft pool. That group included Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Emeka Okafor, and Shabazz Muhammad, among others.

Former Nets first-rounder Dzanan Musa removed his name from the draft pool before the event began, per Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

George Hill Discusses Jacob Blake Decision, Other Topics

January 10th, 2021 at 8:44pm CST by JD Shaw

Marc Spears of The Undefeated examined the Jacob Blake decision and more with Thunder guard George Hill, who offered insight about topics on and off the court. “I can’t speak for everybody. I can only speak for myself. I just think with the way the world is going, I just think we all need to come together,” Hill said as part of a larger quote addressing where players should go with the social justice movement this season. “We’re 450 [players] and when 450 stand strong, we’re more powerful than everyone thinks. We’re way more powerful than they think we are. I learned a lot from LeBron [James] and how he migrated and moved on and off the floor. He is a huge inspiration with how he uses his leverage to open doors and how powerful he is. That is just one guy. Four hundred and fifty can be really strong if we just come together.

Northwest Notes: Diallo, Ingles, Vanderbilt, Towns

January 9th, 2021 at 7:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hamidou Diallo is best known as the winner of the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest, but he has become the Thunder‘s most productive bench player in his third NBA season, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Diallo is the leading scorer among Oklahoma City’s reserves at 10.5 PPG, including a 23-point outburst in Friday’s win at New York.

“He’s had a lot of ups and downs, he’s had injuries, he’s had a lot of nights where he’s probably staring at the ceiling, and it’s just a reminder that development’s not linear,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s somebody that’s weathered storms. To his credit he’s been professional and he’s just stayed consistent. He has a night like tonight because of the cumulative effect of all those experiences and the way that he’s handled them.”

Going to Madison Square Garden is a homecoming for Diallo, who hails from Queens, but he said it’s a different experience with no fans in the stands and no ability to see the city because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“Now we’re quarantined,” he said, “and we just pretty much stay in the hotel and stay out the way.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Jazz forward Joe Ingles missed Friday’s game in Milwaukee because of right Achilles soreness, ending a streak that began in December of 2015, according to a story on the team’s website. Ingles had played in 384 straight regular season games and 418 total, counting the playoffs. “It makes you pause for a second and reflect on what a streak of consecutive games like that means and what it says about Joe, his toughness, his commitment and the type of teammate he is,” coach Quin Snyder said.
Foul trouble allowed Timberwolves power forward Jarred Vanderbilt to play extended minutes Tuesday, and he responded with with 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks and three steals, notes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Vanderbilt has been waiting for a chance since Minnesota acquired him at last year’s trade deadline. “I feel like you’re always going to get an opportunity. No matter how it comes … so my mindset was to just stay ready, stay locked in and continue to stay positive,” he said. “Especially in this league, once you go down that path of being negative, it’s hard to turn it around and get back on the right track.”
Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the Timberwolves‘ lineup tonight for the first time since dislocating his left wrist two weeks ago, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Towns tested the wrist in warm-ups before a final decision was made (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: Russell, Jerome, Hartenstein, Pokuševski

January 3rd, 2021 at 2:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With Timberwolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns still out of commission due to a dislocated wrist, starting guard D’Angelo Russell has struggled as the new focus of the club’s offense, writes The Athletic’s Jon Krawcyznski. The Wolves have lost three straight games in which they have been down by at least 30 points.

Russell has recently been moved by Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders to the shooting guard position to play in tandem with distributor Ricky Rubio at the point. “It can’t be different every night. It’s going to be something we’re running with and we’re sticking with and we build from it,” Russell said.

There’s more out of the NBA’s Northwest Division:

Second-year Thunder guard Ty Jerome continues to recover from an ankle injury he incurred in training camp this season, Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman tweets. “I think [it happened] in the first practice,” head coach Mark Daigneault. said. “He’s back in OKC on a return-to-play, getting his work in.”
Mike Singer of the Denver Post details how the Nuggets signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a two-year, veteran’s minimum deal in free agency this offseason. Hartenstein discusses his frustration with a lack of consistent chances on his prior squad in Houston. “With the Rockets, every time they gave me an opportunity I performed,” Hartenstein said.
Rookie Thunder power forward Aleksej Pokuševski has been placed in the league’s concussion protocol after suffering a concussion in a team practice today, according to a team press release. He has appeared in all five of the Thunder’s outings so far, and is averaging 16.0 MPG.

Roby Proves Mettle In First Start, Dort Flashing Defensive Potential

January 1st, 2021 at 3:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

During a 118-107 loss to the Magic on Tuesday, Thunder power forward Isaiah Roby demonstrated why Oklahoma City kept him on their regular season roster despite having a scoreless rookie year, according to James Jackson of The Oklahoman. Roby scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds in his first NBA start.

“I was really happy for him tonight, he played a phenomenal game,” center Mike Muscala said of Roby’s performance for the Thunder. “I thought he played great defense too and rebounded well. … After not playing in the first two games and then coming out and starting against [Magic center Nikola Vučević], I thought he did a really good job.”

Upstart second-year Thunder wing Luguentz Dort could nab an All-Defensive team inclusion this season despite being on a rebuilding squad, according to Nick Crain of Forbes. Veteran teammate George Hill thinks Dort is well on his way to carving out a niche on that end of the ball. “He’s going to be one of the best defenders in this league,” Hill said.

Thunder Exercise Options On Gilgeous-Alexander, Bazley, Jerome

December 27th, 2020 at 4:23pm CST by JD Shaw

The Thunder have exercised the fourth-year contract option on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($5.5MM), plus the third-year options on Darius Bazley ($2.5MM) and Ty Jerome ($2.4MM), the team announced in a press release. All options are for the 2021/22 season.

Gilgeous-Alexander, widely considered to be the club’s best player, averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this past season. He also shot an impressive 47% from the floor and 35% from downtown, doing so at just 21 years of age.

Bazley, a 20-year-old forward, was acquired by the team in the 2019 NBA Draft. He was selected No. 23 overall in the event, holding per-game averages of 5.6 points, four rebounds and 18.5 minutes last season.

As for Jerome, he was taken with the very next pick in 2019, starting his career in Philadelphia. Oklahoma City acquired the 23-year-old and others as part of the Chris Paul trade with Phoenix last month.

After surprising onlookers during the 2019/20 season, the Thunder have accelerated their rebuild by acquiring several draft assets and young players. The team is well-positioned to succeed in the future and will have Gilgeous-Alexander, Bazley and Jerome all under contract next season.

Mark Daigneault Impresses Players; Tony Parker Speaks Up For Theo Maledon

December 27th, 2020 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Mark Daigneault impressed Thunder players with his calm demeanor in his first NBA game as a head coach, according to Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Daigneault picked up his first win Saturday, but not before OKC let a big lead slip away at Charlotte. “We, myself, almost gave the game away,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “But (Daigneault was) super composed, kept our heads up, kept us confident. He was our leader down the stretch, even though things weren’t going the right way. And just in the right mind frame. Cool, calm, collected.”
Former NBA guard Tony Parker tells French outlet L’Equipe (hat tip to Stefan Djordjevic of EuroHoops) that Thunder rookie Theo Maledon should have been a first-round pick, but his stock fell because he wasn’t used properly in Europe by Zvezdan Mitrovic, the former head coach of Parker’s ASVEL franchise. OKC grabbed Maledon with the 34th selection.

Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
Austin Spurs (Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
Lakeland Magic (Magic)
Long Island Nets (Nets)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
Raptors 905 (Raptors)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.