Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Notes: Arena, Rebuild, Gilgeous-Alexander

December 2nd, 2020 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder announced this week that “concerning trends” in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Oklahoma have prompted the team to open the 2020/21 season without fans in Chesapeake Energy Arena.

“We will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation over the coming weeks to determine when fans will be able to attend our games,” the team said in its statement.

It’s a reversal of course for the franchise — the Thunder had initially planned for a limited number of fans to be in attendance at their home games, as Royce Young of ESPN writes. However, the team determined in recent weeks that even significantly reducing the capacity of Chesapeake Energy Arena may not be satisfactory to address health and safety concerns.

Here’s more on the Thunder:

In a Q&A with Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti explained why he felt the time was right to fully launch the club’s rebuild this offseason. “When you step back and take a clear-eyed, rational view of the season we had last year, and all of the randomness that occurred in our favor, the loss of future value we would be relinquishing for a small probability of replicating those performances, it was clear that the most objective path was to prioritize the future,” Presti said.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s role as a centerpiece of the Thunder’s rebuild has been unaffected by the significant roster overhaul in Oklahoma City this fall. “We’re putting a lot in faith in him and showing him he’s a central figure to a lot of things we ultimately want to be,” Presti said (Twitter link via Young).
Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman says that, while he “despises” tanking, he understands why going that route is the best way forward for the Thunder.
In case you missed it, the Thunder have officially signed No. 17 pick Aleksej Pokusevski to his rookie contract, as we detailed earlier this morning.

Thunder Sign Aleksej Pokusevski To Rookie Contract

December 2nd, 2020 at 7:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have locked up their first-round pick, officially signing Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski to his rookie contract, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

Pokusevski, one of the top international prospects in the 2020 draft class, was frequently connected to Oklahoma City in the weeks leading up to November 18, in part because his agent Jason Ranne used to work in the Thunder’s front office. Sure enough, on draft night, the Thunder moved up from No. 25 to No. 17 in a trade with the Timberwolves to snag Pokusevski.

[RELATED: 2020 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

The 6’11” forward, who doesn’t turn 19 until later this month, had reportedly been under contract with Olympiacos Piraeus through 2024. He’ll have to pay a buyout to his old team in Greece, though the Thunder will be able to pick up a significant chunk of that buyout.

Assuming he signs for 120% of the rookie scale amount, as nearly every first-round pick does, Pokusevski will earn $2.96MM as a rookie. His four-year contract, which includes third- and fourth-year team options, will have an overall value of $14.35MM.

The Thunder still have two unsigned 2020 draft picks, though it’s not clear if either Theo Maledon (No. 34) or Vit Krejci (No. 37) will come stateside right away.

Thunder Waive Josh Gray

December 1st, 2020 at 6:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Thunder have waived point guard Josh Gray, an acquisition in the club’s trade that sent long-time center Steven Adams to the Pelicans, according to an official team announcement.

The 27-year-old Gray played in five games for the Suns during the 2017/18 season. He had a two-game cameo with the Pelicans during 2019/20. Across 15.6 MPG with those clubs, Gray has averaged a cumulative 4.9 PPG, 2.0 APG, 1.7 RPG and 1.14 SPG.

In addition to significant draft pick compensation, Oklahoma City added Gray, George Hill, Darius Miller, Kenrich Williams, and Zylan Cheatham to their roster in the Adams deal. Along with Gray, Williams and Cheatham had to be thrown into the deal for salary-matching purposes, so it would not be a surprise if the team announces that it will be cutting one or both of them soon.

For the money to align in the Adams deal, Gray inked a three-year contract with the Pelicans ahead of the move. The contract was non-guaranteed in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.

The Thunder have yet to announce their final training camp roster, unlike many other teams, since a number of their roster moves aren’t yet official.

Pelicans Notes: Ball, Bledsoe, Adams, Holiday, Ingram, Williamson

November 30th, 2020 at 8:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans won’t be choosing between Lonzo Ball and recently-acquired Eric Bledsoe as their starting point guard, according to executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin. New Orleans’ top executive envisions that they’ll form the starting backcourt, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets. The Pelicans had a similar setup last season, when Ball and Jrue Holiday shared ballhandling duties. The Pelicans acquired Bledsoe from the Bucks and center Steven Adams from the Thunder, along with draft picks, in a four-team deal that sent Holiday to Milwaukee.

New head coach Stan Van Gundy said that Griffin has prioritized toughness and competitiveness at a very high level, and Bledsoe and Adams fit that mold, Scott Kushner of the New Orleans Times Picayune tweets.

Griffin and Van Gundy dropped some interesting tidbits during their Monday press conference:

Griffin had pursued Adams for a very long time, according to Kushner (Twitter link). Griffin was impressed with Adams since meeting him prior to the 2013 draft. Adams, who was selected with the No. 12 pick that year, received a two-year, $35MM extension as part of the four-team deal.
The front office wanted to do right by Holiday by trading him to a title contender, Lopez notes (Twitter link). Griffin said Holiday’s career timeline to compete for a championship differed somewhat from the Pelicans’ timeline.
Brandon Ingram‘s five-year contract doesn’t include a player option, Lopez adds in another tweet, but there is a trade bonus. Ingram officially signed the $158.25MM contract on Monday.
Zion Williamson will not have any restrictions heading into training camp, according to Van Gundy. The coach anticipates the early days of camp will look different because they haven’t played as much pickup due to COVID-19 restrictions and a short offseason (Twitter link).
The team’s disappointing showing in the Orlando restart convinced Griffin the team needed more “elite competitors” and didn’t have “enough of a work ethic identity,” Kushner relays (Twitter link).

Lifting Five Questions For Thunder Before Training Camp

November 29th, 2020 at 6:43pm CST by JD Shaw

Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman lists five questions for the Thunder ahead of training camp and the 2020-21 season, with the team recently completing a full rebuild after clinching a playoff berth in Orlando. Chris Paul (Suns), Danilo Gallinari (Hawks), Dennis Schroder (Lakers) and Steven Adams (Pelicans) all departed the franchise this month, with Gallinari being the only player to leave as a free agent.

Keefe, Bhavnani Not Returning To Thunder Staff

November 29th, 2020 at 1:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Besides Maurice Cheeks, who already left for a job with the Bulls, Brian Keefe and Vin Bhavnani are the only Thunder assistants not returning to be part of Mark Daigneault‘s new coaching staff, notes Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. The Thunder previously announced Daigneault’s group, which will include former Knicks interim coach Mike Miller.

Wright To Pistons, Ariza To Thunder, Johnson To Mavs In Three-Team Trade

November 27th, 2020 at 5:23pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 27: The Thunder, Mavericks, and Pistons have officially finalized their three-team trade, according to press releases from the teams. As detailed below, Ariza and Jackson are headed to Oklahoma City, Johnson is going to Dallas, and Wright moves to Detroit.

The Thunder also acquired a 2023 second-round pick (the more favorable of Dallas’ and Miami’s picks) and the Mavs’ 2026 second-rounder in the deal.

NOVEMBER 21: The Thunder, Mavericks, and Pistons have agreed to a three-team trade, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links) and Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links).

The move will send James Johnson from Oklahoma City to Dallas and Delon Wright from Dallas to Detroit. The Thunder will receive Trevor Ariza (from the Pistons), Justin Jackson (from the Mavericks), and – unsurprisingly – some form of draft compensation.

From the Mavericks’ perspective, the deal will allow them to open up a roster spot and add some veteran toughness, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who tweets that Dallas intends to keep Johnson on its roster. Moving Wright, who had two years left on his contract, and taking back Johnson’s expiring $16MM deal also allows the Mavs to create some added cap flexibility for the summer of 2021.

The Pistons will reduce team salary for 2020/21 and will reunite Wright with his former coach in Toronto, Dwane Casey. Having signed a three-year deal in Dallas in 2019, Wright had a decent year off the bench, averaging 6.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 3.3 APG in 73 games (21.5 MPG). But he became expendable when the club acquired Josh Richardson earlier this week.

As for the Thunder, I’d be surprised if they have big plans for Ariza or Jackson — they simply saw another opportunity to pick up an extra draft pick to add to Sam Presti‘s constantly-growing collection.

Ariza, who is still technically a member of the Blazers, has now been part of trade agreements that will send him to Houston, Detroit, and Oklahoma City within the last few days. Those deals will all be completed after the transaction moratorium lifts on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2020/21

November 27th, 2020 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $109,140,000 threshold once their room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit of $132,627,000 as well — the Warriors project to have a nine-figure tax bill this season as a result of their spending.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows a club like Golden State to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped, as we explain in a glossary entry.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5,718,000) of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron was set $6MM above the luxury tax line in 2017/18 (the first year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement) and creeps up a little higher each time the cap increases. For the 2020/21 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $138,928,000.

More than half the teams in the NBA have been willing to hard-cap themselves this offseason, and in some cases, it will significantly impact a team’s ability to add further reinforcements later in the league year. The Bucks and Lakers are among the teams right up against the hard cap, which may prevent them from being players in free agency during the season unless they can shed salary.

For other clubs, the hard cap is just a technicality that won’t affect their plans. The Hawks and Thunder are among the hard-capped clubs that will have zero practical concerns about reaching that threshold in 2020/21.

Listed below are the hard-capped teams for the 2020/21 league year, along with how they created a hard cap.

Atlanta Hawks

Acquired Danilo Gallinari from the Thunder via sign-and-trade.

Boston Celtics

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Tristan Thompson.

Charlotte Hornets

Acquired Gordon Hayward from the Celtics via sign-and-trade.

Dallas Mavericks

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Burke.

Denver Nuggets

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on JaMychal Green and Bol Bol.
Using bi-annual exception on Facundo Campazzo.

Detroit Pistons

Acquired Jerami Grant from the Nuggets via sign-and-trade.

Houston Rockets

Acquired Christian Wood from the Pistons via sign-and-trade.

Los Angeles Clippers

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Serge Ibaka.

Los Angeles Lakers

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Montrezl Harrell.
Using bi-annual exception on Wesley Matthews.

Miami Heat

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless.

Milwaukee Bucks

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on D.J. Augustin and Bryn Forbes.
Using bi-annual exception on Bobby Portis.

New York Knicks

Acquired Austin Rivers from the Rockets via sign-and-trade.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Acquired Kenrich Williams, Josh Gray, and Zylan Cheatham from the Pelicans via sign-and-trade.

Phoenix Suns

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Jae Crowder.

Portland Trail Blazers

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Derrick Jones.

Toronto Raptors

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Aron Baynes and Alex Len.

Utah Jazz

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Derrick Favors.

Washington Wizards

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Robin Lopez.

This list could continue to grow during the offseason if other teams acquire a player via sign-and-trade, use more than the taxpayer portion of their mid-level exception, or use their bi-annual exception.

Thunder Trade Lecque To Pacers For Leaf, Second-Round Pick

November 25th, 2020 at 7:02pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The deal between the Pacers and the Thunder is now official, with the Thunder acquiring Leaf and a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for Lecque, the team announced in a press release.

NOVEMBER 22: The Thunder are acquiring yet another draft pick, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Oklahoma City will receive a future second-round pick and forward T.J. Leaf from the Pacers in a deal that sends guard Jalen Lecque to Indiana.

Lecque, a former Sun, was one of the players sent to the Thunder in this week’s Chris Paul trade. He signed a four-year contract with Phoenix as an undrafted free agent a year ago, but only saw action in five NBA games as a rookie. The 20-year-old has a guaranteed $1.52MM salary this season with no guarantees beyond for 2020/21.

It’s not clear whether the Pacers are intent on keeping and developing Lecque, since the move appears to be financially motivated too. As Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets, moving Leaf’s $4.33MM salary for ’20/21 will allow Indiana to slip back below the luxury tax line.

The Thunder will acquire yet another future draft pick as a sweetener for taking on that extra salary, adding another second-rounder to the long list of draft assets GM Sam Presti has picked up during the last couple offseasons.

It doesn’t seem safe to assume this offseason that any newly-acquired player will remain in Oklahoma City for long, but if the Thunder hang onto Leaf, they’ll be getting a player who hasn’t carved out a regular rotation role since being drafted 18th overall in 2017. He averaged just 3.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 28 games (7.9 MPG) for the Pacers in 2019/20.

Thunder Notes: Coaching Staff, Burton, Gray

November 25th, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder officially announced Mark Daigneault‘s coaching staff today, confirming in a press release that Mike Wilks, Dave Bliss, and David Akinyooye will return to the team as assistants, while Zach Peterson and Kameron Woods will be back as player development coaches.

The team also confirmed that former Knicks interim coach Mike Miller has been hired as an assistant, as reported earlier today. However, otherwise the group looks similar to last year — which makes sense, considering Daigneault himself was a Thunder assistant in 2019/20 before receiving a promotion this fall.

“This group has proven to be great collaborators during their time with the Thunder, complementing their ability to help develop our team and players,” Daigneault said. “They all share a deep commitment and understanding for the values of the organization and are dedicated to being continuous learners. I’m looking forward to welcoming Mike to the Thunder and our coaching staff as we work to maximize our team and program.”

Here’s more on the Thunder:

Although he had his team option turned down last week by the team, free agent wing Deonte Burton remains on the Thunder’s radar, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv. According to Begley, scouts who watched Burton last season were impressed by his defense and athleticism, and believe he has some upside. He’s drawing interest from other teams besides Oklahoma City, Begley adds.
A source tells John Hollinger of The Athletic that Josh Gray – who was signed-and-traded from the Pelicans to the Thunder in the Steven Adams deal – was just days away from agreeing to sign with a Turkish team for a “tiny fraction” of the $1.62MM he got as a result of the sign-and-trade. It’s not clear whether or not Gray is in OKC’s plans for 2020/21, but he’ll get paid either way — his first-year salary had to be guaranteed as part of the transaction to make salary-matching work.
In case you missed it last night, the Thunder generated another huge trade exception (worth $19.5MM) by getting involved in the Hawks’ Danilo Gallinari signing to turn it into a sign-and-trade.