Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Notes: Presti, Paxson, Boylen, Markkanen

March 5th, 2020 at 11:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Sam Presti has been mentioned as a possible target in the Bulls‘ front office shakeup, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago doesn’t believe the organization is willing to spend heavily on a new executive. He estimates it would take an offer in the neighborhood of $10MM a year to get the attention of Presti, the current president of basketball operations for the Thunder.

Johnson adds that Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf is exploring multiple options, which likely include both Presti and Raptors executive Masai Ujiri. Toronto isn’t expected to let Ujiri leave while he still has a year left on his contract, but because Presti is a close friend with Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett, the feeling around the league is that Bennett wouldn’t stand in his way if he wanted to leave the organization. Even so, Johnson expects the Bulls to make several hires for the new front office, rather than investing so much in a single executive.

Johnson believes John Paxson will accept whatever role ownership wants him to and speculates that Paxson is actually behind the management restructuring plan. The Bulls also intend to revamp their scouting department, which Paxson originally proposed.

There’s more from Chicago:

Front office candidates will likely be asked to keep an open mind about the future of coach Jim Boylen, Johnson relays in the same piece. Boylen received a contract extension after last season and has kept the support of management despite a poor win-loss record. He recently objected to senior advisor Doug Collins’ presence at coaches meetings, Johnson adds, so Collins’ role in that area has been reduced.
Lauri Markkanen played nearly 21 minutes last night after being sidelined since January 21 with a stress reaction in his pelvis, Johnson writes in a separate story. Markkanen posted 13 points and four rebounds and believes he’s ready for more time once he’s cleared by the medical staff. “I thought he tried. I thought he was active. I thought he was moving pretty good. I thought he showed his whole game — inside, outside,” Boylen said. “… He showed his full game in the minutes he played. I think it was a good first showing for him.”
Last night’s game between the Bulls and Timberwolves matches two franchises that are currently linked by bad decisions, states Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Those include the shared choices to get rid of Jimmy Butler and coach Tom Thibodeau.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/4/20

March 4th, 2020 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Bucks assigned D.J. Wilson to their Wisconsin affiliate, according to a release from the team. He’s posting an 18.3/7.8/4.0 line in four games with the Herd and has appeared in 30 NBA games.
The Thunder shipped Isaiah Roby to Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. He is averaging 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 13 G League games.
The Suns assigned Ty Jerome to Northern Arizona, tweets Gina Mizell of The Athletic. Phoenix wanted him to get some playing time after he was pulled from the rotation last week.
The Warriors recalled Alen Smailagic from Santa Cruz (Twitter link).

Bulls Interested In Sam Presti?

March 4th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Bulls consider changes to their front office, Sam Presti‘s name is one that has now surfaced multiple times. Discussing the situation last week, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times cited the Thunder‘s head of basketball operations as an example of a big-name candidate Chicago could pursue. This week, David Kaplan said during an appearance on ESPN 1000 that Presti is the Bulls’ top target (Twitter link via Daniel Greenberg).

Kaplan’s comments signal that Cowley’s mention of Presti last week probably didn’t come out of nowhere, so I don’t doubt that the Bulls have interest in the Thunder executive. Still, I’m skeptical that Presti would leave a favorable situation in Oklahoma City – where the team has accumulated more first-round picks than it knows what to do with – for a position in which he’d rank below John Paxson in the Bulls’ organizational hierarchy.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/3/20

March 3rd, 2020 at 9:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Magic have assigned Melvin Frazier to the Lakeland Magic, per the team’s Twitter feed. Frazier was drafted back in 2018 with the No. 35 overall pick.
The Thunder recalled Isaiah Roby from the Oklahoma City Blue, per the team’s website. The forward has played in 13 games for the G League squad this season, starting in nine of them.

How SGA's Breakout Year Affects Thunder's Plans

March 1st, 2020 at 10:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s breakout year and budding stardom is giving the Thunder plenty to think about as they contemplate a potential rebuild, writes ESPN’s Royce Young. If Gilgeous-Alexander has All-NBA upside, it likely reduces the odds of the team fully bottoming out in the next couple seasons.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/1/20

March 1st, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from across the NBA G League:

The Pelicans have recalled Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Erie BayHawks, announcing the news on social media. Alexander-Walker, a Virginia Tech product, was drafted with the No. 17 pick last June.
The Thunder have recalled Deonte Burton from the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Burton has averaged 14.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 11 G League games this season.
The Nuggets assigned Keita Bates-Diop to the Windy City Bulls, announcing the news on social media. Bates-Diop was drafted No. 48 overall in 2018 after spending four seasons at Ohio State.
The Pacers have assigned Goga Bitadze and Alize Johnson to their G League affiliate in Fort Wayne, the team announced. Both players logged double-doubles in a loss to Canton on Sunday night.
The Warriors recalled forward Alen Smailagic from their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in a release. Smailagic has averaged 15.2 points per game in 19 contests with Santa Cruz.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/29/20

February 29th, 2020 at 8:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Thunder assigned Deonte Burton and Isaiah Roby to Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Burton is averaging 15.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 10 G League games, while Roby is putting up 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 12 games.
The Timberwolves assigned Jarred Vanderbilt and Jacob Evans to their Iowa affiliate, according to the G League transactions log.

Playoff Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 28th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Sunday is March 1, which is the last day that a player can be waived and retain his postseason eligibility for a new team. Although we haven’t heard many buyout rumors this week – beyond a small update on Evan Turner – it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a couple more veterans hit the waiver wire by Sunday night and become free agents next week.

Any team can sign a free agent between now and the end of the season, but teams with open roster spots have a cleaner path to doing so. And those teams are worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks, since even if no appealing targets emerge on the buyout market, those roster spots will likely be filled at some point.

During the regular season, there are benefits to carrying 14 – or even 13 – players for long stretches, particularly for healthy teams with luxury-tax concerns. But when the postseason rolls around, there’s little downside to filling the entire roster, even if it just means adding a 15th man during the final week (or day) of the season.

With that in mind, here are the teams in the top eight in each conference that still have at least one open spot on their 15-man rosters and seem likely to sign a player between now and April 15:

Playoff teams with an open roster spot:

Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies *
Oklahoma City Thunder

The Rockets are only on this list due to a technicality — Jeff Green‘s 10-day contract expired last night and he hasn’t yet officially signed his rest-of-season deal with the team. Once he does, Houston will have a full 15-man roster.

The other teams are worth keeping an eye on though. I’d guess the Thunder will save their 15th roster spot for two-way player Luguentz Dort, but the Nuggets and Clippers don’t have obvious internal candidates for promotions, so they could target a veteran free agent if they want to add a little more depth.

* As for the Grizzlies, they technically have a full 15-man roster for the time being, but Jarrod Uthoff is on a 10-day contract, so he could be replaced after it expires next weekend.

Playoff contenders with at least one open roster spot:

Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs

Of the teams within five games of a playoff spot, these are the ones with roster openings. The Trail Blazers have tax concerns and may not add a 15th man, but the Suns and Spurs are candidates to do so. Phoenix, in particular, is reportedly keeping an eye on the free agent market in the wake of Kelly Oubre‘s knee injury.

For a full breakdown of the current NBA roster counts, be sure to check out our tracker.

Dort Shouldn't Run Out Of NBA Days This Season

February 27th, 2020 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Royce Young reported earlier this week (via Twitter) that Thunder wing Luguentz Dort has 16 days of NBA service time available on his two-way contract. Since Dort is only moving closer to his 45-day limit on days when Oklahoma City actually plays, the team should be able to have him active through March 28, the last day of the G League season. After that date, he can spend the rest of the regular season with the Thunder.
As I explained earlier today, Dort won’t be eligible for the postseason unless the Thunder promote him to their 15-man roster. Young suggests (via Twitter) that talks on a standard contract likely won’t pick up until late in the season, since it could be in both sides’ best interests to wait — OKC would save some tax money and Dort could continues increasing his value.

Postseason Eligibility And Two-Way Players

February 27th, 2020 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

As we’ve noted a few times leading up to this Sunday’s deadline, March 1 is the final day in an NBA season that a player can be waived and retain his playoff eligibility for a new club. Any player released after March 1 can still sign with another NBA team once he clears waivers, but he wouldn’t be able to participate in the postseason with his new team.

The playoff-eligibility rules are fairly clear for players on standard NBA contracts, but how exactly do they work for players on two-way contracts? Let’s take a closer look…

1. Players on two-way contracts aren’t eligible for the postseason.

We’ll start with the simplest rule — a player on a two-way contract can’t play for his team in the postseason, even if he hasn’t used up his full allotment of 45 NBA days. A two-way player can travel and practice with the team during the playoffs, but has to remain on the inactive list during games.

2. Two-way players waived after March 1 aren’t eligible to play in the postseason for a new team.

The same waiver rules that apply to players on standard NBA contracts apply to players on two-way deals when it comes to playoff eligibility. If a player on a two-way contract is waived after this Sunday, but before the end of the regular season, he won’t be eligible to join another team for the postseason.

Although these first two rules significantly restrict the ability of two-way players to participate in the playoffs, it’s still possible for a player who is on a two-way contract next week to play in the postseason.

3. A player on a two-way contract who has his contract turned into a standard NBA deal by his current team any time up until the last day of the regular season can play in the postseason for that team.

Rookie wing Luguentz Dort, who has started the last 15 games for the Thunder, is the most obvious example this season of a two-way player who has contributed to his team’s success and could have a role in the playoffs.

If the Thunder want to ensure they’ll have Dort available for the postseason, they could unilaterally convert his two-way deal into a standard, one-year NBA contract or negotiate a standard, multiyear pact anytime between now and the end of the regular season. As long as a two-way player gets moved to the 15-man roster on or before the last day of the regular season, he’s eligible to participate in the playoffs.

Oklahoma City is in a pretty good position to make this move with Dort. The team has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no one would have to be released to make room. The Thunder also have a portion of their mid-level exception available, so they could potentially negotiate a contract of up to three years with the first-year swingman if he’s open to it.

Moving Dort to the 15-man roster would increase the Thunder’s projected tax bill, which may dissuade them from promoting him sooner rather than later. But if OKC were to make a move near the very end of the season, the effect on the club’s cap and tax bill would be minimal. If the Thunder want Dort available in the postseason, they have a clear path to making it happen.

Although these eligibility rules for two-way players shouldn’t create any problems for most of the league’s 30 teams, the Thunder represent at least one team that has a decision to make before season’s end. In order to make a player on a two-way contract available for the postseason, a club will have to convert that player to a standard NBA deal by April 15.

For more information on how two-way contracts work, be sure to check out our full glossary entry.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.