Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Officially Sign Four Players To Camp Roster

September 30th, 2019 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have officially signed four players to their roster for training camp, filling up their 20-man squad, the team announced today in a press release. Swingman DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, big man Eric Moreland, guard Abdul Gaddy, and forward Myke Henry have all joined the Oklahoma City roster.

The team’s deals with Akoon-Purcell and Moreland were previously reported. We broke word of Akoon-Purcell’s contract agreement on Saturday, while Moreland agreed to terms with the Thunder back in August. Akoon-Purcell spent part of the 2018/19 season on a two-way deal with Denver, while Moreland finished the year with the NBA champion Raptors.

Gaddy, 27, joined the Thunder for training camp a year ago but was waived before the regular season began. He spent the 2018/19 campaign in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 9.5 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 3.2 RPG in 49 games (29.1 MPG). The former Washington standout appears likely to return to the Thunder’s G League affiliate again this season.

As for Henry, his deal with the Thunder was first noted by his agency Edge Sports earlier in September. The 6’6″ forward made his NBA debut in 2017/18 when he appeared in 20 games for the Grizzlies. He played in Israel last season but has previously spent time with the OKC Blue and is another candidate to return to the Blue in 2019/20.

The Thunder now have 13 players on fully guaranteed salaries, two on two-way contracts, and Justin Patton on a partially guaranteed contract. Patton is the favorite to win the 14th spot on the roster and Oklahoma City may not carry a 15th man, so it would be an uphill battle for any of today’s signees to earn a regular season roster spot.

Thunder To Sign DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell

September 28th, 2019 at 2:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, who spent part of last season on a two-way contract with the Nuggets, will join the Thunder for training camp, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors. League sources tell Shaw that the free agent shooting guard has agreed to a partially guaranteed contract.

Akoon-Purcell, 26, signed with Denver last summer and saw limited action in seven NBA games before being waived in December. He spent time with Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel and finished the season with ESSM Le Portel in France.

The addition leaves Oklahoma City with two open roster spots ahead of the start of training camp on Tuesday. Once the Thunder make it official with Akoon-Purcell, they’ll have 15 players signed to standard contracts (13 fully guaranteed), along with both two-way slots filled and a reported agreement with Eric Moreland.

Schroder Remains 'Huge Part' Of Team

September 27th, 2019 at 7:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the roster, Dennis Schroder‘s playing time would seemingly take a hit. Thunder GM Sam Presti insists that’s not the case, as he detailed to Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. “There probably will be some discovery with how we see the team develop over the course of time, and (coach) Billy (Donovan) has got to make sure that the team is growing through the season and not just staying fixated because that’s how we started. And Dennis will be a huge … part of the team. He’s just that talented.”

Thunder Waive Markel Brown

September 27th, 2019 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have opened up another spot on their 20-man roster by waiving Markel Brown, the team announced today in a press release. Brown was initially signed on Tuesday.

A former second-round pick, Brown spent last season in Turkey and has also played in Russia in recent years. The last year he spent stateside was in 2017/18, when he spent some time with the Rockets but suited up for the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League for most of the season.

Brown’s brief union this week with the Thunder signals that the team expects him to return to the Blue this fall. His Exhibit 10 contract will put him in line to earn a $50K bonus if he spends at least two months with OKC’s G League affiliate.

The Thunder now have four open spots on their 20-man roster, which they’ll likely fill in the coming days.

Thunder Notes: CP3, Roberson, Maynor, KD

September 26th, 2019 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked today about how the team might approach a potential trade for Chris Paul, Thunder general manager Sam Presti declined to get into specifics, as Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman relays.

“Those are all case-by-case things,” Presti told reporters. “We’re not really focused on the hypotheticals.”

While there are whispers that Paul may want to join a contender rather than the spend the entire 2019/20 season in Oklahoma City, Presti said the veteran point guard is a “hooper” and “competitor” who just wants to play basketball. “I think this is a tremendous opportunity for both of us,” the Thunder’s GM said.

Here’s more out of OKC:

Andre Roberson, who hasn’t played in an NBA game since January 2018 due to leg injuries, is expected to be ready to go for training camp, Presti confirmed today, per Eric Horne of The Oklahoman. “We’re hopeful he’ll be seeing some preseason action as it gets closer,” Presti said. “We’ll obviously manage him closely because he hasn’t played competitive basketball in a while. He’s worked hard to get there.”
The Thunder have hired former point guard Eric Maynor as an assistant coach for their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, Presti announced today (link via Lee of The Oklahoman). Maynor, who played for the Thunder between 2009-13, also spent multiple seasons overseas, which Presti believes “gave him a totally different perspective on the game.”
Responding today to critical comments made by Kevin Durant about the way he was treated by the Thunder and fans after he left OKC in 2016, Presti took the high road, telling reporters, “I have nothing but positive things to say about him and his tenure here” (link via Horne of The Oklahoman).
According to Royce Young of ESPN.com, Presti pushed back against Doc Rivers‘ recent assertion that the Clippers knew the Thunder were looking to “break up their team” before they negotiated a trade for Paul George. “We all know that players like Paul George and Russell Westbrook are extremely hard to acquire in cities, in the smaller cities in the league, and when you have those players, you try to do everything you can to retain them,” Presti said. “… I think the thought pattern just doesn’t really line up if you just look at it logically. Probably that type of thing would have been done much earlier and it wouldn’t have resulted from a trade request from one of your best players.”
The Oklahoman’s basketball writers discussed a handful of Thunder-related topics in a roundtable, including whether Billy Donovan is on the hot seat, what the Thunder could realistically expect to acquire in a Chris Paul trade, and more.

Chris Paul Trade To Miami Remains Unlikely

September 25th, 2019 at 6:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat aren’t expected to complete a trade for Chris Paul anytime soon because of the different ways they and the Thunder view a potential deal, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Oklahoma City officials believe they’re giving up a valuable asset in the nine-time All-Star, while Miami sees the trade as a favor to the Thunder and thinks it should be compensated for taking on Paul’s hefty contract. The 34-year-old will make $38.5MM this season and $41.4MM next year, with a $44.2MM player option for 2021/22.

What Miami would like most is the return of its first-round picks for 2021 and 2023, which both belong to OKC. The Thunder have been reluctant to include them in prior trade talks.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Monday that the Heat still have some interest in acquiring Paul, who played the past two years in Houston. Charania added that Miami will wait to see how the early part of the season turns out before deciding whether to resume negotiations.

Although he remains a productive player, injuries and age have slowed Paul, who has been limited to 58 games in each of the past two years. He averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists last season, then posted a 17.0/6.4/5.5 line in the playoffs.

Thunder Sign Markel Brown To Camp Deal

September 24th, 2019 at 9:20pm CST by ChrisCrouse

9:20pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

5:31pm: The Thunder will sign Markel Brown to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

Brown was the No. 44 overall pick in the 2014 draft, having been selected by Minnesota and subsequently traded to Brooklyn on draft night. He spent two seasons with the Nets before carving out a career internationally.

The Thunder entered the day with four open spots on their training camp roster and 13 guaranteed deals. Training camp in Oklahoma City begins next Monday.

Heat Still Have Some Interest In Chris Paul

September 23rd, 2019 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat still have some level of trade interest in Thunder point guard Chris Paul, according to Charania. Miami is expected to wait to see how the start of the season goes before seriously considering whether to renew its pursuit of CP3, who would reciprocate the Heat’s interest.

Thunder Notes: Roster, Paul, Diallo, Abrines

September 22nd, 2019 at 12:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

A challenging early-season schedule may determine whether the Thunder decide to push for the playoffs or sell off their assets and start rebuilding, observes Brett Dawson of The Athletic. Oklahoma City will begin the season with 10 of its first 16 games against teams ranked in the top 10 by FiveThirtyEight.com. That will take the club into late November, close to the unofficial start of trade season when most free agents who signed this summer become eligible to be dealt on December 15.

OKC’s obvious trade candidates are Danilo Gallinari, who has an expiring deal worth $22.6MM, and Chris Paul, whom the organization tried to move shortly after acquiring him from the Rockets. Dawson also points toward Dennis Schroder, who has two seasons left at $15.5MM each, along with Nerlens Noel and Mike Muscala as other rotation players who could be on the move.

“Obviously the most important season is (this) season, and we want to maximize that season the best that we can,” GM Sam Presti said. “But not at the expense of continually and aggressively making sure that we’re repositioning and replenishing the team so that we have a platform and a runway for the next great Thunder team to take shape. I don’t think those things are mutually exclusive.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

Regardless of how long Paul stays, the Thunder can count on his competitive nature to drive the team, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Not only does Paul want to extend his streak of 50-win seasons, but the better he plays, the more he will drive up his trade value. “Obviously Russell (Westbrook) was an unbelievable competitor — I think Chris is an incredible competitor, too,” coach Billy Donovan said. “The biggest thing I’ve always tried to do with all these guys is to try to always be open and be honest and try to communicate. And I think that’s the way Chris is.”
Hamidou Diallo showed in Summer League that he is fully recovered after having arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in mid-April, notes Nick Gallo of NBA.com. Diallo was an important part of the rotation early in the season, but got into just six games after the All-Star break. He looked good in July, averaging 14.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals in four Summer League games. “In this league you’ve got to be ready for anything at any given time, and sometimes you face adversity, but you still have to learn how to fight through and learn how to push through,” Diallo said.
In an interview with Basket en Movistar+ (Twitter link), Alex Abrines speaks out about the mental health issues that drove him out of the NBA and credits Westbrook for trying to be a calming influence.

14 NBA Teams Have Open 20-Man Roster Spots

September 20th, 2019 at 7:08pm CST by Luke Adams

With NBA training camps right around the corner, several more teams filled their 20-man offseason rosters this week. The Hornets did so on Monday, with the Mavericks, Pistons, Raptors, and Hawks following suit over the next few days. Those clubs join a list of 16 total teams that don’t have any openings on their offseason rosters.

Of course, every NBA team with a full 20-man roster is carrying multiple players who have non-guaranteed contracts, so it’s not as if any of them would be hamstrung if they really want to sign another player. But for now at least, it appears as if those 16 teams have their 20-man squads set for when camps get underway at the end of the month.

That leaves 14 clubs that still have open roster spots, as our tracker shows. Here’s a breakdown of those teams, along with my speculation on whether we can expect them to make moves within the next week or two:

19 players under contract:

Golden State Warriors
Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings
Washington Wizards

None of these teams are carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible they’ll still add a veteran player who could earn a regular season roster spot. But it’s more likely that they’ll each sign another young player who could end up in the G League, since all four teams have their own NBAGL affiliates. The Wizards, who need to add some point guard depth, are said to be eyeing Chris Chiozza for their final spot.

18 players under contract:

Boston Celtics
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
New Orleans Pelicans
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

While it’s not official yet, the Celtics essentially have a full roster. Kaiser Gates and Yante Maten have both reportedly agreed to Exhibit 10 contracts with the Celtics, but have yet to finalize them. Once they’re under contract, Boston’s 20-man roster will be full.

The Magic could also have a full 20-man roster if and when they complete their reported agreement with Isaac Humphries and sign first-round pick Chuma Okeke. The Pelicans, meanwhile, reportedly reached deals with undrafted rookies Jalen Adams, Javon Bess, and Aubrey Dawkins, but there’s only room for two of them on the roster, so unless New Orleans plans to waive a player, the team won’t be signing all three.

The Rockets are signing Thabo Sefolosha and would have room for one more camp invitee, while I’d expect the Suns to invite two more young players to camp with them.

The Nuggets and Trail Blazers don’t have their own G League affiliates, so they may not fill out their rosters unless they just need healthy bodies for camp.

17 players under contract:

Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Oklahoma City Thunder

All three of these teams have their own G League affiliates and should fill out their camp rosters with young players who can play for the Long Island Nets, Windy City Bulls, or OKC Blue. Of course, rumors continue to swirl that the Nets are eyeing Carmelo Anthony, but I wouldn’t expect the Bulls or Thunder to be seeking any veteran help.