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Thunder Waive Four Players

October 17th, 2019 at 9:19am CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder trimmed their roster this morning by placing DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Abdul Gaddy, Myke Henry and Eric Moreland on waivers, the team announced in a press release.

The moves indicate that Justin Patton, who has been limited by injuries to a combined four games in his first two NBA seasons, has won the 14th roster spot. Oklahoma City may not carry a 15th player because of salary cap concerns. The 16th pick in the 2017 draft, Patton signed with OKC in August and had a $700K guarantee on his $1,620,564 contract.

Of today’s four cuts, Moreland is the only one with significant NBA experience. He played a combined 83 games for the Kings, Pistons, Suns and Raptors over the past five years. Henry appeared in 20 games for the Grizzlies in 2017/18, while Akoon-Purcell got into seven games with Denver last year. Gaddy was also cut by the Thunder in training camp last season.

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Roberson Still Being Brought Along Cautiously

October 16th, 2019 at 10:02pm CST by clarkcrum

Thunder swingman Andre Roberson hasn’t played in an NBA game in nearly two years, and while he had been cleared to practice without restrictions earlier this offseason, OKC is continuing to be cautious with the defensive stalwart, pens Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

Roberson still hasn’t played in the preseason, and when asked about it, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said on Monday, “We’re not going to rush him.” Moreover, for the last week, Donovan said Roberson has been participating with the team, but not all of the contact drills, after having some soreness in camp.

“If he felt like he needed more game experience, I think that’s an option for him, but I think as long as we’re in training camp and (the Thunder are) playing five-on-five, he’s getting that there,” Donovan said. “The one thing we don’t want to do is put him in a situation where we’re making him practice every single day and he can never catch up from a recovery standpoint.”

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Heat Place High Value On Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo

October 15th, 2019 at 10:05pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Miami had talks with the Thunder on at least two occasions this offseason, discussing Russell Westbrook – before OKC dealt him to Houston – and Chris Paul. Sean Deveney of Heavy.com hears that the Heat were reluctant to include Tyler Herro in that deal or any deals over the summer.

“They’ve been firm on him and (Bam) Adebayo being untouchable,” one GM told Deveney. “Maybe they would move off of that as the season goes on, but as it stands, they think they’ve got the second coming of Klay Thompson offensively. They have not had a lot of useful guys on rookie contracts in past years and that’s killed their cap. They’ve got two now, they don’t want to let them go.”

Herro was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2019 draft. Adebayo, who is set to take over the team’s starting center spot, was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2017 draft. Both players give the franchise hope for the future and are long-term building blocks on a roster that has the necessary pieces to compete for the playoffs now.

Yet, in order for the Heat to take the next step toward title contention, they may have to acquire another established star (such as Bradley Beal). Miami will have trouble putting together a legit trade package worthy of one without including their young prospects since the team already owes a pair of first-round picks to Oklahoma City and can’t deal another first-rounder earlier than its 2025 pick.

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Darius Bazley Ready To Contribute

October 13th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by clarkcrum

As Thunder forward Darius Bazley continues to acclimate to the NBA, he may be little nervous, as is normal for a rookie. But as Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman writes, Bazley looks more than ready to make an impact this season.

That said, Bazley will still certainly have ups and downs as a rookie, as head coach Billy Donovan warns. Thunder fans saw the same last year with Hamidou Diallo, who eventually fell out of the rotation toward the end of the season.

“My biggest thing for him is, as he learns and grows and gets better and has some success, he needs to stay really, really humble,” says the Thunder head man. “And he’s got to stay eager to work and eager to learn. He’s got all the challenges, the difficulties, the adversities that come with being a young player. He’s going to have to have the resiliency to work through those things. If he keeps that kind of attitude, he’s going to really improve.”

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Woj: OKC Hoped To Flip CP3 After Acquiring Him

October 11th, 2019 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams
  • The Thunder‘s plan when they acquired Chris Paul from Houston was to flip him to another team, according to Wojnarowski, who says OKC had hoped the Heat would be more open to making a deal. “He’s going to have to play really well in Oklahoma City for somebody to want to take on three years, $124MM [and] pay him $44MM in the final year of his contract,” Woj said of CP3. “That’s a really difficult proposition. … He has value in the league, but not at those numbers.”

    [SOURCE LINK]
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Northwest Notes: Porter, Okogie, Green, Thunder

October 10th, 2019 at 9:30pm CST by clarkcrum

In a piece chronicling the first NBA game for Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., Nick Kosmider of The Athletic explains how Porter’s debut ended up being a long time coming after the 21-year-old had to rehab through two back surgeries and miss his entire first season as a professional.

In the team hotel the night before Porter’s debut, Tim Connelly, Denver’s president of basketball operations, encouraged Porter to let each frame of his debut experience sink in, notwithstanding the fact that it was just a preseason game.

“I told him, ‘You should really pat yourself on the back,'” Connelly said. “It’s not easy to do what he’s done. He’s been a guy that, forever, the assumption was that he was going to play in the NBA because he was so talented, but the road has been a little more convoluted and challenging, so I said, ‘Appreciate the moment. You’re officially in the NBA. It wasn’t how you thought it would be three or four years ago, but it’s still special.'”

Teammate Jarred Vanderbilt, who is close with Porter and helped him throughout the rehab process and beforehand, had some good advice for his friend.

“I know how tough it was for him to sit out, like it was for me, but he sat out the whole year,” Vanderbilt said. “It was a lot tougher for him, so it’s just great to see him playing again. I told him, ‘Don’t put any pressure on yourself. Just be happy to be out there.’ That’s how I was. I was just happy to be out there. I know how it feels to be not able to play. To come back and feel all antsy like you have to make the right play and everything, I felt like I was doing that and thinking too much, so I just told him to let the game come. Everything will fall into place.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie, who is entering his second season in the NBA, was able to improve his game this summer by playing in the FIBA World Cup as a member of Team Nigeria, writes Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. Specifically, Okogie believes he has gotten better mentally. “My experience was great playing overseas. One reason being, it forced me to think the game.”
  • As Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune notes, we may see some new tricks from Jazz newcomer, veteran forward Jeff Green, as his ever-expanding skill set could prove crucial for the team this coming season.
  • The Thunder rolled out a starting lineup that included Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Dennis Schroder in their latest preseason game, perhaps signaling the team’s plan to use multiple point guard rotations throughout this season. Tim MacMahon of ESPN has the story.
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2019/20 Over/Unders: Northwest Division

October 10th, 2019 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2019/20 NBA regular season will get underway in less than two weeks, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign.

With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites, including Bovada and BetOnline, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

Having already looked at the Atlantic, we’re moving onto the Northwest today…

Denver Nuggets

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Nuggets poll.

 Utah Jazz

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Jazz poll.

Portland Trail Blazers

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Trail Blazers poll.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Timberwolves poll.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Trade Rumors app users, click here for Thunder poll.

Previous voting results:

Atlantic:

  • Philadelphia 76ers (54.5 wins): Over (54.9%)
  • Boston Celtics (49.5 wins): Under (57.0%)
  • Toronto Raptors (46.5 wins): Under (59.1%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (43.5 wins): Over (58.3%)
  • New York Knicks (27.5 wins): Under (54.9%)
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Big Year From Gallinari Could Benefit Him And Thunder

October 7th, 2019 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Danilo Gallinari, acquired by the Thunder for salary-matching purposes in the Paul George blockbuster, is on an expiring contract and may not have a long-term stay in Oklahoma City, but a productive season could benefit both him and the team, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. As Horne points out, if Gallinari is healthy and effective, the Thunder could flip him at the deadline, and he’d be in position to cash in as a free agent in 2020.
  • Royce Young of ESPN.com explores how the Thunder are adjusting to life in the post-Russell Westbrook era.
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Pacific Notes: Smailagic, Adams, Diallo, Shamet

October 4th, 2019 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors rookie big man Alen Smailagic has a severe ankle sprain, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Coach Steve Kerr said Smailagic, a second-round pick, will be out for the “foreseeable future” due to the injury.

The 18-year-old Serbian played in the G League for Santa Cruz – the Warriors’ affiliate – in 2018/19 but wasn’t draft-eligible until this year. He was shut down early in the pre-draft process and was “hidden” in Serbia from the rest of the NBA. He signed a four-year, minimum salary contract with two years guaranteed.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Kings never seriously considered trading for Thunder center Steven Adams, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports.  The Thunder are reportedly seeking a significant return for their top big man and were hoping to pry away Buddy Hield or Bogdan Bogdanovic in talks with Sacramento.
  • The Suns have numerous options at the power forward and center spots but Cheick Diallo could be in the mix, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Diallo was signed to a two-year contract after spending three seasons with the Pelicans. “He’s a really active player,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “He can score around the basket. He’s trying to defend. … He just plays hard. Gives you a different edge at that four-five spot.”
  • Landry Shamet and rookie Terance Mann are the main backup options to Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley despite having backgrounds at the wing positions, Mirjan Swanson of the Orange County Register relays. Coach Doc Rivers believes Shamet will emerge in that role. “Landry will play point a lot this year,” Rivers said. “There’s no doubt about that. Because he can do a lot of things that very few guys can do, (Stephen) Curry-like. He can push it up, throw it and run and still score.”
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Northwest Notes: Conley, Teague, Roberson

October 3rd, 2019 at 7:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Mike Conley is one of the biggest acquisitions in the history of the Jazz and the team is excited to have him around, as Matt John of Basketball Insiders writes. “Watching him play, being around him, seeing how he interacts,” head coach Quin Synder said. “When I say elite, that manifests itself in a lot of different ways.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

  • After a disappointing year in Minnesota, Jeff Teague is ready for a new campaign, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes. Teague missed 40 games with injuries last season for the Timberwolves and the point guard told Hine that he had never endured a season like that before.
  • Andre Roberson hasn’t played in nearly two years after rupturing his patellar tendon, but the wing is back on the court for Thunder, as Erik Horne of The Oklahoman passes along. Roberson has been cleared to practice without restrictions.
  • The Nuggets have a battle on their hands for the starting small forward position, Mike Singer of The Denver Post relays. “By no means is there a leader in the clubhouse,” head coach Mike Malone said of the competition. Torrey Craig, Juan Hernangomez, Will Barton, and Michael Porter Jr. are among the options at the three.
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