Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Notes: George, Abrines, Matthews, Donovan

April 29th, 2019 at 7:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thunder All-Star forward Paul George will soon have his right shoulder re-evaluated by a specialist, Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman reports. GM Sam Presti told the media during his annual post-season press conference that George will see a specialist outside of Oklahoma City but Thunder staff members will be present.

George saw action in 77 regular-season games but took four games off to rest his aching shoulder. He was effective in the playoffs despite the discomfort, posting averages on 28.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 4.1 APG during the Thunder’s 4-1 opening-round series loss to Portland. Presti declared that George “was at no risk of any type of future injury” this season and labelled the possibility of George undergoing surgery as “speculation.”

We have more from Presti’s press conference:

He took the blame for not having enough sharpshooting wings on the roster, Lee notes in a separate story. Presti thought Alex Abrines would have a “breakout year” but the swingman missed 17 games for personal reasons and was ultimately waived. The Thunder pursued Wesley Matthews after the Knicks bought him out and waived him but Matthews chose Indiana. “Once Wes Matthews went to Indiana there really wasn’t a lot of other options out there, and that put some stress on us offensively, and you never want to be in that position,” he said.
Billy Donovan is expected to return as head coach despite the latest postseason flameout. Presti said he has yet to meet with Donovan on the subject because he wanted to give his coach more time to “reflect and decompress,” Brett Dawson of The Athletic tweets. “I do think getting his perspective on things is important because there’s nobody that works harder than him,” Presti said. “If anything, I think he needs to take some time to think through the season himself and have a really good conversation.

Presti Anticipates Donovan Returning As Thunder Coach

April 29th, 2019 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

After a disappointing first-round exit in this year’s postseason, there has been some speculation that the Thunder might consider a head coaching change. However, speaking today to reporters – including Brett Dawson of the Athletic (Twitter link) – general manager Sam Presti said that he anticipates bringing back Billy Donovan to coach the club in 2019/20.

Presti’s wording isn’t quite as definitive as if he’d said that Donovan absolutely will be back. However, it sounds like that’s less about any lingering uncertainty, and more about the fact that the two men have yet to sit down for a full-blown post-mortem on the 2019/20 season.

According to Dawson (via Twitter), Presti said today that he plans to take a little time before meeting with Donovan to talk about the season and the future. The head coach’s perspective is important, but Presti doesn’t anticipate any changes regarding his job status, he added today (Twitter link via Dawson).

Donovan, who took over as Oklahoma City’s head coach before the 2015/16 season, has led the team to four straight years of 47+ wins, including a 49-33 mark this season. The Thunder won two playoff series in Donovan’s first year, but haven’t made it out of the first round since Kevin Durant‘s departure in 2016.

Does George Need To Overtake Westbrook As Thunder Leader?

April 28th, 2019 at 2:48pm CST by clarkcrum

It’s clear from his decision to sign a long-term deal with the Thunder this summer that Paul George wants to be in Oklahoma City, but the question now becomes whether or not George is able and willing to overtake Russell Westbrook as the franchise’s marquee player, which Brett Dawson of The Athletic writes may be necessary if the Thunder ever want to reach their full potential with the team’s current core.

Billy Donovan Offers No Clues About Future

April 28th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder coach Billy Donovan didn’t offer any clues about his future with the franchise during this week’s exit interviews, relays Clay Horning of The Norman Transcript. “For me, it’s just kind of business as usual,” said Donovan, who is coming off his third straight first-round playoff ouster. “(GM) Sam (Presti) and I had a chance to visit a little bit on the plane yesterday on the way back, just talking about the next couple of days and getting together. So, I’m sure he and I will get a chance to sit down as some of this stuff slows down and talk in detail and (I) look forward to that.”
Thunder rookie Deonte Burton thinks he benefited greatly from the time he spent in the G League, relays Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman. Burton started the season as a two-way player before signing a multi-year contract in March. “G League is good talent, too,” he said. “Like a lot, a lot more talent than people think.”

Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Western Conference

April 26th, 2019 at 7:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. With the playoffs in full swing, we turn our attention to the Western Conference:

Patrick Beverley, Clippers, 30, PG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $23MM deal in 2015
Taking a charge while holding one his shoes that came loose epitomizes how Beverley and his team have played during the series. There’s a huge talent gap between them and the Warriors but they refuse to give an inch. Beverley has done a whole lot more than get under Kevin Durant‘s skin. He’s second on the team in assists and rebounds through the first five games while shooting 42.9% from deep. In Games 4 and 5, he averaged 14.5 PPG, 12 RPG and 4.5 APG. Beverley will get a nice raise this summer, whether he lands a starting job or a sixth man role.

Al-Farouq Aminu, Trail Blazers, 28, SF (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $30MM deal in 2015
Portland’s glue guy played an underrated role in the team’s first-round knockout of the Thunder. He was second on the team in defensive rebounds, a major factor with Jusuf Nurkic sidelined. He also led the team in blocks, was second in steals and shot 40.9% from distance, along with providing his usual solid defense. Aminu doesn’t dazzle but he quietly does his job. Reliable, durable role players like Aminu will always have suitors and he’ll receive a full mid-level exception or more on the open market.

Jordan Bell, Warriors, 24, PF/C (Down) — Signed to a two-year, $2.2MM deal in 2017
DeMarcus Cousins‘ season-ending injury hasn’t helped Bell get on the court. He only played 14 minutes in the first five games against the Clippers and was benched in Games 4 and 5. Bell’s immaturity has irked the staff, including a late-season suspension for making unauthorized charges to assistant coach Mike Brown‘s hotel room. Bell can be a restricted free agent if the Warriors extend a $1.8MM qualifying offer, but the 2017 second-round pick doesn’t appear to have a future with the organization.

Markieff Morris, Wizards, 29, SF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $57.3K deal in 2019
Brother Marcus Morris ripped the Thunder coaching staff over Markieff’s limited role during the postseason. Markieff only played four minutes in the 118-115 Game 5 loss to Portland that ended the Thunder’s season. He wasn’t much of a factor in the first four games of the season, when he averaged around 13 MPG. Markieff praised the organization afterward but his minimal impact won’t help in unrestricted free agency. Add in the neck issue that limited him to 58 regular-season games and Morris won’t have teams beating down his door.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Thunder Notes: Roberson, George, Morris, Noel

April 25th, 2019 at 3:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder swingman Andre Roberson, who has missed the last season and a half due to knee problems, is on track to be ready for training camp this fall, he told reporters, including Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, during his end-of-season presser on Thursday. Roberson, who initially suffered a patellar tendon tear, estimates that he was about 85-95% recovered when he suffered a major setback in the form of an avulsion fracture.

“By me rupturing my patellar tendon it kind of shut off the blood supply to the patellar bone, which causes it to be weaker,” Roberson said. “And then when I was coming back I was working harder than the revascularizing of the tendon was happening, so you kind of see where the problem was there, and we did not know that at the time, unfortunately.”

Before his injury, Roberson was one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. If he returns to anywhere near that form, the Thunder will have happy to get him back in their lineup for the final year of his contract in 2019/20. He’ll earn $10.74MM before reaching free agency in 2020.

Here’s more out of Oklahoma City:

As Lee details in another story for The Oklahoman, Paul George hinted today that he may undergo surgery on his troublesome right shoulder during the offseason. “I will address it soon,” George said. “Try to get it fixed and get back out there come this next season.”
Markieff Morris was extremely complimentary of the Thunder today, calling it the best stop of his career from an organizational standpoint, tweets Brett Dawson of The Athletic. However, Morris didn’t express much interest in returning to play the same role he had down the stretch this season. The veteran forward averaged a career-low 16.1 MPG in 24 regular season games with the Thunder, then just 11.8 MPG in five postseason contests.
Nerlens Noel‘s minimum salary contract with Oklahoma City features a 2019/20 player option, but he’s not ready to commit one way or the other on it. As Dawson tweets, Noel said today that he’ll let his agent figure that out. I’d be a little surprised if Noel doesn’t seek at least a modest raise on the open market after a solid season as Steven Adams‘ backup.
With the Thunder’s offseason underway, Sean Deveney of Sporting News examines the major decisions facing the franchise, while ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) previews their summer from a cap perspective. Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer, meanwhile, explored the challenges of building a roster around Russell Westbrook.
We opened up our own discussion on the Thunder’s offseason on Wednesday.

Western Notes: Morris, Fournier, Kanter, Booker

April 24th, 2019 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics forward Marcus Morris believes Thunder coach Billy Donovan made a big mistake by using his brother Markieff Morris sparingly during their playoff series against Portland, Jay King of The Athletic reports.

Markieff Morris chose to play with Oklahoma City after reaching a buyout with New Orleans, which acquired him from the Wizards at the trade deadline. Markieff played just four minutes in Game 5 and between 13 and 15 minutes in the other games of the series won by the Trail Blazers, 4-1.

“I’m not a coach or anything like that, but I feel like they just didn’t utilize their bench enough. I feel like my brother went over there for no reason,” Marcus said. “He never got an opportunity to play. I thought that he would really help them in the playoffs, but from what I seen he should have went somewhere else just to be able to show that veteran leadership and that experience.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers made an offer for Magic swingman Evan Fournier that Orlando passed on prior to the trade deadline, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Portland was willing to ship a roster player and a protected first-rounder for Fournier, who will make $17MM next season and holds a player option on his $17MM salary for the 2020/21 season.
Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter played with a separated left shoulder in Game 5, Kevin Pelton of ESPN reports. Kanter suffered the injury during the opening quarter but managed to play 32 minutes. He received a pain-killing injection at halftime. Kanter averaged 13.2 PPG and 10.2 RPG in the series as the primary replacement for injured Jusuf Nurkic. Portland would have to rely more on Zach Collins and Meyers Leonard in the conference semifinals if Kanter is forced to miss any games.
Suns star guard Devin Booker had no input in the firing of coach Igor Kokoskov, GM James Jones told the Arizona Republic’s Katherine Fitzgerald and other media members. “I speak to Devin, I speak to all of our players, about our organization. But in these instances, this isn’t a decision for Devin to make. This is my decision,” Jones said. That’s curious, since Booker indicated after signing his five-year maximum salary extension that he’d have a say in all major moves going forward. I think it’s a collective agreement. Moving forward, throwing in any advice I can, stay in the loop and watch what’s going on and know what’s going on,” Booker said last month.
The Rockets held a predraft workout on Wednesday that included Mississippi guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, Washington guard Jalyen Nowell and Campbell guard Chris Clemons, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Houston does not currently own a pick in this year’s draft. Nowell is the highest-ranked prospect among the trio, as he’s ranked No. 87 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Community Shootaround: Thunder’s Future

April 24th, 2019 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Russell Westbrook‘s disdain for the media has been talked about quite a bit in recent weeks. Westbrook certainly won’t like what’s written about him and his team now that the Thunder failed to win a playoff series for the third straight season.

The perennial All-Star point guard was outplayed by counterpart Damian Lillard throughout the series with the Trail Blazers, culminating in Lillard’s series-ending 37-footer on Tuesday. Westbrook shot a playoff career-low 36% during Oklahoma City’s abbreviated postseason appearance, the third consecutive time he’s shot below 40% in the opening round. His 22.8 PPG average was his lowest since his first playoff appearance during the 2009/10 season.

Westbrook is undeniably one of the league’s best and most durable players. He’s averaged a triple-double the last three seasons, a momentous feat for anyone but especially a 6’3” guard. However, he’ll be 31 next season and he’s owed a whopping $171MM over the next four seasons.

Paul George averaged 28.6 PPG in the playoffs despite a nagging shoulder injury, though it did affect his 3-point shot (31.9%). George, like Westbrook, was also turnover-prone in the series.

With the possible exception of sixth man Dennis Schroder, the team’s stars didn’t get a whole lot of help. Steven Adams wasn’t the same tenacious defender he’s been in past postseasons, even though Portland lacked its starting center. Jerami Grant had some good moments in the last three games but overall the wings didn’t produce nearly enough.

So where do the Thunder go from here? George is signed through the 2021/22 season, though he has a player option on the final year. Adams has two big years ($53.3MM) left on his deal. Three other players are making at least $9MM next season, putting a major strain on the team’s cap and ability to make moves.

The club could look to trade one of its stars, though Westbrook’s contract would be very difficult to move. Or they could simply try to add some new pieces, particularly through the mid-level exception, and hope for better results.

That brings us to our question of the day: Should the Thunder try to trade Russell Westbrook or Paul George with the aim of starting a rebuild? Or can they be a better playoff team by adding some different pieces around them?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Stein’s Latest: Clippers, Warriors, Westbrook

April 23rd, 2019 at 8:36pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer believes his franchise can win an NBA championship before their co-tenants in Los Angeles and will look to add star talent this offseason. Marc Stein of the New York Times puts the “over/under” for superstars signed by the Clips this summer at one, as he writes in the mailbag section of his latest newsletter.

Stein adds that Kawhi Leonard is still the most likely superstar to join Ballmer’s team this summer. Los Angeles has a desirable situation for any star, and with their collection of draft picks and players on team-friendly deals, the Clippers could feasibly sign someone like Leonard and swing a deal that gives him a top running mate.

Stein has more in his latest newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:

One Western Conference scout told Stein that this year’s version of Steve Kerr‘s Warriors may not be as sharp as the teams in the past. “I just question the Warriors’ ability to continually focus,” the scout said. “It seems like nowadays they need to be punched in the mouth before they’re Golden State. They’re not just coming out on a mission and overwhelming teams. Maybe I will regret saying this, but I just don’t trust them like I used to.”
The Warriors‘ familiarity with the Rockets may give them an advantage in a potential playoff rematch, another scout tells Stein. “Stylistically Houston is a very different team,” the scout said. “It takes most teams two games just to try to figure out how they want to deal with Harden. Golden State will already know. And with Ron Adams running the defense, they do a great job of changing it up and not letting Harden get a great rhythm.”
The Thunder inked Russell Westbrook to a five-year, $200MM+ extension back in 2017. While the move will face some scrutiny as Westbrook ages, Stein reminds readers that the alternative to the extension was risking the former MVP walking out the door as Kevin Durant previously did.

Recent History Of NBA Taxpaying Teams

April 18th, 2019 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed last week, five NBA teams finished the 2018/19 season in luxury tax territory, with the Thunder, Warriors, Raptors, Trail Blazers, and Celtics on the hook for an estimated total of $153.5MM in tax payments.

It was the first time since 2016’s salary cap spike that as many as five teams were taxpayers, and the projected league-wide tax payments of $153.5MM appears to be a new high. While two teams – Oklahoma City and Golden State – contributed significantly to that figure, the rising number of clubs in the tax reflects that teams are once again going well over the salary cap, as annual cap increases have slowed in recent years.

Listed below are the NBA’s taxpayers for the last five seasons, based on data from ESPN, Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ, and our own records.

As this list shows, the Thunder, Warriors, and Cavaliers were each taxpayers in three of the last four seasons, making those teams eligible for repeater-tax penalties if they finish in tax territory again in 2019/20. Repeater penalties are more punitive — the tax for every dollar spent above the tax line starts at $2.50 rather than $1.50. As such, those teams figure to do their best to avoid excessive spending next season.

The 2019/20 tax line is expected to be around $132MM, based on the NBA’s latest cap projections, and the Thunder already have nearly $138MM in guaranteed salaries on their books, per Basketball Insiders. The Cavaliers are at about $123MM, but may increase that figure substantially if they trade J.R. Smith‘s non-guaranteed contract for guaranteed salary. As for the Warriors, they’re only at $82MM in guaranteed money, but would be at risk of going well into the tax if they re-sign Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

As we prepare to keep an eye on those teams’ spending this offseason, here are the reported luxury tax figures from the last five NBA seasons:

2018/19

Oklahoma City Thunder: $61.6MM
Golden State Warriors: $51.5MM
Toronto Raptors: $21.4MM
Portland Trail Blazers: $15.1MM
Boston Celtics: $3.9MM
Total: $153.5MM
Note: This season’s figures are still subject to change, based on postseason-related contract incentives.

2017/18

Cleveland Cavaliers ($50.7MM)
Golden State Warriors ($32.3MM)
Oklahoma City Thunder ($25.4MM)
Washington Wizards ($7MM)
Total: $115.4MM

2016/17

Cleveland Cavaliers ($24.8MM)
Los Angeles Clippers ($3.6MM)
Total: $28.4MM

2015/16

Cleveland Cavaliers ($54MM)
Los Angeles Clippers ($19.9MM)
Golden State Warriors ($14.8MM)
Oklahoma City Thunder ($14.5MM)
Houston Rockets ($4.9MM)
San Antonio Spurs ($4.9MM)
Chicago Bulls ($4.2MM)
Total: $117.2MM

2014/15

Brooklyn Nets ($20MM)
Cleveland Cavaliers ($7MM)
New York Knicks ($6.9MM)
Los Angeles Clippers ($4.8MM)
Oklahoma City Thunder ($2.8MM)
Total: $41.5MM

Information from Basketball Insiders, Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ, and ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in the creation of this post.