- The Thunder are citing progress for Russell Westbrook, who is recovering a a sprained left ankle he suffered in Monday’s game, writes Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman. With a packed schedule this week, OKC hasn’t had time to fit in a practice to fully evaluate Westbrook’s condition. “He’s got to get out there, he’s got to practice, move and cut and do those things, so that’s going to take a little bit of time,” coach Billy Donovan said at Saturday’s shootaround.
Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- Grizzlies rookie Jevon Carter was on the move today, being recalled from the Memphis Hustle, reassigned for the G League team’s practice, then recalled again for tonight’s NBA game, according to a tweet from the Grizzlies.
- The Thunder recalled Abdel Nader from Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in an email.
- The Magic sent rookies Isaiah Briscoe and Melvin Frazier to their Lakeland affiliate for tonight’s home opener, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
- The Pistons recalled Henry Ellenson and Khyri Thomas from their Grand Rapids affiliate, according to an email from the team.
- The Suns recalled rookie De’Anthony Melton from their affiliate in Northern Arizona, the team announced on its website.
- Jacob Evans has been recalled from Santa Cruz, according to a story on the Warriors‘ website.
Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Hornets assigned rookie guard Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. Graham has appeared in two games with Charlotte, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.5 APG in 9.5 MPG. The 6’2 Kansas product, an early second-round pick, has averaged 23.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 8.0 APG in two outings with Greensboro.
- The Sixers recalled forward Jonah Bolden from the Delaware Blue Coats prior to their game against the Hornets on Friday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The 6’10” Bolden, a 2017 second-rounder, has appeared in four NBA games this season but none this month.
- The Spurs recalled forward Chimezie Metu from the Austin Spurs after assigning him to the G League on Thursday, according to a team press release. The 6’10” Metu, a second-round pick in June, is averaging 1.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 4.0 MPG over five games with San Antonio.
- The Thunder assigned forward Abdel Nader to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. The 6’6” Nader, acquired from Boston in July, has seen just seven minutes of action with OKC.
- The Clippers assigned guards Jerome Robinson and Sindarius Thornwell to the Agua Caliente Clippers, then recalled Thornwell, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links). The 6’5” Thornwell has yet to make his season debut with the Clippers after appearing in 73 games last season. The 6’5” Robinson, the 13th overall pick in this June’s draft, has appeared in seven games and averaged 2.9 PPG in 5.0 MPG.
- Carmelo Anthony‘s season with the Thunder was a humbling experience, a high-ranking Rockets official told Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Anthony bristled at the thought of coming off the bench with OKC but is now at least tolerating a second-unit role with Houston. “Last year, I didn’t know what to expect coming into the situation,” Anthony told MacMahon. “It’s different when you’re clear on what is needed to be done or what you have to do or what’s needed of you. It’s a big difference.”
- Floor spacing, 3-point shooting and defensive intensity have been areas of concern for the Jazz. The Thunder continue to deal with outside shooting woes. David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders takes a closer look at issues involving each Northwest club.
Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Pistons recalled forward Henry Ellenson and guard Khyri Thomas from the Grand Rapids Drive, the team announced in a press release. Ellenson has averaged 21.3 points in three games for the Drive, while Thomas has averaged 19 points in three games.
- The Thunder assigned and later recalled forward Abdel Nader from the Oklahoma City Blue, the team’s G League affiliate. Nader has played six minutes in three games with the Thunder this season.
- The Spurs announced they have assigned forward Chimezie Metu to the Austin Spurs in the G League. Metu was drafted 49th overall in 2018 by San Antonio.
- The Jazz assigned Tony Bradley to the Salt Lake City Stars (Twitter link). Bradley is in his second season with Utah.
2:01pm: Further tests and evaluation on Westbrook’s ankle confirmed that it’s just a sprain, tweets Young. Before determining a timeline for Westbrook’s return, the team wants to see how he responds to treatment, according to Young, who notes that the point guard will miss the Thunder’s game against Cleveland on Wednesday.
8:45am: The Thunder defeated the Pelicans on Monday night for their fifth consecutive win, moving above .500 for the first time this season. However, they also lost their star player in the process. As Royce Young of ESPN.com details, Russell Westbrook left in the third quarter with what the team is calling a left ankle sprain.
Westbrook figures to undergo further tests today to assess the severity of the sprain and determine a potential recovery timetable. According to Young, X-rays on Monday night were negative. Still, the former MVP was in a good deal of pain when he went down with the injury, and his absence will likely be measured in weeks rather than days if the sprain is severe.
With no practice scheduled for Tuesday, the Thunder may not provide an update Westbrook’s status until Wednesday, Young writes.
If Westbrook is forced out of action for the foreseeable future, Dennis Schroder would almost certainly return to the Thunder’s starting lineup, with Raymond Felton backing him up. While Schroder is one of the NBA’s best backup point guards, Oklahoma City would miss Westbrook — the club is 5-2 with him in the lineup and 0-2 without him so far this season.
The Sixers, Thunder or Lakers are the most likely landing spots for veteran sharpshooter Kyle Korver, Jordan Greer of the Sporting News opines. Korver is likely to get traded or bought out by a Cavaliers team that suddenly finds itself in a rebuilding mode. The combination of Korver and J.J. Redick could drive opposing defenses crazy in Philadelphia, while Oklahoma City desperately needs a 3-point shooter. LeBron James and Korver have good chemistry, as displayed by James’ 89 assists to Korver last season, Greer adds.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Bulls matched the Kings’ four-year, $78MM offer sheet for Zach LaVine and thus far it’s looking like a wise decision. As Sam Smith of the Bulls’ website notes, LaVine is shooting a career high 46.8% and averaging 26.6 PPG. He’s second in the Eastern Conference in usage rate to Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and his efficiency rating still is top 10 in the conference, Smith adds.
- Interior scoring might be the Celtics’ biggest weakness, Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com points out. It entered Monday’s game at Denver ranked last in points in the paint with an average of just 35.3 per game. Coach Brad Stevens admits the lack of inside scoring is a carryover from the last two seasons. “Last year we were not very good either,” he said. “That’s been an issue for us for the last 18 months. Prior to that we were pretty good at it. So we’ve just got to keep hammering on it, see if we can get a little better.”
- Knicks coach David Fizdale knows Enes Kanter isn’t happy coming off the bench but Fizdale believes he could be a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, as he told Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com and other media members. Kanter, a free agent after the season, is playing behind rookie Mitchell Robinson. “I just want him to keep settling into that role right now,” Fizdale said. “Quite honestly, if we keep going this rout, he’s a guy that with the numbers he’s going to get … he’s going to have his hat in that Sixth Man of the Year Award.”
The Wizards recently became the 28th NBA team to reach a jersey patch agreement with a corporate sponsor, teaming with GEICO on a multiyear deal, as the club announced in a press release. GEICO’s logo will now appear on the uniforms of multiple D.C.-area organizations, with the Wizards, the Washington Mystics (WNBA), and the Capital City Go-Go (G League) all getting the advertisement patch.
The Pacers and Thunder are now the only two NBA teams without ads on their uniforms, as we outline here. The NBA’s jersey sponsorship pilot program is set to run through the 2019/20 season, but the league seems likely to extend it beyond that, given its success so far.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- ESPN’s draft gurus, including Jonathan Givony, recently revealed their complete prospect rankings for the 2019 draft, with Duke players nabbing three of the top four spots. R.J. Barrett leads the way, followed by Zion Williamson at No. 3 and Cameron Reddish at No. 4. The Blue Devils’ trio sandwiches North Carolina small forward Nassir Little at No. 2.
- Speaking of Williamson, Chris Stone of The Sporting News took an in-depth look at the 285-pound youngster, writing that the Duke forward represents a “truly one-of-a-kind prospect.”
- The NBA G League has reached a multiyear deal with ESPN that will allow ESPN+ subscribers to watch more than 200 games per season, the league announced today in a press release. This season’s broadcast schedule begins with three games on Tuesday.
- The Timberwolves could still end up trading Jimmy Butler for valuable long-term pieces, and Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine could become long-term core pieces for the Bulls. However, in the view of Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, the 2017 trade between Minnesota and Chicago is at risk of becoming the sort of blockbuster deal that doesn’t turn out perfectly for either side.
The Thunder have exercised their 2019/20 team option on Terrance Ferguson‘s rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release. The move locks in Ferguson’s $2,475,840 cap hit for next season.
Ferguson, the 21st overall pick in the 2017 draft, appeared in 61 games for the Thunder in his rookie season, averaging 3.1 PPG in 12.5 minutes per contest. The Tulsa native has moved into a starting role this year with Andre Roberson still sidelined, but has struggled in the early going, posting just 2.8 PPG on .273/.077/.500 shooting in 20.8 MPG. Still, he’s just 20 years old and his affordable contract provides value for an Oklahoma City team above the luxury tax line.
[RELATED: Decisions On 2019/20 Rookie Scale Team Options]
Interestingly, the Thunder’s announcement today doesn’t mention Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who has a fourth-year 2019/20 option worth $2,529,684. Oklahoma City has until Wednesday to pick up that option, but teams often announce all their rookie scale option pickups at the same time, so the club may be opting to make Luwawu-Cabarrot an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Thunder remain the only winless team in the Western Conference but Russell Westbrook said it’s far too early to push the panic button, Royce Young of ESPN reports. Oklahoma City is 0-4 after blowing a 16-point halftime lead against the Celtics on Thursday. Westbrook had a brutal fourth quarter, missing all seven of his shots while making three turnovers. “We’re OK. We’ll be all right,” Westbrook said. “It’s early. I’m confident in my guys in this locker room, I’m confident in myself and my abilities to make sure that we have an opportunity to win a ballgame. There’s no need to panic. Obviously we’re not starting the way we wanted to, but we’ll be OK and I will make sure of that. So, not worried.”
We have more from Oklahoma City:
- While Westbrook rubs some people the wrong way, he was an integral reason why Paul George decided to stay instead of joining one of the Los Angeles teams in free agency. “A lot of it was I liked our chemistry,” George told Young in a detailed piece on OKC’s year-long recruitment of George. “I liked what he brings to the table, I liked his competitiveness and I loved him as a teammate, as a friend, as a brother, as a dude in the locker room. He had a lot to do with me coming back here.”
- Jerami Grant and Patrick Patterson continue to share starting duties at the power forward spot, Thunder digital reporter Nick Gallo relays. Grant got the nod against Boston because coach Billy Donovan wanted to play a smaller, quicker unit. Against a more rugged frontcourt, Donovan will go with Patterson. “For us, it’s going to be game-to-game in terms of the roster and having a plan of how to utilize those guys,” Donovan said.
- What can the Thunder do to fix their issues? Erik Horne of The Oklahoman takes a closer look.
- The Thunder have until the end of the month to decide whether to pick up the rookie scale options on Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Terrance Ferguson. Find out more here.