- The Thunder, praised as one of the best teams in the deep Western Conference to begin the season, have gotten off to a rocky, 0-3 start. Yet, as Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes, there exists reason for optimism, with rookie Hamidou Diallo and newcomer Nerlens Noel both providing a spark off the bench in Sunday’s loss to the lowly Kings.
- In other Thunder news, Brett Dawson of The Athletic is reporting that guard Alex Abrines, who left Sunday’s game in the first half with a mouth contusion, and who will compete for Diallo and Terrance Ferguson for minutes until the return of Andre Roberson, is not expected to miss any additional time.
Unlike player and team options on veteran contracts, which generally have to be exercised or declined by the end of June, rookie scale contracts include third- and fourth-year options that teams must decide on a year early. The deadline for those decisions is October 31, which means that clubs have one more week to pick up or turn down those rookie scale options for the 2019/20 season.
While several teams have already announced their rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20, there are 14 clubs that will need to decide one way or the other on those options within the next week.
Below, we’ve listed the outstanding rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20, sorting them by their likelihood of being exercised. The first list features options that are certain to be exercised, such as Ben Simmons‘ or Jayson Tatum‘s. The second list features the rest of the options, which may still be picked up, but aren’t necessarily locks.
Let’s dive in…
Locks to be exercised:
- Markelle Fultz, 76ers (third year, $9,745,200)
- Ben Simmons, 76ers (fourth year, $8,113,930)
- Dario Saric, 76ers (fourth year, $3,481,986)
- Kris Dunn, Bulls (fourth year, $5,348,007)
- Lauri Markkanen, Bulls (third year, $5,300,400)
- Denzel Valentine, Bulls (fourth year, $3,377,569)
- Ante Zizic, Cavaliers (third year, $2,281,800)
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics (third year, $7,830,000)
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics (fourth year, $6,534,829)
- Malik Monk, Hornets (third year, $4,028,400)
- De’Aaron Fox, Kings (third year, $6,392,760)
- Buddy Hield, Kings (fourth year, $4,861,208)
- Justin Jackson, Kings (third year, $3,280,920)
- Harry Giles, Kings (third year, $2,578,800)
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets (fourth year, $4,444,746)
- Juan Hernangomez, Nuggets (fourth year, $3,321,030)
- Luke Kennard, Pistons (third year, $3,827,160)
- Pascal Siakam, Raptors (fourth year, $2,351,839)
- OG Anunoby, Raptors (third year, $2,281,800)
Not necessarily locks to be exercised:
- Furkan Korkmaz, 76ers (third year, $2,033,160)
- Thon Maker, Bucks (fourth year, $3,569,643)
- D.J. Wilson, Bucks (third year, $2,961,120)
- Guerschon Yabusele, Celtics (third year, $3,117,240)
- Skal Labissiere, Kings (fourth year, $2,338,847)
- Malik Beasley, Nuggets (fourth year, $2,731,714)
- Tyler Lydon, Nuggets (third year, $2,190,720)
- Henry Ellenson, Pistons (fourth year, $2,856,804)
- Malachi Richardson, Raptors (fourth year, $2,581,597)
- Marquese Chriss, Rockets (fourth year, $4,078,236)
- Dragan Bender, Suns (fourth year, $5,896,519)
- Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Thunder (fourth year, $2,529,684)
- Terrance Ferguson, Thunder (third year, $2,475,840)
- Justin Patton, Timberwolves (third year, $3,117,240)
- Damian Jones, Warriors (fourth year, $2,305,057)
Because rookie scale salaries are typically so affordable, many of the options that we don’t view as locks to be picked up will still be exercised. For instance, even if Labissiere barely has a role in the Kings’ crowded frontcourt at the moment, Sacramento doesn’t have much guaranteed money on its books for 2019/20 and may view a $2,338,847 cap hit for the big man as a worthwhile investment.
Still, many of the players in that second list don’t currently have sizable rotation roles, so teams will have to decide whether it’s worth it to continue trying to develop those players in 2019/20, or if it makes more sense to simply replace them with minimum-salary veterans. That could be an especially tricky question for teams that project to be over the luxury tax line next season — in those cases, every saved dollar matters.
For a full list of the rookie scale options for 2019/20, including the ones that have already been picked up, check out our tracker.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Thunder star Russell Westbrook is nearing his return after missing the team’s first week of action, targeting Sunday’s home game against the Kings, according to ESPN’s Royce Young.
The team currently lists him as out for the game, but cautioned that his status is always subject to change. Should Westbrook miss the game against Sacramento, it’s possible that he makes his return on Thursday against the Celtics.
“A lot of it is him and the medical staff talking to each other and him giving feedback,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “In my conversations with him, it’s always how he’s feeling the next day. And I think for him, he needs to be right because you don’t want to have something lingering. And he knows his body better than anybody else.”
Westbrook underwent a preemptive arthroscopy surgery on his right knee last month, the fifth knee operation of his 10-year NBA career. He held per-game averages of 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists last season, and has played in at least 80 games throughout the past three seasons.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- WNBA star Sue Bird is meeting with the Nuggets executive staff this week, which could turn into a job with the team, Chris Dempsey of Nuggets.com reports (Twitter link). Bird is still an active WNBA player, meaning she cannot work full-time with the organization.
- Timberwolves rookie Josh Okogie played a solid role in the team’s game against Dallas on Saturday, filling in for Jimmy Butler at small forward and showing flashes of potential on both ends of the floor. “I knew where to pick my spots and what my role is when I’m on the court with them,” Okogie said, as relayed by Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I came in the game ready to make an impact. I knew I just had to come to the game, rebound, do the dirty stuff, let the others shine.”
- The Salt Lake City Stars drafted former NBA center Willie Reed with the No. 1 pick in this year’s G League draft, banking on his experience and close ties to the organization, as written by Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News. The Stars are the G League affiliate of the Jazz, a team that features the likes of Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Ekpe Udoh at center.
When the Kings sign Troy Williams to a two-way contract after he clears waivers today, as is expected, they’ll become the 16th NBA team to fill all 17 of their available roster spots, with 15 players on standard contracts and two more on two-way pacts.
Still, that will leave nearly half of the league’s teams that will still have at least one opening on their rosters, either on the standard 15-man squad or in their two-way slots.
For many clubs, that decision is primarily financially motivated. Teams like the Warriors, Rockets, Thunder, Raptors, and Wizards all project to have pricey luxury tax bills at season’s end, so there’s no need for them to push those projected penalties higher by carrying an extra player they won’t use.
Other teams may simply prefer to preserve some roster flexibility rather than carrying a full 15-man squad. The Lakers, for instance, aren’t close to the tax line, but have an open roster spot for now. That could allow the team to make a trade or signing later to fortify its roster without costing anyone a job.
Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.
Teams with an open 15-man roster spot:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Miami Heat
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
- Note: The Wizards have two open roster spots and will need to fill one of them by October 30.
Teams with an open two-way slot:
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Note: The Blazers have two open two-way slots.
- San Antonio Spurs
- Dennis Schroder proved his worth in the Thunder’s season-opener on Tuesday, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Schroder finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes of work, filling in for the injured Russell Westbrook.
When Paul George was on the trade market in the summer of 2017, chatter around the NBA strongly suggested that the Lakers were his preferred landing spot. In a conversation with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, George confirmed as much, admitting that he almost certainly would’ve ended up with the Lakers if the Pacers hadn’t traded him to Oklahoma City.
While George’s desire to return to his hometown certainly didn’t disappear once he joined the Thunder, he eventually fell in love with his new team and new city, resulting in the Los Angeles native deciding to sign a long-term deal with OKC this past summer instead of leaving for L.A.
“It was 50-50 on deciding whether I wanted to come back home or if it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now,” George told Spears. “But it wasn’t overstated. I wanted to play in L.A. That is where I wanted to go. Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform.”
Before Indiana shipped George to OKC in 2017, the Lakers were believed to be involved in trade discussions with the Pacers, and would have had a strong chance to acquire the forward if they’d been willing to part with Brandon Ingram or 2017’s second overall pick (which became Lonzo Ball), per Spears. A source tells ESPN that George was disappointed that the Lakers didn’t value him enough to pull the trigger on a deal at the time.
Interestingly, Spears also reports that when George was still a Pacer, he discussed his potential future plans with LeBron James. However, George and James didn’t have any similar conversations after George was sent to the Thunder.
Having declined to even meet with the Lakers this past summer, George won’t be joining his hometown team anytime soon, but he feels good about his free agency decision, as he tells Spears.
“Going toward the summer and going toward free agency, I kind of had my mind made up talking with the team, talking with [Russell Westbrook] and talking with the front office,” George said. “I kind of felt good where we were at. Last [season], I didn’t get a chance to start with this team fresh. I got traded late. So, I picked up things late with the team. I wanted to get to it right away this time and start creating early.”
The 2018/19 NBA regular season gets underway tonight, which means it’s time to get serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from Bovada and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, to have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
Having already looked at the other five divisions, we’re moving onto the Northwest today…
Utah Jazz
- 2017/18 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2018/19: 50.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Grayson Allen
- Lost: Jonas Jerebko
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Jazz poll)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2017/18 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2018/19: 48.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Thunder poll)
Denver Nuggets
- 2017/18 record: 46-36
- Over/under for 2018/19: 48.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Nuggets poll)
Portland Trail Blazers
- 2017/18 record: 49-33
- Over/under for 2018/19: 42.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Trail Blazers poll)
Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2017/18 record: 47-35
- Over/under for 2018/19: 41.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Timberwolves poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (59.5 wins): Over (53.63%)
- Toronto Raptors (55.5 wins): Over (56.95%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (54.5 wins): Under (51.19%)
- Brooklyn Nets (31.5 wins): Under (56.04%)
- New York Knicks (28.5 wins): Under (54.13%)
- Houston Rockets (56.5 wins): Over (69.33%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (45.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (44.5 wins): Under (60%)
- Dallas Mavericks (34.5 wins): Over (55.16%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (34.5 wins): Under (60.87%)
- Indiana Pacers (47.5 wins): Over (62.04%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (47.5 wins): Over (73.7%)
- Detroit Pistons (38.5 wins): Over (56.36%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (30.5 wins): Over (55.42%)
- Chicago Bulls (29.5 wins): Over (61.8%)
- Golden State Warriors (62.5 wins): Over (53.45%)
- Los Angeles Lakers (48.5 wins): Over (55.2%)
- Los Angeles Clippers (36.5 wins): Under (55.7%)
- Phoenix Suns (29.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- Sacramento Kings (25.5 wins): Under (63.87%)
- Washington Wizards (45.5 wins): Over (56.28%)
- Miami Heat (43.5 wins): Under (57.42%)
- Charlotte Hornets (35.5 wins): Over (56.73%)
- Orlando Magic (30.5 wins): Under (68.41%)
- Atlanta Hawks (23.5 wins): Under (58.38%
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Signings:
Standard contracts:
- Paul George: Four years, maximum salary ($136.91MM). Fourth-year player option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Jerami Grant: Three years, $27.35MM. Third-year player option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Nerlens Noel: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Raymond Felton: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Two-way contracts:
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Abdul Gaddy: One year, minimum salary.
- Donte Grantham: One year, minimum salary.
- Scotty Hopson: One year, minimum salary.
- Dez Wells: One year, minimum salary.
- Bryce Alford: One year, minimum salary (waived).
- K.J. McDaniels: One year, minimum salary (waived).
- Richard Solomon: One year, minimum salary (waived).
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Hamidou Diallo (No. 45 pick) from the Hornets in exchange for the Thunder’s 2019 second-round pick and cash ($243K).
- Acquired Rodney Purvis from the Magic in exchange for Dakari Johnson and cash ($1,978,242).
- Acquired Abdel Nader and cash ($450K) from the Celtics in exchange for Rodney Purvis.
- Acquired Dennis Schroder and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot in a three-way trade with the Hawks and Sixers in exchange for Carmelo Anthony (to Hawks) and the Thunder’s 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected) (to Hawks).
Draft picks:
- 2-45: Hamidou Diallo — Signed to three-year, minimum salary contract. First two years guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using taxpayer mid-level exception.
- 2-53: Devon Hall — Will play overseas.
- 2-57: Kevin Hervey — Signed to G League contract.
Departing players:
- Carmelo Anthony
- Corey Brewer
- Nick Collison (retired)
- P.J. Dozier (two-way)
- Daniel Hamilton (two-way)
- Josh Huestis
- Dakari Johnson
- Kyle Singler (waived)
Other offseason news:
- Andre Roberson suffered setback, expected to be out until at least December.
- Hired Bob Beyer as assistant coach to replace Adrian Griffin.
Salary cap situation:
- Remained over the cap.
- Carrying approximately $145.6MM in guaranteed salaries.
- Projected tax bill of $73.8MM.
- $4.5MM of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($838K used on Hamidou Diallo).
Check out the Oklahoma City Thunder’s full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
The Thunder knew that trading for Paul George a year before he hit unrestricted free agency was a huge gamble. George had already expressed his desire to return to his home state of California and play in Los Angeles, which motivated Indiana to seek the best deal it could find for the All-Star forward.
What made it an even bigger risk was that George would be joining forces with Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City had already seen a former league Most Valuable Player, Kevin Durant, ditch the franchise in part because he never completely warmed up to the headstrong All-Star point guard.
The Thunder’s brass still figured it was worth a dice roll. In order to remain competitive in the Western Conference, the Thunder needed a top-shelf forward to complement Westbrook. When the calendar approached July 1st, everyone associated with the franchise held their breath. Turns out, they had nothing to worry about.
George decided weeks before the start of free agency he wasn’t going anywhere. He didn’t even bother meeting with the Lakers before signing a four-year mega-deal with OKC that includes a player option in the final year of the pact.
As George explained shortly afterward, “Loved the situation. Loved where I was at. I decided to stick around a little longer. … I just wanted my free agency to be over with.”
Without George, the Thunder would have become over-reliant on Westbrook, as they did the season after Durant bolted, and struggled just to make the playoffs. With him, they remain one of the few teams that could threaten Golden State’s supremacy.
The Thunder have waived guards Abdul Gaddy and Scotty Hopson and forwards Donte Grantham and Dez Wells, according to a team press release.
The moves pare Oklahoma City’s training camp roster to 16 players.
Gaddy saw spot duty in four preseason games. He has mostly played overseas since going undrafted out of Washington in 2013.
Grantham, Hopson and Wells were signed earlier this week. All could wind up with the team’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, once they clear waivers.
Grantham was averaging a career-best 14.2 PPG and 6.9 RPG for Clemson last season before tearing his ACL in January.
Hopson played in Turkey last season, averaging 11.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 27 games with Galatasaray. He played one game with the Mavericks last year after signing a 10-day contract in February and played two games for the Cavaliers in 2013/14.
Wells played in Italy last season, averaging 11.3 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 52 games with Sidigas Avellino.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is progressing in his rehab from knee surgery, though it’s unclear when he’ll make his return to the court, Royce Young of ESPN.com writes.
Westbrook underwent arthroscopic surgery in his right knee on September 12, and the former NBA Most Valuable Player is still unable to participate in full-contact drills. His status for Tuesday’s season-opener against Golden State is uncertain.
“Every day for him, he feels better and better,” coach Billy Donovan said after a team practice Thursday. “I don’t want to say [if he’ll be ready for Tuesday]. I know you guys want to know that, but that’s too far out and there will be a lot of things that will go into that decision.
“There’s certain things he’ll have to go through to get himself fully cleared to play, but he’s certainly moving in the right direction and he’s worked really hard at his rehab to get himself back.”
Despite not being able to play with full contact, Westbrook has participated in portions of team practices this month. The Thunder hope he can make his return next week, but they refuse to rush the process.
“He’s been in controlled situations that the medical staff has allowed him to do,” Donovan said. “And hopefully with the way he responds physically after going through a workout, they’ll be able to add a little bit more and more.”
There’s more notes out of the Northwest Division:
- Like Westbrook, Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless may also miss his team’s season opener, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Harkless has dealt with a sore left knee, a lingering injury that stems from when he underwent surgery in March. Portland opens its season next Thursday against the Lakers.
- Jazz guard Raul Neto is slated to miss at least two more weeks of action, the team announced this week. Neto is dealing with a right hamstring injury and will be sidelined to start the regular season.
- Dennis Schroder has refocused after leaving the Hawks and is looking forward to a new season with the Thunder, Brett Dawson of The Athletic writes.