Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Singler, Towns, Williams, Trail Blazers

September 1st, 2018 at 6:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder’s decision to use the stretch provision on Kyle Singler will result in a savings of about $20MM for the upcoming season, according to Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. The veteran forward was owed $4.996MM in the final season of an extension that was granted in 2015. That money that will now be paid out over the next five seasons, giving OKC a significant reduction in its 2018/19 luxury tax bill, which will drop from $93.1MM to $73.7MM.

Singler, 30, spent three and half seasons with the Thunder, but barely played last year. He dropped out of the rotation early and appeared in just 12 games, averaging 4.9 minutes per night. Oklahoma City tried to find a taker on the trade market, but had few first-round picks left to offer.

Cutting ties with Singler brings OKC down to 14 guaranteed contracts, along with two-way players Deonte Burton and Tyler Davis. The team payroll is set at $145.5MM, the highest in the league, well above the projected $101MM salary cap and the $123MM tax threshold.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

There hasn’t been any progress in extension talks between the Timberwolves and center Karl-Anthony Towns, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in a recent appearance on “The Jump.” Towns has until October 15 to reach an extension that could pay him up to $158MM over five years. Windhorst speculates that Towns might be considering a shorter agreement rather than a full five-year deal.
C.J. Williams, who signed a two-way contract with the Timberwolves in July, is putting his new team ahead of his role with USA Basketball, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. The former Clipper played for Jeff Van Gundy and the U.S. team last September, but will be in Minnesota on Monday when the national team opens training camp in its quest to qualify for the World Cup.
The Trail Blazers don’t seem to mind being among three NBA teams without direct G League affiliates, writes Marc Stein of The New York Times in his latest email notebook. Portland once had an affiliate in Idaho and isn’t convinced that it was a valuable investment, Stein adds. However, he notes that G League President Malcolm Turner said this year that he expects all 30 teams to have affiliates within 12 to 18 months, so the Blazers appear ready to give it another shot.

Thunder Waive Kyle Singler

August 31st, 2018 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 31: The Thunder have officially waived Singler, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 30: The Thunder will part ways with forward Kyle Singler, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is waiving Singler and using the stretch provision to help reduce the cost of this year’s roster.

The move had been expected to happen at some point this week, since August 31 is the last day that teams can waive a player and stretch his 2018/19 salary across multiple seasons. A player released after Friday can have his future salaries stretched, but his ’18/19 cap will remain unchanged.

Singler is owed $4,996,000 for 2018/19 and $5,333,500 for 2019/20, but his second-year salary is non-guaranteed, meaning the Thunder will only be responsible for paying him this season’s salary. The club will have the ability to stretch the cap hits across five seasons, resulting in annual charges of $999,200 through 2022/23.

While the savings for this year may not appear massive, the impact on the Thunder’s tax bill will be significant. With Singler’s full cap hit on the roster, OKC had a team salary of $149,579,364 and a projected tax bill of $93,193,411, by our count. Stretching Singler will reduce those figures to $145,582,564 and $73,785,429, respectively.

In total, the Thunder will trim the projected cost of their roster from $242,772,775 to $219,367,993, good for more than $23.4MM in savings, assuming they don’t fill Singler’s spot on the roster with someone else. Once Singler is officially released, the team will have 14 players on guaranteed deals.

Beyond the financial implications of the move, cutting Singler made sense for the Thunder from an on-court perspective. While Singler’s solid three-point shooting in his first three NBA seasons (.378 3PT%) earned him a long-term contract from the Thunder, the 30-year-old has regressed in recent years and fell out of Oklahoma City’s rotation in 2017/18, appearing sparingly in just 12 games.

Singler will become an unrestricted free agent once he clears waivers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Few Early NBA Salary Guarantee Dates This Fall

August 31st, 2018 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the summer, NBA teams faced a number of decisions on whether to keep a player and guarantee his salary or waive him and avoid that extra cost. In total, nearly 50 players had some sort of guarantee deadline on their contracts in June, July, and August.

Typically, that pattern continues to some extent in the fall. All NBA contracts for a given year become guaranteed on January 10 (not counting 10-day deals), but several contracts include trigger dates that come before the new year, most frequently around the start of the regular season.

A player with a mid-October salary guarantee date in his contract receives a sizable bonus if he makes his club’s regular season roster, perhaps even having his entire salary guaranteed. If he doesn’t earn a spot on his team’s 15-man squad, he’s waived without getting that guarantee, but has the opportunity to seek a new job elsewhere.

For the 2018/19 league year though, fall salary guarantee dates are scarce. While there are plenty of players on non-guaranteed contracts around the NBA, virtually all of those contracts will remain non-guaranteed until January 10.

According to data from Basketball Insiders and ESPN, the Knicks are one of the few teams carrying players with salary trigger dates this fall. Trey Burke, whose deal is currently partially guaranteed for $100K, will have that partial guarantee bumped to $400K if he remains under contract for the first game of the regular season. Noah Vonleh, on a non-guaranteed contract for now, will receive a $100K partial guarantee if he’s not waived by September 25.

Outside of those two dates, September 1 represents the other deadline of note for salary guarantees. The Thunder and Abdel Nader reportedly agreed to push his guarantee deadline from August 1 to September 1, so Nader – who currently has a $450K partial guarantee – should be in line for a fully guaranteed salary if he’s not waived by Saturday.

Elsewhere, there’s some conflicting info on a pair of Pelicans players. Emeka Okafor and DeAndre Liggins have $100K and $75K partial guarantees, respectively, according to Basketball Insiders. However, ESPN’s Bobby Marks indicated this week (via Twitter) that those partial guarantees won’t actually lock in until after September 1. If Okafor remains under contract through October 16, his guarantee would increase to $200K, per Basketball Insiders.

Salary details are still trickling in for some recent signees, and it’s possible that a few more free agent deals between now and the start of the season will feature trigger dates. For now though, there aren’t many salary guarantee deadlines worth keeping an eye on this fall.

Kyle Singler Among This Week’s Stretch Candidates

August 27th, 2018 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Friday, NBA teams have until August 31 to waive players and stretch their 2018/19 cap hits over multiple years. If a player is released after August 31, his current cap hit will remain unchanged, and only the subsequent years of his contract can be stretched.

With just a few more days for teams to stretch 2018/19 salaries, Thunder swingman Kyle Singler looks like the top candidate to be waived this week, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter).

Three factors are working against Singler and making him a prime release candidate. For one, he fell out of Oklahoma City’s rotation entirely in 2017/18, appearing in just 12 games and playing only 59 total minutes for the season. Secondly, he’s essentially on an expiring contract, since his $5.3MM+ salary for 2019/20 is non-guaranteed. And finally, the Thunder currently have the largest projected tax bill in the NBA, meaning waiving Singler could create substantial immediate savings for the franchise.

Currently, the Thunder have a total team salary of $149.58MM, with a projected tax bill of $93.19MM. If they were to waive Singler, who has a $4,996,000 salary, they could stretch his cap hit across five seasons due to his non-guaranteed second year, reducing this season’s cap charge to just $999,200. That would bring the Thunder’s team salary down to $145.58MM and their projected tax bill to about $73.79MM, creating $23MM+ in total savings.

Outside of Singler, there aren’t many obvious stretch candidates around the NBA. Other projected taxpayers could consider similar moves to save some money, but many of those clubs don’t have players on expiring contracts that they’d want to release. The Wizards, with Jason Smith and his expiring $5.45MM salary, may be one team to watch.

Another motive for a team to stretch a player’s 2018/19 salary would be to open up more cap room. However, there aren’t many clubs that can create meaningful cap space at this point in the offseason, and there’s little incentive to do so anyway, given the lack of players worth spending it on. The Kings (Iman Shumpert or others) and Suns (Darrell Arthur or Tyson Chandler) could open up a chunk of cap room by stretching well-paid veterans, but I’d be surprised if they cut into their projected space for 2019 and/or 2020 by doing so.

Should Nick Collison's Number Be Retired?

August 25th, 2018 at 8:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder should honor Nick Collison‘s years of service to the organization by retiring his number, contends an article in The Oklahoman (subscription only.) Collison was the 12th pick in the 2003 draft by the SuperSonics and remained with the team for a full decade after its move to Okahoma City. He announced his retirement in May.

Andre Roberson May Not Return Until December?

August 25th, 2018 at 3:50pm CST by clarkcrum

Despite previously reporting that Thunder guard Andre Roberson said he was on track to be back for the start of the 2018/19 season, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman is now being told that Roberson is still a “couple months away” from his return and that he’s targeting the end of 2018 for a return to normalcy.

Roberson, 26, says he’ll return “when (he) feel(s) ready” after rupturing his left patellar tendon in January of this year. “I’m not really putting a particular timeline on it, but I want to come back to myself somewhere in, like, December,” Roberson said. “It would be great if it happened before Christmas. That’d be great, but like I said, not putting a timeline on it, just taking it a day at a time.”

“Knowing the history of this injury, not many people come back from it the same way,” Roberson added, but also noted that “in today’s day and era, in terms of technology, medicine and stuff like that, it’s totally different,” crediting the Thunder’s medical staff with helping him work his way back.

Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said the team is fine with Roberson taking his time to get right and that he wouldn’t rush to get Roberson back on the court, especially considering the severity of the type of injury suffered by Roberson.

That being said, the Thunder are still sure to be eager to get Roberson back on the court. As Dawson notes, the Thunder ranked fifth in the NBA in defensive rating last season before Roberson got hurt. Afterward, Oklahoma City saw its rating drop ten spots to fifteenth.

Nader's Salary Becomes Guaranteed Sept. 1

August 24th, 2018 at 6:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder have to decide by September 1st whether to fully guarantee Abdel Nader‘s salary for next season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Nader will receive $450K of his $1,378,242 salary if he’s not retained. If Nader sticks, the Thunder will have 15 players on guaranteed contracts along with both two-way slots filled. It would be a surprise if the Thunder let Nader go, since they traded with the Celtics for the swingman last month.

Remaining Offseason Questions: Northwest Division

August 24th, 2018 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps more than a month away, most clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.

We’re in the midst of looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on the key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2018/19 regular season begins.

After focusing on the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast last week, we’ve moved to the Western Conference this week, starting with the Southwest and Pacific. Today, we’re finishing things off by focusing on the Northwest…

Denver Nuggets
Will the Nuggets sign Trey Lyles to a rookie scale extension?

The trade that sent Lyles to Denver won’t exactly go down as one of the great moves in Nuggets history, considering it cost the team the lottery pick that became Donovan Mitchell in last year’s draft. Still, don’t hold that against Lyles, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2017/18, establishing new career bests in PPG (9.9), RPG (4.8), FG% (.491), and 3PT% (.381) as one of the first players off Denver’s bench.

Lyles is eligible for a rookie scale extension up until October 15 this year, and while role players generally aren’t strong candidates for early deals of that nature, it’s a possibility worth considering for the Nuggets. Lyles is still just 22 years old, and if the club views him as one of its long-term building blocks, it could make sense to lock him up now before his role and his numbers increase further.

Unless they plan to exercise Paul Millsap‘s $30MM team option next summer, the Nuggets should have cap flexibility going forward, meaning a Lyles extension wouldn’t hamstring them. With Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, and Will Barton already secured to long-term deals, the Nuggets will have to decide whether they want Lyles to join that group now, or if they’ll take their chances with him in restricted free agency in 2019.

Minnesota Timberwolves
When will the Timberwolves sign Karl-Anthony Towns to a rookie scale extension, and what will it look like?

In the case of the Timberwolves and Towns, the questions isn’t whether or not an extension is coming — it’s a matter of when it will happen, and what it will look like.

Fourth-year players who get offered maximum-salary rookie scale extensions don’t turn them down, and it sounds like an offer of that caliber is on the table for Towns. There’s no rush to finalize it. Last year, Andrew Wiggins didn’t sign his max deal with the Timberwolves until October 11, just days before the regular season got underway.

There may be a little more room for back-and-forth negotiations with Towns than there was with Wiggins, however. While Wiggins signed a standard 25% maximum-salary extension, Towns would be eligible for a starting salary worth up to 30% of the cap if he earns All-NBA honors again next season. His camp and the Wolves may have to spend some time figuring out whether he’ll receive that full 30% if he qualifies, or if there’s a compromise to be reached between 25-30%.

As our early maximum salary projections for 2019/20 show, the total difference between a five-year, 25% max contract and a five-year, 30% max contract figures to exceed $30MM, so the starting point of Towns’ next deal is an important detail for the two sides to work out.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Will the Thunder release Kyle Singler or attempt to trim additional salary?

The Thunder were able to reduce their team salary and their projected luxury tax bill significantly in the three-way trade that (briefly) sent Carmelo Anthony to Atlanta. Still, Oklahoma City’s total team salary remains just shy of $150MM, creating a potential tax bill of $93MM+. In total, the roster projects to cost nearly $243MM.

Team ownership probably wouldn’t mind cutting costs a little more, and Singler is the most logical release candidate. His $4,996,000 expiring salary can be stretched across three seasons if he’s waived by next Friday. In that scenario, assuming the Thunder leave their 15th roster spot open, stretching Singler would reduce the overall cost of the 2018/19 squad by $20MM, taking into account the reduction in team salary and tax.

Although waiving Singler is the most obvious path to trimming salary, it’s possible the Thunder have another move or two up their sleeves. It’s also possible that they’re satisfied with the cost-cutting moves they’ve already made, and are committed to the current roster. Time will tell.

Portland Trail Blazers
Who will the Trail Blazers sign to their two-way contract slots? Will it matter?

Many teams around the NBA used their new two-way contract slots to great effect last season, relying on those two-way players for significant roles and eventually promoting them to a spot on the 15-man roster. That wasn’t really the case in Portland.

C.J. Wilcox and Wade Baldwin signed two-way deals with the Trail Blazers before the season and barely saw any action all season for the NBA club. Wilcox didn’t play a single minute for the Blazers, while Baldwin appeared in just seven games. All but one of Baldwin’s seven appearances came late in the season after he had been signed to a standard NBA contract.

The Blazers are one of just three NBA teams without a G League affiliate of their own, which is one obstacle in the way of maximizing their two-way contracts. If they need an extra body on a given night, it’s not easy to simply transfer a two-way player from their nearby NBAGL squad to the NBA roster. Last year, for example, Baldwin spent most of his time in the G League with the Texas Legends, whose arena is over 2,000 miles away from the Moda Center in Portland.

Despite the impracticality of shuttling their two-way players back and forth between the NBA and the G League, the Blazers still figure to fill those slots at some point. When they do, it will be interesting to see if they once again favor players with some NBA experience, like Wilcox and Baldwin, rather than developmental prospects that they won’t actually have the opportunity to develop due to their lack of NBAGL affiliate.

Utah Jazz
Do the Jazz need to do… anything before the regular season begins?

It’s fitting that the last of the 30 teams we’ve examined in this series is the one that seemingly has no burning questions to answer before the regular season begins.

The Jazz have their 15-man roster for the regular season virtually set, with Royce O’Neale joining 14 players on guaranteed contracts. They’ve filled their two-way contract slots. They don’t have any extension candidates. They’re not in any trouble from a cap perspective. Their coaching staff and front office is stable. Even their forthcoming rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20 look like simple ones. The Jazz do have one spot on their 20-man offseason roster they could fill, but that’s not exactly a pressing issue.

While there may be some rotation battles to watch during training camp, Utah’s primary focus this fall will be staying healthy — after all, it was Rudy Gobert‘s injury issues that played a significant part in the team’s slow start (19-28) last season. Having finished the regular season on a 29-6 run and won a playoff series, the Jazz will be looking to carry that momentum into the 2018/19 season as they push for a top-three seed in a tough Western Conference.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Paul George: Lakers Upset Over Free Agency Decision

August 23rd, 2018 at 3:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Paul George says the Lakers were angry that he refused to meet with them before re-signing with the Thunder, but adds that his mind was already made up. Appearing on the Short Story Long podcast, George contends there were hard feelings from team president Magic Johnson and the L.A. organization about his decision.

“I didn’t give Magic [Johnson] a meeting, which I understand,” George said. “But at that point, I knew I wanted to give it another shot [in Oklahoma City]. I didn’t want to prolong it and waste people’s time.”

A native of the Los Angeles area, George had once been considered very likely to join the Lakers when he hit free agency. The reason he was traded to the Thunder last summer is that his agent informed Pacers management that he had no plans to re-sign in Indiana.

However, George enjoyed his experience in OKC, even though the team was ousted from the playoffs in the first round. He was the first big-name free agent to announce his decision this year, making it official shortly after midnight Eastern time on July 1 at a party thrown by teammate Russell Westbrook.

The Thunder gave George a four-year deal worth $137MM with a player option for the final season. He played 79 games in his first season in Oklahoma City, posting a 21.9/5.7/3.3 line.

“Coming down to free agency, I didn’t want to waste any time,” George added. “I wanted to give it another shot. I gave them one year. We played well against the best teams. I wanted to give it a real shot.”

Jerami Grant Anticipates More Playing Time

August 21st, 2018 at 8:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder have added Bob Beyer to Billy Donovan‘s coaching staff, according to a team press release. Beyer spent the last four seasons on Stan Van Gundy’s Pistons staff, serving as the associate head coach the past two seasons. His NBA coaching experience dates back to the 2003/04 season as an assistant with the Raptors.
Thunder forward Jerami Grant anticipates a bigger role during the upcoming season after signing a multi-year contract, as he told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype in a Q&A session. Grant appeared in 81 games last season, averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 20.3 MPG. He anticipates even more playing time with the departure of Carmelo Anthony. “I’m definitely excited to be able to play extensive minutes and play important minutes on a contender. Getting a chance to show what you can do while being part of an organization like this, being part of a team like this, it means a lot. They’ve shown a lot of trust in me by giving me this new contract and [and a bigger role].” Grant signed a three-year, $27MM contract to remain with OKC.