Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Sign Center Nerlens Noel

July 6th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6th, 10:00pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 2nd, 1:55pm: Free agent center Nerlens Noel has reached an agreement to sign with the Thunder, league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. According to Charania, Noel will sign a two-year contract that includes a second-year player option. It’s a minimum deal, per Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).

Noel, 24, began his NBA career with the Sixers as the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft. After missing his rookie year with a knee injury, the big man played well in his next two seasons, averaging 10.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.8 SPG, and 1.7 BPG in 142 games.

However, with Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Richaun Holmes in the mix at center for the 76ers in 2016/17 and Noel once again battling knee issues, he struggled to carve out a regular role and was eventually sent to Dallas at the trade deadline.

As a restricted free agent during the 2017 offseason, Noel reportedly passed on a four-year, $70MM offer from the Mavericks and ultimately signed his one-year qualifying offer, putting him on track for unrestricted free agency this summer. Once again limited by injuries, Noel appeared in just 30 games during his contract year in 2017/18, averaging 4.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 15.7 minutes per contest.

Noel will get an opportunity to rebuild his value in Oklahoma City, where he’ll presumably slot in as the team’s backup center behind Steven Adams. According to Charania, the Thunder “aggressively” pursued Noel in free agency, with head coach Billy Donovan meeting him on July 1. Russell Westbrook and Paul George pitched the young center on joining the club, Charania adds.

The Thunder’s agreement with Noel is the latest move in an eventful offseason for the franchise, which has already struck lucrative new deals with George and Jerami Grant.

The Thunder currently project to be way over the tax line, with team salary set to $160MM+, so cost-cutting moves are expected at some point along the way. Carmelo Anthony – who has an expiring contract worth $27.93MM – represents the most obvious candidate to be stretched, since the cap and tax savings created by reducing his cap hit to $9.31MM would be massive.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Paul George Re-Signs With Thunder

July 6th, 2018 at 6:46pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 6th, 6:46pm: The signing is official, per team press release.

JUNE 30th, 11:19pm: According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the contract will be a four-year pact worth $137MM. The deal will include a player option.

10:45: Free agent guard Paul George has committed to re-signing with the Thunder, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The news comes at the end of a year-long recruitment effort after the franchise acquired the former Pacers star in a stunning 2017 trade.

General manager Sam Presti and the Thunder wagered that the club would be able to convince George to stay in town despite the very public revelation that he had eyes for the Lakers.

While the Thunder didn’t make the playoff run they may have hoped this season, there’s no denying that the presence of George gives the team a higher long-term ceiling.

In 79 games with Oklahoma City, George averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

While he ultimately signed for less, George was eligible for a five-year, $177MM deal as a player with 7-9 years of experience signing with the same team. The 2018/19 cap hit for such a deal will be $30.6MM, per the recently revealed salary cap figures. Prior to the announcement of the deal, reports indicated that the star forward might prefer a shorter-term deal, possibly a two-year pact with a second-year option.

Now that George has signed on for the max, it will push the Thunder deep into luxury-tax territory. Carmelo Anthony, who has a $28MM salary for 2018/19, could be a candidate to be waived and stretched if Oklahoma City needs to cut costs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hornets Trade Hamidou Diallo To Thunder

July 6th, 2018 at 1:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Diallo trade is now official, per a press release from the Thunder. As first reported by Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, the Hornets receive Oklahoma City’s 2019 second-round pick and cash in the deal.

JUNE 21: The Hornets will send 45th pick Hamidou Diallo to the Thunder, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The teams can’t finalize the deal until July 6 because it involves a pick that Charlotte will receive from the Nets in the Dwight Howard trade, which also can’t be completed until that date.

Diallo, 19, was a top recruit coming out of college in 2016, but made a late commitment to Kentucky and redshirted during his first season there. He declared for the draft last year, but elected to return to college, where he averaged 10.0 points in 37 games.

There’s no word yet on what the Hornets will get in return for Diallo.

Rockets, Heat, Lakers Expected To Have Interest In Carmelo Anthony

July 6th, 2018 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder intend to part ways with Carmelo Anthony this summer, whether that means trading him, waiving and stretching him, or buying him out and stretching him. With a trade considered a long shot, potential suitors for Anthony expect him to reach the open market, at which point he’ll likely be “pursued vigorously” by contending teams, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarwoski and Royce Young.

According to Wojnarowski and Young, the Rockets, Heat, and Lakers are among the teams expected to express interest in Anthony. Word of Houston’s interest was first tweeted by Marc Stein of The New York Times.

The Rockets have their $5.337MM taxpayer mid-level exception available and pursued Anthony last summer. Heading to Houston would allow Anthony to compete for a title and join old friend Chris Paul.

Anthony could also team up with a close friend in Los Angeles, with LeBron James poised to sign with the Lakers. L.A. still has about $5.6MM in cap room available, so the club would be able to offer Carmelo more than the minimum.

As for the Heat, they haven’t used any of their mid-level exception, so they’d be able to go up to $5.337MM, or perhaps even higher if they’re willing to hard-cap themselves. They might not be as close to title contention as the Rockets or Lakers, but the Heat could have a clearer path to a deep playoff run than L.A. at least, given how much more competitive the West will be. They’d also have a Banana-Boater on their roster if Dwyane Wade opts to return.

Recognizing that the Thunder will have to let him go at some point, Anthony may not be incentivized to surrender much money in a buyout agreement with Oklahoma City. However, if he knows he has a $5MM+ offer lined up with another team, it could push him to give up a little of his Thunder salary to accelerate the process.

Thunder, Carmelo Anthony To Part Ways

July 6th, 2018 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

While the specifics haven’t yet been finalized, the Thunder and Carmelo Anthony will part ways at some point this summer, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Royce Young. Per ESPN’s report, the Thunder and Anthony’s camp are expected to work together to figure out whether Anthony will be traded, waived and stretched, or bought out and stretched.

According to Wojnarowski and Young, both sides are on board with ending the relationship. Anthony recognizes that he’d be in line for a scaled-back role if he remains in Oklahoma City, and the Thunder want to cut costs by trying to get out from under Carmelo’s contract.

Anthony, who opted into the final year of his current contract, is in line for a salary of $27,928,140 as a result of waiving his early termination option. With the Thunder’s team salary projected to significantly exceed the luxury tax line, clearing a good chunk of Carmelo’s exorbitant salary would be the quickest way to creating substantial savings for 2018/19.

As cap expert Albert Nahmad tweets, simply waiving and stretching Anthony could reduce Oklahoma City’s projected luxury tax bill by about $91-95MM, and the team would only have to pay a third of his salary this season. Of course, stretching Anthony would create $9.3MM+ cap hits in 2019/20 and 2020/21, when the Thunder also figure to have repeater tax concerns, which is why OKC will explore trade and buyout options too.

The Bulls are the only team that currently has the cap flexibility to absorb Anthony’s contract outright, though a couple other clubs could take on Carmelo if they sent out a little salary in the deal. However, a trade is probably unlikely, given the lack of teams with cap room and the fact that the Thunder would have to attach multiple assets to him in order to incentivize such a swap. Anthony also has a no-trade clause and could veto any deal he didn’t like.

A buyout is perhaps the most viable path for the Thunder. While Anthony is unlikely to give up major money, every dollar he’s willing to surrender would be worth exponentially more to Oklahoma City, given the team’s tax outlook. If he were to agree to reduce his Thunder salary by even $4MM or so, OKC could stretch his salary at about $8MM per year rather than $9.3MM+ annually.

If and when Anthony and the Thunder figure out his exit route, it will be interesting to see which clubs step up as suitors for the veteran forward. While he isn’t the player he once was, Carmelo still averaged 16.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG with a .357 3PT% last season for OKC, and could make sense in certain roles for a number of contenders.

The Lakers and Rockets seem likely to emerge as possible options for Anthony. Both teams have $5MM+ available in cap room or a mid-level exception and are expected to contend in the West. And each club has one of Carmelo’s good friends – LeBron James and Chris Paul – on its roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Paul George Happy; Noel A Positive Acquisition

July 4th, 2018 at 5:03pm CST by clarkcrum

Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes that although Paul George did in fact want to be a Laker at this time last year, he is now happy in Oklahoma City after signing a four-year, $137MM max contract with the Thunder on the eve of free agency.
While it’s probably a bit bold to get too excited about the free agent signing of a backup, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes that the addition of 24 year-old center Nerlens Noel on a minimum-salary deal is a low-risk, high-reward move by the Thunder.

Thunder, Lakers, Others Meet With Tyreke Evans

July 2nd, 2018 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

12:31pm: Appearing on 92.9 ESPN in Memphis, Evans’ brother said the free agent guard is also meeting with the Warriors and Hornets today, and has yet to be contacted by the Grizzlies (Twitter links via John Martin of 92.9 ESPN).

Evans’ brother said that “if the Grizzlies asked us for a last-minute meeting, we would take it,” but it sounds like the decision could come down to the Thunder, Lakers, Warriors, and Hornets, tweets Martin.

11:36am: Free agent guard Tyreke Evans met with the Thunder on Sunday in Los Angeles and will have a meeting with the Lakers on Monday, reports ESPN’s Chris Haynes (via Twitter).

While it’s not clear yet whether Oklahoma City or Los Angeles are serious suitors for Evans, either team would be a fascinating on-court fit. The Thunder and Lakers have been two of the most active clubs so far in free agency, with OKC having reached agreements with Paul George and Jerami Grant, while L.A. secured commitments from LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee.

Given their activity so far, neither the Thunder nor Lakers could make Evans a lucrative offer as things currently stand. The Thunder project to be well into luxury-tax territory, so they’d have the $5.337MM mid-level exception available if they’re willing to use it — doing so would cost exponentially more in tax penalties.

As for the Lakers, we discussed their cap situation in depth earlier today. For now, they’d only be able to offer Evans a minimum-salary deal, but they could open up more cap room by renouncing Julius Randle or by waiving and stretching Luol Deng.

In addition to the Lakers and Thunder, the Pelicans have been linked to Evans, and the Grizzlies are also believed to have interest in re-signing the unrestricted free agent, who averaged an impressive 19.4 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 5.1 RPG in an injury-shortened 2017/18 campaign.

New York Notes: Harris, Davis, Nets, Hezonja

July 2nd, 2018 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

Before he agreed to a two-year, $16MM deal with the Nets, free agent sharpshooter Joe Harris fielded competitive offers from rival suitors. However, he tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic that his priority was remaining in Brooklyn.

“I had some offers for longer-term deals, but ultimately from the get-go, I had basically said that I wanted to stay in Brooklyn and however we could come to an agreement on that,” Harris said.

Meanwhile, the Nets’ other noteworthy July 1 move involved reaching a contract agreement with Ed Davis, who will ink a one-year, $4.4MM contract with the club. According to Scotto, Davis received interest from the Warriors, Sixers, Thunder, and Trail Blazers before striking a deal with the Nets.

Here are a few more notes on the NBA’s two New York teams:

The Nets are not actively shopping anyone on their roster in trade talks, a league source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That includes Jeremy Lin, who has a $12.5MM expiring contract in 2018/19 and will be part of a point guard rotation that also includes Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell.
Within his report on Mario Hezonja‘s agreement with the Knicks, Marc Berman of The New York Post notes that the forward chose New York over seven other teams, including the runner-up Trail Blazers. “The main reason is David Fizdale. He sold him,” a source told Berman. “The goal is to be here long term and finish his career. He was a fan of the team growing up.” Hezonja’s deal significantly reduces the odds of Michael Beasley returning to the Knicks, Berman adds.
Nets restricted free agent Milton Doyle has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and an Eastern Conference team, among others, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). A two-way player last year, Doyle could sign an offer sheet with another club, but Brooklyn would have the chance to match it.

Lakers Notes: James, Bosh, Noel

July 1st, 2018 at 9:42pm CST by Austin Kent

LeBron James‘ 2018 free agency was always a two-horse race between the Lakers and Cavaliers, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on SportsCenter, noting that the meeting with the Sixers earlier today was a mere courtesy.

The decision to move to Los Angeles had been in the back of James’ mind for a while now, leaving the Lakers in the driver’s seat for the past three weeks with little left to do but not blow it.

In the television interview, Windhorst spoke of the exodus of the King’s staffers, who relocated from Miami to the west coast during James’ second stint with the Cavaliers, and the fact that his wife has been looking at Los Angeles schools for the past year.

With James already in hand, Magic Johnson simply had to close the deal and, as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne adds, was actually at James’ residence when free agency officially began.

There’s more out of Los Angeles tonight:

One name to keep an eye on as a potential Lakers addition is free agent big man Chris Bosh, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Bosh played alongside James for four years in Miami but has been out of the game since February, 2016 after being diagnosed with life-threatening blood clots. A comeback would require some additional paperwork but a successful return would not impact the Heat’s payroll.
There’s a chance that Brook Lopez ends up back in Los Angeles now that much of the team’s available cap space has been tied up in James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Keith Smith of RealGM tweets. Lopez was under contract for $22MM with the Lakers in 2017/18 and averaged 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
The Lakers are one of three teams that Nerlens Noel has narrowed his free agency decision down to, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Noel is represented by Rich Paul, the same agent that represents James and Caldwell-Pope. The Wizards and Thunder are the other two teams on Noel’s short list.

Free Agency Notes: George, MCW, Booker, Parker

July 1st, 2018 at 3:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Thunder and Paul George agreed to a four-year deal worth $137MM at the start of free agency and according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the team will have the option to offer George an even bigger raise in two years.

Under the new CBA, the team can offer George an extension after the second anniversary of the deal, meaning PG13 can sign a four-year max deal in 2020 that locks him in for seven seasons. The total value of the potential seven-year pact would come in at an estimated $290MM based off of future salary cap projections.

The team’s ability to re-sign George was shocking to some, as many expected the 5-time All-Star to leave OKC for Los Angeles, a city he’s been linked to for quite some time. It’s possible that the team’s ability to offer the max extension at the halfway point of the four-year contract was part of George’s motivation to stick around, though that’s merely my speculation.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Rockets will meet with Michael Carter-Williams, league sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). While Houston appears to be looking into ancillary parts for its team, the franchise hasn’t given up hope on pursuing LeBron James.
The Jazz and Pelicans have both expressed interest in Trevor Booker, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link). The Wolves, Rockets, Knicks, and Spurs also have an eye on the big man.
The Bulls have interest in Jabari Parker, Kennedy tweets. Chicago is one of several teams expected to pursue the former No. 2 overall pick.
The Wolves are looking to sign Dante Cunningham, sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Minnesota has eyes for a bevy of veteran free agents to fill it’s five open roster spots.