Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Allow Carmelo Anthony To Meet With Prospective Suitors

July 10th, 2018 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Thunder and Carmelo Anthony expected to part ways, the team granted the veteran forward permission to meet with prospective suitors, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Wojnarowski, Anthony and his representatives – including agent Leon Rose – met with the Rockets and Heat in Las Vegas at the NBA Summer League in recent days. The Lakers are also among the teams said to have interest in Anthony, though there’s no indication in Wojnarowski’s report that they’ve met with Carmelo or his reps. Marc Stein of The New York Times suggests L.A.’s interest in Anthony may be overstated.

As Woj details, Anthony’s meeting with the Rockets included head coach Mike D’Antoni, who spent time in New York with the 34-year-old. While the two men had a rocky relationship as members of the Knicks, D’Antoni made it clear during their latest meeting that the circumstances would be much different this time around. The Houston coach welcomed the idea of reuniting with Anthony, league sources tell Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski didn’t provide any specifics on Anthony’s meeting with the Heat, but says that coach Erik Spoelstra has been a “strong advocate” of adding the 10-time All-Star.

Before Anthony can sign with the Rockets, the Heat, or any other club, he’d need to become a free agent. According to Wojnarowski, the Thunder are still exploring possible trade scenarios that would send Carmelo to a new team, which would subsequently waive him. However, such an outcome seems unlikely — no team has the cap room to absorb his $28MM salary outright, and any over-the-cap clubs would have to send out more than $22MM to meet salary-matching rules.

Teams with cap room available are more viable trade partners for Oklahoma CIty, but would still have to send out some salary in any deal, and would likely expect significant assets from the Thunder, whose 2020 first-rounder is tied up as a result of another trade.

Anthony also has a no-trade clause, but he has agreed to waive it if he gets sent to a team that doesn’t intend to keep him, Wojnarowski notes.

Thunder Sent Hornets $243K In Diallo Swap

July 9th, 2018 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

During the 2018/19 league year, an NBA team can only acquire up to $5.243MM in cash in trades, so the Hornets nearly reached their limit in that transactions with the Nets. Charlotte did reach its limit shortly thereafter, when the team flipped one of the second-rounders it acquired from Brooklyn to the Thunder. In that swap, which sent Hamidou Diallo to Oklahoma City, the Hornets received $243K in cash along with a 2019 second-round pick, tweets Pincus.

Rockets Considered Favorites To Land Carmelo Anthony?

July 8th, 2018 at 10:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Many NBA executives consider the Rockets the favorite to land Carmelo Anthony, according to Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer (Twitter link).

O’Connor also predicts that Melo will sign with Houston but names the Lakers, Heat, and Sixers as other possibilities. It was previously reported that Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami were expected to have interest in the future Hall-of-Famer.

Anthony’s business manager, Bay Frazier, spent a good portion of the Warriors-Rockets summer league game alongside the Rockets’ brass. Frazier was seen with Chris Paul, owner Tilman Fertitta, player development coach John Lucas II, and head coach Mike D’Antoni, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).

The Rockets were linked to Anthony last summer, having pursued him when the Knicks were looking to make a move. New York wasn’t interested in taking back Ryan Anderson as part of the deal and talks stalled, leading the organization to send Anthony to the Thunder. While Anthony’s latest breakup isn’t yet finalized, a buyout arrangement appears forthcoming, as OKC is unlikely to find a taker on the trade market for his nearly $28MM salary.

The Thunder are facing luxury tax concerns and will be looking to trim as much salary as possible off their books in negotiations. The Rockets have the $5,337MM taxpayer mid-level exception at their disposal and if Anthony can line up an offer with Houston or another club, it may expedite the process of him leaving the Thunder.

Thunder Sign Deonte Burton To Two-Way Contract

July 7th, 2018 at 3:54pm CST by clarkcrum

The Thunder have signed former Iowa State guard/forward Deonte Burton to a two-way contract, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM. The Thunder also officially announced the signing.

Burton, 24, went undrafted in 2017 before signing with Wonju DB Promy of South Korea’s KBL, where he started 63 games and averaged 23.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game last season.

He is currently playing for the Thunder in the Las Vegas Summer League, who are coached by Mark Daigneault. Daigneault also coaches the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, where Burton is likely to spend most of his time next season.

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.