- Russell Westbrook won’t have to shoulder so much of the burden for the Thunder this season with Paul George in the mix, according to Shaun Powell of NBA.com, who believes that Westbrook will look to accommodate his new All-Star teammate as much as possible. Speaking of George, Brett Dawson went into detail on the veteran forward’s intense offseason conditioning regimen in an interesting piece for The Oklahoman.
- Speaking to Nick Gallo of NBA.com, Patrick Patterson talked about why he chose the Thunder in free agency this offseason and how he envisions his role with the franchise. As Patterson notes, heading to Oklahoma City will give him the opportunity to re-connect with Billy Donovan, who attempted to recruit him out of high school.
- After two years of plying his trade in the G League, Dakari Johnson is ready to suit up for the Thunder. As Erik Horne of the Oklahoman writes, the second-round pick is settling in to his duties with the big league club.
The Thunder slipped in the Western Conference standings last season following the departure of Kevin Durant, but a super-human performance from Russell Westbrook ensured that the drop wasn’t as precipitous as many expected. Westbrook averaged over 15 PPG more than any of his teammates, and his 10.4 assists per game were more than the combined total of Oklahoma City’s next six top passers. Buoyed by Westbrook, the Thunder finished with a 47-35 record.
Heading into 2017/18, Westbrook will have a little more help, with the Thunder having sent Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana in exchange for Paul George. The club also made one of the more impressive under-the-radar free agent signings of the summer, locking up Patrick Patterson on an inexpensive three-year deal. Oklahoma City capped a solid offseason by re-signing elite defender Andre Roberson and adding Raymond Felton to shore up the point guard position.
Given their impressive roster moves, the Thunder are viewed by oddsmakers as a good candidate to improve this season. Offshore betting site Bovada.lv has placed their over/under at 50.5 wins, which would represent an increase of at least four wins over last year’s total.
While that may seem like a lock with a dynamic two-way player by George now on the roster, there’s no guarantee that Westbrook will continue to provide heroics at the same pace he did a year ago — the reigning MVP single-handedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the final minutes of games several times, allowing the team to finish a few games ahead of its expected record.
What do you think? Will the Thunder finish over or under 50.5 wins in 2017/18? Vote below and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
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Previous over/under voting results:
- Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
- Boston Celtics: Over 55.5 (63.5%)
- Houston Rockets: Over 55.5 (65.57%)
- San Antonio Spurs: Over 54.5 (67.74%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 53.5 (68.82%).
- Brad Botkin of CBSSports.com singles out five praiseworthy roster moves that flew under the radar this offseason, starting with the Thunder‘s signing of Patrick Patterson.
- The Thunder elected not to waive Kyle Singler at the stretching deadline yesterday. While that may not mean he’s in for a big role in 2017/18, the veteran forward’s contract could be a valuable asset to include in a mid-season trade, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes.
When top college prospects like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball are drafted, there’s virtually no doubt that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, particularly for international prospects and second-round picks.
When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Nikola Mirotic, Dario Saric, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.
However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.
While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs around the NBA currently hold the rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.
For instance, earlier this summer, the Pacers and Raptors agreed to a trade that sent Cory Joseph to Indiana. Toronto was happy to move Joseph’s salary and didn’t necessarily need anything in return, but the Pacers had to send something in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Indiana sent Toronto the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Preldzic is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Pacers/Raptors swap represented the fourth time since 2010 that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade.
This week, we’re taking a closer look at the players whose draft rights NBA teams currently hold, sorting them by division. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA teams, but many will end up like Preldzic, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.
Here’s a breakdown of the draft rights held by Northwest teams:
Denver Nuggets
- Sani Becirovic, G (2003; No. 46): Retired.
- Xue Yuyang, F/C (2003; No. 57): Retired.
- Izzet Turkyilmaz, F/C (2012; No. 50): Last played in Croatia.
- Nikola Radicevic, G (2015; No. 57): Playing in Serbia.
- Petr Cornelie, F (2016; No. 53): Playing in France.
- Vlatko Cancar, F (2017; No. 49): Playing in Serbia.
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Lior Eliyahu, F (2006; No. 44): Playing in Israel.
- Henk Norel, C (2009; No. 47): Playing in Spain.
- Paulao Prestes, C (2010; No. 45): Last played in Brazil.
- Bojan Dubljevic, F/C (2013; No. 59): Playing in Spain.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Abdul Shamsid-Deen, C (1990; No. 53): Retired.
- Sofoklis Schortsanitis, C (2003; No. 34): Last played in Greece.
- Szymon Szewczyk, F/C (2003; No. 35): Playing in Poland.
- Paccelis Morlende, G (2003; No. 50): Last played in France.
- Yotam Halperin, G (2006; No. 53): Playing in Israel.
- DeVon Hardin, C (2008; No. 50): Retired.
Portland Trail Blazers
- Marcelo Nicola, F (1993; No. 50): Retired.
- Doron Sheffer, G (1996; No. 36): Retired.
- Federico Kammerichs, F/C (2002; No. 51): Retired.
- Nedzad Sinanovic, C (2003; No. 54): Retired.
- Daniel Diez, F (2015; No. 54): Playing in Spain.
Utah Jazz
- Peter Fehse, F (2002; No. 49): Retired.
- Mario Austin, F/C (2003; No. 36): Retired.
- Ante Tomic, C (2008; No. 44): Playing in Spain.
- Shan Foster, G/F (2008; No. 51): Retired.
- Nigel Williams-Goss, G (2017; No. 55): Playing in Serbia.
Previously:
Information from Mark Porcaro and Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
- Big man Steven Adams and his Thunder head coach, Billy Donovan, have spent time bonding in Adams’ native New Zealand, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. “For me, there’s an incredible power with a group of people that are connected in what they’re doing,” Donovan said. “I feel like my job, my role, my responsibility – whether it be during the season or in the offseason – is to try and create those connections. Because if we’re all unified, connected and moving in the right direction, it has a chance to be something really powerful.“
Enes Kanter holds a player option worth slightly over $18.62MM for the 2018/19 campaign and the center is expected to exercise it, according to Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript (Twitter link). A source close to the situation told Katz that it would be shocking if Kanter opts to become a free agent after this season.
Kanter signed a four-year, $70MM offer sheet with the Blazers back in the summer of 2015 when he was a restricted free agent. The Thunder then matched the offer despite the presence of a blossoming Steven Adams on the roster. Heading into this offseason, some speculated that Kanter could be on the move, as Oklahoma City had a surplus of big men. No trade materialized and the Turkey native is slated to begin the season as the team’s backup five.
Kanter played in 72 games for OKC last season, coming off the bench in each one. He scored 14.3 points and grabbed 6.7 rebounds per game and sported an excellent 23.7 player efficiency rating during the regular season. However, he struggled mightily on the defensive end during the playoffs, prompting coach Billy Donovan to play him in only 45 minutes of action during the team’s five postseason games.
As Doug McDermott prepares for his first full season with the Thunder, he knows that he will have to improve, writes Nick Gallo of NBA.com. “I try to add something each summer because I don’t want to stay the same player,” McDermott said. “I feel like I can still get a lot better.”
McDermott will need to be a more dynamic threat. The forward must take better advantage of post-up opportunities, as he did in high school and college. “I’m just more than a spot-up shooter. I know I can move without the ball, and I think that just puts more pressure on them, and it can open up more things for everyone out there,” McDermott explained.
“The way the league is trending, it’s getting smaller with a lot of small ball and guys that can really spread the floor regardless of their position. I feel like I’m just a basketball player,” McDermott added. “I’m excited after talking with Coach Donovan. We’ve got a great facility here, and it’s a great city, too, so I plan on bouncing around a little bit, having some fun, but also coming here ready to work.”
Here’s more from the Northwest division:
- Of all the teams trading for superstar players this offseason, the Thunder gave up the least in return, argues Berry Tramel of NewsOK.com. Tramel looks at the Paul George trade, as well as the deals involving Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, and Kyrie Irving, and the scribe pronounces that the Thunder traded away the least value.
- Mike Jensen of Philly.com profiles Nuggets veteran point guard Jameer Nelson, focusing on what it takes to thrive in the NBA at Nelson’s advanced age of 35 years old. Nelson’s boxing training has helped him stay in peak physical condition. “He’s in better shape than the first five years I trained him,’’ Nelson’s trainer said, adding that Nelson picked up boxing part “like it was walking.”
- The Trail Blazers have named Jesse Ellis the new Director of Player Health and Performance. “The addition of Jesse is another step toward developing the finest health and performance staff in the NBA,” said general manager Neil Olshey.
The G League held its expansion draft to accommodate for the association’s four new franchises and Chris Reichert of 2 Ways, 10 Days has broken down the results, recapping the nuances of the developmental league’s various processes.
As Reichert lays out, teams made their bids for each player’s returning rights for a period of two seasons. What that means is that the G League clubs will effectively reserve those players should they ever find themselves back in the league. Many currently ply their trade either for NBA squads or for teams overseas.
The current NBA crop selected in the G League expansion draft is headlined by Sean Kilpatrick and Okaro White. The big league rotation players, however, are unlikely to return to the G League, at least in 2017/18, rendering them ineffective selections.
There’s more from around the NBA:
- Speaking of G League peculiarities, the Oklahoma City Blue (the G League affiliate of the Thunder) made a trade with the SLC Stars (Jazz affiliate) for the rights to Marcus Paige but, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer explains, Paige will actually suit up for the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets affiliate). Earlier this month the Hornets signed Paige to a two-way deal and that supersedes whichever team owns his G League rights.
- With one more year left on his suspension, former Bucks guard O.J. Mayo could consider a gig in the G League, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways, 10 Days opines. There is, however, no guarantee that he would be permitted to do so.
- It’s been a decade since he coached the Rockets, which makes Jeff Van Gundy‘s return to the bench with Team USA all that much more exciting. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN recently spoke with Van Gundy about his role with the USA Basketball World Cup qualifying team.