Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Intrigued By Idea Of Adding Anthony; Kanter Undergoes Successful Surgery

January 28th, 2017 at 3:57pm CST by Austin Kent

The Thunder are intrigued by the idea of adding Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, though he also adds that they know such a pairing is a long-shot.

Anthony has been the subject of trade speculation for the last few months. In order for the forward to change teams, however, he would have to first waive his no-trade clause, something that he’s said to have only considered for the Clippers or Cavaliers and not specifically the Thunder.

That said, the possibility of suiting up alongside Russell Westbrook must at least somewhat appeal to the 32-year-old. Westbrook has led the Thunder to a 28-19 record.

After fracturing his forearm while punching a chair, Enes Kanter has undergone successful surgery, writes Royce Young of ESPN. The Thunder big man is still expected to be out of action for 6-8 weeks, but will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/27/17

January 27th, 2017 at 10:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s NBA D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

Three Pistons players were assigned to the D-League today, with Henry Ellenson, Darrun Hilliard, and Michael Gbinije all joining the Grand Rapids Drive, per a team release. Detroit has a fully healthy roster for the time being, meaning there aren’t enough minutes to go around for the club’s young players. The plan is for them to remain in the D-League for two games, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
The Knicks assigned Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee to the D-League earlier today, according to the team (Twitter link). Ndour led the Westchester Knicks with 22 points tonight, while Plumlee grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
Rookie forward Joel Bolomboy was sent back to the Salt Lake City Stars by the Jazz, per a team press release. Bolomboy had 17 points and 15 boards for Utah’s NBADL affiliate tonight.
The Mavericks assigned A.J. Hammons and Nicolas Brussino to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Both players were in the starting lineup tonight for the Texas Legends, scoring a club-high 19 points apiece.
After being assigned to Long Island on Thursday, Chris McCullough was recalled by the Nets today, according to a press release. McCullough saw five minutes of action in Brooklyn’s loss against Cleveland tonight.
Semaj Christon and Josh Huestis were also recalled to the NBA after a one-day D-League assignment, the Thunder announced in a press release. The duo contributed to the Oklahoma City Blue’s home win over Iowa on Thursday.

Loss Of Kanter Means More Work For Westbrook

January 27th, 2017 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The loss of Enes Kanter will create an even greater burden for Russell Westbrook, notes Royce Young of ESPN.com. Kanter is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks after breaking his right forearm by punching a chair Thursday night. The Thunder center was third in the Sixth Man of the Year voting last year and has become even more valuable this season by improving his passing, Young writes. His absence robs the bench unit of a player who can create his own offense.

Enes Kanter Fractures Forearm Punching Chair

January 26th, 2017 at 10:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:33 PM: Kanter will be out six to eight weeks, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

10:00 PM: Thunder coach Billy Donovan told the media during his postgame press conference that Kanter suffered a fractured forearm, Wojnarowski tweets. Donovan said he would meet with Kanter before commenting on how the 6’11” center injured himself, Young tweets. No timetable has been established for Kanter’s return, according to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).

9:36 PM: Thunder center Enes Kanter, a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, is feared to have fractured his right hand, sources told The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Kanter suffered the injury punching a chair on the bench in frustration after he was called for an offensive foul against the Mavericks on Thursday night.

He had X-rays on his wrist, ESPN.com’s Royce Young reports, and there is concern that the injury is significant pending further evaluation (Twitter link).

Kanter has arguably been the league’s most productive reserve this season, averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 21.9 MPG. Kanter leads all centers with a Player Efficiency Rating of 24.76.

With Kanter out for an extended period, the Thunder will have to rely more heavily on starter Steven Adams. Joffrey Lauvergne will likely pick up the bulk of Kanter’s minutes off the bench. Nick Collison, 36, could also be in rotation mix after barely seeing the court this season.

Kanter has been very durable in recent years. He has played in every game this season and answered the bell every time last season, when he averaging 12.7 PPG and 8.1 RPG. He appeared in 75 combined games for the Jazz and Thunder two seasons ago, and played 80 games for Utah in 2013/14.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/26/17

January 26th, 2017 at 7:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

7:49 PM

The Grizzlies assigned rookie forward Troy Williams to the Iowa Energy, the team posted on its website. Williams has appeared in nine games over two previous assignments with the Energy, averaging 15.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.3 APG in 21.5 minutes. He has appeared in 24 games for the Grizzlies, averaging 5.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.0 SPG in 17.4 minutes.
The Jazz recalled rookie forward Joel Bolomboy from the Salt Lake City Stars after assigning him to the D-League earlier in the day, the club announced in a press release. Although he has barely played for Utah this season, Bolomboy has been a double-double machine during his time in the D-League, averaging 15.2 PPG and 12.8 RPG in 13 games.

1:15 PM

The Thunder have assigned guard Semaj Christon and forward Josh Huestis to the D-League, the club announced today in a press release. Although Christon had a rotation role for Oklahoma City earlier this season, he has seen his NBA role reduced since Cameron Payne returned to the lineup.
The Mavericks have recalled A.J. Hammons from the D-League, according to a press release from the team. Hammons had eight points, five boards, and four blocks for the Texas Legends on Wednesday.
The Nets have sent Chris McCullough back to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. McCullough has spent a good chunk of the season with the Long Island Nets, averaging 19.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG in 25 contests for the club.

And-Ones: All-Star Snubs, BIG3, Team USA

January 22nd, 2017 at 6:48pm CST by Austin Kent

The starters for this year’s NBA All-Star Game were announced this week and, as always, people were quick to disagree with the players selected. Unique this year is the fact that fans don’t shoulder all of the blame. This year the fans accounted for just 50% of the vote, while the media accounted for 25% and players accounted for 25%.

There were plenty of hot takes about what should have happened, but none more memorable than Clippers head coach Doc Rivers‘ regarding the snub of Russell Westbrook. To ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Rivers said: “Fake news. I am just shocked that fans don’t see the same things we see.”

Also among Westbrook supporters were Sam Amick of USA Today and Kevin Garnett.

“This might be the league’s all-time history snub right here,” Garnett said on his TV show Area 21. “Seriously. He has to be on the team, bruh.”

Another guard left out of the starting lineup was Kyle Lowry and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today made a case for him over either Kyrie Irving or DeMar DeRozan.

Lang Whitaker of NBA.com discussed the official list of starters.

There are more general headlines from around the league:

Count Ricky Davis and Al Harrington among the retired players expected to sign on with the BIG3, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
With the trade deadline a month away, Keith Smith of RealGM explored the most tradeable contracts in the NBA. Draymond Green, for example, looks to be a bargain given the under-market deal he signed in 2015.
A report at NBA.com implies that LeBron James could play for Team USA in the 2020 Olympics. The fact that Gregg Popovich will lead the program has had a significant impact. “It factors a lot,” James said. “I’ve said that before. He’s just a great mastermind of the game of basketball.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/21/17

January 21st, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the D-League transactions for the day:

The Suns have recalled Derrick Jones Jr. from their D-League affiliate, the team announced via Twitter. Jones Jr. has averaged 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 18 games in the D-League.
The Thunder have recalled Josh Huestis and Semaj Christon from their affiliate in the D-League, according to a press release issued by the team. The pair have averaged 18.7 points and 14.2 points respectively during their stints in the D-League.
The Sixers have recalled big man Richaun Holmes, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Holmes hasn’t played in an NBA game since suffering a concussion on December 14.

Northwest Notes: Ezeli, Hayward, Hood, Sabonis

January 15th, 2017 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers may be considering a Disabled Player Exception for Festus Ezeli, according to Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. Today is the deadline to apply to the league for a DPE, and NBA officials would have to agree that Ezeli’s injury will keep him out for the rest of the season. The 27-year-old center hasn’t played since signing a two-year, $15MM deal with Portland over the summer. He had offseason surgery on his left knee, but wasn’t able to do more than a couple of practices before it started hurting again. Ezeli said last month that another operation, which would sideline him for the rest of the season, might be necessary to save his career. If the DPE is approved, the Blazers would be granted half of Ezeli’s cap hit to sign a free agent or to use in a trade.

There’s more this morning from the Northwest Division:

Jazz star Gordon Hayward might be tempted to reunite with former college coach Brad Stevens in Boston, but Utah will be able to make a substantially better offer when he becomes a free agent this summer, writes Randy Hollis of The Deseret News. The Jazz can offer Hayward a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $180MM, while other teams will be limited to $132MM over four seasons. Another option for Hayward is to sign with Utah for one year and hope to make the All-NBA team, which would make him eligible for the new Designated Veteran Player status and a $235MM deal over six seasons. Hollis thinks the Jazz can improve their chances with Hayward by re-signing George Hill, who has become an effective complement to Hayward.
Rodney Hood will be re-evaluated today after suffering a hyperextended right knee late in Saturday’s game, the Jazz tweeted. He had to be helped off the court after the knee buckled on a drive to the basket. “Hopefully it’s not serious,” coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s serious enough that he had to leave the game, but we don’t know when he’ll be back.”
The Thunder are urging rookie forward Domantas Sabonis to shoot fewer 3-pointers, relays Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. That was the plan even before a recent shooting slump in which he has missed 18 of his last 19 shots from long distance. “What I don’t want to see him just become is just a stretch four, a guy that’s just shooting 3s,” said coach Billy Donovan. “We’ve got to be able to utilize his ability to handle the ball and pass, his ability to play with his back to the basket. And certainly face up and shoot the basketball when it’s there.”

Payne's Return Shakes Up OKC Roster

January 13th, 2017 at 4:40pm CST by Austin Kent

Though he’s played sparingly for the Thunder since making his return, the addition of Cameron Payne has made head coach Billy Donovan‘s job setting each game’s active lineup that much harder. With Payne in the mix, players like Kyle Singler and Semaj Christon have been inactive, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

Horne relays that Thunder coaches generally decide close to the morning shootaround which of their players will be inactive for the upcoming game. In some scenarios, as was recently the case with Victor Oladipo, those decisions are delayed until later in the day to accommodate for the fluctuating status of injured players.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/12/17

January 12th, 2017 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz recalled guards Alec Burks and Raul Neto from the Salt Lake City Stars and assigned forward Joel Bolomboy to the same team, the team announced in a press release. The guard duo was assigned there on Wednesday to get some playing time against the Grand Rapids Drive and Neto finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. This marks the 10th assignment for Bolomboy.
The Knicks recalled forward Maurice Ndour and center Marshall Plumlee from their affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, the team’s PR staff tweets. That duo combined for 24 points and 20 rebounds against the Maine Red Claws after being assigned on Tuesday.
The Nets recalled forward Chris McCullough from their Long Island affiliate and he was available against the Pelicans on Thursday night, the team tweets. McCullough poured in 37 points in Long Island’s 138-133 overtime win over the Greensboro Swarm earlier in the day, his 22nd appearance with the D-League club.
The Pelicans recalled forward Cheick Diallo, who was also playing for the Long Island Nets, the team’s PR department tweets. He played two games there, averaging 12.0 points in 17.4 minutes after going there on Tuesday under the flexible assignment rule.
The Thunder assigned guard Semaj Christon to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a tweet. Christon has appeared in 36 games with the Thunder this season, averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 assists in 15.4 minutes.
The Trail Blazers assigned guard Tim Quarterman to the Windy City Bulls under the flex rule, they announced in a press release. The rookie has made 12 brief appearances with the Blazers this season.