Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Rescind Dion Waiters’ Qualifying Offer

July 18th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Thunder have rescinded Dion Waiters‘ qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Without the threat of Oklahoma City matching an offer sheet, the appeal of signing the 24-year-old becomes greater, especially for the Sixers and Nets, Wojnarowski adds on Twitter. Both teams have previously shown interest in the Philadelphia native.

Oklahoma City still holds Waiters’ Bird Rights and it’s possible that the team could still re-sign the shooting guard. Wojnarowski added (Twitter link) that the team wanted the cap-space flexibility, possibly to renegotiate a deal with Russell Westbrook.

The Thunder reportedly reached an agreement to bring Alex Abrines stateside earlier today. That, coupled with the draft night trade for Victor Oladipo, could signal the end of Waiters’ time in Oklahoma City since there may not be enough minutes in the backcourt to go around.

Waiters played 27.6 minutes per game last season, accumulating 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest. He shot a respectable 35.8% from behind the arc and while his shot selection wasn’t exemplary, it was better than in any of his previous seasons.

Thunder Guarantee Morrow's Contract

July 16th, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Anthony Morrow‘s contract for this season became fully guaranteed today, as Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman points out on Twitter. Morrow will make slightly under $3.5MM for the Thunder during the 2016/17 campaign.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Garnett, Gillespie

July 15th, 2016 at 4:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

Russell Westbrook hasn’t offered any public comment since Kevin Durant elected to leave Oklahoma City and join the Warriors, notes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Westbrook also hasn’t offered any insight into his own situation, which includes free agency in the summer of 2017. That has led to speculation that the Thunder might consider trading him, rather than losing another important asset with nothing in return. Horne writes that he has been unable to contact Westbrook, either through his agent or the team. The only indications of Westbrook’s thinking are second-hand stories from his basketball camp in which he told a group of youngsters that he plans to stay in Oklahoma City.

There’s more news out of the Northwest Division:

There’s “nothing tangible” yet to reports linking the Celtics to Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, says ESPN’s Chris Broussard (video link). It’s worth stressing that, while Westbrook, Blake Griffin, and the Celtics have been the subjects of trade speculation at the Las Vegas Summer League, much of that speculation is coming from rival general managers and execs — not from sources within the Celtics or Thunder, or from specific player agents.
When the Thunder sent Serge Ibaka to the Magic for three players, Ersan Ilyasova was viewed as almost an afterthought, included in the deal to make the salaries work. However, as Horne writes for The Oklahoman, Ilyasova – whose salary is now guaranteed – could potentially come in and start for OKC.
Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) that he’s waiting to hear from Kevin Garnett on whether or not he’ll play next season. “The great ones deserve time,” Thibodeau said of Garnett, who has one year and $8MM left on his contract with Minnesota.
Nuggets assistant coach Noel Gillespie is close to a deal that would make him the head coach of the Hornets‘ new D-League affiliate, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Gillespie has been part of Denver’s staff for the past two seasons.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Heat Notes: Butler, Chalmers, Westbrook, Weber

July 15th, 2016 at 2:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat president Pat Riley reached out to Caron Butler‘s agent, but the team opted for younger players in its flurry of signings last Sunday, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Riley’s initial call came before Dwyane Wade decided to join the Bulls, Jackson reports, and he hasn’t called since. The Kings waived the 36-year-old Butler last week. He spent one season in Sacramento and appeared in just 17 games.

There’s more news today out of Miami:

Riley also decided not to pursue Mario Chalmers, Jackson writes in the same piece. Chalmers spent seven full seasons with the Heat before being traded to Memphis in November for luxury tax relief. He ruptured his right Achilles tendon in March and was subsequently waived by the Grizzlies. Jackson says the Heat were concerned not only about the injury, but about how Chalmers would respond to reduced playing time as a backup for Goran Dragic.
Miami would be taking a major risk by trying to trade for Russell Westbrook this season, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. There has been speculation that the Thunder point guard might be available because of his looming free agency next summer and the loss of Kevin Durant, but Winderman argues that the assets the Heat would have to give up in such a deal would make it less likely Westbrook would re-sign. The writer says Oklahoma City would want Dragic and Justise Winslow, which would create two big holes in Miami’s roster. Winderman doesn’t think Riley would consider that deal unless he was assured that Westbrook would stay in Miami past the 2016/17 season.
Briante Weber‘s aggressive defense may make him a valuable part of the rotation next season, according to Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Weber, who suffered a serious right knee injury as a senior at Virginia Commonwealth, spent most of this season with Miami’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls. The Heat briefly lost Weber in March when the Grizzlies signed him to a 10-day contract, but he returned to the D-League when that expired and joined Miami’s roster just before the playoffs. After playing just one game for the Heat — and seven total — during his rookie season, Weber has been making an impression in Summer League play. “He’s getting better and better at being our floor leader,” said Heat Summer League coach Juwan Howard. “They’re trying to get into him and make him uncomfortable with ball pressure and picking him up full-court, but Bri’s done an excellent job making decisions. At times he’s overly aggressive, but that’s his nature. I trust him.”

Celtics Rumors: Griffin, Westbrook, Budinger

July 14th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A Wednesday report from Howard Beck of Bleacher Report suggested that rival general managers around the NBA viewed the Celtics as the biggest threat to acquire Russell Westbrook. Those GMs also believed that Thunder GM Sam Presti would be inclined to move Westbrook sooner rather than later if Presti feels that the star point guard is likely to leave in free agency next summer.

As I pointed out when I passed along that report, however, there has been no indication yet that the Thunder are actively exploring a Westbrook deal. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes today that Westbrook’s representatives haven’t received word of any trade talks, and they’d almost certainly be involved in that process — after all, any team acquiring the Thunder star would want to talk to his reps about whether he’d be willing to sign up for a long-term stay with that new team.

As Deveney notes, that doesn’t necessarily rule out an eventual Westbrook trade to Boston, but it probably means that the Celtics haven’t gotten serious about targeting him to this point.

Here’s more from Deveney on the Celtics:

The consensus among front-office executives at the Summer League in Las Vegas is that the Celtics will attempt to make a major deal soon, says Deveney.
Boston’s top trade target at this point appears to be Blake Griffin. According to Deveney, a three-way scenario has emerged that would involve the Celtics giving up picks in a deal to acquire Griffin, with the Kings getting involved and sending Rudy Gay to the Clippers. However, opposing front-office execs say the C’s are reluctant to give up their 2018 Nets first-round pick or their swap rights to Brooklyn’s 2017 pick.
If the Clippers do move Griffin in a deal with the Celtics or another team, they’d want to land draft picks and a “frontline star” to keep them in contention, per Deveney. I’m not sure Gay would qualify as that sort of “star,” but perhaps Doc Rivers feels differently.
According to Deveney, several front-office members around the NBA continue to bring up Kevin Love as a Celtics target, even though none of those execs believe that the Cavaliers will be inclined to move Love.
Deveney adds (via Twitter) that the Celtics continue to look for shooting help, and have reached out to veteran free agent Chase Budinger.
Meanwhile, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald hears from sources that, while the Celtics have expressed interest in Westbrook and Griffin in the past, there have been no recent trade discussions involving either player. However, he acknowledges that Boston remains “very much open” to a major deal, and says situations remain fluid.

Rival GMs Believe If Thunder Trade Westbrook, It Will Be Sooner Rather Than Later

July 13th, 2016 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Although there’s no indication yet that the Thunder are exploring a Russell Westbrook trade, rival general managers think GM Sam Presti will do so sooner rather than later if he suspects that Westbrook is leaning toward leaving as a free agent next summer, says Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (video link). According to Beck, many of those rival GMs believe that the Celtics are the most likely landing spot for Westbrook if Oklahoma City does pursue a trade.

Nets Consider An Offer To Dion Waiters

July 10th, 2016 at 8:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent shooting guard Dion Waiters may be the next target for the Nets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Brooklyn is looking at other options after the Trail Blazers matched a $75MM offer sheet today for Allen Crabbe and the Heat did the same with a $50MM offer to Tyler Johnson.

The 6’4″ Waiters is a restricted free agent just like Crabbe and Johnson, so Oklahoma City would have the chance to match any offer. Waiters, who has spent a season and a half with the Thunder, averaged 9.8 points in 78 games this season.

Wojnarowski stresses that the Nets haven’t made a decision on Waiters, but they have been considering him as a backup plan and will discuss a formal offer this week. Brooklyn has about $36MM in cap room remaining.

Western Notes: Felton, Westbrook, Pelicans

July 9th, 2016 at 10:31am CST by Eddie Scarito

There has been some speculation that the Thunder may look to trade Russell Westbrook in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s departure, but during an appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical noted that there remains a very good chance the star will continue his career in OKC (h/t Erik Horne of The Oklahoman). “Right now, his mindset in on the team they have and can we add pieces in the short term, can we go out in free agency,” Wojnarowski said. “That doesn’t mean he’s not leaving next year, but his attitude isn’t ‘aww man, Kevin left. I’m screwed, I need to get out of here.’”

“He’s been … I’ve been told Russell’s been very determined to lead the team they have, and I know that Russell really likes the town. He loves bringing in Victor Oladipo … Steven Adams. Those are his guys,” Wojnarowski continued. “He thinks they’re a real talented team that if they can add another significant piece it puts them right back in contention. I think he’s embracing this, and he can go out next summer and get a $200MM dollar extension with Oklahoma City.”

Here’s more from out West:

Interest in Mavericks unrestricted free agent Raymond Felton has picked up in recent days, with five teams circling the point guard, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group tweets. The 32-year-old made 80 appearances for Dallas in 2015/16, averaging 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 27.4 minutes per outing.
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry noted that the team is seeking more than just talent when exploring the free agent market this summer, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). “We were gonna add high-character guys,” Gentry said. “I think that’s where the league is going now. If you look around most of the teams they’ve got interchangeable parts, but they’ve got guys that are all about the team. They’re trying to figure out what makes the team better. I think for us, you talk about Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, and adding these two kids and some of the other guys that we signed, I like the makeup of our team. What we have to do is see how it all meshes together.“

Mitch McGary Suspended Five Games

July 8th, 2016 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder big man Mitch McGary has been suspended for five games by the NBA for a failed drug test, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. McGary figures to serve the suspension to open the 2016/17 regular season.

As Slater writes, the five-game ban isn’t a major on-court problem for the Thunder, considering McGary wasn’t a regular part of the team’s rotation last season. However, it’s not the first off-court incident for the 24-year-old, who tested positive for marijuana in college and avoided a one-year NCAA suspension by entering the NBA draft. So that may be cause for some concern.

McGary, the 21st overall pick in the 2014 draft, has shown a little promise and had a strong Summer League showing this past week in Orlando, but he has yet to make a real mark in Oklahoma City. During the 2015/16 campaign, he averaged just 3.6 minutes in 20 appearances, scoring total 26 points for the season.

Thunder One Of Few Teams With TPEs Left

July 8th, 2016 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll be updating our full list of traded player exceptions soon, once all of the recently-reported trades become official, but we can expect many of the TPEs on that list to disappear. As Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets, the Cavaliers, Thunder, and Clippers may end up being the only teams with trade exceptions when the dust settles.