Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Rumors: Towns, Payne, Mudiay

June 1st, 2015 at 5:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

People close to No. 1 overall pick contender Karl-Anthony Towns deny a report that he won’t work out for any teams, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in an NBA PM piece. Towns isn’t trying to convince the Timberwolves to pass on him so that the Lakers can take him at No. 2, Kyler also hears. There’s plenty more from the draft, including some pretty hefty names, as we pass along here:

Sources suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders last month that point guard Cameron Payne has a promise from a team, and that indeed appears to be the case, Kyler writes in the same piece. There’s a decent chance it’s from a team picking higher than the Thunder, whom Chad Ford of ESPN.com linked to him at No. 14, Kyler adds.
Emmanuel Mudiay is expected to work out for the Knicks, Lakers and Sixers, Mudiay’s would-be college coach Larry Brown tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link), but for now, he won’t work out for the Timberwolves, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
French swingman Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot will pull out of the draft by the June 15th deadline to do so if he doesn’t receive a first-round guarantee from a team, a league source tells NetsDaily.
UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn is working out with the Warriors today and the Lakers on Wednesday, Zagoria tweets, correcting an earlier report. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities adds the Bulls and the Wizards to the list of teams previous reported to have workouts with Vaughn on their schedule (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: Thunder, Jazz, Draft

May 31st, 2015 at 9:37pm CST by Will Joseph

Monty Williams would be a solid fit as Thunder coach Billy Donovan‘s lead assistant because Williams brings a wealth of experience and can relate to players well, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman opines. Williams, 43, was fired as coach of the Pelicans after five seasons. He also has served as an assistant coach for the Blazers for five years. The downside of bringing Williams in, however, is that because he has so much experience, he likely will tend to have his name attached to future head coaching vacancies and that would be problematic for stability purposes, Mayberry adds. Mike Brown and Mo Cheeks are also possibly in the mix, Mayberry writes. The Raptors have been reportedly interested in bringing Williams in as an assistant.

There is more news out of the Northwest:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey is adamant that the team won’t spend money just to spend money and is comfortable going into next season under the salary cap, Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News writes. The Jazz had a strong finish to the season so it’s conceivable that they do not tinker with the roster much, but they do have financial flexibility to do so.The Jazz ranked 25th in league salaries this year, Sorensen notes. “Do we feel obligated that we have to? Absolutely not,’’ Lindsey said. “We could exist underneath the salary cap going into next season.’’ The Jazz won’t go after any big name free agents, but there’s a decent chance they target an up-and-coming player like the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, a restricted free agent who made less than $1MM last year, Sorensen writes.
R.J. Hunter will work out for the Thunder on Monday and the Jazz on Wednesday, tweets Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers.com. The Georgia State guard is the 21st-ranked prospect on Chad Ford’s ESPN.com list, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 26th.
Minnesota guard Andre Hollins tweeted that he worked out with the Timberwolves on Friday (hat tip to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press).

Western Draft Notes: Towns, Grant, Jazz

May 31st, 2015 at 12:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Karl-Anthony Towns will interview with the Wolves and the Lakers, but won’t work out for any teams, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports. The big man would relish the opportunity to play in Minnesota. “It would be a blessing and an honor to even have a chance to play for Minnesota and be able to have the chance to play for a great organization and learn from a great mentor like Kevin Garnett,” Towns said.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

Jerian Grant, whom I profiled earlier today, will work out for the Raptors, Heat, Hornets, Nuggets and Wizards according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Grant previously worked out for the Pacers, Suns, Thunder and Rockets.
The Suns are looking for play-makers off their bench and Grant may be a good candidate for the No. 13 pick, Coro opines in the same piece. “We’re looking at the guys who could possibly be backup point guards,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “The more guys we can get on this team, whether it’s point guard, off-guard, three-man, center, forward, whatever it is — that bring intelligence to the game can only help us.”
The Jazz own the No. 12 selection in the draft and Kincade Upstill of the Deseret News wonders if the team should trade its pick. Upstill examines some hypothetical trades involving the team’s first-rounder, including an intriguing swap with the Clippers that involves sending J.J. Redick to the Jazz for Trey Burke and the No. 12 pick.

Western Notes: Wolves, Oden, Payne

May 30th, 2015 at 4:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder have a history of making draft promises to prospects, having reportedly made one to Reggie Jackson back in 2011, as well as agreeing to a unique D-League arrangement with Josh Huestis prior to the 2014 NBA Draft, Royce Young of ESPN.com writes. Chad Ford of ESPN.com noted earlier this week that there are rumblings around the league that OKC told Murray State point guard Cameron Payne that it intends to select him with the No. 14 overall pick this June. Payne as a prospect seems tailor-made for the Thunder, notes Young, since the team values size and versatility in its guards. Payne does indeed possess good size for a guard, though he’ll need to bulk up his thin frame, and with his excellent shooting ability Payne can play either guard position, the ESPN scribe adds.

Here’s what else is happening around the Western Conference:

The Grizzlies are considering bringing in oft-injured former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden for a free agent camp next month, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Memphis’ current level of interest in the big man remains unclear, but the franchise is scheduled to host a free agent mini-camp in the upcoming weeks, Charania notes. Oden’s last regular season action in the NBA was with the Heat during the 2012/13 season, when he made 23 appearances for Miami.
The Timberwolves held workouts on Friday for Andre Hollins (Minnesota), Elliott Eliason (Minnesota), Jordan Mickey (LSU), Wayne Blackshear (Louisville), and Jonathan Holmes (Texas), Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports (Twitter link).
Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders plans on attending Kristaps Porzingis‘ workout in Las Vegas in two weeks, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune tweets.
The Thunder worked out Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Jarell Martin (LSU), and Stefan Nastic (Stanford), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter).
Rashad Vaughn‘s scheduled workout with the Timberwolves has been moved from June 4th to June 15th, and may now be an individual showcase, Wolfson tweets.

Draft Notes: Vaughn, Randle, Heat, Sixers

May 29th, 2015 at 1:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The draft is less than four weeks away, and Hoops Rumors has you covered. Check out our full log of draft news right here. Our Eddie Scarito runs down the first round in his Mock Draft, and we dive deeper into key figures with our Prospect Profile series. We’ve gained insight from a wide array of prospects through their interviews with our Zach Links, and, as always, we’ll pass along the latest news, including these reports on team workouts:

UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn will work out Monday for the Lakers and will soon do so with the Warriors, Suns and Spurs, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Chasson Randle auditioned for the Thunder and also plans to show off for the Sixers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The Celtics have already worked out the two-guard from Stanford, as we noted earlier.
Shooting guards K.T. Harrell of Auburn and Josh Richardson of Tennessee worked out Thursday for the Heat, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears.
The Sixers are taking a look today at Delaware State big man Kendall Gray, sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter), and they’re doing the same with Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Syracuse big man Rakeem Christmas is working out for the Spurs today and already got a look from the Mavericks, Pompey reveals in a separate piece.

Western Notes: Rockets, Muhammad, Lakers

May 28th, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Now that the Rockets have been eliminated from the playoffs the franchise will begin working toward its offseason plans. Josh Smith, Jason Terry, and Corey Brewer, all of whom are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, have indicated that they want to return to Houston next season, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “I like the future if we can keep all the pieces together,” Smith said. “I like what the future holds for us. You never know in free agency what may occur. The city of Houston and this team has definitely embraced me for my individuality and the way I play the game. It would be great to do something special for the city and for this team.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Wolves swingman Shabazz Muhammad has parted ways with agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports Management and signed with Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays (Twitter link).
The Lakers held workouts earlier today for Justin Anderson, Askia Booker, Anthony Brown, Charles Jackson, Stefan Nastic, and Delon Wright, the team announced (via Twitter).
Arkansas forward Bobby Portis is scheduled to work out for the Thunder this Friday, Gary Washburn of Boston Globe tweets.
The Nuggets brought in Florida guard Michael Frazier for a workout today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (Twitter link).
Center Andrew Bogut praised the Warriors‘ front office for keeping the core of the team intact and not going for a “home run” in the NBA draft, via trades, or through free agency, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (on Twitter).

And-Ones: Wolves, Lakers, Pacers, Celtics

May 28th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Several players and agents suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that any given Eastern Conference team would be more attractive than a comparable one from the Western Conference given the disparity between the conferences. One agent told Kennedy that players “absolutely” want to be the East and that he hopes his draft clients are taken by Eastern teams, though an executive cautioned that the presence of LeBron James might dissuade free agents from jumping out of the West. James is set to represent the East for the fifth straight time in the NBA Finals, and while we wait more than a week for tip-off, here’s more from around the NBA:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears D’Angelo Russell is in the mix for the Timberwolves at No. 1, says Karl-Anthony Towns, but not necessarily Jahlil Okafor, would be a lock for the Lakers at No. 2, and also writes in his chat with readers that the Pacers and Celtics would love to move up. Ford has heard chatter among GMs that the Thunder have promised Cameron Payne they’ll take him at No. 14, but he isn’t sure just how much truth there is to that, as the ESPN scribe writes in the same piece. Sources have suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Payne has a promise from some team. Our Eddie Scarito has Payne going to the Thunder in the Hoops Rumors Mock Draft.
UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn had an especially impressive workout this past weekend, Ford observes in an Insider-only piece, and Vaughn also opened eyes in his workout Tuesday for the Heat, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Ford adds in his piece that scouts have told him that French center Alpha Kaba is willing to stay in the draft rather than withdraw by the June 15th deadline if he receives a promise from a team.
The Bulls and Pelicans have interest in former 16th overall pick Royce White, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, though it’s not clear if they’re yet considering him for any sort of deal that would go beyond summer league.

Draft Notes: Spurs, Grizzlies, Payne

May 27th, 2015 at 10:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors has a full log of 2015 draft news that you can see anytime at the link here. You can also set that page up as an RSS feed to receive constant updates. All you’d need to do would be to add /feed to the url, like so: hoopsrumors.com/2015-nba-draft/feed. Other draft-related resources include our latest Mock Draft, the full list of early entrants, as well as our ongoing Prospect Profile series. Here’s more news regarding the 2015 NBA Draft:

League sources have suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that Murray State guard Cameron Payne has a draft promise from a team, and that there is a very good chance he is going to be a lottery pick. If Payne has indeed been targeted by a lottery team, his most likely destination is the Thunder, whom I predicted would be selecting the guard in my latest mock draft, though this is merely my speculation of course.
The Spurs brought in Syracuse forward Chris McCullough for an interview today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Scheduled for workouts this Friday with the Grizzlies are Josh Richardson, Ky Madden, Aaron Thomas, Pat Connaughton, Chris Walker, and Brandon Ashley, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (subscription required) relays.
Arkansas forward Bobby Portis has workouts scheduled with the Thunder, Heat, Pistons, Raptors, Pacers, Hornets, Bucks, Suns, and Jazz, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe tweets.
Former Colorado guard Askia Booker worked out for the Suns on Tuesday, and has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Lakers and the Jazz, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post relays (Twitter link).
Booker said that he was asked about his refusal to play in this year’s College Basketball Invitational tournament by the Sixers, and also expects the subject to come up in other interviews, Dempsey relays in a series of tweets. “It’s something I’m willing to address no doubt. I have no issue addressing that. When the question comes I’ll be able to answer it,” Booker said. “It was a mutual decision. We came to an agreement, and the decision was made.” Booker reportedly passed on playing in the tourney to prepare for the upcoming draft instead.

Northwest Notes: Pleiss, Wolves, Matthews

May 27th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

A disproportionate number of this year’s lottery picks are headed to the Northwest Division, where four of the five teams have one top-14 selection apiece. Those picks will go into vastly different circumstances. The Timberwolves will welcome the No. 1 overall choice to a bottom-up rebuild, the Nuggets have the seventh pick to add to a volatile mix, the No. 12 pick has a chance to help the resurgent Jazz slip into the playoffs next season, while the Thunder are primed to use the No. 14 pick to help fuel a run at the title. Here’s the latest from around the Northwest:

Jazz draft-and-stash center Tibor Pleiss took to Facebook to deny that he’s headed to Germany’s Bayern Munich, saying that he’s comfortable playing for Barcelona in Spain, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia translates. Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net reported earlier this week that Barcelona was expected to convey him to Bayern Munich. Still, David Pick of Eurobasket.com hears that Pleiss isn’t satisfied with his role for Barcelona (Twitter link), and his discontent there appeared to be a factor when Pleiss and the Jazz were reportedly in talks about a deal this past season.
University of Minnesota point guard Andre Hollins will work out for the Timberwolves soon, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Hollins is the 103rd-best prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him outside the top 100, too, ranking him as the 53rd-best senior.
The Columbian’s Erik Gunderson figures a fair offer from the Trail Blazers to Wesley Matthews would entail a $9-10MM salary, but Mike Richman of The Oregonian believes it would be stunning to see Matthews wind up with less than $10MM per year, as they write in a collaborative piece.
Injuries helped limited Mitch McGary to only 32 appearances this season, but last year’s 21st overall pick is nonetheless showing signs of having been another steal for the Thunder in the late first round, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry examines.

And-Ones: Lakers, Lamb, Jackson

May 26th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers‘ offseason plans have started to come into focus now that the NBA Draft lottery has been completed, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “Our roster looks better, clearly, after getting the pick in the lottery last Tuesday,” said GM Mitch Kupchak. Los Angeles currently owns three picks in the 2015 NBA Draft, but Kupchak isn’t sure if the team will hold onto all three of those selections, Pincus adds. “We don’t know if we’re going to draft three players,” the GM said of the team’s two later selections (No. 27 and No. 34 overall). “We may draft a player who might have to wait a year or two in Europe.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Kupchak also said that the team is considering anywhere from four to eight players with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and that Los Angeles is keeping its options wide open regarding who it is looking to select, Mike Trudell of NBA.com tweets.
Jeremy Lamb hasn’t gotten much playing time with the Thunder thus far in his career, something that may change under new coach Billy Donovan, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes in his profile of the 22-year-old. Lamb made just 47 appearances for OKC last season, averaging 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per contest.
The success that J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert have enjoyed for the Cavaliers in this year’s playoffs makes Knicks team president Phil Jackson‘s decision to deal both away look worse with every game, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Cleveland has advanced to the NBA Finals after eliminating the Hawks tonight by a score of 118-88.