- The Thunder traded four second-round picks to move up into the first round and select Dillon Jones with the No. 26 pick. Does that mean the Thunder have immediate plans for him? It’s not out of the question, according to Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. Stiles points out that Cason Wallace jumped right into the rotation in his rookie campaign, rather than being ticketed to the G League.
With training camp now two weeks away and 2024 rookies set to embark on their debut seasons, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN are taking a look at the next chapter of NBA rookies. The duo unpacks some top players and storylines to watch ahead of the NBA’s 2025 draft.
Although rising stars Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, and Dylan Harper are expected to be the top three picks next year, Givony and Woo note that sleeper prospects have been carving out a niche for themselves over the summer in various competitions. According to the ESPN tandem, Baylor freshman shooting guard V.J. Edgecombe would probably be the top selection in a less loaded draft.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Heading into the season, HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks breaks down the relative value of the draft and player assets on each NBA squad. For the third straight season, the Thunder top the list, as a club with both an incredibly talented, young present-day roster and a deep portfolio of future equity.
- Ahead of the forthcoming 2024/25 NBA season, Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype revealed their rankings of the top 100 best players in the league. The top five is pretty predictable, though the order may surprise some. MVP Nuggets center Nikola Jokic ranks first, followed by (in order) Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Sixers center Joel Embiid.
- In case you missed it, former two-time All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, now 35, continues to seek his next NBA opportunity.
Former Suns head coach Earl Watson is joining Steve Lavin‘s coaching staff at the University of San Diego, sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). It’s a reunion for the two sides — Watson played under Lavin in college at UCLA.
Watson, who played 13 NBA seasons as a defensive-minded point guard, was an assistant with Phoenix before being named interim and then full-time head coach. He was fired at the start of the 2017/18 season. The 45-year-old was an assistant coach under Nick Nurse with Toronto from 2021-23.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Which NBA teams hold the most valuable future first-round picks? Bobby Marks of ESPN explores that topic (subscriber link), ranking the Spurs No. 1, followed by the Thunder, Nets, Jazz and Rockets. As Marks writes, San Antonio doesn’t have the most picks among those teams, but the selections they do control could be very valuable — in 2025, they control their own pick, the Hawks’ first-rounder (unprotected), a top-10 protected first from Chicago, and a top-14 protected first from Charlotte, the latter of which seems unlikely to convey.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report lists one “realistic” trade target for every NBA team. According to Pincus, Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin would make sense as a target for the Hawks and Nets, while Jazz center Walker Kessler could be a logical fit for Indiana.
- Former Tennessee star Kevin Punter has thrived in Europe since he went undrafted in 2016. In an interview posted by his Spanish club FC Barcelona (Twitter video link), Punter said he used to dream of playing in the NBA. Now? He’s not sure. “When I was younger, my dream was to play the NBA,” Punter said (hat tip to Eurohoops). “That’s all you know growing up, when you play in America. That is all we talk about. That is all you watch. That was my dream. Is it my dream now? To be honest with you, I don’t know. It used to be, but as you get older, a lot of things change, a lot of things become different. You realize a lot of certain things that have nothing to do with basketball.” The 31-year-old said he had serious contract talks with the Raptors in 2023.
With the 2024/25 NBA regular season set to tip off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.
With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including Bovada and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
In 2023/24, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’24/25?
We’ll continue our series today with the Northwest Division…
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2023/24 record: 57-25
- Over/under for 2024/25: 56.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Dillon Jones, Nikola Topic (out for season)
- Lost: Josh Giddey, Gordon Hayward, Mike Muscala, Bismack Biyombo, Lindy Waters
Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2023/24 record: 56-26
- Over/under for 2024/25: 52.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
Denver Nuggets
- 2023/24 record: 57-25
- Over/under for 2024/25: 51.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric, DaRon Holmes (out for season)
- Lost: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson, Justin Holiday
Utah Jazz
- 2023/24 record: 31-51
- Over/under for 2024/25: 29.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
Portland Trail Blazers
- 2023/24 record: 21-61
- Over/under for 2024/25: 22.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan
- Lost: Malcolm Brogdon, Moses Brown
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (58.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
- New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (58.8%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (52.5 wins): Under (51.7%)
- Toronto Raptors (30.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
- Brooklyn Nets (19.5 wins): Over (54.3%)
- Dallas Mavericks (49.5 wins): Over (78.0%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (47.5 wins): Under (65.6%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (46.5 wins): Under (60.6%)
- Houston Rockets (43.5 wins): Under (51.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (36.5 wins): Under (52.9%)
- Orlando Magic (47.5 wins): Over (57.1%)
- Miami Heat (44.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
- Atlanta Hawks (35.5 wins): Under (66.4%)
- Charlotte Hornets (29.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
- Washington Wizards (20.5 wins): Under (56.6%)
The debate over whether or not Isaiah Hartenstein should start for the Thunder remains a hot topic among fans in Oklahoma City as training camp nears, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.
Lorenzi expects Hartenstein to toggle back and forth between the starting five and the second unit depending on matchups, writing that whether or not he starts matters less than the lineups he’ll play with.
Lorenzi wouldn’t be surprised if the Thunder’s top free agent addition plays alongside Chet Holmgren frequently at the start of the season, as head coach Mark Daigneault gathers information on how the duo performs together, but Hartenstein will also be a crucial piece in non-Holmgren lineups, which badly needed a rim protector last season, Lorenzi notes.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- The ongoing development of Anthony Edwards is the key to the Timberwolves continuing to raise their ceiling, according to John Schuhmann of NBA.com, who breaks down some numbers and film in considering how the All-NBA guard could keep getting better.
- Referring to the four-time Defensive Player of the Year as the league’s “favorite pin cushion,” Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic defends Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert from some of the criticism he’s taking this offseason after being on the wrong end of a Luka Doncic highlight in the Western Conference Finals and playing limited minutes for France during their run to a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Gobert was a huge part of Minnesota’s success last season and will be even more critical in 2024/25, Krawczynski contends.
- In a subscriber-only mailbag for The Denver Post, Bennett Durando explores several Nuggets-related topics, including what Michael Porter Jr.‘s next contract might look like and where Zeke Nnaji stands as he enters a four-year, $32MM extension. General manager Calvin Booth has made it clear he still believes in Nnaji, Durando writes, but the big man’s deal “obviously looks terrible” after a poor 2023/24 showing.
After a similar report surfaced in August from another outlet, Zach Lowe of ESPN said on his podcast this week (hat tip to RealGM) that there are “rumblings” that Michael Malone and the Nuggets front office aren’t seeing eye to eye “to a degree even unusual for the NBA.”
This offseason, the Nuggets lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to free agency one year after losing key role players in Jeff Green and Bruce Brown. General manager Calvin Booth has targeted young players to develop to try and offset the losses of these veterans, but they haven’t been one-to-one replacements.
As noted by RealGM, Booth’s contract expires after the 2024/25 season while Malone’s runs through ’26/27. It’s not exactly clear to what degree Malone and the front office aren’t clicking, but Denver took a step back after winning the title in 2023 and doesn’t have a clear replacement for what Caldwell-Pope brought to the table as one of the premier 3-and-D role-players in the league.
For what it’s worth, Booth didn’t exactly put any rumors to rest with his comments in May.
“We’ve talked about this a lot upstairs,” Booth said in May. “The general manager, front office job oftentimes is to make sure the long-term view is something that we’re satisfied with. And Coach Malone’s down there in the trenches trying to win every night. And a lot of times, those things are aligned, but sometimes they ebb and flow away from each other.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- With Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday gone, the Nuggets are losing more than 28% of their attempted three-pointers from last season, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post observes. Durando writes that Vlatko Cancar and Julian Strawther could be key contributors from beyond the arc to help offset Denver’s losses in that area.
- The Thunder continued cementing themselves as top contenders in the NBA this offseason by adding outside talent like Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, but signing Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to team-friendly extensions might have been their most overlooked moves. As Ross Lovelace of Sports Illustrated writes, if Wiggins increases his three-point output this season, it could be one of the developments that helps push Oklahoma City to a title.
- Adding Caruso and Hartenstein gives the Thunder versatility and defense and as a result, John Wilmes of RealGM writes Oklahoma City has figured out the modern NBA. Even as the Thunder get more expensive, they’ve maintained a young core and have flexibility going forward.
Juan Toscano-Anderson is playing for G League United at the third annual NBA G League Fall Invitational this month. The veteran wing is hoping for another NBA opportunity, he told Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I want to show teams that if they were to pick me up, I can enhance the team atmosphere as a player but also as a teammate in the locker room,” Toscano-Anderson said.
He appeared in 11 games with the Kings last season and spent much of the year playing for the Mexico City Capitanes.
We have more from around the international basketball world:
- In other G League news, the Valley Suns received the returning player rights to guard Jaden Shackelford from the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League team, in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick, the Suns’ G League team tweets. The Thunder signed and waived Shackelford last October and he spent the season with the Blue.
- Former NBA swingman Andre Roberson has signed with the French club Cholet, according to Eurohoops.net. Roberson spent most of his NBA career with the Thunder and most recently played five games with Brooklyn in 2020/21. Earlier this year, he participated in an international tournament in Dubai with former NBA players and, in July, took part in the TBT tournament in Louisville.
- Patrick Beverley is getting the superstar treatment with Hapoel Tel Aviv. The longtime NBA guard says he feels like LeBron James after appearing in a preseason game in Belgrade, Basketnews.com relays. “I know how LeBron feels. I leave games, and the guys that I play against want pictures. Coaches that I play against want pictures,” Beverley said on his podcast. “The fans that I go against, they boo me, I leave out and it’s 30 kids outside, and they all want pictures. And this is every country we go to.” Beverley agreed to play with the Israeli team in July after finishing last season with the Bucks.
Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Free agent signings
Isaiah Hartenstein: Three years, $87,000,000. Third-year team option. Signed using cap room.- Isaiah Joe: Four years, $48,000,000. Fourth-year team option. Re-signed using Early Bird rights after team option was declined.
- Aaron Wiggins: Five years, $45,000,000. Includes an additional $2MM in unlikely incentives. Fifth-year team option. Re-signed using Bird rights after team option was declined.
Trades
- Acquired Alex Caruso from the Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey.
- Acquired the draft rights to Dillon Jones (No. 26 pick) from the Knicks in exchange for either the Celtics’ or Grizzlies’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable); the Warriors’ 2026 second-round pick; the Timberwolves’ 2027 second-round pick; either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Heat’s, or Pacers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable), and either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Heat’s, or Pacers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is third-most favorable).
- Acquired the draft rights to Quinten Post (No. 52 pick) from the Warriors in exchange for Lindy Waters.
- Acquired the draft rights to Oso Ighodaro (No. 40 pick) from the Trail Blazers in exchange for the draft rights to Quinten Post (No. 52 pick) and cash.
- Acquired the draft rights to Ajay Mitchell (No. 38 pick) from the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Oso Ighodaro (No. 40 pick) and cash ($500K).
Draft picks
- 1-12: Nikola Topic
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $23,030,849).
- 1-26: Dillon Jones
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $13,460,725).
- 2-43: Ajay Mitchell
- Signed to two-way contract.
Two-way signings
Departed/unsigned free agents
- Bismack Biyombo (unsigned)
- Gordon Hayward (retired)
- Keyontae Johnson (Hornets)
- Mike Muscala (retired)
- Olivier Sarr (unsigned)
Salary cap situation
- Went below the cap to use room.
- Now operating over the cap ($140.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($170.8MM).
- Carrying approximately $159.2MM in salary.
- Hard-capped at $178,132,000.
- Full room exception ($8MM) available.
The offseason so far
Despite maintaining significant cap flexibility and controlling the NBA’s deepest collection of draft assets, the Thunder have operated extremely patiently in recent years, preserving most of those future picks and continuing to gradually build their roster through the draft.
That patience was on display again this June, when Oklahoma City used its lottery pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2024 draft to select Nikola Topic, a player who will spend his rookie season recovering from an ACL tear. Topic isn’t expected to make his NBA debut until the fall of 2025, which is perfectly fine with the Thunder.
The Thunder’s patient approach has reflected the front office’s desire to avoid skipping steps and its goal of building a roster capable of contending for the next decade — not just for a two- or three-year window. But after the team took a huge step forward in 2024/25 by winning 57 regular season games (the most in the Western Conference) and a playoff series (the club’s first series win since 2016), Sam Presti and his top lieutenants acknowledged with a pair of offseason moves that it was time to push down on the gas pedal at least a little bit.
The first of those two moves was a trade that sent former lottery pick Josh Giddey to Chicago in exchange for three-and D standout Alex Caruso. Giddey showed real promise as a ball-handler and play-maker in his first three NBA seasons, but his subpar outside shooting and defense made him a playoff liability, and he was never an ideal fit on a roster led by another ball-dominant guard (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander).
With Giddey eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, the Thunder were faced with a choice on whether to pay him or trade him. They took the latter route and got terrific value by finding a trade partner – the Bulls – who badly wanted to land a young point guard.
Caruso is on an expiring contract himself, so he’ll be due a pay raise for 2025 too. But unlike Giddey, he’s not the type of player who will be played off the floor in the postseason. In fact, he should thrive in big games as a shooter, cutter, and secondary ball-handler next to Gilgeous-Alexander, lessening the burden on Oklahoma City’s star by defending opponents’ top guards. The Thunder had the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating last season and Caruso should only make them better on that end of the floor.
The Thunder’s other major offseason move saw them use up virtually all of their cap room ($30MM) to sign center Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks. Hartenstein will help shore up a frontcourt that was led admirably by Rookie of the Year runner-up Chet Holmgren last season but needed another rebounder — OKC placed 28th in the NBA last season with a rebounding rate of just 48.4%.
It will be interesting to see exactly how the Thunder intend to use Hartenstein. NBA teams typically don’t award $30MM salaries to players they plan to bring off the bench, but Holmgren obviously won’t be moved to the second unit either. Whether or not Hartenstein starts, it’s a safe bet he and Holmgren will share the court frequently, which should make for some fascinating looks on both ends of the court.
The former Knicks center will also provide OKC with crucial insurance at the five in the event of a Holmgren injury, though the big man didn’t miss a game in 2023/24 after sitting out the entire ’22/23 season with a foot issue.
Outside of trading for Caruso, signing Hartenstein, and drafting Topic, the Thunder made a handful of interesting under-the-radar moves this summer, including turning down team options on both Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins in order to re-sign the two rotation wings to team-friendly long-term contracts. The threat of exercising those team options presumably gave Oklahoma City some leverage in negotiations with Joe and Wiggins, who will now earn eight-figure salaries instead of the veteran’s minimum in 2024/25.
Oklahoma City also surrendered a whopping five future second-round picks in order to acquire the No. 26 pick in the draft to select Dillon Jones. It’s the third straight year in which the Thunder took advantage of their excess draft assets to make a trade to nab a player they really like.
That strategy worked out well in each of the past two years. In 2022, the Thunder were reportedly concerned that Jalen Williams wouldn’t make it to them at No. 12, so they traded for the No. 11 pick (they technically used that one on Ousmane Dieng, but the deal ensured Williams was available at No. 12). In 2023, Oklahoma City traded up in the lottery to select Cason Wallace, who emerged as a reliable rotation player as a rookie, making 41.9% of his three-pointers and playing excellent defense.
Will Jones become the Thunder’s next draft-day-trade success story? Maybe, but I wouldn’t necessarily pencil him in for a substantial role in year one, given how deep the roster looks.
Up next
A pair of key Thunder guards are technically extension-eligible, but likely won’t sign new deals before the regular season begins. Gilgeous-Alexander has met the super-max criteria but needs one more year of service in order to officially signed a designated veteran extension, so he’ll almost certainly wait until 2025 to re-up with Oklahoma City.
Caruso, meanwhile, could be extended anytime, but until December 21 (six months after the trade), he’ll be limited to a maximum deal of three years and $48.9MM. Those numbers would increase to four years and $81.1MM at the six-month mark. While it’s not necessarily a sure thing that he’ll receive that maximum four-year offer, Caruso is better off waiting until Dec. 21 to maximize his bargaining position in negotiations.
Big man Jaylin Williams may actually be the best OKC candidate for a preseason extension, but with his role projected to decline following the arrival of Hartenstein, it would likely have to be a pretty team-friendly deal for the Thunder to pull the trigger.
The Thunder actually have one open spot on their projected 15-man roster and plenty of flexibility to make a move using that roster spot, since they’re still more than $11MM below the luxury tax line.
There aren’t really any free agents left worth splurging on (OKC’s $8MM room exception wouldn’t be enough to pry Isaac Okoro away from the Cavs), so I expect Presti and the front office to continue scouring the trade market to see if there’s a target who makes sense. The team can afford to be patient, perhaps starting the season with a 15th man on a non-guaranteed contract and then revisiting the trade market in January or February.
The Hornets‘, Pistons‘, Spurs‘ and Thunder‘s G League affiliates completed a four-team trade, according to a release (Twitter link) and the G League transactions log.
In the trade, the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets) obtained the returning player rights to both Zavier Simpson and Caleb McConnell. The Motor City Cruise (Pistons) acquired RaiQuan Gray‘s rights, along with OKC’s 2025 second-round pick. The Austin Spurs got the rights to Nathan Mensah while the Oklahoma City Blue obtained Buddy Boeheim‘s.
Acquiring a player’s returning G League rights doesn’t necessarily mean that player will suit up for his new team. These trades ensure that if a player signs an NBAGL contract, he will play for the club that acquired his rights. When deals occur at this point in the offseason, they’re often precursors to players signing Exhibit 10 contracts with the parent club, lining them up to receive a bonus worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived and then spent at least 60 days in the G League.
This deal appears to be for exactly those purposes, at least in part. Mensah and Boeheim reportedly agreed to training camp deals with the Spurs and Thunder, respectively, so these trades indicate those agreements will be completed soon. Mensah played in 25 games for the Hornets last season, averaging 1.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest. Boeheim played two seasons with the Pistons, appearing in 20 games and averaging 2.5 PPG.
The other names in the trade are interesting. Simpson played in Summer League with the Hornets but previous reporting from HoopsHype indicated he was set to head overseas this season. He may very well still be doing that, but Charlotte clearly likes him. Gray, meanwhile, was traded while on a two-way contract to the Bulls before being waived.
Simpson has 11 games of NBA experience, averaging 7.8 points and 5.0 assists. McConnell, a former Rutgers player, also played for Charlotte in Summer League. While he hasn’t yet appeared in an NBA game, he suited up for 47 G League contests and averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds last season. Gray played parts of two seasons with the Nets and then Spurs, averaging 9.8 points in his four games.
We have more from the G League:
- The Cruise and Spurs participated in another multi-team trade, with Motor City acquiring the rights to Javante McCoy and Reggie Kissoonlal along with unspecified draft capital, according to the log and a team release (Twitter link). Austin obtained the rights to Isaiah Miller and Jaylen Johnson, while the Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) got a 2025 first round pick and Jayce Johnson. None of those players have yet agreed to sign Exhibit 10 deals, but as teams start fielding their training camp rosters, they’ll be names to monitor. All players involved have previously participated in training camps with NBA teams.
- The Long Island Nets and Cleveland Charge completed their own trade, with the rights to Trey McGowens heading to Cleveland in exchange for Tray Maddox‘s rights (Twitter link). McGowens signed an Exhibit 10 with Brooklyn last season and averaged 10.1 points in 16 G League games last season. Maddox, a Western Michigan product who went undrafted in 2023, averaged 6.1 PPG last season for the Charge.
- In case you missed it, Lonnie Walker IV signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Celtics and may end up playing for their G League affiliate this season, at least to begin the year.
No. 38 overall draft pick Ajay Mitchell is seen as the “headliner” of the Thunder‘s three two-way players for the 2024/25 season, per Nick Crain of Forbes.
The 6’4″ rookie combo guard projects as having rotation-caliber NBA upside, Crain writes , noting that Mitchell is a three-level scorer and can thrive both on and off the ball should the need arise. The three-time All-Big West guard averaged 20.0 points per game on .535/.393/.858 shooting during his final NCAA season in 2023/24, adding 4.0 dimes, 4.0 boards and 1.2 steals per night.
There’s more out of Oklahoma City:
- The only returning two-way Thunder player from the 2023/24 season is Adam Flagler, writes Crain. Flager, who claimed an NCAA title while at Baylor, was a critical contributor for the Oklahoma City Blue’s championship squad in 2023/24. Of the Thunder’s other two-way players from last season, forward Keyontae Johnson signed a two-way deal with the Hornets and center Olivier Sarr, the older brother of Wizards rookie Alex Sarr, remains a free agent after rupturing his Achilles in April. Crain notes that Flagler is a clever point guard with good ball control and a solid three-point shot. He connected on 40.6% of his 6.9 attempts per game from beyond the arc with the Blue last season, and averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds overall. The 6’3″ guard appeared in just two contests for the Thunder.
- Australian swingman Alex Ducas, sharpshooting rookie swingman out of Saint Mary’s, is seen by Crain as a useful occasional sniper from beyond the arc. During his last two collegiate seasons, Ducas connected on 42.5% of his 5.7 three-point tries per contest. Crain adds that, given that Oklahoma City still has one opening on its 15-man standard roster, it’s still possible one of the Thunder’s three two-way players could earn a promotion.
- Despite the Thunder’s recent trade acquisition of two-time All-Defensive Teamer Alex Caruso, incumbent top perimeter stopper Luguentz Dort seems primed to retain a pivotal role on what is likely to be an elite West power this season, opines Ross Lovelace of Sports Illustrated.