Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Ayton, Clingan, C. Williams, Porter

June 29th, 2024 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The morning after Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin took UConn’s Donovan Clingan with the seventh pick in the draft, he felt it was necessary to call starting center Deandre Ayton and explain the move, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. To his delight, Cronin found that Ayton wasn’t just understanding of the decision, but extremely supportive.

“He was like, ‘OK, where can we take this?’” Cronin said. “(He asked) How can he help me? How can I help him? What can we do together?’ His attitude was great about the whole situation.”

Quick notes that Ayton’s attitude was often a problem early in his career and even at times last season, but it has improved to the point where he’s now considered a “building block” of the franchise. Coach Chauncey Billups, who’s getting ready to fly to Spain to watch Ayton’s Bahamas team in an Olympic qualifying tournament, is excited about experimenting with Ayton and Clingan in a twin towers lineup.

“I’m willing to try things,” Billups said. “Several teams are playing big — Cleveland, Denver, Memphis … I’m going to try having (Clingan) and D.A. out there together. But it depends who is on the floor. Is it Jaren Jackson? Is it Aaron Gordon? Is it Evan Mobley?”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Clingan emphasized his desire to win during an introductory press conference Saturday in Portland, Quick adds. He credited his late mother with teaching him the importance of defense. “You have to play great defense to win games, and I want to win games,” Clingan said. “I’ll take a block off the backboard over a dunk any day of the week.”
The Jazz don’t expect first-round pick Cody Williams to make an immediate impact like his older brother Jalen Williams did in Oklahoma City, but they recognize there are benefits to having a sibling who’s already in the NBA, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I think it is a great example for him,” general manager Justin Zanik said. “They’re going to be different. They’re not the exact same player at all. But just being able to be around that can continue to inspire and grow Cody’s passion for the game.”
The Nuggets need a roster shakeup this summer and their best option is to trade Michael Porter Jr., contends Troy Renck of The Denver Post. With Jamal Murray about to receive a max extension and Gordon possibly becoming a free agent next summer, dealing Porter would relieve some of the financial strain on an expensive roster. Renck hears that Denver has explored several trade options involving Porter and had interest in Alex Caruso before he was traded to the Thunder.

Thunder Declining 2024/25 Options On Joe, Wiggins

June 29th, 2024 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder won’t exercise their team options for 2024/25 on wings Isaiah Joe or Aaron Wiggins, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Both options were for very team-friendly rates — Joe’s was worth $2.165MM, while Wiggins’ was for $1.989MM. On the surface, it looks like a surprise that Oklahoma City is turning them down, given that the two players were solid rotation pieces in 2023/24.

However, as Charania notes, the Thunder don’t intend to let either player get away and will work on longer-term deals with both of them.

The thinking is that the Thunder will be able to keep Joe’s and Wiggins’ very small cap holds on the books, use up all of their cap room on other moves, then go over the cap to re-sign the two players to multiyear contracts using their Bird rights (or, in Joe’s case, Early Bird rights).

Joe and Wiggins will be rewarded with raises for the 2024/25 season and may in turn give the Thunder a better long-term rate than they would have if they became free agents a year from now (though that’s not a certainty).

Wiggins can be made a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer, and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) confirms he has received that offer (worth about $2.4MM). However, Joe has too many years of service to be an RFA, so I’d imagine the Thunder have a pretty good idea of what it will take to re-sign him.

Joe has spent the past two seasons in Oklahoma City after being waived by the Sixers. During that time, he has been one of the team’s most reliable shooters off the bench, averaging 8.8 points per game with a .412 3PT% in 151 outings (11 starts; 18.8 MPG).

Wiggins, the 55th overall pick in the 2021 draft, has been with the Thunder for three seasons, averaging 7.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 198 games (53 starts; 18.9 MPG) during that time. His career shooting line is an impressive .514/.394/.780.

Suns Acquire No. 40 Pick Oso Ighodaro From Knicks

June 27th, 2024 at 7:59pm CST by Luke Adams

7:59pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Suns. Rather than trading the No. 51 pick back and forth, the Knicks are simply receiving No. 56 pick Kevin McCullar and the Celtics’ top-45 protected 2028 second-round pick in exchange for Ighodaro.

4:32pm: Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports has clarified (via Twitter) that the Suns sent Boston’s 2028 second-round pick (top-45 protected) to the Knicks for No. 51, then traded No. 51 back to New York along with No. 56 in exchange for No. 40.

Essentially, then, the Knicks are receiving No. 56 and Boston’s protected 2028 second-rounder for No. 40 (Ighodaro), while still holding No. 51.

4:21pm: Marquette forward Oso Ighodaro was selected with the 40th overall pick in Thursday’s draft. We can say that with certainty. Tracking which team controls that pick is a little trickier.

While the Trail Blazers entered the day with control of No. 40, they agreed to trade it in a deal with the Thunder involving the No. 52 pick, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Oklahoma City then agreed to send it – along with cash – to the Knicks in a deal for the No. 38 pick, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the Knicks subsequently reached a deal to send No. 40 to the Suns, who will ultimately control Ighodaro’s draft rights. Phoenix is sending No. 56 to New York as part of that trade, tweets Charania.

We’re still waiting for details on what else Portland is getting to move down from No. 40 to No. 52 and what else the Knicks are getting to move down from No. 40 to No. 56. Wojnarowski reported (via Twitter) that New York is receiving the No. 51 pick in addition to 56, but the Knicks already acquired that pick from Washington in an earlier deal.

We’ll update this story when we have more clarity on those trade details.

Thunder To Sign Alex Ducas, Malevy Leons

June 27th, 2024 at 7:57pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder plan to sign free agent guard Alex Ducas, who went undrafted out of Saint Mary’s, to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Oklahoma City will also ink free agent forward Malevy Leons to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link).

Ranked No. 32 on ESPN’s best undrafted players list, Ducas spent all five of his college seasons with the Gaels. In 2023/24, the 6’6″ Australian sharpshooter averaged 9.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 1.9 APG while knocking down 43.8% of his three-point attempts in 34 games (28.1 MPG).

A 6’9″ forward who hails from the Netherlands, Leons spent his final three collegiate seasons with Bradley after attending a junior college in Missouri. He averaged 13.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.5 SPG and 1.5 BPG on .488/.341/.783 shooting in 35 games (34.4 MPG) last season for the Braves.

If Leons is waived by the Thunder before the ’24/25 season begins and spends at least 60 days with their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, he could earn a bonus worth up to nearly $78K.

Thunder Officially Confirm Three Trades

June 27th, 2024 at 7:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have issued a press release confirming that three separate minor trades reported earlier in the day have been officially completed. The following trades were finalized, per the team:

The Thunder sent Lindy Waters to the Warriors in exchange for the draft rights to No. 52 pick Quinten Post (story).
The Thunder then sent Post’s rights and cash to the Trail Blazers in exchange for the draft rights to No. 40 pick Oso Ighodaro (story).
Finally, the Thunder sent the rights to Ighodaro and cash to the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to No. 38 pick Ajay Mitchell (story). The Knicks received $500K in cash, per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While the deals were completed as three separate transactions, the upshot is that the Thunder sent out Waters (to the Warriors) and cash (to both the Blazers and Knicks) in exchange for Mitchell, the No. 38 pick in today’s second round.

Post eventually landed with Golden State, while Ighodaro was sent to Phoenix.

[RELATED: 2024 NBA Offseason Trades]

A native of Belgium, Mitchell had an impressive junior season for UC Santa Barbara in 2023/24, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals on .504/.393/.858 shooting in 29 games (31.5 minutes per contest).

Northwest Notes: Dillingham, Wolves, Blazers, Thunder, Topic

June 27th, 2024 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Due to team-building restrictions from the second tax apron, the Timberwolves knew they were limited in their ability to acquire impact players this summer. Instead of standing pat, they decided to make another aggressive move, trading an unprotected first-round pick in 2031 and a top-one protected 2030 first-round swap to the Spurs for the rights to Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, the No. 8 pick.

As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes, Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly views Dillingham as the top shot creator in the draft, a major need for a Minnesota team that struggled to score at times during the 2023/24 regular season and playoffs.

“I don’t know how we can achieve that in the next two or three years via free agency,” Connelly said. “We don’t want to trade our core guys. It’s pretty simplistic. I think we’ve checked a major box that we lacked last year.”

“He’s a guy who, from Day 1, is going to have a role and a responsibility,” Connelly continued, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “Certainly it’s going to be hard for him. But I don’t think you’re that aggressive in the top 10 [of the draft] with a guy you don’t think can play right away.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Somak Sarkar, the former Timberwolves employee who was fired for stealing thousands of files, had a felony third-degree burglary charge dismissed but pled guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized computer access, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPN. Sarkar is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9.
Asked about using the No. 7 pick on Wednesday to draft Donovan Clingan with centers Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams already on the roster, Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin downplayed the idea of a logjam up front, per Bill Oram of The Oregonian. “We’re not good enough to be content at any one position or even just at the starting positions,” Cronin said.
Cronin also made an interesting comment when discussing the rest of the Trail Blazers‘ offseason, telling reporters, “We’re committed to Scoot (Henderson) and Shaedon (Sharpe) being a massive part of what we’re doing, and how do we find ways to give them the support they need and maximize their development?” As Oram points out, there was no mention of guard Anfernee Simons there alongside his backcourt mates, which may be a hint that Portland doesn’t view Simons as part of the team’s young long-term core.
Serbian guard Nikola Topic, whom the Thunder selected 12th overall on Wednesday, said he has never been to Oklahoma and had no clue which team would draft him, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Head of basketball operations Sam Presti said he doesn’t expect the 18-year-old to play in 2024/25 due to his partially torn ACL, but Topic will spend what could end up being a redshirt season around the team.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Knicks To Trade No. 38 Pick To Thunder

June 27th, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks are trading the No. 38 pick in the 2024 draft to the Thunder, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Oklahoma City will be sending New York the No. 40 pick and cash, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that the Thunder will select UC Santa Barbara guard Ajay Mitchell (Twitter links).

A native of Belgium, Mitchell had an impressive junior season for the Gauchos in 2023/24, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals on .504/.393/.858 shooting in 29 games (31.5 minutes per contest).

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Thunder previously agreed to acquire the No. 40 pick from the Trail Blazers in exchange for the No. 52 pick. OKC intially secured the 52nd pick in the deal that sent Lindy Waters to Golden State (Twitter links).

Portland will receive cash from Oklahoma City for moving down from No. 52 to No. 40.

And-Ones: France, Japan, FAs, Klutch, West, Wright

June 27th, 2024 at 3:10pm CST by Rory Maher

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, host nation France has announced that two players from its preliminary 19-man roster have been cut (Twitter link): former NBA guard Killian Hayes, who is currently an unrestricted free agent, and Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng.

Neither Hayes nor Dieng have ever suited up for the senior national team, according to Eurohoops, but they did represent their home country at the youth level. The French national team will need to trim its roster down to 12 players from the current 17 before the Olympics begin at the end of July.

Japan recently announced its own 16-man preliminary roster ahead of the Olympics, per Eurohoops. Lakers forward Rui Hachimura headlines the group, which also features Yuta Watanabe. France, Japan, Germany and the winner of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Latvia will comprise Group C of the 12-team tournament.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

John Hollinger of The Athletic ranks the top free agent small forwards and power forwards, respectively. Hollinger’s BORD$ formula rates LeBron James as the top overall free agent regardless of position, with Paul George the top small forward. Free agents can begin negotiating with other teams on June 30.
Klutch Sports Group and Rich Paul have been sued in federal court by longtime NBA agent Mark Termini, writes Mark Vorkunov of The Athletic. Termini, a former associate of Klutch, is suing for $4.9MM plus interest for an alleged breach of contract. Termini claims Klutch began paying him less than he was owed as the “lead negotiator” on several contracts from 2018-20. “This lawsuit is inaccurate and misguided,” a Klutch spokesperson said. “And will be addressed in the proper forum.”
Virginia prosecutors have dropped a pair of criminal charges — felony drug possession and violation of pretrial conditions — against former NBA guard Delonte West, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPN. The 40-year-old is still facing two other charges (resisting arrest and obstruction of justice) stemming from his arrest earlier this month, according to Holmes, who adds that West is due in court on July 11.
The Knicks will soon have four former Villanova Wildcats on their roster, but former Nova coach Jay Wright has no intention of becoming a coach with New York or any other NBA team, he told Zach Braziller of The New York Post.

Warriors To Acquire Lindy Waters From Thunder For 52nd Pick

June 27th, 2024 at 1:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder will send Lindy Waters to the Warriors in exchange for the 52nd pick in today’s draft, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Oklahoma City holds a $2.2MM non-guaranteed team option on Waters that must be exercised before the deal can be completed. Golden State views Waters as a potential rotation player and plans to guarantee his salary, keeping him on the roster, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

The 26-year-old shooting guard spent the past three years with OKC, mostly on two-way contracts before receiving a standard deal in February. He appeared in 38 games this season, averaging 3.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in 7.4 minutes per night.

The Thunder don’t have any other second-round picks, and there’s a belief that they might want to trade up even further, Fischer adds (Twitter link). Oklahoma City traded into the late first round Wednesday night, acquiring the 26th pick from New York to draft Dillon Jones.

OKC could be targeting San Francisco forward/center Jonathan Mogbo in the second round, speculates Rylan Stiles of Inside the Thunder. The team needs to find a replacement for two-way big man Olivier Sarr, who is expected to miss all of next season after suffering an Achilles injury in the G League Finals.

Free Agent Rumors: KCP, Nuggets, DeRozan, Williams, Jones, Hartenstein

June 27th, 2024 at 8:21am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth made it clear that the team wants to retain potential free agent wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but is prepared for the possibility of losing him. Caldwell-Pope has until Saturday to decide whether or not he’ll pick up his 2024/25 player option.

“I think we have to look at everything, and the nature of free agency is, he’s unrestricted,” Booth said, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “So we can try to bring him back, and if he doesn’t want to come back or opts to go somewhere else, that’s his prerogative. So we’ll have to work with that. But I think we’re prepared to plug and play, so to speak.”

As Durando notes, Booth identified third-year swingman Christian Braun as the top candidate to replace Caldwell-Pope in the starting lineup if necessary, citing Braun’s net rating in various lineups as a positive indicator for his ability to take on a larger role.

“I think when you look at some of the teams that have been good in the past, they have to find a way to replace fourth, fifth starters, sixth men off the bench and still keep rolling,” Booth said. “… I think if (Braun) has to step into the starting lineup, I think we’ll be OK, if KCP doesn’t return.”

Booth added that the Nuggets have interest in re-signing veteran free agents DeAndre Jordan and Justin Holiday, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link).

Here are a few more free agency rumors and notes from around the NBA:

There has been “growing buzz” that DeMar DeRozan won’t be back with the Bulls next season, whether he simply walks as a free agent or departs via sign-and-trade, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Within his latest Substack article, Marc Stein relays that his podcast partner Chris Haynes said extension talks between the Bulls and DeRozan have “gone cold,” increasing the likelihood that the veteran forward reaches the open market.
On the other hand, “all signs” point to the Bulls re-signing free agent forward Patrick Williams, says Johnson. Chicago was the first team to officially tender a qualifying offer to a free agent this summer, issuing Williams a QO on Monday to ensure he’ll be a restricted free agent.
There have been “league-wide rumblings” that the Magic have interest in point guard Tyus Jones, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports writes within a breakdown of the draft’s first day. Jones will be an unrestricted free agent and is widely expected to command a salary above the mid-level; the Magic will have the cap room necessary to make him a competitive offer if they so choose.
Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein is another potential target to watch for Orlando. With Hartenstein nearing unrestricted free agency, Stein writes at his Substack that the Magic and Thunder continue to be named most frequently by rival executives as potential suitors for the big man.