Russell Westbrook Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Russell Westbrook Has Surgery

November 1st, 2014 at 12:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Injured guard Russell Westbrook had surgery this morning to repair a fracture in his right hand, the Thunder announced. Westbrook is scheduled to be reevaluated in a month at which point a timetable for his return would be decided. This means that the player will miss a minimum of 15 games, and possibly more depending on how his recovery fares.

This comes on the heels of the Thunder losing superstar Kevin Durant with a broken foot for at least six to eight weeks. Oklahoma City, which has the maximum 15 players on their roster, had already applied to the league for a hardship provision before Westbrook’s injury, but the NBA turned them down because they had yet to play three regular season games. The team is expected to apply again after tonight’s game. If the hardship provision is granted, it would allow the team to add a 16th player to their roster, but the Thunder would have to pare the roster back down to 15 once one of their injured players made his return.

The immediate problem for the team is the lack of depth at point guard, with Sebastian Telfair being the only healthy point man on the roster. The Thunder are considering signing free agent Gal Mekel, and other available point guards include Will Bynum, John Lucas III and Ish Smith.

Thunder Eye Mekel Amid Westbrook Injury

October 31st, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Russell Westbrook broke the second metacarpal bone in his right hand during Thursday’s game against the Clippers, and the “early indication” is that he’ll miss four to six weeks, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The Thunder had already expressed interest in former Mavs point guard Gal Mekel, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Mekel is set to clear waivers today if he goes unclaimed, but the next step remains unclear for the Thunder, who have just eight healthy players following a rash of injuries that includes Kevin Durant‘s fractured right foot.

The Thunder, who have a full 15-man roster, applied to the league for a hardship provision before Westbrook’s injury that would allow them to add a 16th player, but the NBA turned them down because they had yet to play three regular season games, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. The hardship rule requires that at least four players miss three or more regular season games, so Oklahoma City is likely to apply again after their third game on Saturday, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, Mitch McGary, Anthony Morrow and Grant Jerrett are all dealing with injuries of varying severity.

Lance Thomas is one of the team’s few remaining healthy players, but his non-guaranteed contract is the only one on the Thunder’s roster that doesn’t include a full guarantee, as our roster counts show, so Oklahoma City has little flexibility absent the ability to add a 16th man. The Thunder are about $1.74MM shy of the luxury tax line, but signing a 16th player to a non-guaranteed prorated minimum-salary deal would allow them to maintain at least a sliver of breathing room.

Sebastian Telfair is the only healthy point guard on the roster, as Mayberry points out, though Jackson is expected back as early as Saturday. Still, if the Thunder prioritize the addition of a point guard, the pool of free agents at the position includes Will Bynum, John Lucas III, Ish Smith and others.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Westbrook, Williams

July 30th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love has been the hottest name in rumors of late, but Tuesday, another Northwest Division star began to generate some buzz. Kevin Durant spoke openly of the possibility that he’ll sign with his hometown Wizards when he becomes a free agent in 2016. He also chalked up his decision not to negotiate an opt-out clause into his current five-year deal to a mixture of naivete and his love for Oklahoma City, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry notes. Durant said it would “definitely be tough” to leave if the Thunder were to win a pair of championships in the two years remaining before he can hit free agency, as USA Today’s Sam Amick observes. With the onus on GM Sam Presti to put his team over the top, there’s more on the Thunder and their stars amid the latest from the Northwest:

The general assumption is that Russell Westbrook will look to leave the Thunder when he becomes a free agent in 2017, but that’s no certainty, as Durant impressed upon reporters Tuesday, including Amick, who shares the tidbit in the same piece.
John Wall is already expressing support for the idea of Durant joining the Wizards in two years, calling him “like an older brother” and saying, “It’d be great to have him back home,” as Amick notes.
Had the Trail Blazers wanted to re-sign Mo Williams this summer, “in all retrospect, they could have,” Williams said in a pair of tweets. The guard has instead agreed to a deal with the Timberwolves.

Bulls, Thunder In Lead For Pau Gasol

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:45pm CST by Zachary Links

THURSDAY, 10:45pm: The Bulls and Thunder are the most intriguing destinations to Gasol at this time, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

10:37am: Stein counters that the Thunder do believe they have a legitimate chance of landing Gasol, though whether he’d take a sizable discount to sign with Oklahoma City remains a question (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 9:00pm: The Thunder view a run for Gasol as a “long shot” since they can only offer the mid-level but they also believe it’s “worth a try,” a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (via Twitter).

8:24pm: Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook made a come-to-OKC pitch directly to Gasol today in Los Angeles, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

7:15pm: Sources say the Bulls’ rising interest in Gasol is a reflection of concern that they can’t convince Carmelo Anthony to leave the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein adds (link) that Gasol is giving legit consideration to joining the Spurs if he looks at places where money is scarce. Gasol likes the Spurs in part because of Gregg Popovich‘s ability to manage minutes as well as the international flavor of the roster, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

6:05pm: The Thunder have come on strong with Gasol and have been described as the “frontrunner” for him, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

5:30pm: The Bulls are zeroed in on wooing Carmelo Anthony, but they’re also eager to add Pau Gasol if things don’t work out on that front. The Spaniard is their top target after the Knicks star and Chicago officials will be traveling to L.A. on Thursday to sit down with him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The Bulls and Thunder have emerged as two new top-flight teams in the hunt for Gasol, Stein tweets. Gasol has been drawing considerable interest from multiple suitors since free agency kicked off earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are among the teams that made contact with Gasol on Wednesday, according to Joe Goodman of the Miami Herald. LeBron James and Anthony might be stealing the big headlines right now, but it won’t be long before Gasol is among the hottest free agents available.

Western Notes: Spurs, Thunder, Bledsoe, Arthur

April 18th, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Spurs owner Peter Holt is stepping down as chairman of the NBA’s Board of Governors, notes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Timberwolves owner and former chairman Glen Taylor will replace him on an interim basis until a new chairman is selected in October (Twitter links)

Western Notes: Westbrook, Jazz, Davis

March 22nd, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Cray Allred

While a lot of attention has shifted from the NBA to March Madness this weekend, there are still plenty of good games and intriguing stories around the league. Let’s take a look out West:

Today’s MRI and exam of Thunder star Russell Westbrook‘s knee following last night’s collision revealed no issues of concern, per Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Royce Young of Daily Thunder adds that Westbrook won’t miss any time from the injury, outside of the pre-existing plan of rest for back-to-backs.
Glen Davis is still getting acclimated to the Clippers style of play, telling Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times that he’s still trying to get a feel for his new teammates. “I’m not looking to get a real groove, as far as thinking without thinking kind of method, until the playoffs. So every day is a grind and just a way to get to know everybody,” says Davis. “What Chris Paul wants. How he wants it done. What Blake [Griffin] wants. How I should play with Blake, because he’s usually playing with a guy who’s above the rim all the time. So it’s easy for him. I’m different. I’m a different player. I’m below the rim. I’m different from DeAndre [Jordan]. So it’s learning that system and just knowing the guys on the floor.”
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune that he wants to see maximum effort from his young roster as the season closes, even though Utah is well out of contention. “The fans deserve to see our best effort,” Corbin said. “I want us to play hard and do this thing the right way. We’ve got to play hard and play well and be professional.” There are plenty of Jazz players with incentive to impress; Utah has nine players that will either be free agents next year or working on non-guaranteed deals heading into 2014/15.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Nuggets, Jazz

March 22nd, 2014 at 10:06am CST by Cray Allred

Kevin Durant likely regained the lead for the MVP last night, leading the Thunder to a double-OT victory over the Raptors by hitting a game-winning three that put him over 50 points for the second time this season. It wasn’t all good news for Oklahoma City, though, as Russell Westbrook had to leave the game after a collision with Kyle Lowry against the same knee he’s had three recent surgeries on. Here are some notes from the Northwest Division:

After the game, Westbrook was positive, telling reporters including Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman that he felt no pain and doesn’t expect to miss time. Westbrook first hurt the knee in the first round of last year’s playoffs. He played through that game and expressed similar optimism before being ruled out for the postseason. Last night’s injury was officially ruled a sprained knee, and he will be re-evaluated today.
While former Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri, now guiding the Raptors, is routinely mentioned as one of the best executives in the league, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post says that Ujiri is responsible for one of the worst trades in Denver’s history. Sending away Arron Afflalo and a first-round pick for one year of Andre Iguodala set the franchise back in Kiszla’s eyes.
The Jazz will be joining the Las Vegas Summer League this year and leaving the Orlando league, per Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (H/T Jody Genessy of The Deseret News). The team decided to switch leagues because the logistics of conducting team activities on the East Coast can be challenging and limiting.

Western Notes: McGee, Westbrook, McDonough

February 16th, 2014 at 10:42am CST by Eddie Scarito

Nuggets center JaVale McGee has been out of action since November with a stress fracture in his left tibia. The team’s original plan was to allow McGee to take time to let his injury heal without having surgery. But now, with little progress having been made, the 7-footer has to decide whether or not to undergo season-ending surgery. A resolution on whether he will play again this season is expected by March 1st, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. His mother, Pamela McGee stated, “By March 1, we’ll know exactly what strategy to use and when he’ll be definitely be back, or not back.” McGee has been able to start doing lower-body activity such as light work on the elliptical machine, but the leg has not healed enough for McGee, or the Nuggets, to be confident the efforts will work to get him back on the court this season. McGee only appeared in five games this season and had averages of 7.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG.

Northwest Notes: Brooks, Love

February 12th, 2014 at 9:33pm CST by Cray Allred

At age 39, Derek Fisher is improbably playing his best basketball as a member of the Thunder, writes Anthony Slater of NewsOK. The veteran has come up with big shots when needed and maintained an overall plus/minus rating of 97, while serving as Oklahoma City’s only backup point guard with Russell Westbrook sidelined. Here’s more from the division:

A league executive believes the Thunder would be fine without Russell Westbrook, evidenced by their continued dominance this season in 29 games without him, and the exec tells Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders that the Thunder should consider trading Westbrook for a top-five draft pick (Twitter link).
Thunder coach Scott Brooks tells Jeff Caplan of NBA.com he has no inclination about how the summer of 2016 will go for Oklahoma City. That’s when both Brooks’ and, more significantly, Kevin Durant‘s contracts are set to expire. “All the rhetoric about what’s going to happen three years from now, I kind of smirk and laugh about it,” Brooks said. “It’s crazy. Who knows? What our team believes in is what I believe in. I believe in coming to work everyday, I believe in giving your best, I believe in being solid on and off the court. Those are staples that this organization is about.”
In the same article, Caplan describes the strong bond Brooks has with both Durant and Westbrook, and notes that there are some striking similarities with the Spurs, where stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili have all stayed with coach Gregg Popovich and the small market team rather than seeking more money elsewhere.
Tom Haberstroh weighs whether Kevin Love should demand a trade in an ESPN Insider piece [subscription only]. The Timberwolves‘ 2013/14 struggles, a history of front office incompetence, and Minnesota’s cold weather are all factors that might motivate the superstar power forward to want out, but Haberstroh thinks the team’s misfortunes this year aren’t indicative of their true performance. The expected win total for the Timberwolves is 32-20, but poor fourth quarter play and close losses have saddled them with a 24-28 record, six games out of the playoffs. Haberstroh thinks the odds are good that Minnesota’s win totals start catching up to their statistical performance in the second half, giving Love a shot at the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Westbrook Injury Could Prompt Roster Move

December 27th, 2013 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

Thunder GM Sam Presti told Hoops Rumors and other reporters on a conference call today that he and his staff haven’t had an opportunity to discuss potential roster moves in the wake of an injury that will keep Russell Westbrook out until after the All-Star break. Still, Presti left the door open to the notion that he’ll fill the Thunder’s vacant roster spot now that the team has announced that Westbrook has undergone arthroscopic injury on the same knee that knocked him out of the playoffs last year.

“We never rule anything out,” he said. “We always look for ways to improve.”

Oklahoma City has 27 games left before the All-Star break, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe points out via Twitter, meaning Westbrook will miss a significant chunk of the season. Westbrook won’t necessarily return for the first game after the All-Star break, as Presti noted, and the GM adds that the injury is one that will require management for an indefinite time even after Westbrook makes it back to game action.

The Thunder are less than $1.5MM shy of the luxury tax line, but they can create additional flexibility if they let go of Ryan Gomes or Hasheem Thabeet, neither of whom have fully guaranteed contracts. The leaguewide guarantee date is January 10th, so Oklahoma City would have to make its decisions on Gomes and Thabeet by January 7th in order for them to clear waivers in time. Teams will be able to sign players to 10-day contracts starting January 6th, so perhaps Presti will go that route.

No move is imminent, and Presti said the team has a lot of confidence in Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb, both of whom have taken on significantly larger roles already this season. Still, Lamb doesn’t play point guard, and it’s unclear if the team expects him to take on more ball-handling duties in Westbrook’s absence. Derek Fisher, at age 39, is the only true point guard the team has aside from Jackson and Westbrook.