Kenrich Williams Undergoes Arthroscopic Procedure On Knee
September 30: Williams will be reevaluated in approximately six-to-eight weeks, according to the Thunder (Twitter link via Derek Parker of Thunder On SI).
September 29: Thunder forward Kenrich Williams will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee today, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
The team will provide a timeline for his recovery after the surgery is complete, Scotto adds.
Williams was an important reserve for Oklahoma City during its run to the NBA title last season. He appeared in 69 games, making seven starts and averaging 6.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.4 minutes per night with .483/.386/.718 shooting numbers.
Williams, 30, has been a mainstay in OKC since being acquired from New Orleans in 2020 in a four-team deal. Nicknamed “Kenny Hustle,” he’s a fan favorite for his aggressive style of play. He will make $7.163MM this season, and the team holds an option for the same amount in 2026/27.
The Thunder may have the deepest roster in the league, so there should be no concerns about surviving while Williams heals up. Still, it’s the second bit of bad injury news for the defending champs, who lost rookie center Thomas Sorber to a season-ending ACL tear earlier this month.
Thunder Sign Jazian Gortman, Zack Austin, Chris Youngblood
The Thunder have signed free agents Jazian Gortman, Zack Austin and Chris Youngblood, the team announced today.
Oklahoma City’s three additions, all of whom played for the Thunder during Summer League action, will put the team at the offseason limit of 21 players under contract.
While the terms of the deals were not disclosed, reporting back in June indicated that Austin and Youngblood would be signing Exhibit 10 contracts for training camp. It seems pretty safe to assume that Gortman received the same.
Gortman, who went undrafted out of Overtime Elite in 2023, spent his first pro season in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd and the Rip City Remix, the affiliate teams of the Bucks and Trail Blazers, respectively.
The 6’2″ point guard caught on with the Mavericks last summer, initially signing an Exhibit 10 deal. Gortman impressed Dallas during training camp and preseason, having been promoted to a two-way contract shortly before the 2024/25 season began.
Gortman made 16 garbage-time appearances with the Mavs, playing 53 total minutes, before being released in late January. He also played 34 G League games (34.5 MPG) with the Texas Legends last season, averaging 20.0 points, 6.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals on .450/.272/.813 shooting.
Both Austin and Youngblood went undrafted in 2025.
As a senior for Pitt last season, Austin was named to the ACC’s All-Defensive team after averaging 4.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks in 32 games (32.1 MPG). He also averaged 9.2 PPG while shooting 38.1% from three-point range.
Youngblood spent ’24/25 — his “super senior” campaign — with Alabama after previously playing for Kennesaw State and South Florida. He averaged 10.3 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 28 appearances (25.3 MPG) for the Crimson Tide, posting a shooting line of .447/.388/.804
It’s worth noting that the Thunder currently have an open two-way spot, and, as previously mentioned, Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way pacts. Malevy Leons is also on an Exhibit 10 contract with OKC.
Thunder Re-Sign Branden Carlson On Two-Way Deal
September 26: More than two-and-a-half months after it was first reported, Carlson has officially signed his two-way deal with the Thunder, per a team press release.
July 8: The defending champion Thunder are re-signing free agent big man Branden Carlson to a two-way contract, agent Ross Aroyo tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Carlson appeared in 32 games as rookie last season with the Thunder, averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old was given a qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent, so he may simply be accepting that QO, which is equivalent to another one-year two-way contract.
Carlson went undrafted in 2024 after spending his five-year collegiate career at Utah. The seven-footer originally signed a two-way contract with the Raptors but was cut just before the 2024/25 season began. He later signed a non-guaranteed deal and a pair of 10-day contracts with the Thunder before eventually sticking with the team for good on a two-way in February.
Second-round pick Brooks Barnhizer is also on a two-way contract with the Thunder, so the club will have one two-way slot still available after bringing back Carlson.
Northwest Notes: Bailey, Blazers, Thunder, Nuggets
Jazz rookie Ace Bailey has decided to part ways with manager Omar Cooper and is seeking new representation, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic. League sources tell Jones that Bailey and his camp have interviewed potential reps but haven’t yet made a decision on who they’ll hire.
Cooper made waves during the pre-draft process by discouraging Bailey from visiting with or working out for any teams with picks in the top five. The widespread belief, as Jones writes, was that Cooper was trying to steer his client to the Wizards at No. 6, but Utah ultimately drafted him one spot before that.
Cooper is the father of guard Sharife Cooper, who signed a two-way contract with Washington last week.
Here are a few more items of interest form around the Northwest:
- RAJ Sports, a company run by the Bhatal family that reportedly made a bid to buy the Trail Blazers, has filed a lawsuit against the Cherng family, which joined Tom Dundon‘s prospective Blazers ownership group earlier this month. Jason Quick and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic have the details on the suit, which was first reported by Law360.com. RAJ Sports is claiming that the Cherngs – who own Panda Express – breached an exclusivity agreement and has asked a judge to stop them from buying a stake in the Blazers.
- Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman passes along some highlights from Sam Presti‘s preseason press conference following a Thunder offseason highlighted by continuity. Presti preached patience when it comes to Nikola Topic‘s integration into the rotation, expressed confidence that Chet Holmgren will “only be better,” and said rookie big man Thomas Sorber was “playing great” before suffering a season-ending ACL tear. “It’s a really tough situation, but he’s got the right mindset. He’s got great natural energy,” Presti said of the 15th overall pick. “He’s going to get something out of this year, 100 percent, and I think it’ll position him well going into next season. But it’s certainly disappointing.”
- Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required) explores what the Nuggets‘ depth chart might look like in 2025/26. While the starters – Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic – seem pretty clear, there could be some spots up for grabs on the second unit, including at point guard, where Bruce Brown projects to be Murray’s backup, and at the forward spots.
- The Oklahoma City Blue and Grand Rapids Gold – the Thunder‘s and Nuggets‘ G League affiliates, respectively – completed a trade sending the returning rights to Justyn Hamilton to the Gold in exchange for the returning rights to Andrew Funk and a 2026 second-round pick, tweets Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The deal could be a precursor to Hamilton signing an Exhibit 10 contract with Denver and/or Funk signing one with Oklahoma City.
And-Ones: ESPN Survey, S. Cash, Bargain FAs, More
A panel of 20 coaches, executives, and scouts around the NBA polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps overwhelmingly picked Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current best player in the NBA, with Jokic receiving 19 votes while Lakers guard Luka Doncic earned the last one.
However, the predictions for 2025/26 MVP were more divided — Jokic leads the way with seven votes, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (five), Doncic (four), and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (two) each received multiple votes, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards each got one too.
The panel polled by Bontemps also predicted who will be the NBA’s best player in 2030 (Wembanyama received 16 votes), who will win Rookie of the Year in 2025/26 (Cooper Flagg earned 19 votes), and where LeBron James will be when the 2026/27 season begins — seven respondents expect him to still be a Laker, while five said he’ll be retired and eight believe he’ll be with a new team.
Those coaches, executives, and scouts also believe the Hawks (seven votes) had the best offseason of the NBA’s 30 teams, while the Pelicans (nine votes) had the worst summer. And they nearly unanimously picked the Thunder to repeat as champions. Just two respondents chose the Nuggets to win the 2026 title, while the other 18 stuck with Oklahoma City.
Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- After being let go by the Pelicans in April, former WNBA star and veteran NBA executive Swin Cash is joining Amazon Prime Video for the 2025/26 season, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Cash will have the role of “front office insider” on Prime Video’s NBA studio show, then will become a studio analyst for Amazon’s WNBA coverage.
- Thomas Bryant, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Delon Wright are among the unsigned players identified by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report as bargain free agents who are capable of helping any NBA team.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic views the Thunder (62.5 wins), Clippers (48.5), Warriors (45.5), Bulls (32.5), and Jazz (18.5) as the five teams who are the best bets to exceed the over/under win projections set by oddsmakers for the 2025/26 season.
2025/26 NBA Over/Unders: Northwest Division
With the 2025/26 NBA regular season tipping 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 BetMGM 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 2024/25, our voters went 13-17 on their over/under picks. Can we top that in ’25/26?
We’ll continue our series today with the Northwest Division…
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2024/25 record: 68-14
- Over/under for 2025/26: 62.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Thomas Sorber
- Lost: Dillon Jones
- Note: Sorber has been ruled out for the 2025/26 season due to a torn ACL.
How many games will the Thunder win in 2025/26?
-
Over 62.5 63% (249)
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Under 62.5 37% (147)
Total votes: 396
Denver Nuggets
- 2024/25 record: 50-32
- Over/under for 2025/26: 53.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Nuggets win in 2025/26?
-
Over 53.5 72% (246)
-
Under 53.5 28% (95)
Total votes: 341
Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2024/25 record: 49-33
- Over/under for 2025/26: 49.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Joan Beringer, Bones Hyland
- Lost: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luka Garza, Josh Minott
How many games will the Timberwolves win in 2025/26?
-
Over 49.5 59% (192)
-
Under 49.5 41% (135)
Total votes: 327
Portland Trail Blazers
- 2024/25 record: 36-46
- Over/under for 2025/26: 34.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard, Yang Hansen, Blake Wesley
- Lost: Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, Jabari Walker, Dalano Banton
- Note: Lillard is expected to miss the entire 2025/26 season while he recovers from a torn Achilles.
How many games will the Trail Blazers win in 2025/26?
-
Over 34.5 57% (156)
-
Under 34.5 43% (117)
Total votes: 273
Utah Jazz
- 2024/25 record: 17-65
- Over/under for 2025/26: 18.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Jazz win in 2025/26?
-
Over 18.5 55% (141)
-
Under 18.5 45% (114)
Total votes: 255
Previous voting results:
- New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (63.2%)
- Boston Celtics (42.5 wins): Over (52.7%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (42.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
- Toronto Raptors (37.5 wins): Over (50.2%)
- Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Over (54.4%)
Southwest Notes: Russell, Mavericks Questions, Clarke, G League Trade
Mavericks guard Klay Thompson hosted the annual Mavericks “vet camp” and new acquisition D’Angelo Russell was among those in attendance. As Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal writes, the experience helped Russell gain some familiarity with his new teammates ahead of the season.
“When you have that camaraderie to start the season, all the ice is broken,” Russell said. “You don’t wait until preseason or until media day to feel like you know these guys. You develop that relationship and camaraderie ASAP. So, I’m excited, man.”
The Mavericks’ training camp will begin on Sept. 30.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- One of the biggest questions surrounding the Mavericks entering the season is how they’ll deploy their offense without Kyrie Irving (ACL), Christian Clark of The Athletic writes. Dallas signed Russell to help offset the loss of Irving, but having Cooper Flagg take on some ball-handling responsibilities is not out of the question.
- Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke suffered a high grade PCL strain in March that caused him to miss the remainder of the 2024/25 season. According to Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal, Clarke said he feels good and expects to be ready for the start of the season. “I’m ramping up right now,” Clarke said. “I feel great. I’m doing everything. Ramping up to play with my team on day one. I’ll be there.”
- The Thunder and Spurs‘ G League affiliates made a trade, swapping the returning player rights of Malachi Flynn (to the Oklahoma City Blue) and Adam Flagler (to the Austin Spurs), per Rylan Stiles of Thunder on SI (Twitter link). The Blue also obtained a 2025 first-round pick and 2026 second-round pick. Flynn is joining a Turkish club, so this trade does not mean that he will suit up for Oklahoma City’s G League affiliate — just that they obtained his rights if he does play in the G League in the future. Flagler signed with the Spurs on an Exhibit 10 deal that entitles him to a bonus if he spends 60 days with Austin, so this deal ensures that he’ll end up there this season.
And-Ones: G League Trade, Offseason Moves, Spending, Draft Capital
The Heat‘s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, acquired the returning player rights to Alex Fudge from the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’s developmental team, the Skyforce announced in a release. The move was a three-team deal, with the Skyforce obtaining a 2026 first-round pick from the College Park Skyhawks (the Hawks‘ affiliate) while sending them Malik Williams. South Bay also obtained Caleb Daniels from Sioux Falls and Michael Devoe from College Park.
Fudge went undrafted in 2023 out of Florida but signed with the Lakers on a two-way contract that summer. He was later waived and then signed a two-way deal with Dallas before being cut last offseason. He spent all of last season with South Bay, averaging 5.5 points in 15 regular season games. The 22-year-old has appeared in six NBA games.
The other player in the deal with NBA experience is Williams, who suited up in seven games (two starts) with Toronto on a 10-day contract in 2023/24. He averaged 14.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in the G League last year with Sioux Falls.
Daniels previously signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Miami before averaging 10.8 PPG with the Skyforce last season. Devoe signed Exhibit 10 deals with the Clippers in 2022 and Jazz in 2023. He last played in the G League in 2023/24.
G League trades can often indicate a team is gearing up to sign one or more of the players involved to an Exhibit 10 contract. When teams sign players to Exhibit 10 deals, those players are eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with that organization’s G League affiliate.
Devoe played last year in Germany, so this trade doesn’t necessarily mean he will for sure suit up in the G League. But if he does, the South Bay Lakers currently controls his returning rights.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The Spurs signing Luke Kornet is one of the NBA’s most underrated moves of the offseason, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. San Antonio got a big that pairs nicely with Victor Wembanyama or can play when he’s off the floor without breaking the bank. In an article evaluating some of the most overlooked moves of the summer, Hollinger credits the Bulls for re-signing Josh Giddey at a decent price point and the Heat for trading for Norman Powell, while applauding various other moves.
- On the other hand, several teams made deals Hollinger was not a fan of. The Heat salary-dumping Haywood Highsmith is one such move, while the Pelicans acquiring Jordan Poole is another.
- With free agency largely over, pending the conclusion of restricted free agency for Quentin Grimes and Jonathan Kuminga, Keith Smith of Spotrac took a look at how teams spent their money this offseason. Small-market teams mostly led the way in total spending, signing players to big extensions. The Thunder, for example, led the league in new extension money at $776.3MM spread out between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams.
- The Thunder laid the blueprint for teams building through draft capital, winning a title with drafted players Holmgren and Williams leading the charge alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, who was himself acquired alongside draft assets. Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo of ESPN rank the top teams in the league by their draft capital, with the Thunder still leading the way with 13 incoming future first-round picks. Two rebuilding teams, the Nets and the Jazz, round out the top three.
Western Notes: Thunder, Biyombo, Hyland, Wolves, M. Williams
The Thunder showed last season that veteran know-how isn’t necessarily a requirement to win an NBA championship — with an average of 25.6 years, Oklahoma City became the second-youngest champion in league history, according to Curtis Rowser III of Slam, who spoke to 24-year-old star Jalen Williams about that subject within the magazine’s latest cover story.
“I don’t think you need a bunch of veterans to be successful,” Williams said. “I think they’re definitely useful. But…I learned how to be a professional before I even signed paperwork to be on the Thunder. You go in there, and every single basketball on the ball rack is facing the exact same way; we tuck our shirts in for practice; we’re not wearing jewelry for practice.
“That stuff was ingrained in me since I’ve been in the organization. So we haven’t had to have vets teach us how to do things. We matured faster, because that’s the environment that we’ve been in.”
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- Bismack Biyombo and Bones Hyland each waived the right to veto a trade as part of their deals with the Spurs and Timberwolves, respectively, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract typically receives an implicit no-trade clause, but the club can ask that player to waive that clause in advance — many have done so, as our tracker shows. Biyombo is on a fully non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract with San Antonio, while Hyland got a $425K partial guarantee on his one-year deal with Minnesota.
- New Timberwolves CEO Matthew Caldwell spoke to Chris Hine of The Minnesota Star Tribune about why he accepted the job after nine years with the NHL’s Florida Panthers and his plans for the organization, including a possible new arena. Caldwell cautioned that even if an arena plan comes together quickly, it will take a few years to come to fruition, but added that it’s “a huge priority for us.”
- What might a rookie scale extension for new Suns center Mark Williams look like? Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic explores that question, relaying comments made by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who suggested that the former Hornet has been “quite poor” defensively in his first three NBA seasons. “He’s not as good as the length would make you believe on defense and his mobility has not been strong enough in ball screens and he consistently gets beat, but he’s massive. He’s a great lob threat,” said Vecenie, adding that a deal in the range of $20MM per year with some injury protections could make sense for Williams and the Suns.
And-Ones: Sengun, Giannis, Future Rankings, G League Swap, Drell
Rockets center Alperen Sengun made an eye-opening statement regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo after Turkey defeated Greece for the EuroBasket semifinals.
“He’s not a great passer. He’s an amazing player, you know, but he’s not a great passer. So we just tried to help and jump to close the paint,” Sengun said, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com.
When asked about Sengun’s comments on Sunday, according to BasketNews, the Bucks superstar replied, “I’m not the guy that will talk back to coaches or players or people that say bad things about me. It doesn’t really matter because at the end of the day, you won’t remember what they say. You’ll remember how I respond. So, I keep everything to myself. You can go see my clips on YouTube. And then come back and ask me if I’m a good passer. There you go. That’s it.”
The disagreement continued on social media but both players later issued apologies for comments they made on Instagram, according to Eurohoops.net.
We have more from around the international basketball world:
- ESPN’s Insiders updated their three-year future rankings of every NBA franchise based on a variety of factors. Not surprisingly, the defending champion Thunder received the top ranking. The Rockets, Knicks, Cavaliers and Clippers rounded out the top five, with the Suns occupying the bottom of the totem pole.
- The Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder‘s NBA G League team, has acquired a 2026 first-round pick and the returning player rights to Steven Richardson from the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for the returning player rights to Cormac Ryan, Thunder beat reporter Rylan Stiles tweets. Ryan joined the Bucks‘ camp roster on an Exhibit 10 deal last week, so this clears the way for him to receive a bonus up to $85,300 if he’s waived and then spends 60 days or more with the Herd.
- Spanish club Joventut Badalona and former Bulls forward Henri Drell have reached an agreement for the next two months with an option to extend until the end of the season, according to Penya.com. Drell played in the EuroBasket tournament with the Estonian national team. Last year, he played 15 games with La Laguna Tenerife. Drell appeared in four games with Chicago during the 2023/24 season.