- A trio of Western Conference teams will play Australian National Basketball League teams during the preseason, the NBA announced via press release on Monday. It’s the first time that NBL teams will travel to the U.S. to play against NBA teams. The Sydney Kings will visit the Jazz, Melbourne United will face the Thunder and the Brisbane Bullets will match up against the Suns.
- Alex Abrines‘ health will be closely watched as he joins the Spanish national team for the EuroBasket tournament, which begins Aug. 31st, according to Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. The Thunder swingman received platelet rich plasma injections in his right knee in May. It’s not the first time Abrines has received the injections, as he told Horne he required them “four or five years” ago. The 6’6” Abrines appeared in 68 games last season, averaging 6.0 PPG and 38.1% on 3-point attempts in 15.5 MPG.
The Thunder will reportedly sign guard Bryce Alford, Erik Horne of the Oklahoman writes. The UCLA product, Horne relays, stated as much in an Instagram post earlier today.
While there has been no formal verification, it’s not unlikely that the club added the point guard via a non-guaranteed to deal in order to get a good look at him at training camp. The addition of Alford brings Oklahoma City’s roster to 16 players.
The Thunder are in the market for a reliable backup point guard. After playing 2016/17 with Semaj Christon manning the position behind Russell Westbrook, Sam Presti has brought veteran Raymond Felton on board and now Alford, a volume three-point shooter that put up 7.5 triples per game in his senior season with the Bruins.
Newly signed first-round pick Terrance Ferguson should benefit from the Thunder’s philosophy of giving rookies playing time in the G League, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. On Saturday, the 19-year-old Australian became the final first-rounder to sign a contract, with the process being delayed while he waited for FIBA clearance. Ferguson brings a reputation as an effective shooter and defender, but played limited minutes in Australia last season and needs to bulk up his 185-pound frame.
The Thunder have used the G League more than any other franchise in their nine years since coming to Oklahoma City, sending players there 120 times. ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla, an authority on international basketball, sees Ferguson as an ideal candidate. “That’s exactly where I think Terrance is gonna benefit,” he said. “He’ll have the benefit of practicing a lot with the NBA team, but when he needs minutes and experience, he’ll get it in the G League.”
- Nearly a month into free agency, former Thunder shooting guard Anthony Morrow is still trying to find a team, notes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Morrow, who will turn 32 in September, was shipped to Chicago at the February trade deadline after spending two and a half years in Oklahoma City. He was expected to get more playing time with the Bulls, but appeared in just nine games and averaged 9.7 minutes after the deal. OKC already has 16 players on its roster, so a return to the Thunder seems unlikely.
JULY 29th, 12:42 pm: Ferguson has signed the contract, Royce Young of ESPN.com tweets. FIBA clearance issues prevented him from signing earlier, Young adds.
JULY 27th, 8:55pm: The Thunder have agreed to a four-year deal with Terrance Ferguson, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter feed). With Ferguson coming to an agreement with OKC, every first-round pick in the 2017 draft class is now under contract for the 2017/18 season.
The 19-year-old, who played for an Australian team last season, received clearance from FIBA to play in the NBA earlier today. Up until today, Ferguson was not eligible to sign an NBA deal because of the contractual conflict with his international club. He was also unable to play for the Thunder’s Summer League team because of the previously made agreement.
Ferguson, who was selected with the No. 21 overall pick in this offseason’s draft, is set to make roughly $10.33MM over the next four seasons assuming he signs for the standard 120% of the rookie scale.
JULY 28, 2:05pm: Otis Smith has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Kings’ job, a source tells Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). According to Turner, Smith met with the club twice this month, and still has interest in a front office role, but determined that Sacramento wasn’t the right fit for him.
JULY 26, 2:39pm: In the wake of Scott Perry‘s departure for the Knicks, the Kings are seeking a new vice president of basketball operations to report to Vlade Divac in their front office. And according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, team officials have met with former Magic general manager Otis Smith to discuss the job.
Smith, who appeared in 375 NBA games as a player between 1986 and 1992, transitioned into a front office role after his playing career ended, and eventually became the GM in Orlando in 2006. He held that position for six years, and has since worked out as a G League head coach and an NBA assistant with the Pistons.
Perry was believed to have played a major role in the Kings’ offseason this year after joining the franchise in April, following his dismissal from Orlando’s front office. Perry’s reputation around the NBA – and his solid work in Sacramento – attracted the attention of the Knicks, who sent cash and a second-round pick to the Kings in exchange for the right to hire Perry as their new GM.
With Perry out of the picture, the Kings had been expected to hire a new VP of basketball ops. In addition to Smith, Milt Newton and Troy Weaver were believed to be candidates, but they’re no longer in play, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. However, Jones adds (via Twitter) that former Lakers assistant GM Ronnie Lester is worth keeping an eye on.
Nearly a month has passed since the Thunder offered an extension to Russell Westbrook, writes Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript. Oklahoma City is hoping the reigning MVP will agree to extend his current contract by five years in a deal that would start with the 2018/19 season. Westbrook is eligible to receive 35% of the salary cap — currently projected at $102MM for that season — along with 8% raises each year. The deadline to accept the offer is October 16, the day before the regular season begins. Katz says the organization remains “cautiously optimistic” that Westbrook will agree to the extension.
There’s more news from the Northwest Division:
- Extension talks continued this morning between the Timberwolves and Andrew Wiggins, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Wolfson doesn’t believe Minnesota would include Wiggins in a trade offer for Kyrie Irving.
- Former Nuggets forward Mike Miller thinks Irving would be a good fit in Denver, relays Ashish Mathur of Amicohoops. In an appearance Wednesday on Altitude Radio, Miller, who spent a year with Irving in Cleveland, said the point guard is “definitely interested” in being traded to the Nuggets. “I’ve already asked that question,” Miller said. “… I think he will. I really do. Like anything else, when people look at cities, Denver’s an unbelievable city we all know that. And with what the organization has built there, he would be crazy not to and he’s definitely, definitely interested in it and I told him by putting this thing out there he has no choice.” Mathur speculates that Denver would have to offer Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler and a draft pick to make the deal work.
- Unless they can pull off a trade, the Nuggets are looking at only “minor tweaks” before the season starts, writes Christopher Dempsey of NBA.com. Denver’s roster is virtually filled with not much cap space remaining. Dempsey adds that the team achieved its top offseason priority of signing Paul Millsap.
Thunder rookie Terrance Ferguson has received clearance from FIBA that will allow him to sign an NBA contract, according to Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript.
Ferguson, the 21st pick in this year’s draft, is the only remaining unsigned first-rounder. He was unable to participate with the Oklahoma City team in the Orlando Summer League because of a contractual conflict with the Adelaide 36ers, the Australian team he played for last season.
Ferguson, 19, spent a single season with Adelaide, averaging 4.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in about 15 minutes per game.
NBA teams are not part of the process of getting clearance, Katz notes. Negotiations are conducted between FIBA and the player’s last team.
Katz adds that the Thunder ran into a similar problem when they signed Norris Cole midway through last season. They had to wait nearly a week for him to obtain clearance from his Chinese team before officially adding him on March 1.
When an over-the-cap NBA team sends out more salary than it receives in a given trade, that team can generally create a traded player exception. As we explain in our glossary entry, a traded player exception serves as a way for a team to acquire talent without using cap room to do so.
Traded player exceptions last for one year from the time they’re created, and can be used to absorb a player’s contract in a trade without sending out any salary in return. Trade exceptions can’t be combined with another exception or another contract, but they have $100K worth of wiggle room. So, a team with a $9.9MM TPE could trade for a player earning $10MM without any outgoing salary involved in the deal.
In recent weeks, a handful of teams – including the Hornets, Clippers, and Cavaliers – have seen trade exceptions created last July expire without being used. However, none of those TPEs was substantial. All of this year’s biggest TPEs are still available, though some are more likely to be used than others.
Here’s the current list of the top 10 traded player exceptions available around the NBA, along with each TPE’s expiration date:
- Chicago Bulls: $15,311,329 (6/22/18)
- Portland Trail Blazers: $12,969,502 (7/25/18)
- Toronto Raptors: $11,800,000 (7/13/18)
- Toronto Raptors: $7,630,000 (7/14/18)
- Los Angeles Clippers: $7,273,631 (6/28/18)
- Milwaukee Bucks: $5,000,000 (2/23/18)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $4,936,529 (11/1/17)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $4,837,500 (1/7/18)
- New Orleans Pelicans: $3,517,200 (2/20/18)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $2,550,000 (7/6/18)
While some of these TPEs are quite sizable, there’s a good chance that most of them will go unused. Many of the clubs on this list are near or above the luxury tax threshold, and will be reluctant to acquire an expensive player without dumping any salary as part of the deal.
The Blazers, Raptors, Clippers, Bucks, Thunder, and Cavaliers all fit that bill, though some of those clubs may be willing to bite the tax-penalty bullet, while others could wait until next July when some contracts expire to use their respective TPEs.
As for the Bulls, no team has a more significant TPE than the one Chicago created as part of June’s Jimmy Butler trade. But that exception is somewhat hollow at the moment — the Bulls only have $73.25MM in guaranteed salaries on their 2017/18 cap, so the club could actually create an even greater chunk of cap room by renouncing its trade exception, along with its other cap holds and exceptions. Still, there’s no reason to do that now. That TPE could come in handy later if the Bulls re-sign Nikola Mirotic and much of that potential cap space disappears.
The full list of current NBA trade exceptions can be found right here.
Bill Simmons of The Ringer noted on Monday that the Thunder are “circling” Carmelo Anthony as the Knicks look for a suitable trade. Anthony’s camp has made it clear he does not want to remain in New York. His preferred destination being the Rockets, which would partner Anthony with Chris Paul and James Harden. However, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman examines the likelihood and outcome of Melo possibly ending up in Oklahoma City.
Since Anthony wields the power of a no-trade clause, it’s ultimately up to him whether or not a trade occurs. The Thunder have already acquired Paul George, teaming the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player with one of the league’s best players. One thing that could help facilitate a move is Anthony’s relationship Thunder assistant general manager Troy Weaver — who recruited Melo to Syracuse.
Even if Anthony warms up to the idea, a lot hinges on all sides finding the right trade. Also, due to their respective contractual situations, Anthony, George, and Westbrook could all hit free agency after next season, which could put the Thunder in the bad situation. However, if the three players can be teamed together and enjoy success, it could change a lot of things; Melo’s former coach at Syracuse, Jim Boeheim, remains an Anthony supporter.
“It’s a myth that he can’t play with good players,” Boeheim said to Horne. “And Russell will get along with anybody that will help him win.”
Below are additional notes surrounding the Northwest Division:
- Terrance Ferguson is the final first round pick not to have signed a contract. The Thunder selected Ferguson with the 21st overall pick but Horne notes that one potential holdup could be his contract with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia, Ferguson’s previous team. Horne also delves into the salary cap ramifications of Ferguson signing his deal later than expected.
- Jimmer Fredette has signed a two-year deal to return to China as he resumes his professional career. Before he made the decision, however, the Timberwolves considered signing the former 10th overall pick, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
- The Trail Blazers have moved their deadline to guarantee Pat Connaughton‘s 2017/18 contract from July 25 to August 31, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (via Twitter).
Carmelo Anthony and the Thunder are “officially circling each other,” according to Bill Simmons of The Ringer (Twitter link). As Simmons observes, Troy Weaver – Sam Presti‘s top lieutenant in Oklahoma City’s front office – has a history with Anthony, having recruited him to Syracuse a decade and a half ago.
Simmons isn’t technically a reporter, but he’s plugged in when it comes to the NBA, so his suggestion that there may be mutual interest between Anthony and the Thunder is an interesting one. The Knicks reportedly had hoped that the standout forward would expand his list of preferred destinations beyond just Houston and Cleveland, so it’s possible that Carmelo isn’t entirely zeroed in on those two teams.
Like the Rockets and Cavs, however, the Thunder wouldn’t necessarily be an ideal trade partner for the Knicks. Oklahoma City moved two of its best young players in the Paul George deal, and has committed to trading first-round picks in 2018 and 2020, limiting the club’s assets.
Steven Adams could be an interesting trade chip for OKC, but it’s not clear if the Thunder would be willing to include him in a deal for Anthony. For salary-matching purposes, Enes Kanter would likely have to be part of any offer if Adams isn’t involved, and I expect Kanter wouldn’t appeal much to the Knicks. So even if Carmelo were willing to waive his no-trade clause for the Thunder, a deal wouldn’t necessarily be any easier than it would be with the Rockets or Cavaliers.
The Trail Blazers are also interested in getting involved in the Anthony sweepstakes, though despite recruiting efforts from Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, there has been no indication that the Knicks forward is willing to accept a deal to Portland. Lillard spoke this week about his pitch to Anthony, as Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk details.