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And-Ones: Thunder, CBA, Lee, Smith-Rivera

December 29th, 2016 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Thunder have put together a reasonably strong supporting cast around Russell Westbrook, there’s no simple way for the team to add a second star to complement the standout point guard, writes Chris Mannix of The Vertical. According to Mannix, Oklahoma City has received zero indications that Blake Griffin is interested in coming home in free agency next summer, and the team would be hard-pressed to create the cap room for another max player anyway.

Still, with players like Victor Oladipo, Steven Adams, and Domantas Sabonis locked up on long-term deals, it makes plenty of sense for Westbrook to stick with the Thunder, particularly if the team takes advantage of the designated veteran extension to offer him a five-year pact next summer, Mannix writes.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

  • In an informative piece for The Vertical, former NBA front office executive Bobby Marks takes an in-depth look at how the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will affect salary and cap situations for teams around the league next summer.
  • Damion Lee, who was one of the Celtics‘ training camp invitees and D-League affiliate players this fall, has torn his ACL and will miss the rest of the season, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. After going undrafted out of Louisville this year, Lee had been averaging 17.8 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 16 games with the Maine Red Claws.
  • Speaking of training camp invitees, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, who was in camp with the Bulls this fall, has a new home. As Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com details, Smith-Rivera was acquired from the D-League player pool by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers‘ NBADL affiliate.
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The Silver Lining Of Oladipo's Injury

December 28th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse
  • Victor Oladipo remains out of the lineup, but the Thunder are viewing his absence as an opportunity to evaluate the team’s depth, as Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman passes along. “We’ve found maybe different things that we can do that maybe we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to explore, to experiment with,” coach Billy Donovan said. “Hopefully when he gets back, his absence has made us better and helped our team grow in a way that we can continue to move in a positive direction.”
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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/27/16

December 27th, 2016 at 6:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA, with the most recent updates added to the top of the list throughout the day:

6:25pm:

  • The Warriors have assigned Damian Jones back to Santa Cruz to join Golden State’s D-League affiliate, according to a press release. The rookie center figure to play for the NBADL Warriors against Sioux Falls tonight.

5:02pm:

1:36pm:

  • A day after Rockets rookie Chinanu Onuaku received his first opportunity to get into an NBA game and show off his underhanded free throws, the 2016 second-rounder is headed back to the D-League. The Rockets announced today (via Twitter) that Onuaku has been re-assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Houston’s D-League affiliate will play three games in the next four days, so Onuaku may remain with the Vipers during that stretch.
  • The Thunder have sent forward Josh Huestis back to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The 25-year-old, who has yet to appear in an NBA game for Oklahoma City this season, will suit up for the OKC Blue on Wednesday night, assuming he’s not recalled before then.
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Earl Watson Saw Harden's Potential Early

December 25th, 2016 at 7:32pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Suns coach Earl Watson recognized the star potential in Rockets star James Harden before he reached the NBA, relays Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic. In back-to-back years, Watson recommended Russell Westbrook and Harden to Thunder GM Sam Presti. “If you go play pickup anywhere in L.A. and if there’s NBA players, you will find Russell Westbrook or James Harden in that game,’’ Watson said. “Even this summer coming up, they love to hoop. There’s something about players that love to play. You can only get good at what you love to do consistently over and over and over.”
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Westbrook Impressed By Alex Abrines

December 22nd, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Thunder swingman Alex Abrines has made a strong impression on franchise player Russell Westbrook, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman reports. The Euro import scored 18 points, including five 3-pointers, against the Pelicans on Wednesday. Westbrook has taken note of Abrines’ shooting ability and work ethic, Dawson relays. “He works out every day, works on his game, and that’s the best part about him,” Westbrook told Dawson. “And it’s his first year, man. He’s gonna learn the ups and downs. There’s gonna be ups and downs throughout the whole season.”
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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/21/16

December 21st, 2016 at 10:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

10:51pm:

  • The Thunder have recalled forward Josh Huestis from OKC Blue, the team announced in an email. Huestis is averaging 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 10 D-League games this season.
  • The Hawks have assigned DeAndre’ Bembry to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a tweet from the team. Atlanta doesn’t have a direct D-League affiliate.

1:26pm:

  • A day after sending them down, the Knicks have recalled Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee from the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Ndour scored 22 points for the Westchester Knicks in Tuesday night’s loss, while Plumlee chipped in with nine points and 10 rebounds.
  • Rakeem Christmas has been recalled from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers announced today in a press release. In five games for Indiana’s D-League affiliate this season, Christmas has averaged 13.0 PPG to go along with 6.8 RPG and 1.6 BPG.
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Injury Notes: Nance, Nowitzki, Parsons, Oladipo

December 21st, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. has a bone bruise in his left knee and will be out indefinitely, the team announced on its website. He suffered the injury Tuesday in Charlotte. Nance had an MRI today to confirm the injury, but further results were limited because of swelling. He will be re-evaluated Sunday, and the Lakers plan to issue an update on availability after that examination. Nance has played in 28 of the team’s 31 games this season, all off the bench.

There’s more injury news from around the NBA:

  • Dirk Nowitzki won’t play tonight, but the Mavericks hope to have him back soon, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Nowitzki is almost fully recovered from a strained right Achilles and could play Friday against the Clippers or Monday against the Pelicans. “I’ll probably get a good workout tonight and see how it responds,” Nowitzki said. “I’ll probably get my first practice [Thursday] and see how it feels, basically go from day to day. It’s been encouraging. It hasn’t gotten worse from some of the stuff we’ve been doing. Hopefully, I’ll be out there soon.”
  • Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons is active for tonight’s game with the Pistons, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Parsons, who was still recovering from offseason surgery on his right knee when the season started, has appeared in just six games. He suffered a bone bruise on his left knee shortly after returning.
  • Thunder guard Victor Oladipo says his injured right wrist is improving, but he will sit out his fifth straight game tonight, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. Despite his optimism, coach Billy Donovan said there has been “no change at all in terms of what he can and can’t do” since suffering the injury in a December 11th game. “He is getting better,” Donovan said. “I don’t want to come across like he’s not. There is improvement there, but it’s not at a point where he can do enough in terms of catching, passing, shooting, playing right now.”
  • Back tightness forced Hawks center Dwight Howard to sit out tonight for the second straight game, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s a lot better than it was a couple days ago,” Howard said. “It continues to get better.” Howard, who signed a three-year, $70.5MM deal with the Hawks in July, has had back issues before. In 2014/15, back and knee problems limited him to 41 games with the Rockets.
  • The Jazz expect to have point guard George Hill back in the lineup soon, although it may not happen until next week, report Aaron Falk and Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Hill went through an intense workout Tuesday as he tries to overcome a sprained toe that has sidelined him for nearly a month.
  • Wizards center Ian Mahinmi had platelet-rich plasma treatments on both knees this morning, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Knee problems have limited him to just one game after signing a four-year, $64MM contract this summer.
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New CBA Grandfathers Harden, Westbrook For New Extensions

December 20th, 2016 at 9:29pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The new CBA will not allow for players to sign contract extensions in back-to-back offseasons, but the agreement will include a provision that will allow James Harden and Russell Westbrook to do exactly that, Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reports. The new labor agreement will grandfather Harden and Westbrook into the pool of players eligible to be designated for the super-max contracts by their respective teams.

Both players signed contract extensions this past offseason, but the league and the union agreed that neither player – nor the Rockets or Thunder – should be penalized for operating within the current framework, as the teams and players were not aware that the new CBA would offer such a benefit for waiting just one more season.

Westbrook could sign a five-year, $219MM extension with the Thunder that would begin in the 2018/19 season, according to Wojnarowski. Harden could sign with the Rockets for an additional four years and $171MM on top of the $58.7MM he is set to receive over the next two seasons.

Wojnarowski hears that out of the two players, Westbrook is more likely to sign another extension this summer. Harden may prefer to wait until closer to the end of his current deal to gauge whether or not Houston is able to truly become a title contender.

Harden’s current deal includes a player option for the 2019/20, meaning he could become an unrestricted free agent during the 2019 offseason. At that time, Harden will be entering his 10th year in the league, which is another reason he needed to be grandfathered as an eligible player. The new Designated Player Veteran Exception rule covers players entering their eighth or ninth years of service, per Wojnarowski.

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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/20/16

December 20th, 2016 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

3:21pm:

11:53am:

  • With Clint Capela sidelined due to a fibula fracture, the Rockets have recalled 2016 second-rounder Chinanu Onuaku from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today (Twitter link). Onuaku, who had been on his latest D-League assignment for nearly a month, has averaged 10.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 16 games for the Vipers this season.
  • Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee have been assigned to the D-League by the Knicks, according to the team (Twitter link). The duo will join the Westchester Knicks in time for New York’s NBADL affiliate to take on the Los Angeles D-Fenders tonight.
  • The Thunder have sent Josh Huestis back to the D-League, according to a press release issued today by the team. Huestis, who has been shuttled back and forth frequently between the NBA and NBADL, has appeared in nine games for the Oklahoma City Blue, but has yet to play this season for the Thunder.
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Victor Oladipo Won’t Require Surgery

December 20th, 2016 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

Victor Oladipo injured his right wrist when he took a hard fall to the court during the Thunder’s December 11 game against Boston, and hasn’t played since then, with the team losing three of its four games in his absence. According to head coach Billy Donovan, Oladipo still “can’t do anything with his right hand right now,” but he won’t need to go under the knife to fix the problem, per Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

“Based on the MRI he went through, based on our medical team consulting with the doctor, there’s no need for surgery,” Donovan said. “He’s got swelling. He’s got discomfort. He has a lack of mobility. He has pain when he’s in certain positions. … My understanding is that if he really forces this thing and tries to come back too fast, it could be something that’s going to be prolonged.”

As the Thunder wait for one of their primary backcourt playmakers to get healthy, they also may getting closer to welcoming back another. A weekend report indicated that Cameron Payne, who has yet to make his 2016/17 debut due to a broken foot, has a chance to return before the end of the calendar year, perhaps on December 29 against his hometown Grizzlies. However, Donovan responded to that report by telling reporters, including Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman, that there’s still no specific timetable for Payne’s return.

“I’ve not heard [that Payne will debut on December 29] or anything else like that, and I know that our medical staff wouldn’t do that, because there’s steps that he has to go through in order ever to be cleared to play,” Donovan said on Sunday, per Dawson. “He’s at a point where he’s doing more. Certainly he’s feeling fine. I think that the recovery and rehabilitation is going well. There’s been no setbacks to where we want him to be.”

With Oladipo and Payne out of the lineup, the Thunder have been leaning even more heavily on Russell Westbrook, who poured in 46 points on Monday night after recording a triple-double with 22 assists on Saturday.

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