Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Lamb, James, D-League

January 1st, 2016 at 10:30pm CST by Will Joseph

Former Thunder shooting guard Jeremy Lamb will face his old team for the first time Saturday and comes into the game playing the most consistent basketball of his four-year career in his first season with the Hornets, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman details. The Hornets acquired Lamb in a June trade. The 23-year-old then signed a three-year, $21MM extension in November, a deal that was met with some criticism because Lamb had not shown any consistency. Entering action Friday night, Lamb was averaging per game career highs in points (11.3), rebounds (4.4), minutes (21.7) and field goal percentage (47.5), as Horne notes.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

LeBron James‘ season to this point has a positive vibe to it, something that was absent in the first two months of last season, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. The difference has to do with James, who recently turned 31, feeling healthier now than he did last year, Vardon adds. “I think he’s pretty healthy,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. “I think he’s obviously been able to play in every game. He could’ve played in the Miami game. I pulled him out. It wasn’t his wish or any need on his part except for what I saw not wanting him to play in that horrific back to back that we had. I think he’s good, I think he’s strong. I think he feels good and hopefully that’s going to continue in the same vein. When and if necessary we’ll look to reduce the load on him if we can.”
The Raptors recalled Anthony Bennett, Norman Powell and Delon Wright from their D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter).
The Magic assigned Devyn Marble to their D-League affiliate, per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Morris, McGary, D-League

December 31st, 2015 at 3:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons combo forward Marcus Morris can’t hold back from commenting on his brother’s situation with the Suns, and insists that despite Markieff Morris putting a positive spin on things, he still wants out of Phoenix, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press relays. When asked what is wrong with the Suns right now, Marcus responded, “It’s self-explanatory. You see what’s going on. Sorry to say it, but it’s self-explanatory. I don’t know what’s going on over there. It’s like a [clown] show right now.” Discussing Markieff’s feelings about the franchise, Marcus told Ellis, “One thing about Keef is he’s always positive. Some stuff might happen a little, but he’s always positive. He’s still looking to get out of there, still looking to go somewhere else. Right now he has to be a pro and continue to take care of his business on and off the court.”

When asked if he has advised his brother on what to do going forward, Marcus said, “It’s not like he’s going to read this and say my brother gave me some advice. We talk every day. He knows what’s best for him. We all know what’s best for him, and what’s best for him is to continue to be professional and continue to work hard on his game. I know he’s doing that day in, day out — regardless of the suspension and what’s going on. He’s a hard worker, and so he will continue to be ready when his number’s called. If he gets traded, he’ll be able to contribute to any team in the league.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

The Thunder have recalled Mitch McGary from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was the big man’s fourth stint with the Blue on the season.
The Pacers announced that center Shayne Whittington has been recalled from the D-League. This concludes Whittington’s second assignment to the Mad Ants of the season.
The Bulls have assigned power forward Cristiano Felicio to the D-League, the team announced. Felicio will report to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate, as part of the flexible assignment rule since Chicago doesn’t possess its own D-League team.
Josh Richardson and Jarnell Stokes, both of whom are currently assigned to the Heat‘s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, will be recalled on Saturday, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel tweets.

Northwest Notes: Barton, Pekovic, Payne

December 31st, 2015 at 11:41am CST by Eddie Scarito

Nuggets small forward Will Barton is enjoying a breakout season in Denver and his former coach with the Blazers, Terry Stotts, saw this development coming, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “I remember a postseason interview and someone asked me about what player made the biggest improvement or something like that, and in my mind it was Will Barton,” Stotts said. “Year 1, he was a young rookie, and he had a lot to learn. I thought the strides he made in Year 2 as a player and as a person and as a professional was good to see. I’d like to think the success he’s having now is in part because of the hard work he put in while he was here.“

“Since he knows he’s going to be on the court, he has an outstanding feel for the game,” Stotts continued. “Now he’s not pressing. He plays the game. He really is a student of the game, and since he knows he’s going to be out there, he does a little bit of everything and kind of takes what the game gives him.” In 33 appearances this season, with only one as a starter, Barton is averaging 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 47% shooting, and he should certainly be under consideration for the Most Improved Player award for 2015/16 if this production level continues.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic has been cleared to participate in full contact practices, which is the next step in his return from the surgery he underwent back in April to repair damage to his Achilles tendon, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays. It is unclear how much work Pekovic will need to put in before he is turned loose in game conditions, though Zgoda notes the big man will require at least a few practices before that is likely to occur.
The Thunder are pleased with the development of 2015 first-rounder Cameron Payne, and they credit his time spent in the D-League for accelerating his learning curve, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “I don’t really look at scoring as much,” said Thunder coach Billy Donovan. “I think the thing to me that was really impressive is how easily he whipped the ball around and got guys shots. Cameron has earned, in my opinion, the right to have confidence because of the time he’s put in the gym.”

Central Notes: Jackson, Jennings, Cavs

December 30th, 2015 at 5:00pm CST by Will Joseph

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson opened up on why he turned down the Thunder’s four-year, $48MM extension offer last year, telling Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (link to Podcast) that he was unhappy with his role on the team and wanted to start (the interview was transcribed by Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman here). Jackson made it clear before last season that he wanted to start at point guard and after his agent, Aaron Mintz, requested that the Thunder make a trade, the Pistons acquired Jackson in February. Jackson also said he was not surprised by the critical reactions to the five-year, $80MM deal he inked with the Pistons in July, but he didn’t pay much attention to them.

“I knew it was going to wow some people,” Jackson said. “Definitely it was going to wow the general population of the world. I had an idea it was going to be an eye-opener.”

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

Speaking of the Pistons, Marc Berman of the New York Post speculates that Detroit point guard Brandon Jennings would be a good fit for the Knicks. Jennings played against the Knicks Tuesday night in his season debut. His name comes up in trade speculation because he is set to be a free agent this summer and the Pistons are already financially committed to Jackson. Backup Steve Blake has played well, too, as Berman points out. “I’m not really worried about contracts,’’ Jennings said. “I’m just worried about getting into the flow of basketball. My first game back, hopefully I’ll be blessed to play rest of season with no injuries.’’
LeBron James made headlines when he said Kevin Love was the “focal point” of the Cavs coming into the season, but now the reality is setting in that Love has been inconsistent and as long as James is in his prime, he’ll always be the main point of the offense, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Love, however, should be able to understand now, in his second year with the Cavs, that James has his support, Haynes adds.
After recovering from his broken leg, Paul George is producing perhaps his best season and that is something the Pacers star intended on doing, Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports relays. “I really came into this season wanting to be here, wanting to be on top of the league now,” George told Lee. “I didn’t see it no other way.”

And-Ones: Barnes, D-League, Donovan

December 28th, 2015 at 12:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has suspended Grizzlies small forward Matt Barnes for two games without pay for his role in the off the court altercation with Knicks coach Derek Fisher back in October, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. Barnes is expected to serve the suspension during tonight’s game against the Heat and Saturday’s game at the Jazz. He will lose $64,409 in salary because of the suspension, Wojnarowski adds. The small forward will be eligible to play the next time New York and Memphis square off, which is set for January 16th in Memphis.

Here’s more from around the league:

Thunder coach Billy Donovan said that he wasn’t worried about the differences between managing NBA players and college ones when he accepted Oklahoma City’s vacant coaching position this past offseason, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. “I didn’t look at coming here to Oklahoma City under that umbrella of ‘what are all these relationships gonna be like,’ because I think we’re all people,” Donovan said. “I think you communicate, you talk, generally things work themselves out. Everything’s not always gonna go perfect, but I think if you’re working for the same cause, moving in the same direction, things get resolved.” Donovan was responding to a question regarding the difficulties new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is experiencing this season after also making the jump from the NCAA to the pros.
The Rockets have recalled swingman K.J. McDaniels and power forward Montrezl Harrell from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (Twitter link). This was the third D-League assignment on the season for McDaniels and the second for Harrell.
The Celtics have assigned power forward Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate, the team announced (via Twitter). This will be Mickey’s eighth jaunt to Maine on the season.

Northwest Notes: Barton, Thunder, Blazers

December 24th, 2015 at 9:21pm CST by Charlie Adams

Let’s take a quick look at a few notes pertaining to the Northwest Division..

Will Barton’s strong play this season has Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders wondering if the Nuggets’ guard might garner some serious consideration for the Sixth Man of the Year award. Barton inked a three-year, $11MM deal with Denver last summer, and the early returns have the contract looking quite team friendly. Barton is averaging 15.7 points while playing 29.0 minutes per night and hitting 45.9% of his shots from the floor.
Sports Illustrated’s Nate Duncan runs down each of the teams with new coaches this season and grades how well each bench boss has performed thus far. Duncan gives the Thunder’s Billy Donovan a mark of ‘C’, suggesting that Oklahoma City’s defensive schemes might be holding the club back.
The Blazers lost four of their starters over the offseason and haven’t been able to replicate the success they’ve had in recent years, but the pairing of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum has all the makings of a dynamic building block that will yield victories for years to come. Shaun Powell of NBA.com examines how the members of the duo play off of one another so well.

Tomislav Zubčić Joins Thunder D-League Team

December 24th, 2015 at 1:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

DECEMBER 24TH, 1:04pm: The move is official, the D-League team announced (another hat tip to Reichert).

DECEMBER 4TH, 11:02am: Draft-and-stash prospect Tomislav Zubčić will sign with the D-League affiliate of the Thunder, according to Vedran Modrić of the Eurohopes scouting service (Twitter link; hat tip to Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor). Oklahoma City acquired the NBA rights to Zubčić, the 56th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, when they sent Luke Ridnour to Toronto in a late June trade this year. The 25-year-old Zubčić left KK Cedevita in his native Croatia shortly after the start of the season.

Zubčić, who’s 6’11”, plays both forward positions, is a proficient corner 3-point shooter and performs well in transition, but he lacks the strength to put up much of a fight for rebounds inside, Modrić observes (Twitter links). He had a fairly limited role for Cedevita last season, averaging 7.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game, and he shot 39.8% from behind the arc.

He’ll be perhaps the most high-profile European player to come stateside directly via the D-League, Modrić posits. It’s a move that takes advantage of a rule put into place last season that allows NBA teams to allocate draft picks directly to their D-League affiliates. In previous years, Zubčić would have been subject to D-League waivers, and any NBA team’s affiliate could have grabbed him. The Thunder have frequently used the rule to their advantage, funneling 2014 draft picks Josh Huestis and Semaj Christon to their D-League team, and they did the same with Dakari Johnson, whom they drafted 48th overall this year.

The Thunder have 15 fully guaranteed contracts on their NBA roster, so it appears that unlikely Oklahoma City will be bringing Zubčić to the NBA in the near future, barring another roster move.

And-Ones: D-League, Durant, Ingram

December 22nd, 2015 at 2:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

The addition of extra roster spots for “two-way contracts” that would allow NBA teams to stash players in the D-League while still keeping their NBA rights is indeed an idea the NBA is tossing around, commissioner Adam Silver said to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com on “The Lowe Post” podcast (audio link; transcription via James Herbert of CBSSports.com). The idea is those players would make $80-100K, though no specifics are set, Silver added. Players and agents wouldn’t like such a change, as Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor speculates (Twitter link), since it would limit their market to sign full NBA contracts. See more from around the league:

Kevin Durant has given precious few clues about his upcoming free agency, but he seemed to indicate this weekend that winning a title with the Thunder would indeed make staying in Oklahoma City more attractive, The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel observes. “I mean, there’s still some guys that stay with one team,” Durant said. “There’s some guys that move. Kobe [Bryant]‘s done it [stayed with one franchise]. Tim Duncan‘s done it. Just as far as staying in one organization, you win a title and it makes it easier for you to ride it out. That’s what those guys have done. Dirk [Nowitzki], guys like that. It’s good to see a few players that’s on the way out that’s had a long career and is still doing it pretty well.”
A 6’10” frame and 7’3″ wingspan plus encouraging data about his shooting make Duke small forward Brandon Ingram an intriguing candidate to become the first player drafted after Ben Simmons, but Ingram’s frailty and poor defensive rebounding could hold him back, observe Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com in an Insider-only story.
The maturation of some patient, shrewd rebuilding efforts, strong coaching and interconference free agent defections are all factors in the resurgence of the Eastern Conference, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt examines. The result has pleased the commissioner, as he said on a recent Trail Blazers telecast, Zillgitt notes.

Western Notes: Bryant, McGee, Speights

December 21st, 2015 at 9:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kobe Bryant will not continue his career in Europe following his retirement from the NBA after this season, as he said in a conference call and as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register relays. The Lakers swingman doesn’t think he could endure the rigors of another season, so he has ruled out that option, Oram continues. “I would have loved to play overseas for a season,” Bryant said. “But it’s not going to happen. … My body won’t let me.” Bryant reiterated his desire to play for USA Basketball in the Summer Olympics next summer, Oram adds.

In other news around the Western Conference:

JaVale McGee is gradually carving out a rotation spot with the Mavericks, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports. McGee is still trying to get in top shape and wants to shed another 10-15 pounds, MacMahon continues. The backup center had 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 18 minutes against the Grizzlies on Friday, a sign that he’s making progress, MacMahon adds. “He’s got really unusual length for a guy like that and he’s got great athleticism, too,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told the team’s media. “Look, he’s worked hard. It’s taken a while. We’ve got to be a little bit careful about how long we play him in terms of stretches of minutes.”
Marreese Speights hasn’t been as efficient as he was last season, and if he doesn’t turn that around, the Warriors will look for another stretch four, posits Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. Golden State is studying the trade market, Poole writes, though it’s unclear if the team is looking into deals involving Speights.
The Spurs recalled point guard Ray McCallum from their D-League affiliate in Austin, the team’s website reports. McCallum has appeared in four D-League games, as well as 12 games with San Antonio.
The Thunder recalled small forward Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate on Monday, according to the team’s website. Huestis, who is still looking to make his NBA debut, has started 10 games with Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 32.8 minutes.

And-Ones: Millsap, Lin, D-League

December 20th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Will Joseph

The Magic offered Paul Millsap a max contract on July 1st and the power forward told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that Orlando’s pitch was impressive before he ultimately decided to re-sign with the Hawks.

“I was their first priority, and everything about their team was looking good at the time,” Millsap told Robbins. “It intrigued me. The presentation was great.”

Millsap, per Robbins, chose to stay in Atlanta, however, because he grew a fondness for the area and he got used to calling it home. Millsap added that his teammates and the Hawks’ coaching staff had a lot to do with his decision to re-sign because he believes Atlanta has “built something special thus far.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The non-guaranteed minimum salary of recent Wizards signee Ryan Hollins becomes fully guaranteed if the team doesn’t waive him by the end of December 27th, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders in a roundup of guarantee dates. Pincus also reveals that Bryce Cotton, who signed with the Suns last month, is on a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary that covers just this season and wouldn’t become guaranteed until next month’s leaguewide guarantee date.
Hawks big man Mike Muscala, previously thought to have a $473,638 partial guarantee on his $947,276 minimum salary, has no guarantee at all, Pincus shows in the same post and on Twitter.
Jeremy Lin, who signed a two-year, $4.4MM contract with the Hornets in July, said his new team is a very good fit for his style and strengths, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays.
The Mavs recalled Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release. Evans has appeared in 19 games with the Mavs while Anderson has played in 17 and Mejri has seen action in five.
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the D-League, the team announced. Huestis has appeared in nine games this season for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s D-League affiliate.
The Celtics recalled Terry Rozier and Jordan Mickey from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release.