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Thunder Notes: Anderson, Payne, Abrines

May 15th, 2015 at 2:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Virginia small forward Justin Anderson and Murray State sophomore Cameron Payne are among the players interviewing with the Thunder at this week’s combine, The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry reports (Twitter link). Payne, who spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors, and Anderson project as mid-to-late first-rounders, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. The Thunder will pick 14th unless they have astounding lottery luck, as the odds show, though after losing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and others for significant time this season, Oklahoma City might be due for a change in fortunes. Here’s more on the Thunder:

  • Thunder draft-and-stash prospect Alex Abrines has signed a deal with Barcelona of Spain that runs until 2019, reports Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (translations via Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman and Enea Trapani of Sportando). Hamm suggests the deal includes a high-dollar NBA buyout clause. The shooting guard who was the 32nd overall pick from 2013 had been under contract only through 2016, as Mark Porcaro notes in our Draft Rights Held Players Database. The Jazz have shown interest, and he’s drawn raves for his play overseas.
  • What Enes Kanter gives the Thunder offensively is often negated on the defensive end, though he was a major force on the boards, as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater examines. Regardless, the Thunder and their midseason trade acquisition have mutual interest in a new deal as the center hits restricted free agency this summer.
  • Steve Pierce of Daily Thunder stumps for the Thunder to hire ousted Pelicans coach Monty Williams as an assistant in large measure because of the similarities between Williams and former Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. Williams could help ease the transition in the locker room, Pierce argues, though it appears the Thunder would have competition for Williams from the Raptors and that Williams is more likely to wait for the next head coaching job to open, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported.
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Western Notes: Matthews, Draft, Young

May 14th, 2015 at 10:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jabari Young of CSNNW.com wouldn’t be surprised if Wesley Matthews gives the Blazers a discount to re-sign him this summer. Young interprets GM Neil Olshey‘s tone from his season-ending press conference as a signal that the team will pursue a new deal with the shooting guard. “We know his value to us,” Olshey said, adding that “We also know he’s going to have market value around the league. That’s another competitive part of the free agent process that we’re going to have to participate in.”

Here’s the latest out of the Western Conference:

  •  The Blazers are scheduled to meet with UNLV’s Christian Wood, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (Twitter links). Portland is also expected to take a close look at big man Myles Turner, Young notes.
  • Seth Curry will join the Pelicans‘ summer league squad, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. Curry made two appearances for the Suns during the 2014/15 season while on a lone 10-day contract.
  • Oregon senior guard Joseph Young interviewed with the Spurs, Pelicans, Knicks, Wizards, and Clippers today, Jabari Young tweets.
  • Sean Meagher of The Oregonian looks at Blazers point guard Tim Frazier, who inked a multiyear deal with the team this season, and what the player’s role might be next season. Frazier’s minimum salary arrangement with Portland is non-guaranteed.
  • The list of players whom the Thunder have interviewed during the combine includes Kelly Oubre, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyus Jones, Terry Rozier, Turner, and Stanley Johnson, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman relays (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Northwest Notes: Bjelica, Draft, Wright, Kalamian

May 14th, 2015 at 9:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Timberwolves draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica has won the Euroleague’s MVP award, the overseas circuit announced. The versatile 6’10” standout for Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker averaged 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game in Euroleague play. Still, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities finds it tough to picture the Wolves giving him a deal comparable to the more than $16.631MM the Bulls shelled out to draft-and-stash gem Nikola Mirotic last summer (Twitter link). The 27-year-old Bjelica would seek just that sort of deal if were to make the jump to the NBA this summer, as Basketball Insiders contributor David Pick recently wrote. There’s more on the Wolves amid the latest from the Northwest Division:

  • Frank Kaminsky, Tyler Harvey, Joseph Young and Terry Rozier are among the draft prospects who interviewed Wednesday with the Timberwolves, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). Minnesota native Tyus Jones is set to meet with the Wolves on Friday, Wolfson hears (Twitter link).
  • Dorell Wright‘s playing time cratered this season, but The Oregonian‘s Joe Freeman points to his locker room presence as reason why the Blazers would be well-served re-signing him if he’s willing to accept a pay cut from the $3.135MM he made this season, as Freeman writes in a roundtable piece. Still, fellow Oregonian scribe Mike Richman believes Wright will look elsewhere for more playing time, while Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com and Erik Gundersen say that where he plays next season will depend on what other free agents decide to do.
  • New Thunder head coach Billy Donovan won’t be keeping assistant coach Rex Kalamian on the Oklahoma City staff, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Some believe the longtime top aide to ex-Thunder head man Scott Brooks has the capability to become an NBA head coach someday, according to Stein.
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Northwest Notes: Vaughn, Blake, Huestis

May 13th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

All five Northwest Division teams are out of the playoffs, so they can focus fully this week on the predraft combine in Chicago. It precedes next week’s lottery, when the Timberwolves, Nuggets, Jazz and Thunder all have varying chances at the No. 1 overall pick. Here’s the latest from the Northwest:

  • The Wolves will be one of at least a dozen teams to interview draft prospect Rashad Vaughn at this week’s combine, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The former UNLV shooting guard is the 36th-best prospect as Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks them, and he comes in 41st with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
  • Steve Blake quietly helped the Blazers bench this season, developing on-court chemistry with fellow 2014 offseason pickup Chris Kaman, but the point guard’s playing time diminished toward the end and his playoff struggles were profound, as The Oregonian’s Mike Richman examines. Blake said in February that his plan was to pick up his player option for next season, worth more than $2.17MM.
  • Josh Huestis, last year’s 29th overall pick, expressed a willingness to play another season in the D-League as he spoke with Scott Mansch of the Great Falls Tribune. The Thunder reached an unusual predraft agreement in which Huestis promised to spend last season in the D-League in exchange for Oklahoma City taking him in the first round. His continued patience further sets him apart, as Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside examines.
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Draft Notes: Russell, Booker, Towns, Okafor

May 12th, 2015 at 3:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA’s draft combine in Chicago is underway as of today, and an increasing volume of draft rumors will follow until the event takes place June 25th at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Here’s the latest draft news:

  • D’Angelo Russell and Devin Booker have chosen the Creative Artists Agency for their representation, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress passes along on Twitter. CAA’s Leon Rose, who’ll represent Booker as well as Karl-Anthony Towns, also signed with Dakari Johnson earlier this spring, Givony notes in another tweet. Russell’s agent will be Aaron Mintz, according to Givony (on Twitter). Charlie Adams of Hoops Rumors looked at Booker’s draft stock up close this week.
  • Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune doesn’t get the sense that the Wolves will draft Karl-Anthony Towns first overall if they win the lottery, likely implying the team has its eyes set on Jahlil Okafor instead (Twitter link). Minnesota has a 25% chance of landing the top pick, as the lottery odds show.
  • Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell received a last-minute invitation to the Chicago combine, Givony tweets. McConnell is Givony‘s 61st-ranked prospect while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him 91st.
  • Ford excoriates Nets GM Billy King for his willingness to trade so many of Brooklyn’s future draft picks, giving the team the worst chances of any to build through the draft for the next few years, Ford opines as he writes with fellow ESPN.com scribe Kevin Pelton in an Insider-only piece. Ford and Pelton also examine the needs for the Suns, Thunder and Celtics, believing that if Robert Upshaw improves his stock dramatically, he’d be the most logical rim-protector for the Celtics to grab at pick No. 16. However, Upshaw says he won’t take part in five-on-five scrimmaging at the combine, Givony reports (Twitter link).

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

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Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Leonard, Donovan

May 10th, 2015 at 8:51am CST by Arthur Hill

Melvin Hunt proved he could handle being an NBA head coach, and he’s one of four top candidates for the Nuggets job, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Hunt was appointed interim head coach when Brian Shaw was fired in early March. Dempsey notes that Hunt has been with the organization since 2009, and contends that he fixed the team’s problems with focus and effort that got Shaw fired. Dempsey also examines the other three top candidates, Alvin Gentry, Mike D’Antoni and Scott Brooks.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

  • Among the many decisions the Blazers face this offseason is whether to offer an extension to Meyers Leonard, according to Jabari Young of CSNNW.com. The third-year stretch four will make a little more than $3MM next season and showed signs of improvement throughout the year. One way he has attempted to better his game is by watching other NBA big men. “I’m trying to become as much as a total player as I can be,” Leonard said. “… Every now and then there is bits and pieces that I try and take out of people’s games.”
  • The pressure will be intense on Billy Donovan to win right away with the Thunder, contends Dave Leonardis of Bleacher Report. Donovan, who led Florida to four Final Fours, is coming to an organization that missed the playoffs this season after a long run of success. The Thunder are in need of a quick turnaround with Kevin Durant‘s free agency looming next summer.
  • It was an easy decision for the Wolves‘ Chase Budinger to exercise his $5MM player option for next season, writes Phil Ervin of Fox Sports North.  Injuries and spotty playing time have drained Budinger’s potential free agent value, Ervin argues, and a strong showing next season could help him rebuild it.
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2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Thunder

May 9th, 2015 at 10:09am CST by Eddie Scarito

The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Thunder utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…

D-League Team: Oklahoma City Blue

Affiliation Type: One-to-one

D-League Team Record: 28-22

Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 2

Total D-League Assignments: 12

Player Stats While On Assignment

  • Grant Jerrett*: 8 assignments, 10 games, 14.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.1 APG. .487/.381/.667.
  • Mitch McGary: 4 assignments, 8 games, 16.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 0.8 APG. .491/.000/.548.

*Jerrett also appeared in 9 games for the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s affiliate, after being dealt to the Jazz in February.

D-League Signings

  • None

Assignment/Recall Log

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Western Notes: D-League, Donovan, Williams

May 8th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Billy Donovan‘s track record of success at the University of Florida bodes well for his chances as the Thunder‘s new coach, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald writes. In addition to leading his team to back-to-back championships, Donovan also has proven adept at getting his star players to remain longer than they otherwise would have, Goodman notes. The organization certainly hopes this ability will carryover to the pros, since the pending free agency of Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016 is sure to be a hot-button topic in OKC all season long in 2015/16.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • The L.A. D-Fenders, the Lakers‘ D-League affiliate, informed coach Phil Hubbard that the franchise would not be exercising its team option for him next season, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). The D-Fenders struggled to a record of 17-33 under the first-year coach, though NBA callups for Jabari Brown, Jamaal Franklin, and Vander Blue certainly didn’t help Hubbard’s cause, Spears notes.
  • If the Nets and Deron Williams were to agree to a buyout or if the franchise waives him via the stretch provision, the point guard returning to play for the Jazz is a possibility, posits Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link). Williams spent the first five and a half seasons of his career in Utah before being dealt to Brooklyn back in 2011.
  • Blazers big man Chris Kaman went to Portland with the intention of being a reserve and mentoring the team’s younger big men, but injuries derailed that plan, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com writes in his review of Kaman’s season. While many players would be thrilled to become a starter, even if it was due to injuries, Kaman wasn’t a huge fan of the change, Young adds. When discussing his role change, Kaman said, “It’s not bad, but it’s not what I came here to do. I knew I came here to back up [Robin] Lopez. And that’s where I see myself and that’s where I feel comfortable.” The veteran has one year remaining on his current deal, though only $1MM of his $5,016,000 salary for 2015/16 is guaranteed.
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And-Ones: Coaches, Jokic, Payne, Draft

May 7th, 2015 at 1:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most of the college coaches who’ve come into the NBA over the past two decades have either left basketball schools that gave them wide autonomy, joined NBA teams with little hope of success, or both, observes Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated. Brad Stevens doesn’t fit either category, and neither does new Thunder hire Billy Donovan, Taylor argues, suggesting that the success Stevens has found with the Celtics is an auspicious omen for Donovan and a signal that more college coaches are on their way to the league. In any case, Stevens is the only college head coach to jump directly to the NBA since 2000 to guide his NBA team to the playoffs, as I pointed out. Here’s more from around the Association:

  • The Nuggets are expected to sign 2014 second-round pick Nikola Jokic prior to summer league in July, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. It’s not entirely clear whether the deal will cover only summer league or will formally bring the 6’11” draft-and-stash prospect onto the roster for training camp in the fall. However, the Nuggets are anxious to see last year’s 41st overall pick compete against NBA-caliber talent, Dempsey writes. The 20-year-old center averaged 14.9 points and 9.0 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game this season for KK Mega Vizura in his native Serbia.
  • It’s Murray State point guard Cameron Payne‘s dual threat of scoring and passing that truly distinguishes him as a top prospect, but his ability to perform on defense is a question mark, as Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress examine. Givony ranks Payne as the 20th-best draft hopeful.
  • Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, debate the avenues the Nuggets, Heat, Pacers and Jazz have to improve via the draft, sharing conflicting viewpoints on whether it would behoove Utah to spend a third consecutive lottery pick on a point guard.
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Northwest Notes: Singler, Donovan, Draft, Gee

May 6th, 2015 at 12:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Thunder GM Sam Presti reiterated that the Thunder are committed to re-signing Enes Kanter and hope to do so with Kyle Singler as well, pointing to Singler’s shooting, versatility and height in an email interview with Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Presti also told Mayberry that he sought input from Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and other Thunder players about the qualities they’d like to see in a coach even though he found it unwise to discuss specific candidates for the team’s coaching vacancy, which he filled with Billy Donovan. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

  • Incarnate Word combo guard Denzel Livingston, Ohio power forward Maurice Ndour, Penn State shooting guard D.J. Newbill, Illinois shooting guard Rayvonte Rice and TCU shooting guard Trey Zeigler are scheduled to work out for the Jazz today, the team announced (Twitter link). Michigan State swingman Russell Byrd will join them, as Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops reported Tuesday.
  • It’s not out of the question that the Trail Blazers will re-sign Alonzo Gee this summer, but it’s doubtful, writes Jabari Young of CSNNW.com, speculating that the Hawks, Spurs and Jazz might be decent bets to sign him instead. Gee remained on an NBA roster all season after signing a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract the Nuggets, who traded him to the Blazers in the Arron Afflalo deal.
  • The Timberwolves made a “colossal blunder” not once but twice in the 2009 draft when they passed over MVP Stephen Curry for point guards Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, as Michael Rand of the Star Tribune examines.
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