Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Onuaku, Jackson, LeVert

January 19th, 2015 at 7:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Six NBA teams have shown interest in power forward Arinze Onuaku, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Onuaku, who was briefly with the Pelicans and Cavs last season and spent camp this past fall with the Pacers, recently turned down an offer to play in the Philippines as he continues his dialogue with NBA clubs, Kennedy adds (Twitter links).

Here’s more from around the league:

Reggie Jackson is open to signing his qualifying offer this summer in an attempt to align his unrestricted free agency with the summer of 2016, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports. Most league executives reportedly assume the salary cap will surge to around $90MM. Jackson is on pace to invoke the starter criteria, which would lift the value of his qualifying offer from to nearly $3.223MM to almost $4.434MM.
Michigan’s Caris LeVert will miss the remainder of the season after injuring his foot during Saturday’s contest against Northwestern, the university has announced. The junior is scheduled to undergo surgery this week to repair the damage. This will be the second such procedure on LeVert’s left foot, as he had a similar injury last May. LeVert is currently the No. 14 ranked prospect by DraftExpress.
ESPN’s Chad Ford (Twitter link), who has LeVert slotted No. 30 in his draft rankings, still projects the guard to be a late first round to early second round pick come this June, provided LeVert is healthy in time for his pre-draft workouts.
Former Kings coach Michael Malone isn’t expected to remain with the Wolves past Wednesday’s game against Dallas, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). Malone has been acting as a special observer with the Wolves, but Flip Saunders, Minnesota’s president of basketball operations, doesn’t see Malone having a role with the team past this stint, Zgoda notes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Robinson, Nelson, Burks

January 18th, 2015 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nate Robinson and his agent pushed for the January 13th trade that sent him from from the Nuggets to the Celtics, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey noted that Robinson wanted more minutes on a different team to help him earn a contract next season. Plus, he was a scorer on a team that needed a playmaker, which is why Denver exchanged him for Jameer Nelson. Robinson was waived by the Celtics Thursday in a buyout deal and is searching for a new team.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Nelson and the Nuggets had some mutual interest last summer, Dempsey writes in a separate story. The free agent guard briefly considered coming to Denver before signing with the Mavericks. “Obviously the Nuggets had some guards, a lot of guards here,” Nelson said. “They didn’t know how many minutes I would play. So, I just felt like Dallas was the best spot for me.”
Jazz guard Alec Burks managed to find a bright side to his season-ending shoulder injury, reports Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. For the first time since he was a teenager, Burks’ shoulder will be 100 percent healthy when he returns to basketball next season. Utah is hoping Burks will be ready for the start of training camp in the fall. He signed a four-year $42MM extension in October, with incentives that could push the value as high as $45MM.
The Thunder’s Kendrick Perkins and Jeremy Lamb would have been the key pieces in a trade for Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez, according to Anthony Slater of NewsOK.com. The Nets backed off from the deal, at least for now, but it’s an experience that many players will go through as the February 19th trade deadline draws closer. “They’re human beings, so it’s tough hearing your name in trade talks,” said Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. “But we also know it’s a business. You know what you’re getting into. We got a lot of veteran guys that can help guys get through that.”

Kings Sign Quincy Miller To 10-Day Deal

January 17th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

10:30pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s twitter feed.

SATURDAY, 1:42pm: The Kings will sign Quincy Miller to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). With Sacramento’s current roster count sitting at 14 players, no corresponding roster move will be needed to add Miller. Multiple teams were reportedly interested in signing Miller, including the Clippers, Pacers, Hawks, Thunder, and Spurs.

Miller had been playing with the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s D-League affiliate. In 14 D-League appearances this season Miller had averaged an impressive 26.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. He was shooting 52.2% from the field, and a solid 35.6% from three-point range.

The 22-year-old Miller was selected No. 38 overall in the 2012 NBA draft, and then spent two seasons with the Nuggets. Miller attended training camp with Denver this season, but was waived back in October. His career NBA averages are 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists. His slash line is .366/.316/.702.

The Kings have reportedly been seeking to add a stretch four as well as a wing defender, and have recently made rookie Nik Stauskas available in trade discussions. It’s unclear if signing Miller is related to this talk, seeing as he’s not necessarily known as a shut-down defender, and despite being 6’9″, Miller isn’t strong enough to guard most NBA power forwards.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Lopez, Knicks

January 17th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics have made a total of nine trades so far this season. This has meant that a lot of new players needed to be acclimated to Boston’s locker room and culture. Celtics coach Brad Stevens credits veteran Gerald Wallace for keeping the team together amid all of the changes, Julian Edlow of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “I’m not too worried about chemistry in the locker room, and large credit for that goes to Gerald Wallace,” Stevens said. “Because of the way he, at his age, has accepted his role and how he talks to the young guys. It kind of makes everybody else say ‘I’m going to do what I can the right way every time.’ So I give him a lot of credit for that.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Stevens isn’t sure what will become of the newly acquired Chris Douglas-Roberts, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I have not heard or gotten a final word one way or another on CDR,” Stevens said. It had been reported that Douglas-Roberts was expected to be waived in the wake of the trade with the Clippers.
Nets center Brook Lopez was convinced he was on his way to the Thunder on Thursday night, Robert Windrem of Nets Daily tweets. The trade rumors regarding him have reportedly upset the big man.
The Knicks‘ lack of experience within their front office is a potential issue in making trades, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. Team president Phil Jackson appears to have little interest in networking with executives around the league. That means New York doesn’t have anyone who regularly calls around the NBA to gauge the value of players, which can lead to missed opportunities, Beck notes.

Multiple Teams Eyeing Quincy Miller

January 17th, 2015 at 12:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 12:49pm: The Clippers are also interested in Miller, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Los Angeles has a meeting with the player scheduled for Sunday morning, Spears notes. The Clippers currently have two open roster spots.

FRIDAY, 3:25pm: Former Nuggets small forward Quincy Miller is meeting with the Pacers, Hawks, Thunder and Spurs at this weekend’s D-League showcase, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Miller has been playing for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate for the past month after the Nuggets waived him before opening night.

The 22-year-old is averaging 25.6 points in 29.0 minutes per game with the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, though the team’s lightning-fast pace no doubt benefits his scoring. He possesses plenty of talent, having been the fifth-rated prospect coming out of high school, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, but he’s been slow to recover his form after tearing his left ACL as a high school senior. The Lakers were reportedly chief among several teams interested in him shortly after his release from the Nuggets, a group that also apparently included the Rockets and Pacers, but he went without a deal before joining the D-League in early December.

Indiana appears to have the most persistent interest, having been linked to the Dwon Clifton client earlier in the season, but the Pacers, like Atlanta, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, would have to clear a roster spot, since they’re carrying 15 players who are signed for the rest of the season. The Pacers have the most financial flexibility thanks to their $5.305MM disabled player exception for Paul George, but it seems unlikely that Miller would receive any more than the minimum salary this season.

Northwest Notes: Lopez, Williams, Jackson

January 16th, 2015 at 9:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder were reportedly in the mix for Nets center Brook Lopez, both as part of a proposed three-way deal with Brooklyn and Charlotte and in two-way talks with Brooklyn. OKC star Kevin Durant doesn’t necessarily see the need to add Lopez’s offensive talents to the Thunder’s rotation, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman reports (Twitter link). “We put up a lot of points, that’s what we do,” Durant said. “No matter where it comes from, we score a lot. Adding a good player to your team always helps, but I like what we have here. We put up points. That’s not our problem.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Any trade for Lopez would almost certainly have to include Kendrick Perkins, a move that would weaken the team this season since he is the Thunder‘s best defender, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Oklahoma City would benefit more from this deal next season, when all of the players would begin the campaign healthy, and the team could aim higher than just sneaking into the seventh or eighth playoff spot, like it hopes to do this year, Tramel opines.
The Jazz are still undecided as to whether or not they will sign Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). In three appearances for Utah, Williams has averaged 2.7 points in 8.7 minutes of action per game.
The arrival of Dion Waiters has cut into the playing time of Reggie Jackson, and it has also increased the uncertainty of his future with the Thunder, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Durant, when asked if he felt the need to help Jackson adjust to his new role, said, “We’re all professionals here, man. We know the nature of this game. This is not day care. We’re not babying anybody here. We all know that Reggie is such a good professional he knows that. He knows how to come to work every single day. And he knows that him and Dion are going to have to play together. And Dion knows that. So we’re not spending any of our energy on that type of stuff because this is a professional game. It’s a business at that as well. So, nah, we’re not going to do that.”

Latest On Brook Lopez Trade Talks

January 16th, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:01pm: The Nets want to build more consensus within their organization before they move ahead with any trade, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (All Twitter links). Youngmisuk suggests a split still exists over Stephenson but says Lopez talks are liable to restart at any point.

1:07pm: The Nets still want to move Lopez soon, and the Heat remain part of the talks surrounding the center, as Wojnarowski reveals in a full story.

12:51pm: Brooklyn isn’t prepared to simply dump salary, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). The two-team proposal involving the Thunder would have been essentially a salary dump, as Broussard wrote earlier (below).

12:34pm: The Nets are “standing pat” on Lopez discussions for now, a Nets source tells Wojnarowski, saying that there’s nothing on the market that they find appealing (Twitter links).

12:26pm: The Rockets are also looking into Lopez, Wojnarowski tweets.

10:36am: The Thunder and the Nets are making progress on their two-team talks, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter). Lamb would go along with Perkins to Brooklyn for Lopez, Wojnarowski says, though Oklahoma City would need to add yet more salary to make it work, since the Thunder are above the tax line and can’t take in more than 125% plus $100K of the salary they give up.

9:49am: It was unwillingness on the part of the Nets to take on Stephenson that has Brooklyn considering a two-way deal with the Thunder instead of the three-teamer with the Hornets and Thunder, Wojnarowski tweets.

9:32am: The Nets continue to talk to the Thunder about a swap involving Lopez and Perkins in what would be a virtual “salary dump” for Brooklyn, according to Broussard (Twitter links).

9:05am: It was indeed the Nets who pulled away from the talks with Charlotte and Oklahoma City, but it’s still likely Brooklyn will trade Lopez, Bonnell writes in a full story.

8:44am: The potential deal between the Thunder, Hornets and Nets is “dead” for the time being, a source tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Reed Wallach of NetsDaily hears there are a lot of deals in play for the Nets (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 8:00am: The Nets are trying to change some of the players involved in talks with the Thunder and Hornets as Brooklyn continues to resist closing on a deal, Broussard tweets. The rumors have upset Lopez, as a friend of Lopez tells Robert Windrem of Nets Daily (Twitter link). The NetsDaily scribe writes in a full story that league sources say Stephenson’s absence from the Hornets’ lineup has been because of a poor relationship with coach Steve Clifford, and not a groin injury as the team claims.

THURSDAY, 11:57pm: It’d be a surprise if the Nets, Thunder and Hornets don’t come to a deal that sends Brook Lopez to Oklahoma City, numerous league sources tell Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), who hears from one source who says such a trade is likely to happen, as Bonnell writes in a full story. The Thunder and Hornets have reportedly agreed to a framework of a trade that would involve Lopez going to the Thunder, Lance Stephenson and Kendrick Perkins going to the Nets, and Jarrett Jack and Jeremy Lamb going to the Hornets. Charlotte would also receive Grant Jerrett in that arrangement, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, though the Nets appear to be holding out as other teams pursue Lopez.

The Nuggets have spoken about a package involving JaVale McGee, but the Nets aren’t high on Denver’s injury-prone big man, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Heat came forward with a proposal involving Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Hornets would like to acquire Lopez for themselves, but Brooklyn prefers to send him to the Western Conference, Wojnarowski also hears. The Lakers are also reportedly interested in Lopez.

The Nets were reluctant to take on Stephenson last month, and while the front office remains cautious about him, as other teams around the league believe, Brooklyn’s ownership supports the idea of trading for him, as Wojnarowski details. Brooklyn’s talks involving Deron Williams haven’t found much footing, according to Wojnarowski. The team would like to rid itself of two of Lopez, Williams and Joe Johnson by the trade deadline, and the Nets have indicated to other teams that they want to make a Lopez deal by the weekend.

The Hornets have been “desperate” to trade Stephenson, according to Wojnarowski, though a month ago it appeared Charlotte had put an end to talks, at least temporarily. Still, there’s a strong belief that the shooting guard, a Brooklyn native, will end up back in his hometown, a move he’s hoped to make at some point, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

Nets, Wolves Discuss Thaddeus Young

January 16th, 2015 at 11:48am CST by Chuck Myron

11:48am: The Nets and Wolves have spoken about Young in recent weeks and the talks have included discussion about three-way deals that would deliver Young to Brooklyn, reports Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).

11:37am: The Nets would have strong interest in trying to flip Kendrick Perkins for Thaddeus Young if they acquire Perkins in a Brook Lopez deal with the Thunder, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Timberwolves are willing to part with Young as they rebuild, Stein adds. The Nets and Thunder are reportedly making progress in talks that would send Lopez to Oklahoma City in exchange for Perkins, Jeremy Lamb and more.

League rules would prohibit Brooklyn from aggregating Perkins’ salary in a subsequent swap at any point through the trade deadline, but the Nets could send him out by himself. Perkins’ salary of more than $9.654MM this season would be within the matching bounds in a one-for-one exchange for Young, who makes nearly $9.414MM this year.

The Wolves insisted on Young instead of receiving Miami’s 2015 protected first-round pick from the Cavs as part of the Kevin Love trade, but Minnesota’s hopes for a playoff berth have largely vanished amid a hail of injuries and a 6-31 record. Young, who holds a player option worth almost $9.972MM this year, has compiled a career-worst 13.5 PER this season.

Perkins is on an expiring contract, and his minutes are down a tick this season, the third straight year he’s averaged fewer minutes per game. Steven Adams has replaced the 30-year-old in Oklahoma City’s starting lineup this year.

Nets Looking To Deal Brook Lopez

January 15th, 2015 at 10:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

10:59pm: The Nets have major concerns about acquiring Stephenson, and fear that bringing him home to New York will make his personal issues even worse, Mannix reports (Twitter link)..

10:54pm: The Thunder have joined the Hornets in agreeing to the framework of a trade, but the Nets are still undecided, Broussard tweets.

10:04pm: The proposed three team deal would include Perkins heading to the Nets, Sam Amick of USA Today reports.

9:33pm: Brooklyn’s most serious conversations regarding Lopez are with Western Conference teams, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The Lakers are interested in Lopez, but likely lack the assets to get a deal done, Wojnarowski adds.

9:23pm: Charlotte is enthusiastic about getting a deal done, but Brooklyn and Oklahoma City aren’t ready to pull the trigger yet, Broussard tweets. According to Broussard’s source, the discussions are “just talk” right now.

8:49pm: The Nets are discussing a three-way trade that would send Lopez to the Thunder, Stephenson to Brooklyn, and Jeremy Lamb and Jarrett Jack to the Hornets, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It would take more outgoing salary for Oklahoma City to make this deal work under the salary cap, with Lopez earning approximately $15.7MM this season, and Lamb’s salary only $2.2MM. Kendrick Perkins‘ expiring contract worth $9,654,342 would seem a likely candidate to be included in any deal, though that’s merely my speculation. Such a light return for a player who was deemed the missing piece when the Hornets signed him this past offseason would signal that Charlotte is in a hurry to offload Stephenson, and the chemistry issues he reportedly brings with him.

6:24pm: The Nuggets are among the teams expressing the most interest in acquiring Lopez, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link).

6:15pm: Brooklyn is talking to several teams, but is specifically seeking information on Lance Stephenson of the Hornets, Wojnarowski tweets.

THURSDAY, 6:10pm: The Nets have accelerated trade discussions for Lopez with the intention of moving him soon, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 5:02pm: The Nets are continuing to discuss potential deals involving center Brook Lopez with other teams, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com reports (Twitter link). The Heat have recently emerged as suitors, and according to Youngmisuk, have shown strong interest in acquiring the big man from Brooklyn. Any deal involving Lopez would be complicated by his salary, which is $15,719,062 this season, and he owns a player option for 2015/16 for $16,744,218. There have been conflicting reports as to whether or not the 26-year-old will opt in next season, which could impact the trade market for the seven-footer.

Brooklyn has reportedly discussed dealing Lopez to the Thunder for Kendrick Perkins (and his expiring contract), Perry Jones, and Lance Thomas (prior to him being dealt to the Knicks), though the Nets ultimately decided they didn’t like that return for their big man. The Celtics also reportedly checked in with the Nets regarding Lopez, but this was prior to the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas, and with Boston now in full rebuilding mode, it isn’t clear if the Celtics would still be interested in acquiring the oft-injured center.

Lopez has a wealth of talent, and he can be a dominant scorer when healthy. But injuries have cut short two of his previous three seasons, and big men don’t tend to age well in today’s NBA, which makes any deal for Lopez a gamble. His numbers are certainly impressive though. In 370 career games, Lopez has averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.7 blocks. His slash line is .510/.091/.791.

Western Notes: Bullock, Rivers, Lopez

January 15th, 2015 at 10:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns GM Ryan McDonough is excited about adding Reggie Bullock to the team’s roster because of the player’s high basketball IQ, ability to play either wing spot, and for his defensive abilities, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “We’ve really liked his ability to shoot the ball with his size on the perimeter and his ability to defend NBA athletes on the wing with size,” McDonough said. “We’re confident that, with more time and repetitions, that he has the potential to be an elite shooter at the NBA level.” Phoenix had its eye on Bullock heading into the 2013 NBA draft, but the Clippers snagged him four picks ahead of the Suns wound up with Archie Goodwin as a result, Coro notes.

Here’s the latest out of the West:

With Austin Rivers now a member of the Clippers, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com takes a look at what the player brings to Los Angeles. Kavner opines that Rivers will add youth, as well as some needed scoring and playmaking ability off of the bench for the Clippers.
The Suns have a glut of point guards on the roster, as well as a number of players with maturity issues, a combination that may lead to the team being active on the trade market prior to February’s deadline, Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic writes.
With the rumors of Brook Lopez potentially coming to the Thunder heating up, Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman looks at how the deal could benefit Oklahoma City, as well as the risks involved. Hamm notes that Kendrick Perkins would likely have to be included in any deal for salary matching purposes. Plus, the team could end up missing Perkins’ defense, and making the trade brings team chemistry risks with it as well.