Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: D-League, Daniels, Garcia

December 20th, 2014 at 12:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Prior to being waived by the Rockets yesterday, Francisco Garcia declined to be traded to the Wolves, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). There is still a possibility that Minnesota will claim Garcia off of waivers, Spears adds.

Here’s the latest from out west:

The Wolves‘ acquisition of Troy Daniels in the trade for Corey Brewer nets them an effective outside shooter, something the team was lacking, Michael Rand of The Star Tribune writes. If Daniels can indeed fill that role, his team-friendly salary for this season and next will make him a steal, Rand opines.
The Pelicans have recalled point guard Russ Smith from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League, the team announced in a press release. In two D-League assignments this season, Smith has appeared in six games with Fort Wayne, averaging 16.5 points, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals.
Ricky Ledo has been recalled by the Mavs from the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. This was Ledo’s fifth sojourn of the season to the D-League.
The improved play of Darrell Arthur should benefit the Nuggets big man when he inks his next deal, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Arthur is in the final season of a three-year contract worth $9MM, and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Judging by the high-volume of trade calls Denver has received about him this season, Arthur’s value on the open market will likely be high, Dempsey adds.
For the fifth time this season, the Thunder have assigned Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

Western Notes: Crawford, Moreland, Brewer

December 16th, 2014 at 7:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Clippers guard Jamal Crawford is being mentioned quite a bit in exploratory trade talks, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports (Twitter link). According to Amico, the Kings, Nuggets, and Thunder may take a run at acquiring the veteran guard, though no serious discussions are talking place just yet. In 23 appearances this season, Crawford is averaging 16.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.

Here’s the latest out of the West:

The Kings have once again recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This was Moreland’s fifth sojourn of the season to Reno, and in seven appearances for the Bighorns he has averaged 13.7 points and 1.4 assists per contest.
For the second time this season the Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate, the team announced. The 6’10” rookie has made four appearances for the Rockets this season, recording a total of six rebounds, one assist, a steal and a block in 12 total minutes of playing time. In his first stint with the Vipers, Capela played in six games averaging 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 14.1 minutes per contest.
The Rockets‘ coaching staff is enamored with Corey Brewer and are still pursing a trade with the Wolves for the swingman, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. No deal is imminent, Wolfson adds.
Kevin Durant refuted the notion that players around the league don’t want to play with Kobe Bryant, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. When asked if this perception is why the Lakers have been unable to make a splash in in free agency lately, Durant said, “Excuse my language, but that’s [expletive]. I want to play with a winner every single night, especially somebody who wants to win that bad, who works that hard, who demands a lot, who raises up your level. I’d want to play with a guy like that every day. His style may make people uncomfortable, how he acts and just how he approaches the game, but I love that type of stuff. I think [the accusation] is BS.”

And-Ones: Poythress, Thunder, NBA Draft

December 13th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kentucky junior forward Alex Poythress suffered a torn left ACL during practice and will miss the remainder of season, the University announced via their official website. “Our team was devastated for Alex when I told them,” coach John Calipari said. “There were tears throughout the room because this hurt them to the core. How they will respond I really don’t know, but I will do my best to be there for each of these kids. I told them, this is a big blow to our team. No one will be able to replace Alex and what he did for this team. I go back to last year’s NCAA Tournament. Without Alex, we don’t win those games. No one will be able to replace him, but now everybody has to do a little bit more as we try to circle the wagons.” Poythress is currently the 47th ranked college prospect by DraftExpress.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Thunder have once again recalled Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
The 2015 NBA draft is loaded with talented big men, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Kennedy spoke with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who believes that the lack of top point guard prospects is opening the door for a lot of bigs to potentially go in the first 30 picks. “I think that part of the reason why you’re seeing so many big men in our [DraftExpress’] top 30 is because this is a really weak class for point guards,” Givony told Kennedy. “There might be one point guard in our top 20 right now and maybe two in the first round, period. That just leaves a lot of spots open for the four other positions, including power forwards and centers. I think that’s why we’re seeing some of these bigs [in the top 30]. But it’s a nice class for big guys too. I do think this draft, as a whole, is much better than advertised so far.”
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders ran down which players are his picks for the top 10 prospects in the NBA who are 23 years old or younger. Topping Duncan’s list are Anthony Davis (Pelicans), Kyrie Irving (Cavs), and Jabari Parker (Bucks).
The Kings have recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

Thunder Ask Nuggets About Wilson Chandler

December 12th, 2014 at 10:07am CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have checked on Denver’s willingness to part with Wilson Chandler, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reports amid his weekly notebook column. Chandler is making almost $6.758MM this year in the next-to-last season of his contract, and only $2MM of his nearly $7.172MM salary for 2015/16 is guaranteed. It’s unclear what Oklahoma City would be willing to give up in return, but the Thunder would have to relinquish some salary to acquire Chandler, since they don’t have a trade exception large enough to accommodate him and they’re only about $1MM shy of the luxury tax threshold.

A report in July indicated that the Nuggets were thinking of trading either Chandler, JaVale McGee or both, and Denver apparently put Chandler in a pair of trade proposals to Minnesota for Kevin Love before Love wound up in Cleveland. Chandler, 27, is performing slightly above his career averages this season as he puts up 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game with 38.3% three-point shooting. He’s starting at small forward in front of Danilo Gallinari for a deep but mediocre Nuggets team that’s gone just 10-12 but is 8-5 after a 2-7 start. Denver is about $3MM shy of the tax line.

The Thunder are climbing out of an early-season hole that resulted from injuries to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and a host of others. They’ve won six of their last seven games to improve to 9-13, a mark that’s just two games back in the loss column from the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Western Notes: Christopher, D-League, Mavs

December 10th, 2014 at 9:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One area that the Jazz are always looking to improve upon is their outside shooting, which is the primary reason that Utah signed Patrick Christopher earlier today, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “That’s an area we want to continually upgrade at the guards, wings, bigs,” Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said. “If you can shoot the ball, there’s a good chance we’re going to take a look at you. He’s [Christopher] someone that [coach Quin Snyder] knew from his overseas experience. There was some familiarity there. He made it to our open gym and mini camp so there was some corporate knowledge. And we notched that he’s been shooting the ball very consistently over the last three years.”

Here’s more from out west:

Christopher’s deal with the Jazz is a two-year, non-guaranteed minimum salary arrangement, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The player is scheduled to make $379,010 for this season, and $845,059 during the 2015/16 campaign, Pincus adds.
The Thunder have re-assigned Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Jerrett’s fourth trip of the season to the D-League, and McGary’s third.
Tuesday night’s loss to Memphis exposed the Mavs‘ most glaring weakness, which is a lack of interior depth behind Tyson Chandler, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. While no move to add another big man is imminent, Dallas is considering its options, notes Sefko.
If the Wolves change their focus this season from retooling to rebuilding, it would open up permanent playing time for the team’s younger players like Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Anthony Bennett, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, which could benefit Minnesota’s outlook for next season, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes.

Celtics Notes: Rondo, Bradley, Thornton

December 7th, 2014 at 7:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Although he is known for his passing, the Celtics are better when Rajon Rondo is shooting more, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Boston has strung together three straight wins since coach Brad Stevens talked to Rondo last week about not being passive or being content with letting the game come to him. “When Rondo’s aggressive, I think our team is better,” said Jeff Green. “When he’s shooting open shots and also getting guys in transition, hitting them, that’s when we’re at our best.”

There’s more from Beantown:

Brad Stevens told Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com that he likes the risk-taking attitude displayed by Avery Bradley late in Sunday’s win over the Wizards. With 19 seconds remaining on the shot clock and 37 seconds left in the game, Bradley hit a contested shot that gave Boston a two-possession lead. “I thought it was — fading a little bit into the corner, kind of off one foot — it wasn’t exactly how you draw it up, but, hey, maybe we should draw it up that way,” Stevens said. “I don’t know.”
With free agency looming next summer, Marcus Thornton needs to make an impression, and Kyle Brasseur of ESPNBoston.com reports that he helped himself with an eight-point fourth quarter Sunday. The 27-year-old guard has been losing playing time to Phil Pressey in recent games, but given the chance in Sunday’s game, he responded with 21 points off the bench. “I’ve been through this before as a rookie so I know what it takes,” Thornton said. “When you’ve got positive teammates, it makes it that much easier too.”
The Celtics team that won the 2008 NBA title may have been scattered throughout the league, but Brian Robb of Boston.com reports several players stay together through weekly texting sessions. Paul Pierce, who played his first game in Boston Sunday as a member of the Wizards, said he communicates regularly online with Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins. Pierce also refused to close the door on a possible return to the Celtics one day. “If the opportunity presents itself, you know, maybe,” he said. “If there’s an opportunity, I would love to.”

Northwest Notes: Jackson, Nuggets, LaVine

December 7th, 2014 at 11:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder’s Reggie Jackson will be a restricted free agent next summer, but he tells Marc Narducci of HoopsHype that he is trying not to look ahead. “My faith in God is that I try not to think about tomorrow and all I try to do is focus on today,” Jackson said. “Do as much today as possible. Tomorrow there is no guarantee so I am not worried about it.” Jackson, who figures to be highly sought after on the free agent market, said he enjoys playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced in a press release. McGary is averaging 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in four games with the Oklahoma City Blue.
The Nuggets are playing much better after their 1-6 start, but they need more improvement before they can think about the playoffs, opines Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey estimates it might take 50 wins to ensure a playoff spot in the Western Conference, something that could be out of reach for the 9-10 Nuggets.
Denver’s depth isn’t all positive, according to Adi Joseph of USA Today. With 12 players all in their primes and with a history of being starters, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw faces difficult decisions regarding playing time. “It’s not a bad thing to have a deep team, but sometimes it kind of leaves things up in the air for players,” said Kenneth Faried. “You really don’t have time to feel the game out. You got to get going right away or someone else will take your place.”
Learning through mistakes is part of life for any NBA rookie, including the Timberwolves‘ Zach LaVine, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star-Tribune, LaVine had a crucial defensive lapse Friday that allowed the Rockets’ Nick Johnson to score a game-winning layup. “You gain a lot of experience about what not to do down the stretch,” LaVine said. “It was a tough one, that loss. But we have to keep battling.”

D-League Notes: Celtics, Smith, Ledo

December 5th, 2014 at 7:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavs reaped a subtle benefit when the Thunder decided to keep Ish Smith instead of Sebastian Telfair when their 16th roster spot expired last week, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest explains. The Mavs affiliate, by D-League rule, inherited top waiver priority once Smith, who left the Mavs affiliate to sign with Oklahoma City on November 7th, spent his 21st day on the Thunder’s NBA roster, as Pilato points out. Thus, the Legends were able to grab Ivan Johnson even though Dallas didn’t have his D-League rights when he signed with the league earlier this week.

Here are the latest D-League moves:

The Celtics have recalled James Young, Dwight Powell, and Marcus Smart from their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, the team has announced. The trio make their return after seeing action in Maine’s victory against Fort Wayne last night. Young poured in 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Powell contributed 21 points. Smart, making his D-League debut, added six points, five boards, and dished out seven dimes.
Russ Smith has been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pelicans have announced. Smith has appeared in three contests for New Orleans, going scoreless in his 3.7 minutes per game. The rookie averaged 5.0 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in six preseason games for the Pelicans this year. Smith is the first player that New Orleans has assigned to the D-League this season.
The Pistons have assigned Tony Mitchell to their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, David Mayo of MLive reports (Twitter link). This will be Mitchell’s third trip to the D-League this season.
Ricky Ledo has been reassigned to the Texas Legends, the Mavs‘ D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. This is Ledo’s third such assignment, and in four games with the Legends Ledo has averaged 11.5 points and 2.8 assists.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Durant, ‘Melo, Love Spoke Of Playing Together

December 5th, 2014 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love have discussed the idea of one day playing together, whether it be in the NBA or on Team USA, Love tells Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. The subject came up when the three 2012 Olympic teammates were with each other as they trained this summer in a Los Angeles gym.

“I think naturally being around each other this summer and the Olympics and just in common passing, we have always talked about the opportunity to obviously play against each other but playing with each other as well,” Love said. “It is always something fun to think about when you have a bunch of guys in the gym this summer. And if not on our respective teams, then maybe at the Olympics.”

It would seem the next Olympics would be a much more likely venue for a reunion than the NBA, given Anthony’s new contract with the Knicks, which runs through 2018/19 with a player option for that season, and Love’s continued insistence that he plans a long-term future with the Cavs. Durant has given no clear signal of what he intends to do when his contract with the Thunder runs out in 2016, but it would be a “long shot, likely even a pipe dream” for the Knicks to land a superstar of Durant’s caliber to play alongside Anthony, Youngmisuk writes. The Knicks are reportedly pessimistic about their chances of attracting Marc Gasol this summer.

Love spoke of his admiration for New York basketball over the summer, as Youngmisuk notes, and the power forward called the Knicks “a great franchise to be a part of” in a recent interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post, though he made it clear to Serby that he wants to stay in Cleveland. Love can opt out of his deal this summer or opt in and align his free agency with that of Durant’s in 2016. Still, there seems little chance that he’d end up leaving the Cavs.

D-League Notes: McGary, Ledo, Celtics

December 4th, 2014 at 7:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League is becoming an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”

Here are the latest D-League moves:

The Thunder have re-assigned Mitch McGary to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced via Twitter. This is the big man’s second trip to the D-League this season. McGary has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game since being selected with the No. 21 pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Ricky Ledo has been recalled by the Mavericks from the Texas Legends, where he was on his second D-League assignment of the season, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). In four appearances for the Legends, Ledo has averaged 11.5 points and 2.8 assists while logging 33.3 minutes per contest.
The Celtics have assigned Dwight Powell, James Young, and Marcus Smart to the Maine Red Claws, the team announced. This will be Powell’s and Young’s third excursion to Maine, and Smart’s first. All three rookies are likely to be recalled to Boston on Friday, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.