Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Sign Reggie Williams

August 12th, 2014 at 3:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

AUGUST 12TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

AUGUST 7TH, 5:53pm: Williams and the Heat have agreed to the deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year contract.

5:45pm: Free agent swingman Reggie Williams is nearing a deal with the Heat, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). Williams will provide Miami with some scoring punch off the bench, notes Wojnarowski. The 6’6″, 27 year-old went undrafted out of Virginia Military Institute back in 2008.

In parts of five seasons in the league, Williams has played for the Warriors, Hornets, and most recently, the Thunder. He appeared in three games last season for Oklahoma City, averaging 3.7 PPG, while making 55.6% of his field goal attempts. Williams also appeared in 25 games for Tulsa in the NBA D-League last year, where he averaged 20.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.9 APG.

For his career, Williams has averaged 8.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His career slash line is .460/.371/.743.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Blatche, Durant, Raptors, Melo

August 11th, 2014 at 5:34pm CST by Zachary Links

After two solid seasons with the Nets, big man Andray Blatche is still without a deal in August. Earlier today, our own Chuck Myron attempted to nail down the reasons for Blatche’s unemployment, touching on his rumored locker room issues and possibly unrealistic salary expectations. Here’s more out of the Atlantic..

The Raptors have been fined $25K for comments that rap star and “team ambassador” Drake made about Kevin Durant at a recent concert that the NBA has deemed a violation of its anti-tampering rules, sources with knowledge of the league’s ruling told Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The sources said that Durant, who attended Drake’s recent show in Toronto, was the subject of what the league regards as a public recruiting pitch from the famed Canadian artist. Durant, of course, becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016.
After a late June trade sending him from the Hawks to the Raptors, guard Lou Williams is excited to get started with his new team, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. “I am excited to a part of a young core, I am excited be on a team that wants me, that has a high expectation level for me. My time here in Atlanta, I realized that they were going in a direction that probably didn’t fit my style of play and I probably didn’t fit Coach Bud’s style of play. I’m a guy that needs the ball to be effective and they really didn’t need that from me. They were building a different core of a basketball team. I felt like it worked out for both sides, they got some talented guys in making moves this offseason and I feel great about the fit that I’m in,” Williams said.
Carmelo Anthony displayed his new, slimmer physique today on Instagram, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com details, and he wonders if the newly-resigned star will still have the bulk needed to man the power forward position. Melo is back with the Knicks on a five-year, $125MM pact.

And-Ones: Sterling, Singleton, Lee, Childress

August 11th, 2014 at 12:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The idea of limiting international play to those age 23 and under still has its supporters within NBA organizations, but there’s little push for making such a change, reports David Aldridge of TNT, who writes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Two owners who’ve watched their players take part in competitions for their national teams on many occasions tell Aldridge that Paul George‘s injury hasn’t changed their opinions.

“I’d rather have them with Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] and a first class staff than in their high school gyms,” one owner said to Aldridge. “If it happened playing pickup he wouldn’t have gotten immediate medical attention. [I] fully support USA Basketball and what it means for the game globally.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

A desire to let the legal process play out with charges brought against Donald Sterling in the past was partly behind the league’s unwillingness to oust the Clippers owner during former commissioner David Stern’s tenure, as Stern indicated to Aldridge for the same piece. Stern also suggested that the myriad of other issues the NBA dealt with during his tenure crowded the league’s agenda.
Free agents Chris Singleton and Malcolm Lee will be working out in front of NBA team officials today, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).
Swingman Josh Childress is considering an offer from the Sydney Kings of Australia, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Childress played four games this past season for the Pelicans, who released him in December.
Manu Ginobili continues to debate whether or not to play beyond the coming season, as he told Juan Manuel Trenado and Xavier Prieto Astigarraga La Nacion (translation via J.J. Gomez of Pounding the Rock; hat tip to Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News). The Spurs kept Ginobili from playing for Argentina this year, but he’s not upset, and said that the Spurs might have been too lenient in letting him play during past summers, as he also expressed in the interview.
Thunder draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss has officially signed with Barcelona, as expected, the team announced (translation via (Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). It’s a two-year deal.

And-Ones: Cavs, Wiggins, Embiid, Nets

August 10th, 2014 at 10:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Despite what you may think, Barry Tramel of The Oklahoman reminds us that building superteams in the NBA is not some new fad. The “Thunder Way” involves growing your own superstars, but the Cavs‘ route of building a superteam is not unlike what others have done in years past. The Lakers have been collecting All-Stars for decades and the 76ers build a superteam in the 1970s with ABA stars George McGinnis and Julius Erving. At the end of the day, Tramel writes, both ways work and some franchises never get to make a stab at either gameplan. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..

Wolves president and coach Flip Saunders did well for himself in the proposed Kevin Love trade, writes Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune. Considering the general lack of leverage that Minnesota had, the Wolves did well by landing this year’s No. 1 overall pick and more. Ultimately, however, the deal will be judged on how well Saunders can mold the young talent he’s receiving.
Kansas will have a lot of work to do without stars Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, but don’t go crying for them just yet. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders looks at the players who will be fueling KU this season – five-star prospects Kelly Oubre and Cliff Alexander. Oubre is a 6’6 small forward who is explosive offensively and an elite-level athlete. Alexander is a rugged big man who thrives with contact and plays with an extremely high motor. Both players are projected as lottery picks in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Following a successful season in the D-League, Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside looks at what kind of impact Robert Covington could have on the Rockets next season.
Bojan Bogdanović expects to play a key role for the Nets next season, writes Sportando’s Hrvoje Vujanic.

And-Ones: Durant, Shved, Warriors, Love

August 7th, 2014 at 10:11pm CST by Charlie Adams

Kevin Durant has withdrawn from the USA Men’s National Basketball team, the Thunder announced. There’s no indication that the reigning MVP’s decision to pull his name from summer competition has anything to do with the season-ending injury Paul George sustained in a scrimmage earlier this month, but the move will certainly help Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti sleep easier at night. More from around the Association:

Alexey Shved‘s agent wouldn’t take umbrage if the Wolves struck a deal to move his client, passes along David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter). Reports have indicated that Minnesota has been looking to trade Shved.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr thinks the makeup of his team is by and large set for the upcoming season, as he tells Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
“All indications are that this is the group we’re going forward with, but you never say never,” Kerr said. “You never know what’s going to happen, and ultimately that’s not my job… but there’s no question that we feel very confident and comfortable with the group that we have.”
At least one Eastern Conference executive credits LeBron James as a major catalyst behind the Kevin Love deal, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “They are putting all these pieces around LeBron, saying, ‘We’re trying to win it now,’” the executive said. “And I’m sure that was part of LeBron’s wish for when he went back there. LeBron has juice in Cleveland.”
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com explores why Love’s presence in Cleveland will only further complicate Phil Jackson‘s quest to turn the Knicks into a championship-caliber club.

Western Notes: Cuban, Pleiss, Sterling

August 3rd, 2014 at 8:54am CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of Paul George‘s terrible injury Friday night, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blasted the IOC, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Cuban hopes the injury will spur the NBA into creating its own international tournament where the league has more control as well as receives the benefits of holding such competitions. Cuban also said, “I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA (International Federal Basketball Association). We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. (We) just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”

Here’s more from out west:

Thunder 2010 draft-and-stash pick Tibor Pleiss is expected to sign a two-year deal with Barcelona, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Oklahoma City had made an attempt to bring the German big man to the NBA this season but his buyout amount became an issue, but the team was still hoping to work out a deal for the 2015/16 campaign. Details of Pleiss’ potential deal with Barcelona and buyout amount haven’t yet been announced.
Sam Cassell is leaving the Wizards to join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff with the Clippers, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Los Angeles’ bench had recently lost Tyronn Lue to the Cavs and Alvin Gentry to the Warriors.
Donald Sterling built an empire but words were his undoing, write Nathan Fenno, Kim Christensen, and James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times. The trio profile the seemingly soon-to-be former Clippers owner’s rise and fall.

And-Ones: Love, Telfair, Options

August 2nd, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Cray Allred

The conversation regarding NBA players in international competition will dominate the summer, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (video links), with widespread efforts within the league to exert more control on the nature of international play. However, Stein thinks it’s too early to suggest NBA players will be removed from the international equation in the near future. Here’s more from around the association:

A source seconds Wolves owner Glen Taylor’s expectation of a Kevin Love trade between the Wolves and Cavs to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, and maintains that Andrew Wiggins would have to be included in the deal (Twitter links).
A source close to Wiggins tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that the Cavs haven’t informed the rookie of any potential trade.
Sebastian Telfair tells Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman that his time playing in China provided a needed boost to his perspective and his game. “I was able to prove things to myself, getting an opportunity to play 30-something minutes a night, just go out there and hoop,” Telfair said. “Your team expects you to be a guy who scores 30 points a night for you to win. That was a big part of me going down there. Just to get that opportunity to get my legs back up under me.”
In addition to current rookie scale extension candidates, Eric Pincus of Baskeball Insiders lists every player on their rookie deal whose team must decide by October 31 to pick up or decline their options for the 2015/16 season.

Western Notes: Grizz, Pleiss, Clark, Kings

August 1st, 2014 at 7:56pm CST by Alex Lee

Grizzlies owner Robert Pera indicated that the decision to keep Chris Wallace in charge of the team’s basketball operations had to do with more than just on-court matters, as Pera said today before assembled media, including The Associated Press.

“When you are looking at this team in Memphis, I think you’ve for to look at the general manager in two respects,” Pera said. “One is the basketball performance. The other I’ve learned with Memphis the past couple of years is this idea of community involvement. And everybody loves Chris in Memphis. He is a special person for the Memphis community.”

Here is what else is going on out West:

The Thunder made an attempt this summer to bring seven foot German Tibor Pleiss, a 2010 draft-and-stash selection, to the NBA this season but the price of the buyout was ultimately prohibitive, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Oklahoma City will again try to bring the 31st selection of the 2010 draft to the states for the 2015/16 season, a possibility Woj calls “likely”, but the big man will play for FC Barcelona this year. (Twitter links)
Making his weekly radio appearance, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said that the team has a few things to take care of before deciding on the contract of shooting guard Ian Clark, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Clark played 23 games in Utah as a rookie last season after signing a two-year deal with the Jazz last July. His salary for the upcoming season is not guaranteed.
After years of frustration, construction finally began Friday on the Kings new arena in Sacramento, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The agreement on the arena site, facilitated by new owner Vivek Ranadive, was a critical factor in the NBA rejecting the franchise’s relocation to Seattle. The $477MM structure is scheduled to be ready for the 2016/17 season.
Back in Sacramento this week, Suns guard Isaiah Thomas provided plenty of juicy quotes to Blake Ellington of Sactown Royalty, indicating that he knew he probably wouldn’t be returning to the Kings when he saw his former team had inked fellow point guard Darren Collison. “When they did that, I knew I wasn’t coming back,” Thomas said. “If you bring in somebody, a draft pick or somebody that’s just not better than me I feel like it is disrespectful. When they picked Darren Collison, I felt like it was time for me to move on.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Several NBA Teams Eyeing Dahntay Jones

August 1st, 2014 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 1ST: The Wizards were indeed present at the workout, but they don’t have interest in signing Jones, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

JULY 30TH: The Kings, Cavs, Spurs, Thunder and Wizards were all in attendance at a workout that Jones held today in Las Vegas, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Between 15 and 20 NBA clubs were set to take a look at him this week, as Kennedy reported earlier this month.

JULY 21ST: Ten-year NBA veteran Dahntay Jones is set to work out for the Knicks and Sixers this week, and in addition to a reported meeting with the Clippers earlier this month, he also worked out for that team, too, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports. The shooting guard and Mark Bartelstein client is close with former Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony, though New York’s addition of Jones would only add to a logjam at the two-guard that Knicks GM Steve Mills has already publicly acknowledged.

The Knicks are apparently discussing trades involving J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to clear up that position, as we noted Sunday. New York also worked out Jones this past February, seemingly the closest brush that the now 33-year-old had with the NBA last season after the Bulls waived him early in the preseason. Still, that was before the arrival of Knicks team president Phil Jackson, and what attracts the team to Jones now is his competitiveness and leadership, according to Isola.

The Knicks, now as they were in February, are limited to the minimum salary, and the Clippers are similarly hamstrung. The Sixers have ample cap room to use on Jones, but it’s nonetheless unlikely that he’ll warrant any better than a guaranteed minimum-salary contract. He’s averaged 5.6 points in 16.3 minutes per game over his career, and put up 3.4 PPG in 13.0 MPG in 2012/13, his last NBA season.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Westbrook, Williams

July 30th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love has been the hottest name in rumors of late, but Tuesday, another Northwest Division star began to generate some buzz. Kevin Durant spoke openly of the possibility that he’ll sign with his hometown Wizards when he becomes a free agent in 2016. He also chalked up his decision not to negotiate an opt-out clause into his current five-year deal to a mixture of naivete and his love for Oklahoma City, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry notes. Durant said it would “definitely be tough” to leave if the Thunder were to win a pair of championships in the two years remaining before he can hit free agency, as USA Today’s Sam Amick observes. With the onus on GM Sam Presti to put his team over the top, there’s more on the Thunder and their stars amid the latest from the Northwest:

The general assumption is that Russell Westbrook will look to leave the Thunder when he becomes a free agent in 2017, but that’s no certainty, as Durant impressed upon reporters Tuesday, including Amick, who shares the tidbit in the same piece.
John Wall is already expressing support for the idea of Durant joining the Wizards in two years, calling him “like an older brother” and saying, “It’d be great to have him back home,” as Amick notes.
Had the Trail Blazers wanted to re-sign Mo Williams this summer, “in all retrospect, they could have,” Williams said in a pair of tweets. The guard has instead agreed to a deal with the Timberwolves.