Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Re-Sign Grant Jerrett

July 16th, 2014 at 8:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

WEDNESDAY, 8:22pm: The signing is official, per a team release.

“Grant had an excellent and productive season with the Tulsa 66ers,” Thunder GM Sam Presti said. “We are excited to see him move forward within our program.”

MONDAY, 5:01pm: Free agent Grant Jerrett has reached agreement on a multi-year deal to re-sign with the Thunder, reports Shams Charania of RealGm (Twitter link). Contract length and details haven’t been announced yet.

Jerrett was originally selected 40th overall by the Trail Blazers in the 2013 NBA Draft. His rights were then traded to the Thunder on draft night for cash considerations. He then spent the bulk of the 2013/14 season with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League where he appeared in 27 games and averaged 15.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 29.3 minutes per game. He was signed by the Thunder for the remainder of the season on April 7th, 2014. Jerrett did not make an appearance for the team.

Back on June 30th, the Thunder declined Jerrett‘s $816K option while also extending him a $1.16MM qualifying offer. In that same article, Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron predicted that Jerrett would re-sign with Oklahoma City on a multi-year deal for the amount of his qualifying offer that includes at least a partial guarantee in year two to entice him to take a multi-year deal rather than just signing the QO.

Hawks Acquire Thabo Sefolosha

July 16th, 2014 at 7:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 16TH, 7:48pm: Sefolosha’s deal has a declining salary structure, with $4,150,000 in 2014/15, $4,000,000 in 2015/16, and $3,850,000 in 2016/17, according to the Hawks updated salary sheet by Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. That $4.15MM salary in year one is the value of the trade exception the Thunder create with this deal.

6:36pm: The Hawks announced that the deal is official, per team press release.

“Thabo is an unselfish, competitive and playoff-tested player, and does many things well on both sides of the ball,” Hawks president Danny Ferry said in a statement. “He also fills a need, giving us more size and depth at the wing position. He’s been a part of winning programs and will fit our culture well.”

4:40pm: The Thunder will receive the rights to draft-and-stash prospect Sofoklis Schortsanitis, while Atlanta gets Sefolosha, the rights to fellow draft-and-stash prospect Giorgos Printezis, and cash, according to Mayberry (Twitter link).

JULY 15TH, 4:32pm: The Hawks and Thunder are working on a sign-and-trade that would send Sefolosha to Atlanta but allow the Thunder to reap a trade exception, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. It’s expected to be finalized today, Mayberry adds.

JULY 10TH, 10:12pm: In spite of the team press release, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears that Sefolosha’s signing has yet to take place (Twitter link). Such news is out of the ordinary, given the team’s announcement, and Vivlamore notes the agreement is still in place, so the deal is likely to happen sometime soon.

6:10pm: The deal is official, the Hawks announce via press release.

“Thabo is an unselfish, competitive and playoff-tested player, and does many things well on both sides of the ball,” Hawks President and GM Danny Ferry said. “He also fills a need, giving us more size and depth at the wing position. He’s been a part of winning programs and will fit our culture well.”

JULY 3RD: The Hawks and Thabo Sefolosha have reached agreement on a three-year, $12MM deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. There were serious doubts about the Thunder’s willingness to retain their starting shooting guard since their playoff elimination, and indeed the 30-year-old is headed elsewhere. It’s a fully guaranteed three-year deal with no option clauses involved, Charania adds.

The Clippers, Mavs and Rockets scheduled meetings with the Guy Zucker client, who also visited Washington, according to earlier reports, and Toronto, as Charania writes. The Heat apparently made an inquiry, but there was no report of contact from either the Thunder or the Hawks. Atlanta nonetheless was on the lookout for a wing player with size and wasn’t pleased with the way it played when either Kyle Korver or DeMarre Carroll were unavailable last season, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. It appears as though the Hawks have brought Sefolosha in to address those issues.

Atlanta will likely use cap space to finalize the deal, having opened up additional flexibility with this week’s John Salmons trade. It’s doubtful they’ll stop there, however. The Hawks had reportedly thought about making a run at Carmelo Anthony, and while that seems like a remote possibility, they can still open enough cap room for an eye-catching free agent acquisition, even with Sefolosha in tow.

Eastern Rumors: Boozer, Blair, Durant

July 16th, 2014 at 5:46pm CST by Cray Allred

Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report details how the Heat’s maneuvers to accommodate the Big Three back in 2010 are now proving costly with the departure of LeBron James. The Heat’s 2015 first round pick–given to the Cavs as part of James’ sign-and-trade to Miami–is still owed to Cleveland, and Miami is still paying Mike Miller‘s amnestied contract while the sharpshooter is on the verge of re-teaming with LeBron in another city. Here’s more from the East:

The Hawks, reportedly one of the favorites to place a bid on Carlos Boozer, took a step in that direction, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms the team has officially slipped beneath the cap (Twitter link).
The Mavs promised DeJuan Blair that they would try to sign-and-trade him to give him a financial boost, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, and indeed it appears Dallas is close to sending him to the Wizards via sign-and-trade,
The Wizards will bring University of Maryland women’s assistant coach David Atkins as an assistant coach for player development, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. A handful of rival executives see it as a sign that Washington has begun to position itself to make a run at Durant, a D.C. native, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link), since Atkins was one of Kevin Durant‘s high school coaches, fellow ESPN scribe Mark Stein notes (on Twitter).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Thunder Sign Anthony Morrow

July 16th, 2014 at 2:04pm CST by Cray Allred

WEDNESDAY, 2:04pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

“Anthony Morrow has demonstrated that he is amongst the most consistent and efficient three point shooters in the NBA over his career, and we are pleased to welcome him to Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization,” Thunder GM Sam Presti said. “With his body of work, we feel Anthony is a unique addition to a diverse roster, while also possessing the toughness and selflessness that we are consistently seeking in Thunder players.”

SATURDAY, 1:08pm: The deal is for three years in slight excess of $10MM, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The final year is a team option, per David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter).

12:33pm: Anthony Morrow has agreed to join the Thunder, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The shooting specialist had received interest from the Clippers, Heat, Wizards, Raptors, Suns, Wizards, Pistons, and Pelicans in addition to Oklahoma City and other unnamed teams.

Morrow opted out of the final, $1.1MM year of his contract with New Orleans this summer. The terms of the deal are still unknown, but I would guess the contract to be significantly more lucrative considering the amount of interest the 28-year-old was drawing. The shooting guard could be in play to start for the Thunder, who let starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha walk following a disappointing 2013/14 campaign. Morrow has only started 129 games over the course of his six-year career.

Thunder Sign Sebastian Telfair

July 15th, 2014 at 10:20am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 15TH: The Thunder have officially signed Telfair, the team announced in a press release.

“His competitiveness and work ethic have complimented his on-court leadership skills throughout his career, and we are excited to be able to integrate these qualities into our team,” GM Sam Presti said as part of the team’s statement.

JULY 3RD: The Thunder and Sebastian Telfair have reached agreement on a one-year, minimum salary deal, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The nine-year NBA veteran is returning to the league after spending last season playing in China.

The Grizzlies, Nets and Spurs had also expressed interest in the ASM Sports client. Memphis in particular seemed keen on the 29-year-old, as coach Dave Joerger acknowledged a few weeks ago that the team was eyeing Telfair.

The former 13th overall pick last played in the NBA for the Raptors in 2012/13, averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 assists in just 14.2 minutes per game across 13 appearances after coming via midseason trade with the Suns. He’s never averaged double figures in points and has only topped five assists per game in one NBA season, but while he hasn’t exactly lived up to the pedigree of a lottery pick, he’s proven a capable backup. That’s apparently the role for which the Thunder envision him, with Reggie Jackson having asked to start, as Haynes notes, and Derek Fisher off to coach the Knicks.

The contract won’t put much of a dent in the Thunder’s flexibility beneath the projected $77MM tax line, and that’s especially true since it’s a one-year arrangement. It’ll only cost roughly $915K to OKC even though he’ll make nearly $1.317MM. The league pays the difference, as I explained earlier.

And-Ones: Davis, Pacers, Thunder, Miller

July 14th, 2014 at 11:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Baron Davis is preparing himself for a return to the NBA this fall, reports Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). When asked what offensive system he likes, Davis said the Clippers’ and the Warriors’. Davis feels like he can play 15-20 minutes per game next year, notes Zwerling.

Here’s more from around the league:

Mike Miller is leaning towards signing with the Cavaliers, but the Nuggets are still in play for the free agent’s services, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
With LeBron James headed back to Cleveland, and Pau Gasol on his way to Chicago, the Central Division has gotten much tougher for the Pacers, writes Michael Marot of The Star Tribune. This makes re-signing Lance Stephenson even more of a priority, opines Marot.
Thunder assistant coach Brian Keefe will join Derek Fisher‘s coaching staff in New York, reports Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
The Thunder have to keep building their roster through the draft because the franchise is continuing to have difficulty luring free agents to Oklahoma City, writes Jon Hamm of ESPN.com.
With many of the biggest names in free agency now spoken for, Fred Kerber of The New York Post runs down the winners and losers in free agency thus far.
The Mavericks aren’t done upgrading their roster, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, “We’re always looking for help in the backcourt, with an eye on 3-point shooting, and then kind of a rangy defender would be nice as well. We’re still in search of those, but those spots don’t necessarily need to be filled through free agency. Obviously there are trades and all kinds of other ways you can do that.”
The Warriors may be interested in free agent Brandon Rush, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Rush averaged 9.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 67 games with Golden State before getting injured last season. GM Bob Myers said of Rush, “Rush was great. Everybody that’s been a fan saw how good he was for us, so if he’s healthy, and he can play, which we hear he can — we’ll go watch him and see — it’s a good addition if we could get him. You don’t know what the price would be, but we like Brandon.” The article also notes that Rush is scheduled to hold a workout for interested teams soon.

Cavs Nearing Deal With Mike Miller

July 13th, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

SUNDAY, 3:12pm: Miller is a possibility for the Mavs or Rockets, depending on which club doesn’t get Chandler Parsons, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.

SATURDAY, 6:40pm: The Cavs and Miller are now making progress on a contract, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

9:56am: Sam Amick of USA Today tweets that the Cavs are not yet close to a deal with Miller, and have only had cursory conversations at this point.

12:33am: The Cavs are closing in on a deal with Miller, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Miller on Friday cut off talks with the Nuggets, with whom he was reportedly close to a deal earlier this week, and had the Grizzlies tell him they were ending their pursuit.

WEDNESDAY, 3:27pm: Miller’s price is shooting up, with the Grizzlies, Thunder and Nuggets all in the race along with the Cavs, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). He’s in line for salaries of $4-4.5MM, Wojnarowski adds.

11:22am: James reached out to a pair of free agents about joining him on a team if he were to leave the Heat, and Miller was one of them, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Miller can’t sign with the Heat, since his amnestied contract would have run through next season, and teams are barred from re-signing the players they amnesty while their old contracts would still have been in effect.

10:52am: The Cavs are in pursuit of free agent Mike Miller, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). It seems like the latest move in the team’s efforts to land LeBron James, after this morning’s trade to clear max cap flexibility and news of the team’s attempts to sign Ray Allen. Cleveland is also making a run at James Jones, a longtime member of the Heat and a favorite of LeBron’s, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.

Cleveland reportedly considered claiming Miller off amnesty waivers last summer, but he wound up clearing those waivers and signing with the Grizzlies as a free agent, as Miller apparently gave signals he wouldn’t want to play in Cleveland. It’s not clear whether the chance to reunite with LeBron James, should the four-time MVP sign with Cleveland, would persuade Miller to reconsider a move to the Cavs. The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Thunder and Grizzlies are all reportedly in the mix for Miller, and while a report last week indicating that Memphis believed it was losing a bidding war for the Arn Tellem client also said that Miller would make his decision soon, he remains on the market.

Jones, 33, was little-used the past three seasons, though he did emerge as a rotation player for a time during the postseason for the Heat this past spring. The Miami native is likely in line for a minimum-salary deal wherever he ends up.

Western Notes: Pelicans, Parsons, Grunwald

July 12th, 2014 at 6:03pm CST by Cray Allred

The Thunder lost a valuable weapon Friday with the expiration of a $6.5MM trade exception left over from last year’s sign-and-trade of Kevin Martin to the Wolves. The Thunder had hoped to use the exception to acquire Pau Gasol, and today lost out on the big man, report Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Here’s more from out West:

The Warriors had considered using their own expired trade exception to acquire Brandon Bass, among other players, reports Zach Lowe of Grantland.
The Pelicans renounced their rights to Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith and James Southerland, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. That means they no longer hold any form of Bird rights on the trio.
The Suns also renounced Emeka Okafor‘s rights in a move that will erase his $19.2MM cap hold from Phoenix’s books, Deeks reports in a separate tweet.
Sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com) that although the Rockets just snagged small forward Trevor Ariza, Houston is still deciding whether to match Chandler Parsons‘ max offer sheet with the Mavs.
The Grizzlies have been talking up Glen Grunwald as a candidate for their GM-in-waiting search, Mitch Lawrence of New York Daily News reports. Lawrence expects Memphis to hire Grunwald for the job.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Latest On Pau Gasol

July 12th, 2014 at 12:13am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 12:13am: The Lakers made a pair of offers to Gasol prior to today that were even higher than the two-year, $10MM figure Wojnarowski cited, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). They were worth $23MM over two years and $29MM over three years, and Gasol rejected them both.

FRIDAY, 11:05pm: According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link), the top two contenders for Gasol are the Bulls and the Spurs. If the Bulls can’t work out a sign and trade with Lakers, it’s likely he goes to Spurs, notes Shelburne.

10:00pm: If Gasol ends up in Chicago, it’s unlikely to be as part of a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles for Boozer, tweets Wojnarowski.

7:40pm: The Hawks are making an aggressive pitch for Gasol, tweets Wojnarowski. Atlanta is reportedly offering $11MM per year, but Gasol will likely pass on the offer, adds Wojnarowski.

FRIDAY, 5:47pm: Gasol has turned down a two-year, $10MM per year deal with the Lakers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

10:33am: Gasol met Wednesday night with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

THURSDAY, 8:15am: The Spurs are moving closer to the front of the pack for Gasol, Wojnarowski tweets. The Bulls remain a favorite, as Wojnarowski suggests, and sources indicated to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that the Bulls hope to pursue a sign-and-trade with the Lakers involving Gasol and Carlos Boozer. It’s unlikely that the Bulls would give Gasol a deal longer than three years, Johnson adds.

TUESDAY, 2:16pm: The Knicks aren’t entirely out of the running for Gasol, but they’re way behind the Bulls, Thunder and Lakers, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Spurs are on the “periphery,” Berger adds.

1:55pm: The Bulls and Thunder remain the front-runners for Pau Gasol, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter), but Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com conflicts that report as far as the Thunder go, hearing that Oklahoma City believes it merely has a long shot hope for the free agent big man (Twitter link). The Lakers are “lurking” as a possibility for Gasol while the Spurs continue to forge ahead with their pursuit, Wojnarowski adds.

The Yahoo! scribe identified the Bulls and Thunder as Gasol’s most favored destinations late last week, and the 34-year-old met Monday with Thunder coach Scott Brooks. Confusion over Oklahoma City’s standing in the race for Gasol isn’t new, as multiple reports painted different pictures last week. In any case, it seems that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have also been recruiting the Arn Tellem client, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week.

The Bulls have pitched Gasol on the idea that he would start for them, while the Lakers have used the notion that he’ll be back with them next season as part of their recruiting efforts with other free agents, confident he’d return if they can sign Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James. The Spurs envision signing him for the $5.305MM mid-level exception, and Gasol would reportedly consider San Antonio if he decides to sign for less than he could receive elsewhere. The Thunder also appear to be in the mix at the mid-level unless they can work a sign-and-trade, but the Bulls might be able to offer more if they amnesty Carlos Boozer, and the Lakers hold his Bird rights.

Mike Miller Halts Talks With Nuggets

July 11th, 2014 at 10:11pm CST by Cray Allred

10:11pm: The Grizzlies have informed Miller that the team will be going in another direction and won’t be bringing him back, Miller announced via his twitter account.

4:23pm: James reached out to Miller again today, and Cavs officials have done so, too, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Miller continues to consider the Nuggets, Thunder and Grizzlies, Goodman adds.

FRIDAY, 3:37pm: Miller has stopped negotiations with the Nuggets and is “exploring every option” that would allow him to join James in Cleveland, with the Cavs reportedly having been in pursuit.

WEDNESDAY, 8:06pm: Free agent Mike Miller is close to agreeing on a deal with the Nuggets, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Grizzlies, Cavs, Thunder, Rockets, and Blazers have all shown interest in signing the sharpshooter this offseason. Miller was preparing to decide on his destination early in free agency, but met with Denver in recent days after being underwhelmed by the Grizzlies offer to retain him.

The Cavs were the most recent team to chase Miller in the hopes of enticing LeBron James to sign in Cleveland. James had reportedly reached out to Miller to pitch a reunion between the two if James were to leave the Heat in the coming days. There has been no report of Miller’s eagerness to rejoin James, so this news doesn’t shed any light on LeBron’s looming decision.

Whatever deal Miller signs will net him salary in addition to most of the $6.6MM owed to him by Miami from his amnestied contract that runs through next season. A multi-year deal for the 34-year-old would add financial security for the oft-injured shooting guard, and his projected role could also be a significant factor as he chooses his next team. The Nuggets are widely considered the least title-ready team of the teams pursuing him.