Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Fallout: Sixers, Saric, Heat, McGary

June 27th, 2014 at 3:10am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers never made a run at trading for the No. 1 pick in spite of the rumors to the contrary, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). That seems hard to believe given the volume of chatter about Philly’s supposed pursuit of Andrew Wiggins, whom the Cavs wound up taking with the top pick. Still, the Sixers wound up with Joel Embiid, who had been the front-runner to go No. 1 before he broke his foot. Philadelphia will have to wait on Embiid, who went third overall, as well as No. 12 selection Dario Saric, whose rights they obtained from the Magic. There’s news on Saric among the continuing reverberations from Thursday’s draft:

Saric says he might come to the NBA in one year rather than two, as had been the assumption, but he’d have to discuss it with Anadolu Efes Pilson, his team in Turkey, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
The Heat didn’t consult with LeBron James on their trade to acquire Shabazz Napier, though his affection for the former Connecticut point guard was no secret, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
The Thunder promised Mitch McGary that they’d draft him at No. 21, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Rumors had suggested the Hornets and Bucks instead had given him a promise. Charlotte had interest, tweets Jeff Zillgitt, but Oklahoma City snapped him up before the Hornets could take him at No. 24.
Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Suns took at No. 27, is one or two years away from joining Phoenix, GM Ryan McDonough said, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic notes (on Twitter). No. 50 pick Alec Brown is also expected to play in Europe next season rather than sign this summer with the Suns, according to Coro.
Undrafted Canisius guard Billy Baron is drawing interest from several teams who’d like to bring him to training camp in addition to summer league, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter).
The Rockets are highly interested in Patric Young, while the Hawks, Thunder and Grizzlies eye LaQuinton Ross and the Raptors, Pacers and Spurs are keen on Aaron Craft, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (All Twitter links). It’s unclear if the interest is in regard to training camp or merely summer league.

Thunder Acquire Semaj Christon

June 27th, 2014 at 1:11am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 1:11am: The deal is official, the Thunder announce. Oklahoma City gives cash to Charlotte as part of the trade.

THURSDAY, 11:33pm: Oklahoma City is set to acquire Semaj Christon, the 55th overall selection in the draft, reports Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). The Hornets will send him to the Thunder after striking a deal to acquire the No. 55 pick from the Heat earlier tonight, Washburn adds (on Twitter).

Western Rumors: Love, Rockets, Nuggets

June 26th, 2014 at 7:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here’s the latest from the Western Conference as the draft gets underway:

The Wolves spent the afternoon in meetings, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter), and he wouldn’t be surprised to see some major news come out tonight regarding Kevin Love and the Warriors.
Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) believes that the odds are still against a Love trade materializing tonight. However, sources tell him that the two sides continue to talk despite the hangup over whether Klay Thompson is in play.
Echoing an earlier report from USA Today’s Sam Amick, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears from a rival executive that the Rockets already have a Jeremy Lin deal lined up and ready to execute if they need the cap space to sign Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James. It’s likely that the Rockets flip the first-rounder they’re acquiring from the Pelicans in the Omer Asik trade, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
David Pick of Eurobasket.com has consistently heard that the Nuggets will take Jusuf Nurkic at No. 11 (Twitter link).
The Thunder will either draft a wing player or trade the 29th overall pick for one, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Mavs almost certainly won’t trade for a first-round pick in tonight’s draft, Donnie Nelson says, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com notes (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Latest On Mitch McGary, Potential Promise

June 26th, 2014 at 5:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 5:36pm: Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders continues to hear that Mitch McGary has a promise from a team (Twitter link). Some believe it is indeed the Hornets, as Kennedy wrote earlier, while Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times hears from some who believe the Bucks, picking 31st, have promised him (Twitter link). The Thunder are “strongly considering” McGary at No. 29, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.

WEDNESDAY, 8:24pm: A source tells Sean Deveney of Sporting News that McGary has been “all but assured” of being selected by a team in the 20s. Deveney mentions the Hornets and Thunder as possibilities.

TUESDAY, 3:12pm: Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer suggests that the Hornets are also targeting LSU’s Johnny O’Bryant III (Twitter link). That seems to contract the notion that Charlotte has issued a promise to McGary, though Bonnell doesn’t explicitly say so.

2:24pm: The Hornets have given former University of Michigan center Mitch McGary a promise to draft him with the 24th overall pick Thursday, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The 22-year-old has reportedly worked out for only one team prior to the draft, but that club is the Bucks, who are reportedly interested in him for the 31st overall pick. Still, it appears Charlotte has zeroed in on the big man in spite of back surgery that limited him to just eight games this season and a drug test that revealed his use of marijuana prior to the NCAA tournament.

McGary was a potential lottery pick prior to the back injury, so in a sense Charlotte might end up with a steal at No. 24. In any case, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress lists McGary as the 24th best prospect in the draft, suggesting the Hornets would at least receive fair value. He’s 29th in the Insider-only rankings of Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

Still, the promise is no guarantee that the Hornets will draft McGary, and there are no binding agreements involved, even if Ford’s reporting is indeed accurate. Another team could draft McGary earlier, and the Hornets might receive an enticing offer that prompts them to trade the pick, among the possible scenarios.

Draft Notes: Clippers, Exum, Heat, Stokes

June 26th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Zachary Links

The consensus around the league is that Clippers president Doc Rivers is trying to shop the team’s first round pick at No. 28, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers doesn’t want to add a rookie to his roster and would rather have the cap space than pay the guaranteed salary that goes to a first-round draft pick. Officials say that Rivers has offered trade scenarios centering around their pick, plus a wing player — either Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, or Jared Dudley — and reserve guard Willie Green. One deal that was proposed had Dudley and another Clippers player and the No. 28 pick going to the Hornets for guard Gerald Henderson, but it has gone nowhere so far. The latest draft news from around the league..

Dante Exum declined to fly to Cleveland for a workout today with the Cavs, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
In addition to the Clippers, the Suns (No. 27) and Thunder (No. 29) still have picks available via trade, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. The Nets have tried hard but they look unlikely to get into the first round at this point.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) hears that Elfrid Payton may have passed Marcus Smart as the first point guard selected. Presumably, Amico is regarding Australian guard Exum as a shooting guard rather than a PG.
The Heat like Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes and he’s an option at No. 26, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Miami worked him out multiple times and came away impressed. Hoops Rumors spoke with Stokes earlier this offseason about his NBA goals and what he can bring to a team.
UConn guard Shabazz Napier is also an option for the Heat, but he’s not likely to be on the board when they pick (link). Napier is rising up draft boards and could go in the teens.
The Bulls really like Jordan Adams, Kennedy tweets, and he’s an option at No. 16 and No. 19 if they keep those picks.

Offseason Outlook: Oklahoma City Thunder

June 26th, 2014 at 12:30am CST by Zachary Links

Guaranteed Contracts

Kevin Durant ($18,995,624)
Russell Westbrook ($15,719,063)
Serge Ibaka ($12,350,000)
Kendrick Perkins ($9,404,342)
Nick Collison ($2,242,003)
Reggie Jackson ($2,204,369)
Jeremy Lamb ($2,202,000)
Steven Adams ($2,184,960)
Andre Roberson ($1,160,880)
Perry Jones III ($1,129,200)

Options

Grant Jerrett ($816,482, Team)*

Non-Guaranteed Contracts

Hasheem Thabeet ($1,250,000)**

Free Agents / Cap Holds

Thabo Sefolosha ($7,410,000)
Caron Butler ($1,200,000)
No. 21 pick ($1,166,700)
No. 29 pick ($918,000)
(Derek Fisher $915,243)***

Draft Picks

1st Round (21st overall)
1st Round (29th overall)

Cap Outlook

Guaranteed Salary: $67,592,441
Options: $816,482
Non-Guaranteed Salary: $1,250,000
Cap Holds: $11,609,943
Total: $81,268,866

Over the last few days, teams have been daydreaming of scenarios in which they could clear enough cap space to sign LeBron James and/or Carmelo Anthony. The Thunder are not one of those teams. With a strong, young core, Oklahoma City knows that it can stand pat and remain as one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The small moves the club makes beyond that, however, will dictate its chances to overtake the Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, and the rest of that truly vicious half of the NBA.

The team’s biggest priority will be to replace Thabo Sefolosha, who has about as good of a chance as returning to OKC as Clay Bennett has of winning the key to the city in Seattle. Sefolosha, as we all know, is an extremely tough perimeter defender, but offers little in the way of scoring. The Thunder can bump Jeremy Lamb into the starting two-guard role, but they’ll still need depth behind him if they go that route.

OKC will also be on the lookout for some frontcourt depth behind key big man Serge Ibaka and last year’s first-round pick Steven Adams. Kendrick Perkins saw his role shrink a bit last season and his 3.4 PPG average was his lowest in years. Nick Collison, who, like Perkins, is set to become a free agent after this coming season, also hasn’t satisfied all of the team’s needs. Perkins might be changing teams before next summer, by the way, as OKC could very well amnesty him and his considerable salary.

The Thunder will also need to add depth at point guard, since one of the guys who played behind Russell Westbrook is now coaching the Knicks. Seeing the soon-to-be 40-year-old Derek Fisher go might feel like a big loss to Kevin Durant and the Thunder, who looked to the veteran for leadership, but they can do a whole lot better from a basketball standpoint. The stats weren’t kind to Fisher as he shot just 39% from the floor and posted a PER of just 10.1, though both figures actually represent improvement over the previous few years. They won’t find anyone with the athleticism to match Westbrook, but they can certainly get someone quicker than Fisher with better scoring ability.

General Manager Sam Presti doesn’t have a ton of cap space to fill these needs, but he is armed with two first-round draft picks in one of the deepest classes in recent memory. With picks at Nos. 21 and 29, the Thunder can’t take care of every hole, but they can plug two of the three.

At the time of this writing, DraftExpress has the Thunder drafting UConn point guard Shabazz Napier and Clemson small forward K.J. McDaniels. Napier isn’t a world-class distributor, but he’s made strides in this area and would certainly bring the scoring that Fisher did not. Taking McDaniels at No. 29 would give the Thunder one of the most athletic wings in the draft and, with the right tutelage, a defender to help fill the void left by Sefolosha’s departure. ESPN’s Chad Ford, meanwhile, has OKC pegged to take UCLA small forward Kyle Anderson and his teammate, shooting guard Jordan Adams. Anderson has the versatility to cover multiple positions and could help the Thunder in a number of areas. Adams doesn’t have the athletic ability of the aforementioned players but he certainly knows how to put up points. The Thunder were reportedly ready to use the No. 21 pick on 18-year-old Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis, but the big man surprised everyone by withdrawing from the draft just prior to the deadline earlier this month. Some believe that the 7-footer could wind up as a top five pick in the 2015 draft.

Outside of the draft, the Thunder still have a trade exception left over from the Kevin Martin swap with the Timberwolves. OKC has the ability to tack on $6.6MM in salary and the Thunder would be wise to use it if they can get the clearance from up top. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman recently suggested that the Thunder could use the exception to trade for Knicks guard Iman Shumpert. Shumpert was lost in coach Mike Woodson‘s system last year and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be any better utilized under Fisher and Phil Jackson. The Knicks, we imagine, would also appreciate the salary relief as they try to extend their resources and appease free agent Carmelo Anthony. The Thunder could promote Lamb to the starting two-guard role, bring Shumpert on in support, and — assuming they don’t lose one of them in this hypothetical trade — use their two first-rounders to satisfy their needs at point guard and in the frontcourt.

Internally, the Thunder might also like to take care of guard Reggie Jackson with a contract extension. Presti has appeared to downplay this notion, but it’s hard to see the Thunder not being open to working out a new deal between now and Halloween. “Generally, these things don’t happen in July, and the trend now is they don’t happen by the October 31st deadline,” Presti said earlier this month. The Thunder traded James Harden rather than give him the contract he wanted, but Presti doesn’t foresee the same thing happening with Jackson.

While OKC’s trade exception could become a factor between now and its expiration date on July 11th, much of the heavy lifting this summer will take place in the draft. Stay tuned, Thunder fans.

Cap footnotes

* — Jerrett’s cap hold would be equal to the amount of his option if the Thunder declines the option, unless the team elects to tender a qualifying offer. In that case, his cap hold would be $1,016,482, equal to the amount of the qualifying offer.
** — Thabeet’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before September 1st.
*** — See our glossary entry on cap holds for an explanation of why Fisher’s cap hold technically remains on the books for the Thunder even though he’s taken the head coaching job for the Knicks, thus retiring as a player.

ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.

Broussard’s Latest: LeBron, Griffin, Harden

June 25th, 2014 at 2:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers aren’t among the top choices for LeBron James, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who nonetheless wouldn’t rule them out completely. Broussard doubts that James would head there until Donald Sterling is formally ousted as owner of the club, and there’s also concern about how well James would fit on the court with friend Chris Paul, though Broussard doesn’t specify if that’s a concern of James’. Still, Heat president Pat Riley believes acquiring Blake Griffin via sign-and-trade would be the best outcome if James decides to leave Miami, Broussard reports. The ESPN scribe identifies the Heat, Cavs, Rockets, Knicks and Nets as having better chances than the Clippers do of landing James, given the four-time MVP’s preferences, and he has a few bombshells in his report, as we detail.

If the Rockets clear enough cap room to sign one of LeBron and Carmelo Anthony, their next step would be to dangle James Harden to acquire the other via sign-and-trade. The Knicks and the Heat would be receptive to trading for Harden in that scenario, Broussard adds.
Chris Bosh appears sold on Miami, but it’s questionable whether he’d want to stay if James leaves, Broussard writes.
Riley is planning a run at Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, according to Broussard. I’d assume it would involve pursuing him via free agency in the event that Oklahoma City amnesties him, rather than pursuing him via trade, though that’s just my speculation.
Broussard hears there’s a decent chance that the Warriors would be willing to acquire Jeremy Lin if he’s part of a package with Chandler Parsons.
The Nets would prefer trading Deron Williams rather than Joe Johnson in an effort to clear room for James, Broussard says.

Draft Notes: Bucks, Wiggins, Payton, Hood

June 23rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Bad news for Joel Embiid and Dante Exum. Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry says that it would be “hard to take Embiid” given his foot injury and indicated that it’ll come down to either Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Here’s the latest draft news from around the league..

League sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that the Kings are seriously considering Louisiana-Lafayette product Elfrid Payton Jr. at No. 8 and few expect him to slip past the Magic at No. 12.
Duke sharpshooter Rodney Hood is back with the Hornets for a second attempt at a workout tomorrow, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Hoops Rumors chatted with Hood back in May about the draft process and his NBA goals.
K.J. McDaniels will also receive a second audition for the Hornets and he’ll be joined by UCLA’s Jordan Adams, Missouri’s Jabari Brown, Jarell Eddie of Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson (Twitter links).
Former North Carolina wing P.J. Hairston is working out today for the Bulls, who may end up trading one or both of their first-round picks, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY. Chicago is currently slated to pick at Nos. 16 and 19.
Former Syracuse forward C.J. Fair will audition for the Thunder today, the Pistons tomorrow, and the Nets on Wednesday, Zagoria tweets.
The Bulls have Michigan State’s Adreian Payne matching up against Chad Posthumus of Morehead State in a workout today, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (via Twitter).
The Wizards will look to take the best player available when they’re called at the podium but J. Michael of CSNWashington.com hears that they’re favoring size.

Western Notes: LeBron, Gentry, Honeycutt

June 20th, 2014 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If LeBron James opts out of his contract with the Heat, the Rockets will have as an enticing a situation to offer him as any team in the league, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Beck lays out what options Houston has to fit James’ salary in, plus notes the team views Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh as secondary options if they fail to land James, provided Bosh and Anthony also exercise their ETO’s.

Chris Wallace To Remain As Grizzlies GM

June 18th, 2014 at 4:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:28pm: Winger is satisfied with his job in Oklahoma City and has turned down the Grizzlies’ request for an interview, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

4:18pm: Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will continue as GM of the team for the “foreseeable future,” tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The Grizzlies’ search for a GM has “evolved” into a search for a player personnel director, the role Stu Lash held when he acted as second in command to CEO Jason Levien in the front office before both were let go last month, Amick reports (Twitter links). The team has asked for permission to interview Thunder assistant GM Michael Winger for the job, according to Amick. Wallace assumed “interim responsibility” for the Memphis front office when Levien and Lash departed, according to the team’s press release, and today’s news appears to signal that he’s likely to remain in charge of the Grizzlies on a more permanent basis.

Wallace maintained his GM title even as his role was marginalized under Levien, but Amick seems to indicate that he’ll remain in control of the team’s front office in addition to retaining his title. Wallace’s continued employment with the Grizzlies in some form or fashion has long appeared safe, and the mutual willingness of Wallace and the Grizzlies to continue their association even as Wallace spent a year without setting foot in his office supports that. The general sentiment is that whomever the Grizzlies hire as player personnel director will be on a fast track to become a GM, according to Amick, though it’s not clear whether that person would be a GM-in-waiting of sorts for Memphis.

Winger hasn’t drawn much mention in connection to jobs since assuming his role with the Thunder in 2010, though that might have more to do with Oklahoma City’s guarded nature with information. Amick’s tweets indicate that the Grizzlies are vetting other candidates for the player personnel director position, too.