Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Re-Sign Reggie Williams To 10-Day Deal

March 28th, 2014 at 9:56am CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have signed Reggie Williams to a second 10-day contract, the team announced. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman first reported the news via Twitter. Williams was with Oklahoma City earlier this month, but when his first 10-day contract expired, the team gave his roster spot to Mustafa Shakur, who signed a 10-day contract of his own, as our tracker shows. Shakur’s deal expired Tuesday, and it looks like the club has turned back to Williams, at least for now.

The 27-year-old Williams saw just five minutes of action in his first stint with Oklahoma City, his only NBA burn this year after having been a part of the league for the previous four seasons. The Rockets cut him before opening night even though his minimum-salary contract was 50% guaranteed, and the Bulls and the Grizzlies had interest in him earlier in the season. The swingman has spent most of 2013/14 with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, and he returned to the Tulsa 66ers after his first 10-day deal expired. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game with 35.5% three-point shooting in the D-League this year.

The return of the Interperformances client gives the Thunder a full 15-man roster, though bringing Williams back on another 10-day affords the club a bit of flexibility between now and the end of the season.

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Adelman, Fisher

March 26th, 2014 at 7:13pm CST by Cray Allred

The drama in Golden State continues to unfold, with more speculation about Warriors coach Mark Jackson reaching the media. Golden State’s All-Star point guard Steph Curry spoke up on behalf of Jackson today, telling reporters including Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group, “I love coach and everything he’s about.” Curry also said he wanted management to consult with him before deciding what to do with Jackson in the future.

Some players have told Thompson that they were dismayed over Jackson’s treatment by management, and think he should be supported considering the team’s success over the last two years.
Players also told Thompson they could see Jackson leaving after the season, either by his own decision or management’s.
One possible source of the reported friction between Jackson and newly re-assigned, former assistant coach Brian Scalabrine was Scalabrine’s willingness to talk too specifically during an in-game interview about the Warriors‘ defensive strategy, opines Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Wolves can expect to have some clarity on coach Rick Adelman within two weeks of the end of the season, since that’s the deadline for both sides on their mutual option for next season, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes.
There’s been speculation that Derek Fisher will be the next head coach of the Knicks, and some of his Thunder teammates say he’d make a fine coach, but the 39-year-old has said he has no interest in coaching, notes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Westbrook, Jazz, Davis

March 22nd, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Cray Allred

While a lot of attention has shifted from the NBA to March Madness this weekend, there are still plenty of good games and intriguing stories around the league. Let’s take a look out West:

Today’s MRI and exam of Thunder star Russell Westbrook‘s knee following last night’s collision revealed no issues of concern, per Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Royce Young of Daily Thunder adds that Westbrook won’t miss any time from the injury, outside of the pre-existing plan of rest for back-to-backs.
Glen Davis is still getting acclimated to the Clippers style of play, telling Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times that he’s still trying to get a feel for his new teammates. “I’m not looking to get a real groove, as far as thinking without thinking kind of method, until the playoffs. So every day is a grind and just a way to get to know everybody,” says Davis. “What Chris Paul wants. How he wants it done. What Blake [Griffin] wants. How I should play with Blake, because he’s usually playing with a guy who’s above the rim all the time. So it’s easy for him. I’m different. I’m a different player. I’m below the rim. I’m different from DeAndre [Jordan]. So it’s learning that system and just knowing the guys on the floor.”
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune that he wants to see maximum effort from his young roster as the season closes, even though Utah is well out of contention. “The fans deserve to see our best effort,” Corbin said. “I want us to play hard and do this thing the right way. We’ve got to play hard and play well and be professional.” There are plenty of Jazz players with incentive to impress; Utah has nine players that will either be free agents next year or working on non-guaranteed deals heading into 2014/15.

Thunder Sign Mustafa Shakur

March 16th, 2014 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Thunder have signed guard Mustafa Shakur to a 10-day contract, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Shakur was previously with the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League.

Shakur, 29, has averaged 18.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 20 games with the 66ers this season. The 6’3″ point guard should add backcourt depth for the upcoming back-to-backs since Russell Westbrook will not play in games on consecutive days, Mayberry tweets. The one-guard is also familiar with the Thunder’s system through his time with their D-League affiliate and had some time in OKC during the 2009-10 season.

Oklahoma City already has a spot available for Shakur after allowing Reggie Williams‘ 10-day contract to expire.

Thunder Won’t Re-Sign Reggie Williams

March 15th, 2014 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder won’t be signing Reggie Williams to a second 10-day contract when his initial 10-day ends tonight, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). Williams was assigned to Tulsa in the NBA D-League earlier today, the club announced on Twitter, and he is expected to continue to play for the 66ers, according to Charania. This will leave the Thunder with 14 players on their roster.

Williams had spent the past four seasons in the NBA with the Warriors and Bobcats. He signed for a partially guaranteed minimum-salary deal this past summer with the Rockets, who cut him prior to opening night.

Williams only appeared in one game for the Thunder and scored five points in five minutes of action. The 27 year-old averaged 20.6 PPG over 20 appearances in the D-League prior to joining the Thunder.

And-Ones: Harden, Collins, Daye, Williams

March 15th, 2014 at 12:35pm CST by Cray Allred

In a series of tweets, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says there was more to the Thunder‘s decision to trade James Harden before last season than money concerns. Coming off their Finals loss, Harden wanted an increased role on the team, believing himself to be the superstar talent we now know he is. Kyler says Harden wanted to stay, but the Thunder didn’t want to change their roster dynamics to accommodate his wishes. Here’s more from around the league:

Jason Collins is happy stay with the Nets for the rest of the season, he tells Roderick Boone of Newsday. “Thank you to the Nets organization, coaches and players,” Collins said.“Our team is playing really well right now and I’m glad to continue to be here.”
The Spurs have assigned Austin Daye to their D-League affiliate per a team release.
After showing promise in some extended playing time with the Raptors, Ed Davis has struggled to see many minutes with the Grizzlies, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. The lack of playing time has come because of a crowded frontcourt in Memphis, not a lack of skill on Davis’s part, says coach Dave Joerger. “It’s tough and he’s a similar style to the guys that are at that position,” said Joerger. “What his athleticism is, is a different look for us. But it’s tough with Marc [Gasol] and Zach [Randolph] in front of him.”
Derrick Williams has been debated as a “true” small forward or power forward since coming into the league, but Kings coach Michael Malone tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that Williams’ versatility is a good thing. “You go back to his days at Arizona, when he was the No. 2 pick, he played a lot of four (power forward),” Malone said. “I see in the NBA if a bigger guy is guarding him, he can take that guy out on the perimeter. If you play him at the small forward, you can post him up some. He’s got that versatility and athleticism that is very attractive. The league is getting a lot smaller it seems, and I think Derrick’s versatility is a real advantage when you play him at the four.” If small forward Rudy Gay picks up his $19.3MM player option in Sacramento for next season, Williams will likely have to establish his ability to thrive at the power forward spot.

Western Notes: Lakers, Faried, Butler, Ledo

March 13th, 2014 at 7:32pm CST by Alex Lee

After Kobe Bryant‘s news conference on Wednesday, the Lakers may have to abandon any strategy not aimed at an immediate turnaround, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Pincus has an intricate plan in mind for the purple-and-gold that entails trading their 2014 first rounder for Kevin Love, waiving Steve Nash, re-signing Pau Gasol and much more, all designed at arming the aging Bryant with running mates capable of staging one last run at a title.

Let’s take a look at what is going on elsewhere in the Western Conference:

Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried is happy that the trade speculation is behind him, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Faried is having an impressive March, scoring 21.1 points per game and grabbing 10.1 rebounds on 64.5% shooting from the field. Teammate Ty Lawson also believes that the trade talk was hurting his play somewhat, noting that he has been more aggressive since the trade deadline came and went.
Thunder trainer Joe Sharpe had a lot to do with Caron Butler‘s decision to sign with Oklahoma City this season, Jeff Caplan of NBA.com writes. Sharpe held a similar position at UConn when Butler was there.
While we pointed out a pair of D-League success stories earlier tonight, Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram opines (via Twitter) that Ricky Ledo may have become a high lottery pick with the proper collegiate seasoning. Ledo, who has bounced between the Mavericks and the Texas Legends in his rookie season, attended Providence College though he never played for the Friars. He was selected 43rd overall by the Bucks last June.

Western Notes: Mavs, Lakers, Presti

March 12th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It doesn’t matter whether the Mavericks go one-and-done, miss the playoffs or end up in the conference finals, the offseason game plan is the same, writes Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News. He says they are going to figure out a way to use the $34MM dollars of cap space they anticipate having to try and add a premier small forward and/or center. Sefko floats the possibility of Luol Deng and Marcin Gortat being their prime free-agent targets. The article also mentions that the deeper the team goes in the playoffs, the more appealing they will become to any free agent, including LeBron James, though Sefko admits that landing LeBron is a long shot at best.

Here’s some more from out west:

With the news from earlier that Kobe Bryant wants Mike D’Antoni gone, it seems that he’s not the only Lakers player that would feel that way, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. He mentions that Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill would also like to see a new coach next season.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times supports Bryant calling out Lakers management. He hopes the star player’s comments bring about the needed changes in the organization. Plaschke also thinks that it’s a good thing for the team that Kobe is done for the year as it will help them secure a higher lottery pick. The article also questions the decision to re-sign Bryant when they did. Plaschke believes that Bryant would have signed for less now in order to free up cap space to help the team sign players to make a run during his final years.
Thunder GM Sam Presti shared his thoughts on tanking with Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Presti said, “Oddly enough, I think it’s a narrative that was created to tweak the league office, and they are showing to be quite reflexive to it. I’m actually a bit surprised they have fed into it and devoted so much public energy to it given the lack of evidence. The records of the teams in the bottom four of the league are in line with those over the last 20 seasons. If anything, they are actually slightly above those averages. I’m missing the epidemic on this, really. I would hope we’d focus our attention on a lot of the great things our players are ding and that the league has in place now.“

D-League Notes: Bowles, Williams, Nedovic

March 11th, 2014 at 8:31pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Iowa Energy – who share an NBA affiliation with the Bulls, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Pelicans, and Wizards – have acquired center Denzel Bowles (Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest reports). The 6’10 big man was previously a member of the Pelicans’ (then-Hornets) summer league team in 2012/13, where he averaged 7.2 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 16.1 MPG. Most recently, Bowles played in China before entering the D-League player pool.

Here are a few more NBDL-related notes worth passing along tonight:

The Thunder announced via press release that forward Reggie Williams has been recalled from the Tulsa 66ers. Oklahoma City assigned Williams to the D-League earlier today before announcing his recall. Williams has yet to see action with the Thunder on the 10-day deal he signed Thursday, but he had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in today’s matinee for Tulsa.
The Warriors announced earlier today that they’ve recalled Nemanja Nedovic from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBDL.
The Cavaliers have recalled Sergey Karasev from the Canton Charge, according to the team’s official Twitter account.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Fisher, Warriors, Barbosa

March 10th, 2014 at 9:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Thunder guard Derek Fisher has said that he plans on calling it quits after this season, but Kevin Durant plans on speaking with his family this offseason about allowing him to delay his retirement, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) adds that the last time she spoke to Fisher, he joked that retirement was still the plan but he’d “go to Montana for a week after the year, then decide.” More from the Western Conference..

The Warriors announced that they have assigned guard Nemanja Nedovic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League. Nedovic has appeared in seven games (five starts) for Santa Cruz this season, compiling averages of 15.6 points, 3.7 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.14 steals in 26.6 minutes.
Leandro Barbosa, who is recovering from a hand injury, doesn’t expect to return until the playoffs, the guard told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The 31-year-old is averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 18.4 minutes per game this season for the Suns.
The Blazers announced that they have assigned rookie guard Allen Crabbe to the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede. The 21-year-old is averaging 2.0 points, 0.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 4.9 minutes in 12 games for the Trail Blazers this season. Acquired by Portland in a draft day trade with Cleveland, Crabbe was the 31st overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft out of California