Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Harkless, Clark, Bynum, Oladipo

February 5th, 2013 at 7:39pm CST by Alex Lee

With only five games on the NBA schedule for Tuesday night, let's round up some odds and ends from around the league here:

Now getting extended minutes, Magic rookie Maurice Harkless – acquired from Philadelphia in the Dwight Howard trade – has begun to show the skills that made him the 15th overall selecton last June, writes Josh Robbins of Orlando Sentinel. Coupled with the pleasant surprise that is Nikola Vucevic, Harkless' development makes the haul that Orlando received for Howard look better and better, especially considering past deals involving a departing superstar.
Another forgotten piece of the Howard deal, Earl Clark has thrived since joining the Lakers, writes Josh Newman of Zags Blog. Now in his fourth year out of Lousiville, Clark has seen his minutes double in Los Angeles.
Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops calls the Pistons' Will Bynum a prime trade target, mentioning the Thunder as an ideal candidates for a match. With James Harden in Houston and Eric Maynor and Reggie Jackson unlikely solutions to spelling Russell Westbrook, Sheridan says Bynum would be a better pick up for Oklahoma City than Derek Fisher was a year ago.
Scheduled for June 27, the NBA Draft is just less than five months away. But as the NCAA calendar moves towards March, draft talk should start to heat up. Jeff Goodman, CBS Sports' NCAA guru, provides his updated prospect rankings as well as a mock draft.
Three days following Indiana's thrilling win over No. 1 Michigan, Draft Express publishes a scouting report on Hoosiers' guard Victor Oladipo. Previously thought to be a defensive specialist, the ultra-athletic Oladipo has nearly ensured himself a first round grade with a breakout offensive performance as a junior.

D-League Moves: Thunder, Mavs, Rockets, Suns

January 28th, 2013 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today's D-League assignments and recalls, with the latest moves at the top of the page:

Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton, who have been shuttled back and forth between the Thunder and the Tulsa 66ers all season, were recalled from the D-League, the club announced today in a press release.
The Mavericks have re-assigned Jared Cunningham to the D-League, according to a team release. The move will give Cunningham a chance to play more minutes, as he'd only appeared briefly in one game for the Mavs since being recalled from the Texas Legends on December 31st.
The Rockets have recalled rookie big man Donatas Motiejunas from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced in a press release. Motiejunas had been on his third assignment to the D-League, where he has averaged 20.3 PPG and 9.7 RPG for the Vipers in seven games this season.
Diante Garrett has been recalled from the D-League by the Suns, the team announced today (Twitter link). In seven games for the Bakersfield Jam since being assigned to the team earlier this month, Garrett averaged 15.1 PPG and 7.4 APG, shooting a blistering 62.5% on three-pointers.
The Nets have recalled Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor from the Springfield Armor, the team announced today in a press release. Both players have played extremely well in their two D-League stints this season, with Shengelia averaging 28.3 PPG, 13.7 RPG, and 7.0 APG in three games, while Taylor has recorded 26.5 PPG and 7.5 APG in four contests. However, Shengelia is currently out indefinitely with concussion symptoms.

Odds & Ends: Kevin Martin, Kenyon Martin, Celtics

January 24th, 2013 at 9:06pm CST by Daniel Seco

With the NBA trading deadline mere weeks away, teams such as the Cavs and Rockets are among those aggressively pursuing ways to make roster upgrades midseason, writes Sam Amico of FOXSportsOhio.com. Let's catch up around the league on the latest whispers, rumors and news…

Thunder veteran Kevin Martin sees himself returning to Oklahoma City next season as he hits free agency this summer, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. "I love playing with this group of guys. The organization is great to me. The community has been great to me. It's the happiest I have been during my NBA career."
Former NBA star Kenyon Martin's looking for a new home, specifically with the Knicks, but roster space and salary demands remain issues unless injured Rasheed Wallace decides to call it a season, says Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers spoke on ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption" on Wednesday about his outburst after Sunday's game. The good folks at ESPNBoston.com have a partial transcript of the conversation for your perusal.

Northwest Notes: McCants, T’Wolves, Thunder

January 23rd, 2013 at 6:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that former Timberwolves first-round pick Rashad McCants might be on his way back to the D-League's Texas Legends. The 28-year-old, who averaged nearly 20 PPG in China this year, played for the Mavericks affiliate in their debut season. Here's more on the T'Wolves and the rest of the Northwest..

The Thunder will pursue small forward Pete Mickeal when his contract with FC Barcelona is over, according to a report from TuBasket.com passed along by HoopsHype. Mickeal was drafted by Dallas in the second-round of the 2000 Draft but was waived that summer.
The T'Wolves were in on Australian center Aron Baynes early on before the Spurs scooped him up, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. San Antonio won out thanks to their personal connections with the big man in conjunction with their offer of a guaranteed deal.
The Raja Bell saga has gone on for months in Utah but his reps are hopeful that a settlement can be struck at some point, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The Jazz and Bell haven't made much progress on a buyout over the last month.

D-League Moves: Lamb, Orton, Jones, Tyler

January 21st, 2013 at 9:10pm CST by Luke Adams

We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

The Thunder have re-assigned Jeremy Lamb and Daniel Orton to the Tulsa 66ers, tweets Adam Zagoria.
The Cavaliers have re-assigned Kevin Jones to the Canton Charge, the team announced today in a press release. Jones has seen limited action in Cleveland this season, but was very productive in five games for the Charge, averaging 23.6 PPG and 12.6 RPG.
Jeremy Tyler has been recalled from the D-League, the Warriors announced today in a press release. Tyler was sent to Santa Cruz yesterday and helped the Warriors' affiliate pull out a 96-95 win over the Erie BayHawks.
The Bucks have recalled Doron Lamb from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the club announced today (Twitter link). After being assigned to the D-League for the first time on January 12th, the rookie appeared in two games, averaging just 7.5 PPG while shooting 22.7% from the floor.

Players Still Ineligible To Be Traded

January 15th, 2013 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

Today is January 15th, which means that a number of players who had been ineligible to be traded until this point are now free to be moved by their respective teams. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors outlined last month, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Ersan Ilyasova, and Jeff Green are among the players who weren't eligible to be dealt until today.

However, in addition to rules that keeps players from being traded until December 15th or January 15th, the CBA also includes a stipulation that a team must have a player on its roster for three months before being able to trade him. That means guys who have signed contracts since October 15th are still ineligible to be dealt.

Here are the players who can't be traded quite yet, along with the dates they'll become trade-eligible:

Leandro Barbosa (Celtics): January 18th
Daniel Orton (Thunder): January 31st
Shaun Livingston (Cavaliers): February 15th

Because the trade deadline arrives on February 21st, players signed after November 21st won't become trade-eligible until after the season. Here are the guys who fit that description:

Jeff Adrien (Bobcats)
James Anderson (Rockets)
Patrick Beverley (Rockets)
Daequan Cook (Bulls)
Kevin Jones (Cavaliers)
Mickael Pietrus (Raptors)
Garrett Temple (Wizards)

In addition to recent signees, players who were claimed off amnesty waivers last July are also ineligible to be traded until July 2013. Some amnesty victims, like Andray Blatche, cleared waivers without being claimed and signed new contracts, so they're trade-eligible now, but the following players can't be moved this season:

Elton Brand (Mavericks)
Brendan Haywood (Bobcats)
Luis Scola (Suns)

Finally, players on 10-day contracts, such as Dominic McGuire, Maalik Wayns, and Josh Harrellson, also won't be trade-eligible at any point this season, even if they eventually receive rest-of-season contracts.

D-League Moves: Melo, Lamb, Wroten

January 11th, 2013 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

We'll track Friday's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any additional moves being added to the top of the page throughout the day:

The Celtics have re-assigned Fab Melo to their D-League affiliate, the club announced today in a press release. Melo had been recalled from the Maine Red Claws last week to undergo treatment for his concussion from Boston's training staff. It appears he's been cleared to return to action for the Red Claws.
Jeremy Lamb has been recalled from the Tulsa 66ers by the Thunder, the team announced today in a press release. In 11 games (all starts) in the D-League this season, Lamb has averaged 21.5 PPG on .422/.295/.909 shooting.
The Grizzlies have sent Tony Wroten back to their D-League affiliate, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. For Wroten, the 25th overall pick in last June's draft, it's his third stint this season with the Reno Bighorns. In eight games with the Bighorns, the 19-year-old has averaged 13.6 PPG and 3.8 APG in 24.6 minutes per contest.

Northwest Notes: Williams, Lillard, Thunder

January 10th, 2013 at 9:23pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest links and updates in the Northwest Division on Thursday:

Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press praises Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams for taking advantage of the opportunity created by Kevin Love's latest hand injury.
Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News writes that Oakland native Damian Lillard is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year with the Blazers.
Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman reports that Eric Maynor has no interest in a D-League assignment despite falling out of the Thunder's rotation as backup point guard.
Mayberry also has a quote from Nick Collison, who cites his ability to take a lesser role as a major reaso he's been able to stay relevant in the NBA.

Sixers Considered Trading For Eric Maynor

January 7th, 2013 at 8:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers have explored a trade for Thunder reserve point guard Eric Maynor, a source tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The Sixers are expected to re-sign Maalik Wayns to a 10-day contract tomorrow after waiving him and his partially guaranteed contract yesterday, but have reportedly been seeking an upgrade at backup point guard, where Wayns and Royal Ivey have both seen time.

"We need to see if we can find maybe another guy who can come in and play pick-and-roll and do some things for us when (starter) Jrue (Holiday) is off the floor," coach Doug Collins said, as Mitchell documents. "We really take a hit when Jrue is off the floor because we don’t have the personnel to do it with the (second) unit."

Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com noted that Collins is also looking for a point guard who can better defend the pick-and-roll. It's not clear exactly when the Sixers looked into Maynor, or whether they continue to entertain the possibility.

Maynor played only nine games last season before tearing his ACL, and since his return this year, he has struggled to regain his role as the primary backup to Russell Westbrook, as the Thunder have been going with Reggie Jackson in that role of late. Oklahoma City passed on an extension for Maynor before the season, so he's scheduled to hit restricted free agency in the summer. For his career, the former 20th overall pick has averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 assists in 14.7 minutes per game.

Cavs Waive Samardo Samuels, Nets And Thunder Interested?

January 6th, 2013 at 3:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:49pm: Sam Amico of FoxSportsOhio.com reports that the Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder may have interest in signing Samuels.

12:14pm: The Cavs have waived power forward Samardo Samuels, the team announced. The team had until Monday to place him on waivers in order to avoid paying his minimum-salary contract for the rest of the season. The move leaves the Cavs with 14 players, 11 of whom are on fully guaranteed deals. Daniel Gibson's contract is partially guaranteed for $2.49MM, while Shaun Livingston and Kevin Jones are without any guarantee.

Samuels' deal included a partial guarantee of $200K, but since he's already earned more than that amount this season, Cleveland doesn't owe him any more money. He was in the final season of a three-year pact he signed with the team after going undrafted in 2010 out of Louisville. The 6'9" native of Jamaica averaged 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game for his career, but his numbers have steadily declined since his rookie season. This year, he's down to 3.2PPG, 1.2RPG and 10.9MPG.

Samuels was caught up in a minutes crunch at his position, where he was competing with Jones, Luke Walton and Jon Leuer for playing time behind starter Tristan Thompson. If they want to give him another shot without committing to him for the entire season, the Cavs could opt to bring him back on a 10-day contract, which can be signed starting Monday.