Kenrich Williams Rumors

Kenrich Williams Undergoes Arthroscopic Procedure On Knee

September 30th, 2025 at 1:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

September 30: Williams will be reevaluated in approximately six-to-eight weeks, according to the Thunder (Twitter link via Derek Parker of Thunder On SI).

September 29: Thunder forward Kenrich Williams will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee today, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The team will provide a timeline for his recovery after the surgery is complete, Scotto adds.

Williams was an important reserve for Oklahoma City during its run to the NBA title last season. He appeared in 69 games, making seven starts and averaging 6.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.4 minutes per night with .483/.386/.718 shooting numbers.

Williams, 30, has been a mainstay in OKC since being acquired from New Orleans in 2020 in a four-team deal. Nicknamed “Kenny Hustle,” he’s a fan favorite for his aggressive style of play. He will make $7.163MM this season, and the team holds an option for the same amount in 2026/27.

The Thunder may have the deepest roster in the league, so there should be no concerns about surviving while Williams heals up. Still, it’s the second bit of bad injury news for the defending champs, who lost rookie center Thomas Sorber to a season-ending ACL tear earlier this month.

Thunder Notes: Ring Night, Durant, Hartenstein, Sorber

August 9th, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder fans shouldn’t get distracted by the presence of Kevin Durant at their ring night celebration, writes Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. According to a Friday report, Durant’s first game with the Rockets will kick off the new NBA season on October 21 at Oklahoma City, which is when the home team will be honored for capturing the city’s first-ever championship.

Durant has a long and complicated history with OKC fans. He was their first hero when the team moved from Seattle in 2008 and led them to the NBA Finals in 2012. However, a rift was created when he left for Golden State as a free agent four years later and he usually gets loudly booed during visits to Oklahoma City.

Stiles encourages fans to look past their feud with Durant for at least one night and savor the ring presentations and the raising of the championship banner. Stiles doesn’t expect forgiveness, but he said the crowd should celebrate the accomplishments of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates, who were able to accomplish something for the franchise that Durant never did.

There’s more on the Thunder:

After winning 68 games and bringing home the championship, there are reasons to believe OKC will be even better next season, Stiles suggests in a separate story. Fourteen players return from the title team, with first-round pick Thomas Sorber replacing Dillon Jones on the 15-man roster. The team figures to benefit from internal development with so many young players, plus 2024 lottery pick Nikola Topic will be active after missing all of last season due to injury. In addition, several contenders have taken a step back so the Thunder’s path through the regular season might be easier.
A $28.5MM team option on center Isaiah Hartenstein will be the Thunder’s major decision for next summer, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman states in a mailbag column. While it’s possible that Hartenstein could agree to a new deal with a smaller average annual value, Martinez notes that re-signing him may mean parting with Luguentz Dort ($17.7MM) and Kenrich Williams ($7.2MM), who will also be on team options. Martinez views Hartenstein as the most likely of the three to be let go because his salary is so large.
The Thunder can afford to be patient with Sorber if he’s not fully ready in time for training camp, Martinez adds in the same piece. The 19-year-old big man underwent surgery in February for a turf toe injury and missed all of Summer League, even though he was able to work out individually during practices. There has been no official word on Sorber’s status, and he said at a post-draft press conference that he was “just taking it day-by-day.”

Thunder Notes: SGA, Title Path, Market Size, Jalen Williams, K. Williams

June 19th, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Now leading Indiana 3-2 in the NBA Finals, the Thunder and their All-NBA point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are on the cusp of securing their first title in Oklahoma City. Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link) unpacks what that would mean for the team, Gilgeous-Alexander, All-NBA forward Jalen Williams, big man Chet Holmgren, team owner Clay Bennett, longtime general manager Sam Presti, head coach Mark Daigneault, and more.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s already one of the most NBA’s most efficient scoring guards, can still be maximized as a distributor by Oklahoma City, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Grange observes that, over the last 40 years, only Gilgeous-Alexander and Kevin Durant have scored 2,400 or more points with a true shooting mark of .630 or better, both during their respective MVP seasons for the Thunder.

The 6’6″ guard continues to try to thread the needle when it comes to looking to score and looking to involve other players in the offense. Grange notes that Gilgeous-Alexander notched eight assists in Game 2 and 10 more in Game 5, but has had just seven total dimes in the other three games of the series.

There’s more out of Oklahoma City:

The Thunder’s consistent organizational infrastructure has helped the club return to the NBA Finals and reach the brink of a championship, observes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Presti has held his gig for 18 seasons and counting, while Bennett has proven to be a stabilizing force on the business front. Slater notes that the Thunder, who won just 24 games three years ago, have managed a remarkable turnaround back to contention.
The Thunder have hardly let being the league’s third-smallest market franchise limit their aspirations, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Rival executives are convinced that Oklahoma City spends extensively on its front office— its 88 basketball operations staffers lap the big-market Lakers’ 56. Vorkunov also notes that the team’s front office stability has been appealing to help the team retain talent.
Hall of Fame former Chicago forward Scottie Pippen has noticed the parallels between himself and All-NBA Thunder wing Jalen Williams, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Both were two-way standouts who blossomed next to more established scoring guards en route to Finals appearances. “He is pretty special,” Pippen told MacMahon. “I’m enjoying watching him. I see a lot of me in him for sure. I see a guy rising to be one of the top players in this league. He’s definitely a player that is capable of being able to lead that franchise to multiple championships — him and Shai, of course.”
In another piece for The Oklahoman (subscriber link), Mussatto examines Kenrich Williams‘ natural fit in Oklahoma City. Williams has now been with the Thunder longer than every player on the roster aside from Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort. “He’s an old head,” Dort said of Williams. “He has an old soul. You feel it every time you’re around him. His leadership has been big for us on and off the court.” Williams is in the second year of a four-season, $27.2MM deal with the club. Thanks to a deep backcourt, Daigneault has been deploying Williams in spot minutes throughout the playoffs. He’s been averaging 8.1 MPG in the 14 games he’s seen action.

Thunder Notes: Holmgren, Caruso, K. Williams, SGA

May 21st, 2025 at 1:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chet Holmgren was expected to be a star for the rebuilding Thunder when he was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft, but it hasn’t fully worked out that way, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Instead, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander developed into an MVP candidate and Jalen Williams became an All-Star in his third NBA season.

Holmgren has accepted a complementary role in the offense as a floor-spacing big who can also score at the rim. His development has been hampered by injuries that caused him to miss his entire rookie year and another 50 games this season.

“It’s gone under the radar a little bit how hard it is to be a guy, then sit out for a couple months and have to integrate yourself into a team that has the best record in the NBA and not step on nobody’s toes, but also sticking to yourself,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Holmgren. “That’s a hard position to be in. The way he’s handled it has been special. I don’t know if he gets enough credit.”

Slater points out that Holmgren was the only prominent center who was on the court for the most important stretch of Tuesday’s Western Conference Finals opener, as both Isaiah Hartenstein and Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert sat out the entire fourth quarter. Oklahoma City was able to leverage the smaller lineups to pull away for a 114-88 victory.

Holmgren finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes, but he wasn’t happy with how he started the game.

“I was out there stinking it up in the first half,” he said. “The game’s not gonna reward you for that. I feel like I turned up the intensity, played harder, was able to find a little more gas in the tank and really exert that.”

There’s more on the Thunder:

After matching up with Nikola Jokic in the second round, it looks like Alex Caruso will be spending a lot of time guarding Julius Randle, Slater adds. The 6’5″, 186-pound Caruso said the idea of facing bigger, stronger opponents doesn’t intimidate him. “Like or dislike, it’s my job,” he said. “Get stops. Either the game tells me to battle 300-pound guys or get over screens on the perimeter.”
Slater notes that OKC got a boost in Game 1 from Kenrich Williams, who had eight points and three rebounds in 10 minutes and made both of this three-point attempts. It marked the first rotation minutes in the playoffs for Williams, who was used ahead of third-string center Jaylin Williams, and coach Mark Daigneault said the move “breathed life” into his team.
Serving as a guest commentator for ESPN, Michael Malone said Gilgeous-Alexander “showed why he’s the MVP” (YouTube link). It’s a surprising comment from the former Nuggets coach, who spent years with Jokic, SGA’s chief rival for this year’s Most Valuable Player honors.

Trade Rumors: Ingram, Pistons, K. Williams, Lakers

January 18th, 2025 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

There hasn’t been much chatter on the rumor mill about Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram in recent weeks, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, Fischer suggests there’s still a chance that Ingram could return prior to the trade deadline from his ankle injury, giving potential suitors a chance to take a look at him for multiple games leading up to February 6.

Even if that happens, there’s certainly no guarantee Ingram will be moved this season. Fischer hears that the Pelicans – like the Heat with Jimmy Butler – don’t mind postponing their decision on Ingram until the offseason, since they’re confident they’ll still have a good deal of leverage at that time, even with the forward entering unrestricted free agency.

Ingram would likely need New Orleans’ help to get to a preferred destination via sign-and-trade, so the Pelicans could decide at that point whether they want to work out a deal with a new team or simply let the former All-Star walk for the sake of cap flexibility.

It’s also worth noting that, unlike the Butler situation in Miami, the relationship between Ingram and the Pelicans hasn’t deteriorated to the point where a divorce seems inevitable — Fischer hears that New Orleans remains open to the idea of re-signing Ingram beyond this season if the two sides can agree on a price, which didn’t happen last season when they discussed an extension.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Although their unexpected success this season has the Pistons reconsidering how they might use their remaining $14MM in cap room at the trade deadline, Fischer says Detroit has left potential trade partners with the impression that a “truly massive move” isn’t in the team’s plans. In other words, while the Pistons may decide to use that remaining cap space on a player who can help them this season rather than someone on an unwanted contract who would be immediately waived, they’re likely not looking to make significant changes to their roster.
Within an item about why the Thunder probably aren’t a serious suitor for Cameron Johnson, Fischer notes that there’s plenty of “mutual fondness” between the team and forward Kenrich Williams, who is considered a strong culture-setter and probably won’t be included in a trade as simple salary filler. Williams has played a regular rotation role again this season and has been effective, with 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds on .496/.386/.933 shooting in 13.8 minutes per game.
After acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith from Brooklyn last month, the Lakers don’t appear likely to make a major move at the trade deadline, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (YouTube link). “My sense lately, that I’ve been hearing, has been trending more toward them making a smaller move and probably using second-round draft capital,” Buha said (hat tip to Mike Chiari of Bleacher Report). “The issue there is that their second-round draft capital isn’t really worth that much, because it’s their (2025) pick and the Clippers’ (2025) pick. And both of those picks are projected right now to be between 45 and 52, depending on where those two teams finish in the standings. So those aren’t the sexiest second-round picks. You typically want a first half of the second round-type pick.”

Northwest Notes: DiVincenzo, Edwards, Grant, D. Jones

November 27th, 2024 at 11:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Donte DiVincenzo‘s rocky start with the Timberwolves reached a new low when he was benched Tuesday night for the end of an overtime loss to Houston, writes Jenna Lemoncelli of The New York Post. DiVincenzo was an important contributor for the Knicks in their run to the playoffs last season, but he hasn’t been able to settle into that same role since being traded to Minnesota shortly before the start of training camp.

DiVincenzo is averaging 9.2 PPG while shooting 35.1% from the field and 32.2% from beyond the arc, a significant drop-off from what he did in New York. His playing time has been inconsistent, and he’s already been the subject of trade rumors barely a month into the season. He left Tuesday’s game for good midway through the third quarter and wound up with just three points in 15 minutes.

However, in his latest Substack column, Marc Stein reported that the Wolves tried for more than a year to land DiVincenzo and have no interest in listening to trade offers for him now.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Frustrations in the Twin Cities continued to grow on Wednesday night as Sacramento staged a late rally and handed the Timberwolves their fourth consecutive loss. Anthony Edwards believes there’s a problem with the team’s attitude toward the game, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “We got up and everybody cheering and f—ing hype,” Edwards said. “We get down again and don’t nobody say nothing. That’s the definition of a frontrunner. We as a team, including myself, we all was frontrunners tonight.”
Jerami Grant is the Trail Blazers player most likely to be traded before the February deadline, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report states in a mailbag column. Highkin picks Grant because at 30 he’s too old to be part of the team’s long-term foundation, but he’s still productive enough to help a contender. Highkin adds that Grant is a “known quantity” around the league, and his contract will become more reasonable once money from the new television rights deal starts coming in and the salary cap rises.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault should stop using rookie swingman Dillon Jones as a small-ball center, argues Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. Stiles contends that Jones hasn’t displayed an ability to handle that role and advocates for those minutes going to Kenrich Williams.

Western Notes: LeBron, Booker, Saric, Nnaji, Williams

November 14th, 2024 at 10:53pm CST by Earnest Marshall

A story seemingly as old as time, or at least since 2003: LeBron James is playing at an All-Star level. Just a little over a month from his 40th birthday, James is averaging 24.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game while shooting 52.4% from the field and 45.9% on three-pointers.

Still, James continues to hint that retirement isn’t all that far off his radar. According to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, James said he doesn’t expect to play much longer.

“It’s the mind,” James said of what will determine when he retires. “Wherever my mind is, is how the rest of my body is going to go, whatever the case may be. I’m not going to play that much longer, to be completely honest. One year, two years, whatever the case may be. I said the other night that I’m not playing until the wheels fall off. I’m not. I’m not going to be that guy. I’m not going to be the guy disrespecting the game because I just want to be out on the floor.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Suns are off to a 9-3 start, but Devin Booker‘s play has been up and down. He scored 31 points on Tuesday in a win but followed that up with just 18 points in a loss on Wednesday. Still, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports writes that there’s no reason to worry about Booker. He’s shooting just 43.4% from the field after connecting on 49.2% of his shots last season, but he’ll almost assuredly bounce back to his normal efficiency, Bourguet opines.
After playing in each of Denver’s first five games, Dario Saric is now out of the rotation. The Nuggets have won five straight games since benching Saric following a 2-3 start. Head coach Michael Malone confirmed the move, according to The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando (Twitter link). “I don’t expect Dario to be walking around here with a smile and pom-poms like he loves this,” Malone said. “But to his credit, he’s been the ultimate teammate.“
On the other hand, Zeke Nnaji played only once in the first five games but has been part of the rotation during the Nuggets‘ five-game win streak. Malone addressed what Nnaji’s been bringing to the rotation, per Durando (Twitter link). “I think he’s been solid,” Malone said. “I think he’s going to continue to get an opportunity. He’s gotta go out there and just try to finish around the basket, knock down open threes. And most importantly obviously he’s gotta be the anchor of our defense if he’s playing backup five.“
The Thunder have been playing 6’5″ forward Jalen Williams at center while dealing with injuries to Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. Without their traditional big men, their small-ball lineups are causing havoc, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman writes. They forced 23 turnovers against New Orleans on Wednesday. Kenrich Williams also saw minutes at the five off the bench and will continue to be leaned on moving forward, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated writes.

Thunder’s Kenrich Williams Cleared For Season Debut

November 11th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder forward Kenrich Williams is no longer listed on the team’s injury report, meaning he’ll be available to make his season debut on Monday vs. the Clippers after missing the team’s first 10 games of the season (hat tip to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman).

Williams underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his right knee in mid-September, sidelining him for training camp, the preseason, and the start of the regular season. He was assigned to the G League for practice purposes over the weekend, indicating that he was nearing a return.

Williams, who will turn 30 next month, saw his playing time decline last season for the Thunder after averaging 22.0 minutes per game in his first three years in Oklahoma City. In 69 outings in 2023/24, the 6’6″ forward averaged 4.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in just 14.9 minutes per contest.

A solid defender who has made 38.8% of his attempts from beyond the arc since joining the Thunder in 2020, Williams slid down the depth chart as a result of younger players like Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, and Cason Wallace taking on increased roles.

There’s no guarantee that Williams will actually see the floor on Monday despite being available. However, a couple factors are working in his favor. Not only is it the second night of a back-to-back set for Oklahoma City, but the club is missing its top three big men (Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams) due to injuries and could use another healthy body in its frontcourt.

Although Williams entered the league as more of a wing, Basketball-Reference’s play-by-play data indicates he spent 93% of his minutes last season as a power forward or center. That data is somewhat subjective, but with three centers unavailable, the Thunder could certainly turn to Williams as a de facto big man in small-ball lineups.

Northwest Notes: Braun, R. Williams, Mitchell, K. Williams

November 10th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Rory Maher

Third-year wing Christian Braun is learning from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in his first season as a full-time Nuggets starter, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Murray, whose locker is next to Braun’s, often tells the 23-year-old to stay in attack mode.

“‘Keep shooting the ball. Keep being aggressive. Get up more attempts,’” Braun told The Post. “Constantly. When he’s hurt. When he’s not playing. He’s, before the game, telling me he wants me to do this. During the game, he sees this. He’ll point it out. … It’s not just shooting. He wants to challenge me. ‘Hey, I want you to pick this guy up full court.’”

Braun has been one of the bright spots of the early portion of the season in Denver, establishing new career highs in several categories (16.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 1.0 BPG on an elite .558/.500/.818 shooting line in 35.3 MPG) while being tasked with slowing down the opposing teams’ top perimeter scorer. He has also posted a positive plus/minus in each of the Nuggets’ nine games thus far.

Here are a few more notes from the Northwest Division:

In his first regular season game in a little over a year, Trail Blazers big man Robert Williams made an immediate impact, per Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (subscriber link). Williams only played six games last season due to a serious knee injury, then was slowed by a hamstring strain in training camp. In Friday’s loss to Minnesota, the 27-year-old notched 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 17 minutes, only missing one field goal attempt and converting his first career three-pointer. “Defensively, he’s all over the place,” head coach Chauncey Billups said. “He’s vocal. He’s talking. His activity, Rebounds, blocked shots, he kind of does it all. He’s got a knack for it. And then on the other end, you never look at him as a three-point threat, but he stepped up and knocked that one down.”
Williams’ return was obviously a welcome sight, but it will also impact the Trail Blazers‘ rotation. Minnesota’s lineup features plenty of size, so Billups felt comfortable playing Williams alongside Deandre Ayton or Donovan Clingan. However, that won’t always be the case, Fentress writes. “There’ll be some nights that it doesn’t happen, that we won’t play that way based on matchups,” Billups said. “But some teams, they present opportunities for you to do so.”
Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, the No. 38 overall pick of June’s draft, continues to impress in his rookie season, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Mitchell, who has played in each of the Thunder’s nine games during their 8-1 start, recorded 12 points (on 5-of-6 shooting), two rebounds, and career highs of seven assists and three steals in Friday’s victory vs. Houston.
Thunder swingman Kenrich Williams, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, is making progress toward a return. He was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue — the Thunder’s G League affiliate — for a practice on Saturday before being recalled, Stiles tweets.

Injury Notes: Bane, Smart, Banchero, LaVine, Towns, More

October 31st, 2024 at 5:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies‘ injury list continues to grow, as the club has ruled out Desmond Bane (right oblique strain) and Marcus Smart (right ankle sprain) for Thursday’s contest vs. Milwaukee after they sustained injuries in the first game of their back-to-back set on Wednesday against Brooklyn (Twitter link).

Head coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters, including Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), that both players underwent imaging on Thursday, but that the team is still waiting to get the results and to speak to doctors about the severity of the injuries.

As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes tweets, oblique strains like the one Bane suffered typically cost players multiple games — the average time missed with an oblique strain, according to Stotts’ injury database, is 11.6 days (4.2 games).

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Magic forward Paolo Banchero is off to a hot start this season, averaging 29.0 points and 8.8 rebounds in his first five games, but he may not be able to suit up on Friday in a postseason rematch. According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Banchero has been diagnosed with a right abdominal strain and is listed as questionable to play vs. Cleveland.
Further testing confirmed that Zach LaVine has sustained a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network, who tweets that the Bulls guard is considered questionable to play against Brooklyn on Friday.
On the heels of his best game of the season, Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns is being listed as questionable for Friday’s game in Detroit due to a sprained left wrist.
Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (right shoulder strain) and guard CJ McCollum (right adductor soreness) will be reevaluated on Friday in New Orleans, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link), but the duo has already been ruled out for tomorrow’s game vs. Indiana, the club announced in a press release.
Thunder forward Kenrich Williams, who underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his knee in September, is making progress toward a return. He was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue on Wednesday to practice with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, according to the team.