Category Archives: News

News involving the Thunder (transactions, legal transgressions, etc)

Terrance Ferguson gains clearance from FIBA. Why hasn’t he signed yet?

News, Offseason Beat, ,
ferguson
Alex Roig – NTTB

The long-standing national nightmare is over with. It was once thought that a protracted stand-off would lead to sanctions and eventually war. But cooler heads prevailed and Terrance Ferguson was finally granted clearance from FIBA. That clearance will allow Ferguson to sign his rookie contract. Every other first rounder from the 2017 Draft has already signed their contracts.

But this is where it gets weird. According to Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript, Ferguson has been cleared since July 14th. So why hasn’t he signed his contract? There could be several theories as to why Ferguson has yet to put pen to paper.  Continue reading Terrance Ferguson gains clearance from FIBA. Why hasn’t he signed yet? →

The Thunder officially introduce their new uniforms

News, Offseason Beat, , , , ,

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The SnapChat account for the Oklahoma City Thunder gave a preview of what the new Nike jerseys will look like. The two jerseys pictured were what used to be known as the home whites and the road blues. The home whites will now be known as the Association Edition jerseys, while the road blues will now be known as the Icon Edition jerseys.

This upcoming season, the home team will choose what jersey they will be wearing and the road team will then have to wear a contrasting jersey. The home and away aspect of the jerseys will be going away.

As far as the jerseys go, if you have seen the screen capture of the upcoming NBA 2K18 game with Paul George, then you have already seen what the Association uniform will look like. Here’s the Thunder’s SnapChat via UpTheThunder.

Each team will have four jerseys to choose from. The Player’s Mindset jersey and the Community jersey will be unveiled at a later date. Nike will officially take over as the NBA’s outfitter on October 1st, 2017.

Carmelo Anthony and the Thunder have a mutual interest. Is it realistic?

News, Offseason Beat, Trade Talk, , ,

anthony westbrook

At around 11 am on Monday, Bill Simmons of The Ringer decided to drop this little tidbit on the masses:

First off, what the hell does circling each other mean? I remember when I was in 5th grade, I got into a little tiff with another guy on the playground during recess and we connected at the shoulders and kept circling around talking trash to each other until our friends intervened. You know the whole, “Do something!”, “No, you do something!” type elementary brawl. So is that what the Thunder and Anthony are doing? I doubt it.

Instead, I think this is just a case of someone within the Syracuse inner circle putting out that Weaver and Anthony have spoken and the Thunder are interested if Anthony is interested. Nothing more, nothing less. If anything, I think this is more of a play by people in Anthony’s camp to leverage Houston into actually getting the deal done. Continue reading Carmelo Anthony and the Thunder have a mutual interest. Is it realistic? →

Thunder sign Yannis Morin

G-League/OKC Blue, News, Offseason Beat, ,


After signing Dakari Johnson yesterday, the Oklahoma City Thunder have now signed 24 year old French big man Yannis Morin. The news was first reported by international website Sportando. 

Morin is an athletic 6’11” PF/C who can develop into a prototypical big man for the pace and space NBA. He moves well without the ball and can even float out to 3-point territory to space the floor. He’ll initially to be a rim runner, but he has good mechanics on his shot and may develop into a pick and pop option. He’s a little on the light side and may need some time in the weight room before he has an impact in the NBA. 

Morin played with Le Havre of the French Pro B League last season averaging 6.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He played with the Thunder in this recent summer league, appearing in 4 games. Morin was scheduled to play with Chalons-Reims of the LNB Pro A league next season, but opted out of his deal to join the Thunder. 

According to Steve Kyler of BasketballInsiders.com, the thinking is that this might be a 2-way contract to allow Morin to develop in the G-League with the OKC Blue. 

Here’s a highlight of Moran to get to know him a little. 

Thunder sign Dakari Johnson

G-League/OKC Blue, News, Offseason Beat, ,

dakari johnson

According to Shams Charania of the Vertical, the Oklahoma City Thunder have signed center Dakari Johnson to a guaranteed two year deal. Johnson, who was drafted by the Thunder in the 2nd round of the 2015 NBA Draft, has been playing on their D-League affiliate for the past two seasons.

Johnson is a big, burly center in the Kendrick Perkins mold. He’s a legit 7-footer with a 7’2″ wingspan. He played two seasons at Kentucky, mainly at back-up center, averaging 15.2 minutes, 5.8 points, and 4.3 rebounds over 78 games. On a different team he may have had better numbers, but playing for Kentucky meant Johnson was usually lower on the depth chart. In Johnson’s two seasons in Kentucky, the players ahead of him were Julius Randle, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Willie Cauley-Stein. All three of those players were selected in the Top-10 of their respective drafts.  Continue reading Thunder sign Dakari Johnson →

Thunder re-sign Nick Collison

News, Offseason Beat, ,
collison kanter
Jim Mone – AP Photo

The Oklahoma City Thunder re-signed 14-year veteran Nick Collison to a one year deal on Friday afternoon. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but it is expected the deal is for the veteran minimum. Shams Charania of The Vertical was the first to report the deal, also adding that this will be Collison’s final season in the NBA.

In trading for Paul George and signing Patrick Patterson and Raymond Felton, this has been a whirlwind of an off-season for the Thunder. But re-signing Collison brings back a player that has been with the organization his entire career, and is the only other player besides Russell Westbrook to have been on the Thunder since they landed in Oklahoma City in 2008.

Collison played in 20 games last season, averaging 6.4 minutes, 1.7 points, and 1.6 rebounds. During exit interviews in April, Collison was asked if he planned to be back the next season. Collison’s response was, “I plan to play, for sure. I wasn’t sure going into the season how I would feel at the end of the year. But I still enjoy playing. I enjoy being around the group. I enjoy being on the team. And I still feel I have a lot to offer.”

Paul George Arrives into Oklahoma City

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Paul George arrived into Will Rogers airport with much fanfare. Oklahoma City Thunder Storm Chaser and airport pep rally organizer Devin Newsom held another successful airport gathering. He supplied the party goers with free PG shirts,  pizza, and water. 

About 200 fans braved the blazing heat to show George a little OKC love. George arrived about an hour later than scheduled, but that didn’t matter. Sam Presti and many Thunder staffers were there to greet him when he arrived. 

When he got off the plane with his gray OKC Thunder hat, the place erupted with cheer. George walked along the barrier fence giving high fives and wearing a huge smile on his face. After a couple minutes of showing fans some love, he got into an SUV with his family and was whisked off likely to the practice facility. 

Paul George is here. Will he be here this time next year? That remains to be seen. If nothing else, this was a great start. 

Thunder sign Raymond Felton

News, Offseason Beat, Uncategorized,

raymond felton

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed free agent point guard Raymond Felton to a one year deal on Friday. According to Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript, the deal is for the veteran minimum, which is around $2.3 million.

The 12-year vet played for the Los Angeles Clippers last year, primarily as Chris Paul’s back-up. He played in 80 games, starting in 11 of them. He averaged 6.7 points and 2.4 assists on 43% shooting from the field and 32% shooting from deep. Felton was a key stabilizing figure in the Clippers’ locker room, during a season that saw both Paul and Blake Griffin go down with significant injuries.

This will be the 7th team Felton has played for in his career. He will almost assuredly slide into the back-up point guard spot ahead of 2nd year player Semaj Christon, who’s team option the Thunder have yet to pick up. The Thunder have until July 15th to pick up Christon’s option. With this signing, the Thunder have 12 guaranteed contracts totaling about $125 million. The luxury tax line for the 2017-18 season sits at $119 million.

Paul George traded to the Thunder

Free Agency, News, Trade Talk, , , , ,
westbrook george
Sarah Phipps – The Oklahoman

Just as I was about to release a primer for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s foray into this summer’s free agency, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN dropped this bomb:

It was just 12 days ago that George put out the feelers that he wanted out of Indiana and was not going to re-sign with the Pacers when his contract expired after the 2017-18 season. I wrote about the Thunder’s chances of obtaining George when the statement came out. He included in his statement that he had an eye towards signing in his native Los Angeles when he became a free agent. That statement was released a full three days before the draft. The timing of the statement was no accident.  Continue reading Paul George traded to the Thunder →

Russell Westbrook wins the 2016-17 NBA MVP

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The NBA held their inaugural NBA Awards Show and the Oklahoma City Thunder racked up their fair share of accolades. First up, Russell Westbrook won the Best Style award voted on by the fans. I mean, was there even a debate with this award. This was the first of three fan awards the Thunder would win.

Next up, Victor Oladipo won Dunk of the Year for his viscous two-handed double pump on Dwight Howard in Atlanta. The dunk was so savage that Hawks’ management moved Howard to Charlotte under the assumed identity of Hight Doward.

The third fan award won by the Thunder went to Russell Westbrook who won Gamewinner of the Year for his 35 foot bomb in Denver that knocked the Nuggets out of playoff contention and capped off Westbrook’s record setting 42nd triple double.  Continue reading Russell Westbrook wins the 2016-17 NBA MVP →