OKC Thunder Blog – Page 16 – NBA Blog

Raymond Felton and Dennis Schroder suspended one game each

Oklahoma City Thunder guards Raymond Felton and Dennis Schroder have each been suspended one game without pay for leaving the bench area during an altercation and participating in the altercation which spilled over into the spectator stands, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

As part of the same incident, Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez has been fined $25,000 for escalating the altercation, Thunder forward Jerami Grant has been fined $20,000 for escalating the altercation, and Bulls guard Kris Dunn has been fined $15,000 for instigating the altercation by shoving Thunder guard Russell Westbrook.

The incident, for which Dunn, Westbrook, Grant and Lopez each received technical fouls, occurred with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter of Oklahoma City’s 121-96 victory over Chicago on Dec. 17 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Felton and Schroder will serve their suspensions tonight when the Thunder visits the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.

On the Thunder rotation

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Oklahoma City Thunder (@okcthunder) on Dec 11, 2018 at 10:23am PST

The 17-9 Thunder are having a very good season, but like all teams, precise rotation patterns can always use an adjustment. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

Out of a timeout midway through the third quarter Wednesday, Thunder coach Billy Donovan finally went to Patrick Patterson at power forward. It was telling that he didn’t go to him earlier.

Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Jerami Grant had picked up his fifth foul, but Donovan instead went to Dennis Schroder, opting to play small by sliding Paul George to power forward. Nothing the Thunder was doing was working against the Pelicans’ front line in a 118-114 loss, so why not go the opposite way?

“It impacted us but it really didn’t make a difference up front who we had out there,” Donovan said of Grant’s foul trouble.

“Jerami is an important player and certainly I’d like to have him out there, but I thought their frontcourt impacted the game around the basket regardless of who we had out there.”

Full article

Thunder exercise option on Terrance Ferguson

The Oklahoma City Thunder exercised its third-year contract option on guard Terrance Ferguson.

Ferguson has appeared in 65 games (16 starts) with the Thunder, averaging 3.0 points and 0.8 rebounds in 12.9 minutes. The Tulsa native became the third player in NBA history to record 24 points and six three-pointers in his first career start on Jan. 3, 2018 at the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ferguson was originally selected 21st overall by the Thunder in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Thunder waive Abdul Gaddy, Scotty Hopson, Donte Grantham and Dez Wells

The Oklahoma City Thunder have waived guards Abdul Gaddy and Scotty Hopson, and forwards Donte Grantham, and Dez Wells.

Gaddy saw action in four preseason games and averaged 1.0 point, 1.8 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per game.

Grantham, Hopson and Wells were originally signed by the Thunder on October 10.

Thunder sign K.J. McDaniels, Bryce Alford, Richard Solomon and Abdul Gaddy

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guards Bryce Alford, Abdul Gaddy, forward K.J. McDaniels and center Richard Solomon.

The signings are likely non-guaranteed deals that merely bring the players to Thunder training camp.

Alford (6-3, 185) spent the 2017-18 season with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League where he made a league-leading 186 three-pointers on the year, good for the second-most in NBAGL history. In his time with the Blue, the UCLA product appeared in 50 games (27 starts) and averaged 15.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 30.9 minutes per game, shooting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Gaddy (6-3, 185) spent last season playing in Germany with s.Oliver Baskets where he appeared in 36 games (12 starts) and averaged 8.1 points, 4.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 0.92 steals in 25.0 minutes, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor. The Washington native also played three seasons in Latvia and Italy after spending the 2013-14 campaign with the Maine Red Claws of the NBAGL. In 46 games (32 starts) with Maine, he posted averages of 9.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 27.2 minutes while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 42.0 percent from long range.

McDaniels (6-6, 205) is a four-year NBA veteran, having spent time in Brooklyn, Houston and Philadelphia. In that time, he averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14.1 minutes and saw action in four playoff contests with Houston in 2016. The Clemson product most recently played for the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBAGL during the 2017-18 season, appearing in 31 games and averaging 16.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.19 steals and 1.32 blocks in 27.4 minutes while shooting 48.7 percent from the field.

Solomon (6-11, 235) played with Usak Sportif in Turkey for the 2017-18 campaign, where in 19 games (three starts), he averaged 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor. Additionally, the California native spent time in France and Japan following a one-year stint with the Oklahoma City Blue in 2014-15. He appeared in 28 games (one start) with the Blue, posting averages of 8.5 points on 61.8 percent shooting and 6.9 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per contest.

Thunder hire Chris Fisher as TV play-by-play announcer

The Oklahoma City Thunder have hired Chris Fisher as their new TV play-by-play announcer. He will join Michael Cage, Lesley McCaslin, Nick Gallo, Antonio Daniels and John Rhadigan for the Thunder’s 70 game broadcasts on FOX Sports Oklahoma during the 2018-19 season.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Fisher comes to Oklahoma City from Los Angeles where he has been the radio voice for USC basketball for eight years as well as host for Trojan football broadcasts. Fisher’s television work includes basketball play-by-play for FOX Sports, the PAC 12 Network and Time Warner Cable. During his career, Fisher also worked in broadcasting for minor league baseball teams in Oregon and Virginia.

“Chris is an exciting addition to the Thunder family and our broadcast team. He is considered a rising star in sports broadcasting and we are thrilled to welcome him,” said Dan Mahoney, Thunder VP of Broadcasting. “Besides being an experienced, talented broadcaster with a passion for basketball, Chris is a first-rate person. We believe that on and off the air he will be an excellent representative of our team, our community and our partners at FOX Sports Oklahoma.”

“The incredible relationship between the Thunder and its fans is well recognized in professional sports. I am thankful the organization has put its faith in me and I look forward to continuing to promote this amazing partnership,” Fisher said.

Fisher’s initial broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma will be Sunday, Oct. 7 as the Thunder hosts the Atlanta Hawks in a 2 p.m. preseason game at the BOK Center in Tulsa. He will join the rest of the broadcast crew for the three other preseason games which will be streamed live via the Thunder Mobile App. Fisher will also appear during the Thunder’s live Media Day show, beginning at 12:30 today streaming on the Thunder App.

The Thunder’s 2018-19 broadcast schedule includes 70 games on FOX Sports Oklahoma and 12 national exclusives on ABC or TNT. All games are broadcast on radio with Matt Pinto on WWLS 98.1 FM The Sports Animal and the full statewide Thunder Radio Network.

Thunder hire new TV play-by-play announcer

Today, Monday, features lots of NBA team media days around the league. Tons of news will come out, especially on which players gained or lost weight, bulked up, plus rotational news, etc. But there are also specific roles that various organizations must still fill, often in the broadcast department. Here’s the Oklahoman with some Thunder news:

On Thunder Media Day, the team fittingly unveiled its next television voice.

The Thunder has hired Chris Fisher as its new television play-by-play announcer. Fisher will be the lead voice for the Thunder’s 70 game broadcasts on Fox Sports Oklahoma during the 2018-19 season.

Fisher spent the last eight seasons as the play-by-play announcer for University of Southern California men’s basketball, as well as the halftime and postgame show host for USC football. The Los Angeles native’s play-by-play career spans more than a decade, with experience in Pac-12 sports as well as minor league baseball.

Full article

Russell Westbrook soon to the father of twin daughters

Russell Westbrook’s wife is expecting, and the baby will be… two babies. Twin daughters! Here’s the Oklahoman with more:

In a Thunder-produced video posted Tuesday on YouTube entitled “The Westbrook Family,” Russell Westbrook and his wife, Nina Westbrook, are talking about their home life with 1-year-old son Noah, when they drop a surprise about Nina’s pregnancy.

The Westbrooks are expecting twin girls.

“If Noah gets out of hand, they’ll be able to both jump on him at the same time,” Nina said.

Full article

Russell Westbrook undergoes knee surgery

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook has undergone arthroscopic procedure on his right knee.

The Thunder, Westbrook and his representation determined that after he experienced inflammation in his knee this past weekend that the best course of action was the proactive procedure, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache with Thunder medical personnel present at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

According to the Oklahoman, “Westbrook felt stiffness and experienced inflammation in his knee last weekend, and elected to have surgery as opposed to missing time deep into the season. The surgery, which the Thunder is calling a “proactive procedure,” was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache with Thunder medical personnel present at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.”

The seven-time All-Star averaged a triple-double for a second straight season during the 2017-18 campaign, with 25.4 points, a league-leading 10.3 assists and 10.1 rebounds, making him the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in multiple seasons.

More from the Oklahoman: “The surgery will inevitably raise questions about Westbrook’s durability going forward. He’s entering his 11th season, the first year of a five-year, $205 million contract extension he signed in 2017. Westbrook turns 30 on Nov. 12.”

Westbrook will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks, at which time a further update will be provided.

Thunder waive Kyle Singler

The Oklahoma City Thunder waived forward Kyle Singler today.

Singler appeared in 138 games (22 starts) over four years with the Thunder, recording averages of 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per contest.

Entering the 2018-19 NBA season, the Thunder are still built around Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Steven Adams. George could have left in free agency this summer but chose to re-sign for big money. Carmelo Anthony is gone. Defensive-minded Andre Roberson returns from injury in the backcourt. And Dennis Schroder is on board, definitely making the bench better.

Singler wasn’t going to receive many minutes. He could latch onto another NBA roster, at least for training camp.