Category: OKC Thunder Blog

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Rajon Rondo fined by NBA for incidents in Lakers vs Thunder game

The NBA on Saturday announced that they have fined Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo $35,000 for the following reasons:

– Making unsportsmanlike physical contact with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder

– Verbal abuse of a game official

– Failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection.

Rondo received a Flagrant Foul 2 and was ejected, early 4th quarter this past Thursday, on the road in OKC.

A video clip of the incident is here: http://www.nba.com/video/2019/11/23/lal-okc-rajon-rondo-112219

The Lakers are off to a fantastic start this season. Through yesteday’s games, they have a league-best 13-2 record and are currently riding a six-game winning streak.

Rondo has played in just five games this season, entirely off the bench as a reserve, averaging 7.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.6 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game.

 

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No Paul George for Thunder tonight vs Suns

At 9 p.m. tonight, the OKC Thunder face the Suns in Phoenix. But they’ll be doing so without not just one of their best players, but one of the league’s best players so far this season. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

For the first time this season, the Thunder will be without Paul George.

Thunder coach Billy Donovan announced Friday morning that George would miss tonight’s game against the Suns with a right quad contusion. Donovan was uncertain of when George sustained the injury, but said it was an ailment George has been playing with for some time.

George is having a fantastic season, and was especially excellent in December games.

The Suns have one of the league’s worst records, but Devin Booker recently returned from injury and during almost all games played in his return the team has looked far better. Phoenix has won five of their last seven games.

Thunder waive two-way player Tyler Davis

The Oklahoma City Thunder has waived two-way player Tyler Davis today.

Davis, a 6-foot-10, 266-pound center born in Plano, Texas and played college basketball at Texas A&M, played just one minute in one game for the Thunder this season. As a two-way player he naturally spent most of his time with the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League, where in 15 games (eight starts) he averaged 17.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.87 blocks in 26.7 minutes per game.

The Thunder are 21-12 this season, which through yesterday’s games is the third best record in a very tight Western conference. The team is off tonight, but tomorrow heads to Phoenix to play a Suns team that lately is playing much better basketball than they were earlier in the season.

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

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

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

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

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