OKC Thunder Blog – Page 5 – NBA Blog

Thunder exercise contract options on Josh Giddey, Tre Mann and Aleksej Pokusevski

The Oklahoma City Thunder exercised its third-year contract options on guards Josh Giddey and Tre Mann and its fourth-year contract option on forward Aleksej Pokuševski.

Giddey earned All-Rookie Second Team honors last season after appearing in 54 games (all starts) and recording averages of 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists (first on team) in 31.5 minutes per game. The Australian native was one of only eight players to record those averages during the 2021-22 season. Giddey became the ninth player since 2000 to earn the first four Rookie of the Month honors and is the 13th player all-time to accomplish the feat since the award’s inception in the 1981-82 season.

Mann appeared in 60 games (26 starts) this past year and averaged 10.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.8 minutes per game. Among official rookie league leaders, he ranked eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.360), ninth in free throw percentage (.793) and 10th in points. The Florida product posted the third-best scoring average by a Thunder rookie with at least 20 games played in Oklahoma City history.

Pokuševski has appeared in 106 career games (40 starts) with the Thunder and owns averages of 7.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 21.9 minutes per game since being selected with 17th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He became the 12th youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double (20 years, 98 days) when he registered 17 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists on April. 3, 2022.

Thunder guard Lu Dort sustains concussion at practice

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort sustained a concussion during yesterday’s team practice and has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Per the NBA’s Concussion Policy, Dort will now begin the NBA-mandated Return-to-Participation Protocol. This process includes a series of steps designed to ensure an athlete exhibits symptom-free behavior before resuming basketball activities. There is no predetermined timetable to complete the protocol, as each injury and player is different and recovery time can vary in each case.

Thunder and Rockets complete eight-player trade

The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired guard Sterling Brown, guard Trey Burke, forward Marquese Chriss and forward David Nwaba, and generated two trade exceptions, in a trade with the Houston Rockets for center Derrick Favors, forward Maurice Harkless, guard Ty Jerome, guard Théo Maledon, a 2026 second-round pick and cash considerations.

Brown (6-5, 219) has played in 264 career games (29 starts) with Milwaukee, Houston and Dallas, and owns averages of 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 16.8 minutes per game. The SMU product averaged 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game last season with the Mavericks.

Burke (6-0, 185) has appeared in 498 career games (130 starts) spanning nine seasons with Utah, Washington, New York, Dallas, and Philadelphia, and averaged 9.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 41.0 percent from the field in 20.9 minutes per game. Selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, the Columbus, Ohio native was named to the 2014 All-Rookie First Team.

Chriss (6-9, 240) has appeared in 292 career games (147 starts) since being selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and has seen action with Phoenix, Houston, Cleveland, Golden State and Dallas. The Sacramento, Calif. native owns career averages of 7.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist while shooting 45.6 percent from the field in 18.3 minutes per game.

Nwaba (6-5, 219) has appeared in 237 career games (50 starts) with the L.A. Lakers, Chicago, Cleveland, Brooklyn and Houston, and registered averages of 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 19.3 minutes per game. Last season, the six-year veteran saw action in 46 games (four starts) and averaged 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the field in 13.2 minutes per game with the Houston Rockets.

In one season with the Thunder, Favors appeared in 39 games (18 starts) and averaged 5.3 points on 51.6 percent shooting from the field and 4.7 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game last year.

Harkless was previously acquired by the Thunder on Sept. 27, 2022, from the Atlanta Hawks.

Jerome appeared in 81 games (five starts) with the Thunder over the last two seasons, and averaged 8.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 19.6 minutes per game.

Maledon appeared in 116 career games (56 starts) and averaged 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 23.2 minutes per game with the Thunder from 2020-22.

Oklahoma City will have one year from today to exercise the trade exceptions. The 2026 second-round pick owed to Houston will be the second-least favorable of Oklahoma City, Dallas and Philadelphia.

Oklahoma City Thunder hire Chip Engelland and Grant Gibbs as assistant coaches

The Oklahoma City Thunder have hired Chip Engelland and Grant Gibbs as assistant coaches.

Engelland and Gibbs join current Thunder assistants Dave Bliss, Mike Wilks and David Akinyooye, as well as Assistant Coach/Player Development Eric Maynor and Assistant Coach/Program Development Connor Johnson, on Head Coach Mark Daigneault’s staff.

Additionally, Kameron Woods has been named head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue.

Engelland joins the Thunder with 23 years of NBA coaching experience. He spent the last 17 seasons with the Spurs as an assistant coach, where he won two NBA championships (2007, 2014). The California native began his coaching career as a shooting analyst for the Detroit Pistons before transitioning to work for the Nuggets for two seasons as director of player of development. A graduate of Duke University, Engelland played four seasons for the Blue Devils, becoming team captain in his senior year. He also enjoyed a nine-year professional playing career in the Philippines, Canada and the CBA.

Gibbs joins the Thunder bench after serving as head coach of the Blue for the past three seasons. He becomes the third Blue head coach to join the Thunder coaching staff. During the 2021-22 season, Gibbs helped lead the Blue to the Championship Game in the first year of the G League Showcase Championship Cup. He joined the Thunder organization originally as a Blue assistant coach in 2017 after a three-year international playing career that included stints in the Netherlands and Germany. Gibbs enjoyed a successful collegiate playing career at Gonzaga and later at Creighton where he served as team captain.

Woods is set to take over head coaching duties with the Blue after spending the past four seasons with the organization, most recently serving as a Thunder assistant coach. The Butler product played two seasons with the Blue (2015-2017) before starting his coaching career. This past July, Woods served as head coach of the Thunder’s summer league team where he led Oklahoma City to a record of 5-3 during summer league competition in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

2022 OKC Thunder preseason game schedule

The Oklahoma City Thunder will play six 2022-23 NBA preseason games, with three games in the state of Oklahoma.

The Thunder opens the preseason with a trip to play the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 3 before returning home to Oklahoma beginning on Oct. 5 versus the Dallas Mavericks at the BOK Center. Oklahoma City will play two international opponents at home, hosting the Adelaide 36ers on Oct. 6 and the Maccabi Ra’anana on Oct. 9 at Paycom Center. The Thunder’s preseason schedule wraps with two road games, playing the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 11 before the preseason finale at the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 13.

The Oct. 13 game at San Antonio will be carried live on Bally Sports Oklahoma. The remainder of the preseason games will be streamed live via the Thunder Mobile App and at okcthunder.com. All games will air live on the Thunder Radio Network, led by flagship station WWLS, The Sports Animal (98.1 FM).

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren suffers foot injury, will miss 2022-23 NBA season

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that forward Chet Holmgren has sustained a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. Holmgren will miss the 2022-23 season. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.

STATEMENT FROM THUNDER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER SAM PRESTI:

“Certainly, we are disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he had about getting on the floor with his teammates this season. We know Chet has a long career ahead of him within our organization and the Oklahoma City community. One of the things that most impressed us during the process of selecting Chet was his determination and focus. We expect that same tenacity will carry him through this period of time as we work together and support him during his rehabilitation.”

Thunder re-sign Mike Muscala

The Oklahoma City Thunder have re-signed forward/center Mike Muscala.

Last season with the Thunder, Muscala played in 43 games, averaging 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game, while shooting a career-high 42.9 percent from three-point range.

In nine NBA seasons with Oklahoma City, Atlanta, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Bucknell product has appeared in 432 career games (30 starts) and posted averages of 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

Oklahoma City Thunder sign Kenrich Williams to contract extension

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard/forward Kenrich Williams to a multi-year contract extension.

The extension is reportedly for four years, $27.2 million.

During the 2021-22 season, Williams saw time in 49 games and averaged 7.4 points on 46.1 percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 21.9 minutes per game. The TCU product led all Thunder reserves with 108 total assists last season and scored in double figures in 14 games, third most among Thunder reserves.

Per the Oklahoman, “aside from Williams’ on-court value, he’s perhaps the most respected player in the Thunder’s locker room. His leadership and work ethic has been compared to Nick Collison — a Thunder lifer whose jersey hangs in the rafters at Paycom Center.”

In four NBA seasons with Oklahoma City and New Orleans, Williams has appeared in 200 games (60 starts) and averaged 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 22.0 minutes per game.

OKC Thunder sign rookie Jaylin Williams

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed rookie forward Jaylin Williams, it was announced today by Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Williams was selected 34th overall in this year’s draft after spending two seasons at the University of Arkansas. In his sophomore season, he appeared in 37 games (35 starts) and averaged 10.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.29 steals in 31.6 minutes per game en route to being named to the 2021-22 SEC All-Defensive Team and the All-SEC First Team by coaches.

Thunder sign Lu Dort to a multi-year contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, July 6 signed guard Luguentz Dort to a multi-year contract.

In three NBA seasons, Dort has appeared in 139 games (131 starts) and registered averages of 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.0 minutes.

This past season, Dort ranked second on the Thunder in scoring with 17.2 points per game. During a 46-game stretch that bridged each of the last two seasons, Dort amassed the second-longest streak of consecutive games with a made 3-point field goal in Thunder history. Dort led the Thunder with 130 3-point field goals (2.5 3FGs per game) during the 2021-22 season.

The Montreal native was named to the NBA’s Rising Stars team in 2021 as he posted a league-leading 57 offensive fouls drawn to go along with averages of 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 29.7 minutes per game during his second NBA season.

After playing one season at Arizona State and going undrafted in 2019, Dort started in 28 of 36 games for the Thunder in his rookie season. During an opening round Game 7 versus the Houston Rockets, Dort set a Thunder playoff rookie record by scoring 30 points on six made 3-point field goals.