Thunder sign Eugene Omoruyi to multi-year contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward Eugene Omoruyi to a multi-year contract.

During the 2022-23 season, Omoruyi has appeared in 21 games with the Thunder and averaged 5.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.2 minutes of action. In six games this season with the Oklahoma City Blue, Omoruyi has posted averages of 18.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 28.3 minutes per game.

Omoruyi was originally signed to a Two-Way Contract by the Thunder on July 2, 2022.

Celtics trade Justin Jackson to Thunder for Mike Muscala

The Oklahoma City Thunder this past Thursday acquired forward Justin Jackson, a 2023 second-round draft pick and a 2029 second-round draft pick in a trade with the Boston Celtics for forward/center Mike Muscala, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Jackson (6-8, 220) appeared in 23 games with the Celtics this season and over his six-season NBA career has seen time in 278 career games (61 starts), holding career averages of 6.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 17.6 minutes per game.

Muscala spent four seasons with the Thunder and appeared in 168 games (seven starts) and averaged 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. This season, he saw time in 43 games (five starts) and contributed 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

Suns trade Dario Saric to Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder has acquired forward/center Dario Šarić, a 2029 second-round draft pick and cash considerations from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward Darius Bazley, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Šarić (6-10, 225) has appeared in 37 games (12 starts) this season for the Suns and averaged 5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 14.4 minutes per game. In six NBA seasons with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Phoenix, the Croatian native has seen time in 393 games (217 starts) and averaged 11.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 24.2 minutes per game.

Bazley spent four seasons with Oklahoma City, appearing in 221 games (118 starts) and averaging 9.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 24.1 minutes per game. In 36 games (one start) this season, he averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game.

Heat hit 40 of 40 free throws in win over Thunder

Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Tuesday night’s 112-111 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder just about summed up the Miami Heat’s season.

There were the requisite injury absences, in this case going without Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry, among others.

There was a moment of the unfathomable, in this case backup center Dewayne Dedmon ejected in the second period for whacking a training device onto the court as he stormed to the locker room after a confrontation with the coaching staff.

And there was tight, compelling competition to the finish, the game decided on a Jimmy Butler 3-point play with 12.9 seconds to play, on a night the Heat closed 40 of 40 from the foul line — an NBA record for conversions without a miss.

Thunder forward Jaylin Williams out with concussion

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams sustained a concussion during last night’s Oklahoma City Blue game and has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Per the NBA’s Concussion Policy, Williams 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 sign Isaiah Joe

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed guard Isaiah Joe.

Joe was selected 49th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2020 NBA Draft and spent two seasons with the team. He appeared in 96 games (two starts) and averaged 3.7 points and 1.0 rebound in 10.3 minutes per game.

The Arkansas native spent two years at the University of Arkansas, where he led the SEC, and ranked fourth in the nation, in three-pointers per game (3.6) in his sophomore season.

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.