Category: OKC Thunder Blog

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled center Cole Aldrich from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Aldrich appeared in five games (five starts) for the 66ers and averaged 7.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in 27.4 minutes.

Aldrich has joined the Thunder in Chicago for tonight’s 7:00 PM game against the Bulls at the United Center.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Cole Aldrich was assigned to the Tulsa 66ers, the Thunder’s NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced today.  The assignment marks the sixth time in the 2010-11 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate, and it is the first assignment for Aldrich, a rookie out of Kansas.

Aldrich (6-11, 245) has appeared in five regular season games for the Thunder, averaging 1.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.6 minutes.  Oklahoma City acquired Aldrich, the 11th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, in a draft-day swap with the New Orleans Hornets.

A member of Kansas’ National Championship team in 2008, Aldrich averaged 9.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in 111 games over a three-year career with the Jayhawks.  The school’s record holder for blocks in a season (125), Aldrich was an AP Third Team All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as a junior.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward Nick Collison to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Nick Collison has shown an unwavering commitment to our organization through his willingness to accept various roles and his dedication to his teammates throughout his seven-year career with our franchise,” said Presti. “He brings a smart, physical, and hard working approach to our defense and is one of our most active players in the community. We are thrilled that Nick will remain a core member of our team and continue his career with the franchise that drafted him.”

Collison is currently averaging 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in six games since returning from a bruised right knee that caused him to miss the first eight games of the season. The 6-10 Kansas University product holds career averages of 7.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 460 career NBA games, all with the Thunder organization. Collison entered the 2010-11 season among the franchise’s all-time career leaders in rebounds (8th, 3,013 career rebounds), blocks (10th, 309 career blocks), field goal percentage (3rd, .529) and games played (9th, 454 career games).

“I am thrilled to continue my career with the Thunder organization,” said Collison. “I have spent many years with the franchise and I am excited to continue building with this group of players. I am looking forward to what the future holds for this team and community.”

Collison, originally drafted 12th overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City franchise, was an Associated Press First Team All-America selection and Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior at Kansas. He was also named to the 2003 NCAA All-Final Four Team after leading Kansas to the Championship Game. The Iowa Falls native left KU as the second leading scorer (2,097 points) and third leading rebounder (1,143 rebounds) in school history.

John Rohde of the Oklahoman reports:

Thunder power forward Nick Collison, who has yet to practice or play this season, had an MRI taken early last week and said the result were good.

Collison said he has intensified his work during rehabilitation. Though he still has no exact timetable on his return, Collison said he is encouraged with the test results. “Still going forward,” Collison said. “It’s good to be moving forward rather than moving backward.”

Backup center Byron Mullens, who has been inactive all season, is battling the flu. He did not make the West Coast trip last week and was not at Saturday’s practice.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has exercised third-year options on guard James Harden, forward Serge Ibaka, guard Eric Maynor and center Byron Mullens, as well as fourth-year options on guard Russell Westbrook and forward D.J. White Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today.

Harden (6-5, 220) averaged 9.9 points (8th among rookies), 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 22.8 minutes in 76 games during his rookie campaign. The third overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, was named to the 2009-10 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Ibaka (6-10, 240) appeared in 73 games for the Thunder last season and averaged 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds (4th among rookies), 1.33 blocks (1st among rookies) and 18.1 minutes per contest.  The Republic of Congo native was selected by Oklahoma City with the 24th overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Maynor (6-3, 170) averaged 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists (7th among rookies) and 15.7 minutes in 81 games (two starts) with Utah and Oklahoma City. Originally selected by the Jazz with the 20th overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, Maynor was acquired along with Matt Harpring from Utah in exchange for the draft rights to Peter Fehse on December 22, 2009.

Mullens (7-0, 275) saw action in 13 contests for Oklahoma City and averaged 1.1 points in 4.2 minutes.  The Columbus, OH native played in 27 games with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, averaging 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes.

Westbrook (6-3, 187) has averaged 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 33.4 minutes in 164 games (147 starts) during his first two NBA seasons.  The third-year guard competed with the USA Men’s Basketball National Team at the World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey helping the USA earn Gold for the first time since 1994.

White (6-9, 251) has averaged 6.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 12.2 minutes during his first two NBA seasons.  The Tuscaloosa, AL native saw action in 10 games last season for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, averaging a double-double with 20.2 points and 11.1 rebounds in 39.2 minutes.

The Oklahoma City Thunder waived guard Jerome Dyson and guard Elijah Millsap it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Dyson saw action in two games this preseason for Oklahoma City, averaging 4.5 points and 1.0 rebound in 6.5 minutes.

Millsap appeared in four games for the Thunder, averaging 3.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 12.5 minutes.

Oklahoma City’s roster now stands at 15.

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has added center Longar Longar to the training camp roster.

Longar (6-11, 230), spent last season in the NBA Development League, averaging 6.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 20.4 minutes in 11 games (four starts) with the Los Angeles D-Fenders and Bakersfield Jam. He spent four seasons at the University of Oklahoma averaging 7.2 points, on 53.8% shooting from the field, 4.3 rebounds and 17.8 minutes in 112 games (45 starts).

Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad Krstic underwent successful surgery this morning to repair a fracture to the second finger on his right hand. The surgery was performed in Oklahoma City by Thunder team physicians.

Krstic suffered the injury in the final game of the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Krstic averaged 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game while helping lead Serbia to a fourth place finish at the World Championships.

The 7-0 center is expected to be ready for the Thunder’s opening night contest against the Chicago Bulls.