OKC Thunder Blog – Page 88 – NBA Blog

Thunder assign Byron Mullens, Kyle Weaver to D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced that the team has assigned center Byron Mullens and guard Kyle Weaver to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Weaver, who played two games for the 66ers last season, has appeared in two games for the Thunder this year averaging 5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 8.0 minutes per contest.

Mullens, the 24th overall pick (selected by Dallas) in the 2009 NBA Draft, was acquired by the Thunder in a draft night trade. Mullens has not appeared in a game for the Thunder this season. The 7-0 center averaged 8.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in one season at The Ohio State University.

The Tulsa 66ers, who were purchased by the Professional Basketball Club LLC on July 31, 2008, are the minor league affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Shaun Livingston to have left knee procedure

Thunder forward Shaun Livingston will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee it was announced today by the team.

“Recently, Shaun has experienced an increase in swelling following activity,” said Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. “Although his knee is structurally sound, after consulting with the Thunder medical staff and Dr. James Andrews, it was determined that the best course of action was to perform a minor procedure to resolve the swelling and allow Shaun to continue full activity in the coming weeks.”

Dr. Andrews will perform the surgery today, in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Andrews will remove staples from Livingston’s knee that have recently caused some swelling in the knee. The staples were originally placed during Livingston’s knee reconstruction that was performed by Dr. Andrews on March 13, 2007.

A timetable for Livingston’s return will be determined after the procedure.

The Peoria, Illinois native has appeared in two games this season for the Thunder. Livingston has averaged 1.0 point and 1.5 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per contest.

Video game losses motivate Kevin Durant

Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman reports:

If you had one guess, what would you say is driving Kevin Durant this season?

The scoring title? An All-Star appearance? A playoff berth?

How about video games?

“People might not believe me, but when I go home (after practice) I play video games and I lose all the time,” Durant said. “And I get so mad that I come back and I want to win everything. Something that small puts that winning mentality into my head.”

The NBA’s sixth leading scorer last season is off to a good start after Wednesday’s season-opening 102-89 victory over Sacramento. A stiffer test is in store tonight as the Thunder rolls into Detroit to take on a more talented Pistons team. But the goal of winning remains the same.

“That’s what this year is all about,” Durant said. “We have the right group of guys here and we all want to win, so that makes it easier as well.”

The Thunder are a fun, young team off to a nice little 2-0 start, and in the two wins Durant averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Thunder sign Thabo Sefolosha to extension

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Thabo Sefolosha 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 deal were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details tonight or tomorrow.

“We are excited that we were able to reach an agreement that will keep Thabo a part of our core group moving forward,” said Presti. “Thabo represents many of the qualities that we look for in our players, great competitiveness, a team first mentality, and a strong work ethic. We believe Thabo’s best basketball is ahead of him, and his desire to remain a part of the Thunder family allowed for us to make this happen.”

Sefolosha averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 31 minutes per game last season with the Thunder. Sefolosha, who joined the Thunder via trade from the Chicago Bulls on February 19, 2008, is currently in his fourth NBA season.

Sefolosha, drafted 13th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2006 NBA Draft, played five seasons in Europe prior to entering the NBA Draft. He started his professional career as a 17 year-old with Tege Riviera Basket of the Swiss domestic league in 2001. Sefolosha also spent three seasons with Chalon-Sur-Saone of the French Premier Pro League and one season with Angelico Biella of the Italian Serie A.

NBA tells bench players stay seated so fans can see

Good NBA seats are expensive. Fans shelling out big money to sit near the court should expect a good view of the action.

But what about when players get off the bench and remain standing for a while? On the one hand, it’s nice to see guys cheer their teammates. On the other, these giants prevent fans from seeing what they paid to see.

The Cavs are one team with players who remained standing a lot, and now the league office has reportedly taken action.

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

The NBA has issued a memo to its teams directing players on the bench to remain seated during games. Game officials will be keeping a closer eye and will issue faster warnings and possible technical fouls if not followed. Players are permitted to cheer, but standing during regular-game action and blocking the fans’ views apparently isn’t going to be allowed.

That goes for Tuesday night’s first preseason game at The Q, where the Cavs will host the Charlotte Bobcats in the first of eight practice games before the season opener.

The Cavs weren’t exactly thrilled that their custom has been legislated.

“It is hard to take that out of the game,” LeBron James said. “Part of the game is emotions, your teammates are all you have. That was part of the reason we played great basketball, because we cheered each other.”

I support the league protecting the paying fan’s view.

Spanish-speaking OKC Thunder fans get full home coverage

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that the team will broadcast all 41 home games in Spanish language on both radio and television.

For the second straight season, the radio network will include Spanish language broadcasts on WKY 930 in Oklahoma City. Spanish language television broadcasts of the Thunder’s home games can be seen by selecting the Secondary Audio Program (SAP) option on your television.

“Bringing the Spanish broadcasts to the community on radio and TV through the use of the secondary audio is another important step for the Thunder to connect with our fans through all possible platforms,” said Ken Adelson, Thunder Senior Vice President and Executive Producer.

Veteran announcer Eleno Ornelas will be back as the Thunder’s Spanish language play-by-play voice for the second straight season. Ornelas brings a wealth of professional play-by-play experience in several different leagues. He currently serves as the coordinator of Spanish broadcasting for Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. He is the play-by-play announcer for all Rangers home and away Spanish radio broadcasts on KFLC 1270 AM. In addition, he contributes to the Rangers Hispanic marketing and community initiatives in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

“It’s going to be great to be back in Oklahoma City again this season,” Ornelas said. “The Ford Center was a loud and exciting arena last year, and I can’t wait to be a part of it again. I’m happy to be able to provide the NBA in Spanish to Thunder fans listening and watching all over the state of Oklahoma. I’m sure the Hispanic community will show up at the Ford Center again this year to support the Thunder.”

Ornelas joined the Rangers’ Spanish radio broadcast team in 2000 and did both play-by-play and analysis, working with Edgar Lopez, before becoming the full-time play-by-play announcer in 2003. Prior to joining the Rangers full-time, he worked in the sports department for 1270 AM.

The Juarez, Mexico native began his broadcasting career in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at KRVA Radio in Dallas before joining KESS-AM in 1998. In addition to the Rangers, Ornelas was the play-by-play announcer for the Dallas Mavericks and has covered the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Burn soccer team during his tenure with 1270 AM.

Timberwolves waive Chucky Atkins

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has waived guard Chucky Atkins. The Timberwolves acquired Atkins as part of a trade with Oklahoma City on July 27.

A 10-year NBA veteran, Atkins went undrafted out of the University of South Florida before signing with Orlando in 1999. In 655 career games with Orlando, Detroit, Boston, L.A. Lakers, Washington, Memphis, Denver and Oklahoma City, Atkins has averaged 10.2 points and 3.5 assists per game. Atkins was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 1999 and also played on the gold-medal-winning U.S. National Team at the 1995 World University Games.

Nuggets re-sign Johan Petro

The Denver Nuggets have re-signed C Johan Petro, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per league policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Petro, 23, has career averages of 5.4 ppg, and 4.3 rpg in 270 regular season games with the Nuggets and the Oklahoma City/Seattle franchise. He originally came to Denver by trade from the Thunder on Jan. 7 along with a 2009 second-round draft choice, in exchange for G Chucky Atkins and a 2009 first-round draft choice. He was drafted in the first round (25th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.

This past season, Petro appeared in 27 games (10 starts) for the Nuggets, averaging 2.2 ppg and 2.3 rpg. He posted his Nuggets’ season-highs of nine points, 10 rebounds and 21 minutes vs. Boston on Feb. 23. He also appeared in 10 postseason games for Denver in 2009.

Hawks sign Joe Smith

The Atlanta Hawks have signed veteran power forward Joe Smith to a contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Rick Sund.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “the contract is a one-year deal Tuesday for the veteran’s minimum salary, approximately $1.3 million.”

“Joe’s acquisition provides us with a solid complement to our frontcourt,” said Sund. “Not only does he bring years of experience to our team, but his versatility gives our coaching staff a player who can play multiple positions and an individual who will provide tremendous leadership in the locker room.”

The 6-10, 225-pound Smith is a 14-year NBA veteran who most recently played 21 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. Before joining the Cavs, he spent time with the Oklahoma City Thunder (where he participated in 36 contests), who bought out the remainder of his contract and released him on March 1. Smith saw action in 13 playoff games for Cleveland, averaging 5.5 ppg and 3.7 rpg (.460 FG%), and on the season, tallied 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds (.496 FG%, .750 FT%).

Smith brings career numbers of 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists (.456 FG%, .790 FT%) per game to the Hawks, where he will join experienced frontcourt mates Al Horford, Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia. The NBA’s number one overall pick in 1995 by the Golden State Warriors, Smith was the consensus College Player of the Year at Maryland in 1995 and named to the 1995-96 All-Rookie team in addition to finishing third in the voting for the league’s Rookie of the Year award.

He has played in 52 postseason games over his career, scoring 6.5 points and grabbing 4.6 boards, while shooting .459 from the field and 78 percent from the line.

He spent two-and-a-half seasons with Warriors, tallying a career-best 18.7 points in his second year and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers midway through the 1997-98 campaign. Following one year with the Sixers, Smith joined the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first of two stints in 1998-99 before signing with the Detroit Pistons for the 2000-01 season.

Following a return to the Timberwolves in the summer of 2001, Smith played two more years with Minnesota before moving on to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2003-04. After three seasons with the Bucks, he played in only 11 games with the Denver Nuggets before being traded (along with Andre Miller) back to the Sixers (for Allen Iverson) for the remainder of the 2006-07 season.

For the next season (2007-08), Smith was a member of the Chicago Bulls and played in 50 contests, averaging 11.2 points before being traded in a three-team deal to Cleveland. He was a part of another three-team trade later that summer when the Cavaliers sent him to Oklahoma City, where he remained until he returned to Cleveland.

He was named Associated Press All-American and was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player of the Year as a sophomore at Maryland. In two seasons with the Terrapins, he averaged 20.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

Joseph Leynard Smith, born July 26, 1975 in Norfolk, VA, will wear uniform number 32 with the Hawks.

Thunder will not keep Desmond Mason

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports: Would Oklahoma City re-sign Desmond Mason? The long-awaited verdict finally came down Wednesday, 126 days after the season finale and 50 days into this summer’s free agency period. The Thunder will not bring back the former Oklahoma State standout and fan favorite. It’s a decision that brings an end to a relationship that spanned four years in Stillwater with the Cowboys and improbable stints with two different NBA franchises in Oklahoma City over the past four seasons.

More from the Oklahoman: “We value and appreciate Desmond’s contributions to the Thunder,” said Thunder general manager Sam Presti. “However, at this time it is important for us to retain flexibility with our roster as we move into training camp. This was a difficult decision, certainly not the last one we will be faced with. But at this point in time we wanted to make sure we communicated with Desmond on our thought process so he could focus on other opportunities.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Mason makes any team better. But the Thunder are a young squad of the future. Whether he stays or goes really doesn’t matter too much in the big picture. Someone else will sign him.