Report: OKC Thunder reworks Davis Bertans’ remaining contract

Report: OKC Thunder reworks Davis Bertans’ remaining contract.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have reportedly reworked veteran wing Davis Bertans’ contract, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

The Thunder and Bertans agreed to remove his 2024-25 clause that would’ve guaranteed $16 million next season if he played 75% of regular-season games this season.

If he didn’t meet this threshold, then his guaranteed salary for next season — which would’ve been an early termination option — would’ve been just $5 million.

Instead, with the clause removed, Bertans will be guaranteed $5.25 million next season in the final year of his current deal. He is owed $17 million this season.

This means that the Thunder no longer have to keep an eye on which games the 31-year-old sharpshooter can play. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault will presumably be able to play him as often as he likes without being concerned about passing 62 games.

The Thunder acquired Bertans from the Dallas Mavericks this past offseason in a trade that also landed them the No. 10 pick, which turned out to be Cason Wallace. In return, OKC sent Dallas its No. 12 pick, which materialized to Dereck Lively II.

In five games this season, Bertans is averaging 3.4 points on 23.1% shooting. He is shooting 3-of-12 from 3.

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‘They can get anyone they want’: NBA exec believes OKC Thunder can make win-now moves

‘They can get anyone they want’: NBA exec believes OKC Thunder can make win-now moves.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (11-6) are off to their best start in recent memory and are just two games out of first place in the Western Conference.

Much of OKC’s fast start can be credited to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. The guard-big duo have played like two of the best players in the league.

After an All-NBA season last year, Gilgeous-Alexander has picked up right where he left off. He is averaging 30.5 points on 53.8% shooting, six rebounds and 6.1 assists.

Holmgren has headlined this year’s rookie class with averages of 17.9 points, eight rebounds and 2.2 blocks.

With the Thunder looking to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference, an NBA executive told HoopsHype he believes they could go all in this season and make some win-now moves prior to the trade deadline.

“Chet Holmgren is a stud, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a top-five or top-10 guy in the league,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype. “They’re in line for a top-four seed and homecourt advantage in the playoffs. They can win a series. They have every pick in the world and contracts of all sizes. They can get anyone they want.”

In the article, NBA insider Michael Scotto suggested OKC has the salaries to create a trade package for someone making a lofty salary this season.

“Armed with a treasure chest of future draft picks, young talent, and movable contracts, several executives who spoke with HoopsHype believe the Thunder have the best assets to acquire any player in the league and could look to make a trade, given Oklahoma City’s hot start to the season.”

In all likelihood, the Thunder will stand pat for this year’s trade deadline. OKC has historically seldom made large in-season moves. As Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in his preseason presser, OKC will wait to see what it has with its young core before making any major roster moves.

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HoopsHype: Paycom Center ranked as 19th-best NBA arena

In a 35-member media survey conducted by @hoopshype, Paycom Center was ranked No. 19 among all NBA arenas.

With less than a month remaining until a new OKC arena proposal gets voted on by local residents, HoopsHype recently conducted a media poll to rank all 29 NBA arenas.

The criteria involved variables such as the crowd atmosphere and energy, the quality of the arena, culinary offerings and lighting.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paycom Center surprisingly was ranked as the 19th-best arena by the 35-member media survey. That is an interesting result considering it could soon be replaced.

The 21-year-old arena garnered 18.1% of maximum allowed votes. It also received one fourth-place vote in the poll.

The Thunder look to get a new arena; their lease with Paycom Center ends in 2026. The current arena proposal, which is pending voter approval, includes a $900 million construction cost. Thunder ownership will chip in $50 million.

A new arena will secure the Thunder’s future in OKC beyond 2050 via a 25-year lease. It is planned to open by the 2029-30 season at the latest.

An citywide vote will take place on Dec. 12 that will determine whether or the current one-cent sales tax that would largely fund the new arena will be extended.

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HoopsHype: Josh Giddey receives votes as breakout candidate this season by NBA execs

Josh Giddey received votes as a breakout candidate this season by NBA executives in a @hoopshype poll.

Entering the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to receive praise for the bright future.

The blossoming of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a superstar and the young core of Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey has made the Thunder a national media darling.

It looks like those around the league might have a similar opinion, too. The Thunder were recently the heavy favorite when executives were asked who has the most promising young core.

In another NBA executive poll, Giddey received votes as a potential breakout candidate for the 2023-24 season. HoopsHype polled 25 NBA executives to determine who will be the top breakout candidates this season. Each executive listed their top three players.

Giddey received 4% of votes. The 21-year-old is set to start his third season after averaging 14.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists in his first two seasons.

“Thunder guard Josh Giddey took a major step last season offensively by increasing his scoring (12.5 to 16.6) and improved as a shooter across the board from the field (.419 to .482), three-point line (.263 to .325) and foul line (.709 to .731).

If Oklahoma City is going to become a playoff team and avoid the play-in tournament again, Giddey will have to take another step forward in his development.”

Considering he’s entering his third season and showed signs of improvement during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Giddey is a dark-horse candidate to break out this season.

If that happens, the Thunder’s decision to negotiate a contract extension when Giddey is eligible after the season becomes much easier.

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HoopsHype: 4 OKC Thunder players make top-100 2023-24 players list

The Thunder had 4 players make @hoopshype ‘s top-100 players list heading into the 2023-24 season.

To celebrate the start of the 2023-24 regular season as training camps begin, HoopsHype released its top 100 NBA players heading into the new campaign.

Coming one win shy of a playoff berth, the Oklahoma City Thunder head into the new season with four players represented in the 100-player list.

The highest-ranked Thunder player is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is fresh off a career season for which he was named an All-NBA player and finished fifth in MVP voting.

At 25 years old, expect Gilgeous-Alexander to continue to be one of the best players in the league.

Let’s look at the four Thunder representatives and what HoopsHype had to say about them in their ranking.

Where Rockets rank in updated list of 77 greatest NBA players of all-time

With 77 NBA seasons in the books, @HoopsHype issued an updated list of the greatest 77 players of all-time. Here’s where players with #Rockets ties were ranked.

The 2023-24 regular season is the NBA’s 78th overall, which means 77 seasons are in the books.

With that in mind, our friends at HoopsHype recently compiled an updated list of the NBA’s best 77 players of all time, complete with statistics and information through the 2022-23 campaign.

As one might expect, the Rockets are well represented. Along with many All-Stars over the years, they had three Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone and James Harden. Historically, Houston is among the league’s top franchises.

Granted, the Rockets haven’t won a championship since Olajuwon led them to their only two in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals. But the hope is that could change in the years ahead. If it does, perhaps a rising star such Jalen Green, Amen Thompson or Jabari Smith Jr. might crack an updated version of this list in a decade or so.

For now, with the start of 2023-24 training camp only days away, here’s a look back at where legacy Rockets stand on HoopsHype’s updated list of the 77 greatest players in NBA history.

HoopsHype: Steven Adams ranked as one of the most overpaid players in league history

Steven Adams – who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Thunder – is listed as one of the most overpaid players ever, per @hoopshype

When players sign large multiyear contracts, the hope is they produce during their tenure with the team they signed with. As is the case in sports, sometimes that doesn’t work out.

Due to various reasons, a team might not get its money’s worth from a player after inking a new deal.

HoopsHype writers Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon decided to explore this concept with a list of the 30 most overpaid players in league history. Due to the dramatic rises in cap space, most players on the list are from recent history and are still active.

HoopsHype used its Real Value metric to determine the list. A full explanation can be found here. Here’s a quick summary of how the statistic is calculated:

“Using Global Rating as the main performance metric, Real Value takes into account the productivity of each player from the last three seasons, giving extra value to the official NBA games played in the last 365 days. That includes regular season, play-in and playoffs. With that base, we calculate how that would translate to the “deserved” average salary per year.

Also factoring into Real Value: A player’s age, availability, defensive performance and off-court issues.”

For the most part, the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t featured in the rankings. Steven Adams is the only player on the list who played a significant chunk of time for the Thunder.

Adams is ranked as the 24th most overpaid player of all time — with the caveat added that Real Value’s variables that factor into its formula might not be the most effective way to determine his value.

The Thunder drafted Adams with the No. 12 pick in the 2013 NBA draft. He spent seven seasons in OKC and served as their starting center for six years.

After three seasons, the Thunder signed Adams to a four-year, $100 million extension. This will likely be his biggest payday since he has signed a pair of less valuable two-year deals since then with the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies.

  • Seasons overpaid vs. underpaid: 7-3
  • Real Value: $85,669,739
  • Career earnings: $146,760,004
  • Difference: -$61,090,265 (-41.63%)

“Another player whose numbers don’t reflect his impact, Grizzlies center Steven Adams is one of the best screen-setters in the league and an elite box-out guy, often opening up rebounding opportunities for teammates. A prime example of Adam’s impact came last season, a campaign in which the former Pitt Panther only played the first 42 games before missing the rest of the year with an injury. In the stretch with Adams, Memphis was 31-15 and ranked second in the league in net rating (+5.4). Following his departure, the Grizzlies were 20-17 with a +2.1 net rating.

Still, Adams’ lack of box-score production leads to him being underrated by advanced metrics, including Real Value, which believes Adams was overpaid by $7.7 million last season, despite how impactful he clearly was to Memphis’ early success.”

In defense of the Thunder’s decision to sign Adams to a large deal, this happened when the cap spiked to an unsustainable level and several role players were given large contracts. While — in a vacuum — it’s a bad deal, it was also a product of its time and environment.

As was also mentioned in the summary, Adams’ value is hard to measure with simple box score numbers. It’s evident he was more valuable for the Thunder than the average NBA team at the time.

When he signed his extension, OKC was in the midst of a potential playoff push. The chemistry between Russell Westbrook and him made Adams more valuable in OKC than he would’ve been on almost any other team.

Lastly, just because Adams is labeled as overpaid doesn’t make him a bad player. The 30-year-old has carved out a nice nine-year career thus far playing as an above-average starting center for playoff contenders. At the No. 12 slot of the draft, getting a respectable starter is on the high end of results.

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HoopsHype: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rated as best 2023 FIBA World Cup player

SGA finished with a 38.79 Global Rating, per @hoopshype

The 2023 FIBA World Cup concluded with Germany earning the gold medal with its win over Serbia in the final on Sunday.

In the bronze medal game played prior, Canada concluded its best World Cup run by beating the United States, 127-118, in overtime.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied a neat bow on his sizzling summer campaign with his best FIBA performance. He finished with 31 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in the win, including the first seven points scored in OT.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s FIBA run landed him on its All-Star 5 lineup, which features the five best players throughout the international tournament. In eight games, he averaged 24.5 points on 54.5% shooting, 6.5 assists and 6.4 rebounds.

The 25-year-old also graded out as the best World Cup player, per HoopsHype’s Global Rating system. He finished the competition with a 38.79 rating. For comparison, Luka Doncic was second with a 34.77 rating.

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A full explanation of how a player’s Global Rating is calculated can be found here. In layman’s terms, box score stats are assigned a value and then are added up for a single number. Games and minutes played are also factored into the equation.

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Lu Dort ranked the 23rd-best shooting guard in NBA

Lu Dort was ranked the 23rd-best shooting guard in the NBA, per @hoopshype

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The NBA is in its slowest time of the year, which means it’s a perfect opportunity to reflect on the current state of the league.

That’s what HoopsHype writer Frank Urbina did when he ranked the 24 best shooting guards heading into the 2023-24 season. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, they had a pair of entrants on the list.

Lu Dort comes in at No. 23 on the list, seven spots below teammate Jalen Williams’ No. 16 ranking.

“Luguentz Dort makes up for his offensive inefficiency by being a hugely impactful one-on-one defender. Dort has quick feet, great strength and a lot of toughness, and he makes it quite difficult for opposing guards to get by him. He will need to continue working on his offense, though, as he’s been so inefficient as a scorer that he has actually been a net negative for the Oklahoma City Thunder over the last two years. Over the past two campaigns, Dort has made the Thunder 0.3 points per 100 possessions worse during his time on the floor.”

Four seasons into his NBA career, Dort has established himself as one of the premier perimeter defenders in the league. While the outside shooting can be inconsistent, it doesn’t tank his value as a quality starting wing.

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Jalen Williams ranked the 16th-best shooting guard in NBA

Jalen Williams was ranked No. 16 among best shooting guards, per @hoopshype

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The NBA is in a collective pause as teams prepare for the 2023-24 season to start in October.

This dry period provides a perfect opportunity to reflect on the current state of the league and the influx of talent it possesses. To celebrate the imminent start of the season, HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina ranked the 24 best shooting guards in the league.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a pair of entrants on this list. Jalen Williams was ranked No. 16 as he prepares to play his second season following an impressive rookie campaign.

“We fully expect a breakout campaign from Thunder guard Jalen Williams next year, at least if his rookie season was any indication of his potential. Williams finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022-23 and with good reason, displaying smooth midrange scoring skills, a fantastic pull-up bucket-getting package and a calmness to his game truly unbecoming of a first-year player. As a rookie, Williams ranked in the NBA’s 81st percentile as an isolation scorer, producing 1.07 points per possession on such plays, a better rate than reigning league MVP Joel Embiid. It will be fun to see how Williams progresses as a second-year player in 2023-24. Even if he maintains his level from 2022-23, he’ll still be a hugely valuable player for Oklahoma City, as he won’t even rank in the NBA’s Top 250 in player salary in 2023-24 – an absolute steal for the Thunder.”

Even though Williams is more of a wing than a traditional shooting guard, it’s nice to see him get some recognition after he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting last season.

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