Tag: OKC Blue

OKC Blue to take part in G League bubble with games beginning February

The Oklahoma City Blue will be part of the G League bubble that will have games in February and March.

The Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s development team, will take part in the G League bubble, it was announced Friday.

The Blue are one of 18 teams that will participate. Seventeen of the teams will be G League affiliates of NBA teams and the other will be the G League Ignite, a one-year developmental program for elite prospects.

This bubble will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the same location as the NBA bubble last season.

Players and staff will be subject to the safety protocols implemented by the league and resort, including coronavirus testing, social distancing and mask wearing.

A Dec. 29 article from The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that teams will start arriving in their home markets on Jan. 19, get to the Orlando site on Jan. 26 and then tip off for the first games on Feb. 8.

The scheduled, which at the time was reported to be 12 to 15 games, will lead up to a playoff schedule from March 5-9.

The top eight teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff, the G League said.

There will be a G League draft for the teams participating that will take place at noon Central time.

Oklahoma City went 20-22 last season under first-year head coach Grant Gibbs.

The 18 teams are:

  • Agua Caliente Clippers (LA Clippers)
  • Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)
  • Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)
  • Delaware Blue Coats (Philadelphia 76ers)
  • Erie BayHawks (New Orleans Pelicans)
  • Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Indiana Pacers)
  • Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte Hornets)
  • Iowa Wolves (Minnesota Timberwolves)
  • Lakeland Magic (Orlando Magic)
  • Long Island Nets (Brooklyn Nets)
  • Memphis Hustle (Memphis Grizzlies)
  • Oklahoma City Blue (Oklahoma City Thunder)
  • Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors)
  • Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets)
  • Salt Lake City Stars (Utah Jazz)
  • Santa Cruz Warriors (Golden State Warriors)
  • Westchester Knicks (New York Knicks)
  • G League Ignite

NBA G League season expected to be canceled, players to be paid through end of schedule

While the NBA’s season remains in limbo, the G League season looks set to be canceled with one month left on the schedule.

In a particularly cruel twist of fate to LiAngelo Ball, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews reported on Sunday that the G League season would likely be canceled.

The league postponed its season indefinitely, along with the NBA, on Wednesday following the positive test result for the coronavirus from Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. Unlike the NBA, though, the G League is not a profitable venture and, given the expected long wait until any sports league resumes, canceling the season was viewed as the best option moving forward.

While the news is damning for all parties involved, it’s particularly frustrating for Ball. After earning his way onto the OKC Blue G League roster as serving as a practice player for two months, Ball’s official G League career lasted all of one game in which he did not play in on Wednesday.

It’s yet another setback for Ball’s professional career. Not only will the G League season be canceled but the Summer League, another area Ball could have likely made an impression on future teams, will be severely postponed or even potentially canceled as well given the uncertainty of when the league will return.

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LaVar Ball says LiAngelo would have been lottery pick if not for China incident

LaVar Ball recent spoke in an interview about LiAngelo Ball signing with the Oklahoma City Blue and his path to get there.

While Lonzo and LaMelo Ball have proven to be NBA-caliber players, LiAngelo Ball has been far off the mark for much of his amateur and professional career. The middle of the Ball brothers, LiAngelo has a vastly different skill set than either of his brothers.

While both Lonzo and LaMelo excel with the ball in their hands as playmaking guards, LiAngelo has been more of a spot-up shooter that, actually, complements his brother’s skillsets.

LiAngelo, though, has never been a particularly efficient shooter and, as a result, has struggled to find a steady professional career. His incident in China added a black cloud over his career and held him back even further.

However, he’s finally broken through in recent months, first joining Oklahoma City’s G League affiliate as a practice player before being extended and signing a G League contract with the OKC Blue.

During an interview with Forbes, LaVar talked about LiAngelo signing with a G League team and how big of an accomplishment that was.

“It wasn’t a big deal because here’s the thing; all my boys are going to go pro. So Gelo went a different direction, that means he has to take a different route. But they all cut from the same cloth. If Gelo didn’t do what he did, he would have been a lottery pick too. It’s not like I’m going to have two boys living in my house saying, ‘Oh nah I’m not going to work out like that.'”

LiAngelo was nowhere nears a lottery-level talent and LaVar claiming so also discredits the hard work LiAngelo put into getting into the G League. To go from practice player to earning a contract is no small feat. Saying it’s not a big deal because he’s a lottery talent diminishes that.

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Lu Dort not practicing with Thunder…for a very specific reason

Dort is signed to a two-way contract this year, meaning he can only spend 45 total days with the Thunder, including games and practice.

Lu Dort isn’t practicing with the Thunder.

That might seem incredibly strange for a player that has recently made his way into the starting rotation, but it’s a necessity for Dort not to practice…for a very specific reason.

Dort is signed to a two-way contract this season, meaning that in splitting time between the Thunder’s NBA G League affiliate, the OKC Blue, and the Thunder, Dort can spend a total of 45 days with Oklahoma City. That includes games and practice.

So there’s no time to waste.

Billy Donovan told Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman that they’ve been keeping Dort up to speed through constant film sessions.

“You’ve got to watch a lot of film with him,” Donovan said. “You’ve got to catch him up. He’s got to certainly watch and spectate. All those things become important, following the rules in terms of how we can best keep him engaged to what’s going on and what we’re doing.”

Dort stepped into the starting rotation when Terrance Ferguson missed eight straight games during the month of January.

Although he did score a career-high 23 points in Oklahoma City’s win over the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 29, Donovan told Lee that Dort has also filled the much-needed role of defensive stopper.

“He’s really defended well,” Donovan said of the rookie. “I think what I look at more than anything else is the fact that every matchup that he’s going against is for the first time in his career, and he’ll learn a lot though that.”

Dort has played in 17 games so far for Oklahoma City, with nine starts. He’s averaging 7.9 points, 1.4 rebounds, and .8 steals per game.

He has started both games since Ferguson returned to practice on Feb. 3, and is likely to start on Sunday when the Thunder host the Boston Celtics.

OKC Blue makes G-League history with 32 made 3-pointers

The OKC Blue made history on Tuesday night, making 32 of their 65 3-point attempts in a 148-113 win over the South Bay Lakers.

It was raining three’s inside the Cox Convention Center on Tuesday night.

The OKC Blue set a new G-League record, making 32 3-pointers in their 148-113 win over the South Bay Lakers.

As a team, the Blue shot 49% from beyond the arc, hitting on 32 of their 65 attempts.

Abdul Gaddy and Two-Way player Devon Hall led the way for the Blue, knocking down six 3-pointers apiece. Vincent Edwards added five.

The Blue is second in the league in 3-pointers made this season with 451 and fifth in 3-point percentage at 36.8%.

After being assigned to the Blue on Tuesday morning, Deonte Burton was in the starting lineup. He finished the night with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting and contributed one of the team’s 32 3-pointers in 30 minutes of play.

New OKC addition, Isaiah Roby was also on assignment from the Thunder. He logged 16 minutes, scoring nine points while hitting on 4-of-7 from the floor and going 1-of-2 from three.

The Blue is back in action on Thursday when they travel to take on the Memphis Hustle. Tip-off is at 10:30 a.m. CT inside the Landers Center and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Justin Patton scores 45 for OKC Blue, most in G-League this year

Patton scored 45 points on 19-of-31 shooting from the field, including 4-of-8 from three. He also had 13 rebounds and nine assists.

If the Thunder were indeed looking to trade Justin Patton, Tuesday night’s game could certainly attract some buyers. Or, it could be the game that persuades Sam Presti to keep Patton within the organization.

Patton scored 45 points in the OKC Blue’s win 149-140 over the South Bay Lakers. He also grabbed 13 rebounds to complete the double-double, along with nine assists.

According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, Patton’s 45-point game is the highest-scoring game for any G-League player this season.

He shot 61.2% from the field, hitting on 19-of-31 field goal attempts, including going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Patton was on assignment to the Thunder’s NBA G-League affiliate after being with the Thunder on Monday night for OKC’s win over the Timberwolves.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Patton was averaging 10.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.77 blocks in 27.4 minutes per game. He has played in 23 games for the Blue this year, starting in 22.

Patton had been the subject of trade rumors earlier this month when The Athletic reported on Jan. 2 that the Thunder “were likely to trade Patton within the week”.

That was before Nerlens Noel injured his ankle against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Since then, Patton has been back-and-forth between the Thunder and the Blue.

He’s appeared in four games for Oklahoma City this season, scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds in 14 minutes of game time.

Deonte Burton, Justin Patton recalled to OKC ahead of game vs. Lakers

A day after being reassigned to the OKC Blue, both Deonte Burton and Justin Patton have been recalled to the Thunder.

Just a day after being reassigned to Oklahoma City’s NBA G-League affiliate, both Deonte Burton and Justin Patton have been recalled to the Thunder.

Burton and Patton were assigned to the OKC Blue on Friday afternoon and both were in the starting lineup for the Blue’s 120-97 win over the Raptors 905 on Friday night.

Patton played 29 minutes, scoring 15 points and 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.

Burton saw 31 minutes of game time, scoring 8 points to go along with four boards and four assists.

Patton, Burton and the rest of the OKC Blue got some sideline support in the form of Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat courtside to watch the game.

Both Burton and Patton saw action in Oklahoma City’s win over the Rockets on Thursday night.

The Thunder tip-off inside Chesapeake Energy Arena on Saturday against a Los Angeles Lakers squad that will be without LeBron James.

Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Nerlens Noel will miss fourth straight game due to ankle injury

Noel is still sidelined with the sprained left ankle that he suffered in the third quarter of OKC’s win over the Cavaliers on Jan. 4.

The good news is that Nerlens Noel is improving. The bad news – he’s still out and will not play against the Lakers on Saturday.

Per Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan gave the update on Noel’s status Friday afternoon.

There is still no timetable for OKC’s center to return, but Noel has not suffered any setbacks in his recovery.

Noel first suffered the ankle injury on January 4 in Oklahoma City’s win over the Cavaliers. He was chasing a loose ball during the third quarter when he appeared to step on the foot of Tristan Thompson, rolling his ankle at an awkward angle.

Noel left the game against the Cavs and did not return.

He missed the Thunder’s games against Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Houston following the injury.

Oklahoma City had recalled Justin Patton for those games to help give the Thunder some size and depth on the bench, but he, along with Deonte Burton were reassigned to the OKC Blue on Friday afternoon.

Noel is not known much for his scoring, however, he brings a solid defensive presence.

Per NBA.com, Noel is 13th in the league in blocks per game, averaging 1.5 per contest. He’s also fourth on the Thunder in rebounding, pulling down 5.1 boards per game.

Oklahoma City tips off against the Lakers inside Chesapeake Energy Arena at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday night.

Deonte Burton and Justin Patton assigned to OKC Blue

Both players are expected to be in uniform on Friday night when the Blue host the Raptors 905 inside the Cox Convention Center at 7 p.m. CT.

The Thunder assigned both Deonte Burton and Justin Patton to the OKC Blue.

The team announced the move on Friday morning.

Patton had been recalled to the Thunder on January 5 after it was announced that Nerlens Noel would miss Oklahoma City’s game against the 76ers with a sprained left ankle.

Patton did not play against Philadelphia or in OKC’s overtime win over the Nets. He did see three minutes of game time against the Rockets, pulling down three rebounds.

In 21 games with the Blue, Patton is averaging 10.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.71 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game, shooting 51.3 percent from the field.

Burton has played sparing minutes for the Thunder in recent weeks.

His best outing was on Thursday against Houston, in which he scored four points in four minutes of play. He played 16 minutes against Brooklyn, scoring three points to go along with three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.

With the Blue, Burton has started in seven games and is recording averages of 16.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.14 blocks in 35.5 minutes.

Per the team release, both players are expected to be in uniform tonight when the Blue host the Raptors 905. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Thunder recalls Justin Patton from OKC Blue

Patton is averaging 10.4 points and 8.1 rebounds in 21 games for the Blue this season. He’s appeared in two games for the Thunder this year.

Justin Patton has been recalled to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Per Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, the team announced the move on Sunday evening, following the news that Nerlens Noel will miss Monday’s game against Philadelphia with a sprained left ankle.

Noel was injured during the third quarter of Saturday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers when he stepped on the left foot of Tristan Thompson and rolled his ankle. He left the game and did not return.

Patton has spent the majority of the season with the Thunder’s NBA G-League affiliate, the OKC Blue.

He’s appeared in 21 games for the Blue with 20 starts. He’s averaging 10.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in 27.2 minutes per game.

Patton’s status with the organization has been a question mark as of late. Patton’s name was mentioned in conjunction with trade rumors last week, as John Hollinger of The Athletic reported that the Thunder were “likely to trade” Patton within the coming week.

Patton has played in two games for the Thunder this season, scoring two points and pulling down two rebounds in nine total minutes.