Report: OKC Thunder to have meeting with free agent Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will fly out to Oregon to meet with Isaiah Hartenstein in a free-agent meeting, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
He described it as an aggressive pitch by OKC. Hartenstein is a perfect fit in OKC at the backup center spot. He could shore up its size and rebounding woes.
Hartenstein had a breakout year last season with the New York Knicks. He took over the starting center spot for them once Mitchell Robinson went down and was a starter for 49 out of 75 games.
The 26-year-old averaged 7.8 points on 64.4% shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. He was a starter in their playoff run.
The Thunder have $30 million in cap space to spend this offseason. They will likely sign Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to extensions. OKC declined the duo’s cheap options for next season.
If the Thunder adds Hartenstein, it will likely be a short-term deal. The Thunder must clear up cap space in two years once the impending extensions of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams kick in.
With cap space teams Orlando focused on wing free agents and Utah focused on current roster decisions, and Knicks working to un-hardcap — sources say the OKC Thunder are in Eugene, Oregon, set to meet with Isaiah Hartenstein.
Report: Thunder declines options for Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins; hope to extend both.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have declined the team options for Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins ahead of their June 29 deadline, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Joe had a $2.1 million team option and Wiggins had a $2 million team option for the 2024-25 season. The Thunder foregoes the cheap salaries in exchange to begin negotiations on long-term deals for the bench duo.
There’s a bit of a risk involved with these moves as they allow other teams to offer contracts to Joe and Wiggins — who will be restricted free agents. With that said though, it’s easy to assume the Thunder have already had discussions about a new deal for both and none of this caught anybody by surprise.
Joe and Wiggins have been staples of OKC’s depth. They were valuable finds by the Thunder as Joe was a training camp cut by the Philadelphia 76ers and Wiggins was the 55th pick in 2021.
The Thunder can keep both on what will likely be team-friendly deals. They have over $30 million in cap space this offseason to spend, so expect those two to command most of that.
In 78 games last season, Joe averaged 8.2 points on 45.8% shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He shot 41.6% from 3 on 4.5 attempts.
In 78 games last season, Wiggins averaged 6.9 points on 56.2% shooting, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He shot 49.2% from 3 on 1.6 attempts.
The Thunder will get their first crack at handing them extensions at the start of free agency. If they’ve already shook on a deal, expect an announcement to happen soon.
Report: Thunder sign Saint Mary’s Alex Ducas to two-way deal.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed undrafted rookie Alex Ducas to a two-way deal, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The 23-year-old played in five college seasons with Saint Mary’s from 2019-24. He was a starter for his last three collegiate campaigns with the Gaels.
In 34 games last season, Ducas averaged 9.9 points on 45.3% shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He shot 43.8% from 3 on 5.4 attempts. At 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, he has great size for a guard.
Ducas’ addition fills in one of the three two-way slots for the Thunder. They will likely sign Keyontae Johnson and Ajay Mitchell to the other two spots.
Expect Ducas to spend most of next season with the G League’s OKC Blue. He’ll get a chance to make his pro debut in the summer league for the Thunder.
Report: Thunder trade Lindy Waters III to Warriors for No. 52 pick of 2024 NBA draft.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Lindy Waters III to the Golden State Warriors for the No. 52 pick of the 2024 NBA draft, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
This gives the Thunder a shot to add another rookie to their draft class. They selected Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick and Dillon Jones with the No. 26 pick in the first round.
This marks the end of Waters III’s three-season tenure with the Thunder. He was a two-way player for most of his time at OKC and was converted to a standard deal twice. He has a $2.2 million team option for next season.
The 26-year-old was buried on the depth chart last season and seldom played. He averaged 3.6 points on 47.1% shooting, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists. He shot 43.5% from 3 on 2.2 attempts.
This is cheap depth for the expensive Warriors. Waters III has shown flashes of being a good shooter, which is always a hot commodity in the league.
Meanwhile, OKC flips someone who was likely going to get his option declined for a cheap second-round rookie. There’s a decent chance who they add will be in a two-way slot next season.
None whatsoever, even though it sure felt like Charania was taking a shot at fellow NBA scoop master Adrian Wojnarowski, who had the Hurley revelation first. You know, the very same Wojnarowski who is McAfee’s teammate at ESPN. In fact, McAfee made the awkward decision of actually praising Charania on air after only the slightest, vague referral to saying he’s “Completely OK with other NBA guys being our [ESPN’s] guy.”
This was certainly a choice:
Shams Charania takes a victory lap on ESPN after new reports from Woj listing JJ Redick as a top Lakers HC candidate.
Then Pat McAfee comes in:
"Shams is our NBA guy. Completely OK with other NBA guys being our guy, but Shams has been our guy for literally half a decade." pic.twitter.com/eBtZokq2s3
I’m not going to pretend to know what’s going on behind the scenes at ESPN. But I can’t imagine the higher-ups were happy to see this apparent Wojnarowski slight enabled by McAfee … live on one of their shows.
After everything, it’s so odd but completely unsurprising to see McAfee essentially feed this NBA scoop reporter beef.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading this morning. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time today.
I remember what it was like when Kendrick Lamar dropped “Meet the Grahams.”
That was the moment the beef between him and Drake ended. It wasn’t even that the song was great — it was just about how cold and calculated it was.
Drake dropped his “Family Matters” diss at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night and had everyone thinking he’d just cooked Kendrick. An hour later, Kendrick drops a YouTube link. The first thing you hear are those piano chords and then, the next thing you know, Kendrick Lamar is reading Drake for filth. Drake could never recover.
Then, here comes Woj with details on the “accelerating” Hurley news with conversations expected to “escalate” in the coming days. Y’all know how the NBA Insider Speak goes — those are fighting words now.
Woj vs. Shams is the NBA media version of Kendrick vs. Drake. Woj put Shams on his first tour, basically! They’ve been battling for scoops ever since they separated. Usually, though, the battle is about who gets the story first.
Here, they kind of have two different stories. Somebody is right and somebody is wrong. It’s one of those “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us” situations.
To be fair to everyone here, a head coaching search is almost always a developing situation. Someone can be in the lead for a job and not necessarily be the ideal candidate for that team. Sometimes, other candidates come out of nowhere. That could easily be the case here with Redick and Hurley.
Hurley’s clearly a much better candidate with, ya know, actual head coaching experience! He doesn’t just talk about his ideas on podcasts — he’s executed them before. That probably makes him the ideal candidate for the job.
So Charania doesn’t necessarily have to be wrong here. He even explained how he got to where he did on Redick while confirming the Hurley news over at The Athletic. Redick was the first candidate to get a face-to-face meeting with the team. By all accounts, LA seriously considered him for the job and certainly still could if this Hurley move falls through (which is possible, by the way).
But hey, man. We’re going to get these jokes off one way or another. Somebody drop the NBA Insider version of “Not Like Us,” please. These virtual streets need it.
A’ja Wilson is your way-too-early WNBA M’VP
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
I mean, honestly, could it be anyone else at this point?
I know Napheesa Collier is having a fantastic season and the Lynx are 7-2 right now. Breanna Stewart is also having a great year with the Liberty. DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas are also playing incredibly well for the undefeated Connecticut Sun.
But it can’t be anybody else but A’ja right now. She’s carrying like no one has ever carried before.
Wilson finished with 36 points, 14 rebounds, six steals, two assists and a block against the Stars on Wednesday. She became the first player in WNBA history ever to have at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in a game, per ESPN.
A'ja Wilson is the first player in WNBA history with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals in a game 😮🔥 pic.twitter.com/CLnJNBC0c4
Like I said, nobody is carrying the way that she’s carrying right now.
It’s still early in the season and the Aces aren’t on the same tear as last season. It’s entirely possible this could change. But if she keeps this play up? It’ll be hard to center the conversation around anyone else but her.
Who will Sean Payton throw under the bus this time?
Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
Another year, another quarterback for Sean Payton to scapegoat after what will probably be another mediocre season in Denver.
According to DraftKings odds, Bo Nix is the favorite to become the Broncos’ starting quarterback this year. Our Robert Zeglinski said that also makes him the favorite to be thrown under the bus by Payton next year.
“Maybe Nix surprises everyone and keeps the Broncos afloat as a playoff contender in a stacked AFC. Crazier things have happened. But that scenario doesn’t feel all that feasible.
When push comes to shove, if Nix struggles — which is understandable because he’s a rookie on an awful team — rest assured that Payton will waste no time throwing him to the wolves in the interest of self-preservation. In that case, it won’t really work because the other options are Jarrett Stidham (gross) and Zach Wilson (yes, he’s still in the league).”
Best of luck, Bo Nix. And the rest of that QB room, too. You’re going to need it.
Quick hits: Why Dan Hurley makes sense in LA … New Vikings unis … and more
Reporters dramatically disagree about how long KAT will miss with his injury.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has reportedly suffered a left meniscus injury, which is awful news for the big man.
Towns was named a Western Conference All-Star this season after he missed a large chunk of the last season due to injury. He has played an integral role on the Timberwolves, currently tied for the best record in the West and the second-best record in the NBA.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Towns was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Charania reported that the Minnesota star is out indefinitely.
Just in: Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee and is out indefinitely, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. pic.twitter.com/JlPe73PnN9
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, meanwhile, it “remains unclear” how much time Towns will miss due to the meniscus injury. In fact, per Woj, we don’t yet know if the Timberwolves star will miss any time at all.
ESPN Sources: Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has suffered a left meniscus injury, but it remains unclear about how much, if any, time he’ll be required to miss. Towns and team are working to get full understanding of degree of injury and whether it demands immediate action.
“Karl-Anthony Towns has suffered a left meniscus injury, and doctors are evaluating whether that will require the Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star to miss a significant period of time, sources told ESPN on Thursday morning.
Towns is undergoing further evaluation to determine whether an immediate procedure is required, or whether there are rehab options that could return him to Minnesota’s lineup in the more immediate future, sources said.
A decision is expected soon, sources said.”
So to summarize, Charania’s reporting is that Towns is out indefinitely while Wojnarowski’s reporting is that the big could return in the “more immediate future” for the Timberwolves.
That is a bit confusing, of course, because Wojnarowski and Charania are considered the two most trusted basketball news-breakers in the industry.
The two reporters were also formerly coworkers at Yahoo Sports, where Woj was a mentor for Shams before the two became rivals. So it is especially interesting to see these two end up with such wildly different reports about how much time Towns will miss.
In reality, doctors have likely not yet determined the right treatment plan for the former No. 1 overall pick. But until then, this is a wildly important update for Minnesota’s title hopes.
This transaction isn’t too shocking. Pokusevski has been outside of the Thunder’s rotation for the entire season. After not being signed to an extension this past offseason, it was evident his time in OKC was coming to an end.
The 22-year-old struggled to gain consistency with the Thunder. Viewed as a long-term project, Pokusevski never panned out. Even when he looked like a solid rotation player, a fractured leg halted any momentum he gathered last season.
In four seasons, Pokusevski averaged 7.5 points on 38.7% shooting, 4.7 rebounds and two assists. He shot 29.9% from 3 on 3.5 attempts. The Thunder now have a vacant roster spot.
Shams Charania: OKC Thunder could add a veteran backup big at trade deadline.
The NBA trade deadline is less than a week away, which means the Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the anticipated day as buyers for the first time in several.
The Thunder (34-15) are in striking distance for the playoffs’ first seed and will almost certainly participate in the playoffs for the first time since 2020. While OKC likely will not make a massive change, it can upgrade its depth.
The biggest area of weakness for the Thunder is their rebounding. OKC is one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, ranking 28th in rebounding rate and 26th in rebounds per game.
Not having a traditional backup center on the roster likely plays a role in this, which means a backup big could be the type of player the Thunder target.
The Athletic’s NBA insider, Shams Charania, lends credence to this theory in a recent podcast appearance.
“I think everyone thinks the Thunder are in the market to use all their draft picks to go get a high-name, high-end player. I don’t think the Thunder’s trade deadline priority is getting a top-tier player,” Charania told Kenny Beecham on The Kenny Beecham Podcast. “I think they want to see this core. … They are deep, now the one thing they could use is size. I have heard that they are a team that will at least look into veteran big-man play. Now, who that is? We will see.”
This shouldn’t be a massive shocker. Under Thunder general manager Sam Presti, OKC has historically added help to contending rosters. This season fits under that. A backup big could provide the experience and size the Thunder desperately need.
Despite the winning record in Milwaukee, Griffin’s departure wasn’t exactly shocking. Rivers, who was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers until last season, makes plenty of sense as his successor. Rivers was already serving as an “informal consultant” for the team, per The Athletic.
What baffled everyone, however, is that the first outlet credited with breaking the news was CNN Sports. Even though CNN is a trusted news outlet, it isn’t a desk known for its sports department.
So what exactly happened here? How did basketball insiders like Adrian Wojnarowski (currently Rivers’ colleague at ESPN) and Shams Charania get scooped by an outlet that doesn’t have much of a sports presence?
During a broadcast of NBA on TNT, host Adam Lefkoe relayed that CNN Sports was reporting that Doc Rivers was accepting the head coaching gig with Milwaukee.
Jamal Crawford, the longtime NBA player who is now an analyst on the show, immediately asked Lefkoe to confirm that the outlet was indeed CNN. How is this possible? Others had the same question. Here is more from Awful Announcing:
“This Doc Rivers report is the first time CNN Sports has been mentioned as a thing in literally decades. CNN Sports Tonight, the highlight show alternative to SportsCenter from Turner, hasn’t aired since 2001. CNN was linked with the Sports Illustrated brand before the platform was taken over by Bleacher Report sports content in 2013. In fact, all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports branding had transitioned to Bleacher Report in the last several years before it literally just rebranded to TNT Sports earlier this month.”
A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports later reported, however, that the news was fully vetted by CNN before it was passed along to TNT.
someone should tell cnn sports that cnn sports is apparently breaking the doc rivers news pic.twitter.com/I6JjTNhyZv
It is important to note that CNN and TNT are both owned by the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. But at the time of the broadcast, there was nothing on the CNN Sports website that mentioned Rivers.
Unless CNN suddenly has a secret NBA source nobody else has, I have a guess at how this happened. It is important to know that Warner Bros. Discovery owns CNN and TNT, and operates NBA TV.
But this was far from the end of the story and the confusion continued.
Milwaukee Bucks and Doc Rivers continue to work towards a deal that will make him the franchise’s next head coach, but there is no agreement in place as of now, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
Chris Haynes, who is widely considered the network’s top basketball insider and news breaker at NBA on TNT and Bleacher Report (which is also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) refuted the report.
He claimed there is “no agreement” yet in place for Rivers to take over as the head coach of the Bucks. Bill Reiter of CBS Sports also reported that there is no agreement in place.
So what exactly happened here? Was this a giant miscommunication or was CNN Sports the first publication to break this news? Basketball fans had a lot of questions.
