Tag: Steven Adams

Report: Hawks ‘have discussed’ Steven Adams as potential trade target

Per The Athletic, Steven Adams ‘has been discussed’ as a player the Atlanta Hawks could pursue via trade in an effort to help at center.

Thus far things have been fairly quiet on the trade front since the restrictions on free-agents singed over the summer were lifted on December 15.

But that doesn’t mean that discussions haven’t been going on in front offices across the league.

Oklahoma City has made it known that Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams are available to be traded. Paul so far hasn’t drawn any interest, but Adams has apparently caught the eye of a team in the East.

Per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk “told season tickets holders the team will have to address the center position in the coming months”. To do that, one of the players Atlanta has its eyes on in Oklahoma City big man, Steven Adams.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Oklahoma City is open to accepting the higher salaries that teams want to move, including long-term deals. The Thunder’s Steven Adams is one of those players who could be dealt before the deadline, and he is someone who has been discussed by the Hawks, according to a source inside the organization.

A trade for Adams would be appealing for the Hawks because Adams is slated to make $27 million before becoming a free agent in 2021, which, as noted by Kirschner “would not impact the Hawks during what could be a loaded free agency class”.

That being said, to give up Adams, Sam Presti would certainly want something significant in return.

Should Atlanta want to move forward in a deal for Adams, Kirschner believes that the player the Hawks would be most likely to part with would be Chandler Parsons, “because the salaries would match.”

Parsons is making $25 million this year and will hit unrestricted free agency this summer.

Atlanta does have a first-round draft pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but don’t get too excited, Kirschner doesn’t think that the Hawks would be willing to part with it unless it got them a bonafide NBA star in return.

Three takeaways from OKC’s 118-112 win over the Clippers

Oklahoma City overcame another double-digit deficit to win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career-high, and OKC dominated in the paint.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are over .500 for the first time this season at 15-14, thanks to a 118-112 come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday evening inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

OKC has now won four in a row. Here are three takeaways:

Thunder prove they’re comfortable playing from behind

For the third time in seven days, Oklahoma City had to overcome a double-digit deficit to get the win.

Montrezl Harrell made a layup with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter to give the Clippers a 53-35 lead. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder combined for the next 10 points to trim LA’s lead down to eight.

According to Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, Sunday night’s victory was the Thunder’s fourth comeback from 15 points or more. That’s tied for the most in the NBA this year.

 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was spectacular

It’s almost fitting that on the night that Oklahoma City welcomed back Paul George, one of the players that the Thunder received in return for him would steal the show.

Gilgeous-Alexander tied the career-high that he set earlier in the week, scoring 32 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the floor. SGA was perfect from the free-throw line and rounded out his stat sheet with three rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

 

Battle in the paint belonged to OKC

 Oklahoma City outscored the Clippers 60-40 in the paint Sunday.

Two major factors contributed to that. First, Steven Adams had a terrific game for OKC, recording a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Second, Terrance Ferguson showed why he’s in the starting lineup as a defensive stopper. Ferguson frustrated Paul George into just 6-of-17 shooting that included making just three shots from the field in the second, third, and fourth quarter combined.

The Thunder also outrebounded LAC, 49-42, allowing the Clippers just 10 offensive rebounds on the evening.

Gilgeous-Alexander ties career-high as OKC edges Paul George, Clippers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points as Oklahoma City overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat the Clippers 118-112 on Sunday night.

Paul George’s return to Oklahoma City was triumphant, just not on the scoreboard.

The former Thunder star was greeted by a standing ovation on Sunday night and was acknowledged for his contributions to “the team and the community” during starting lineup introductions.

Ironically enough, it was one of the players that Oklahoma City got in return for George that stole the show.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander matched his career-high with 32 points as the Thunder edged the Clippers 118-112 inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

As has been the case lately, Oklahoma City needed to put together a rally to pull out the win, although Sunday’s was slightly smaller, with OKC only needing to overcome an 18-point deficit.

In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander, three other Thunder players were in double-digits on Sunday. Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 28, Steven Adams had 20, and Chris Paul chipped in 12.

George scored 18 points for the Clippers, grabbing two rebounds to go along with three assists, and two steals.

Although he was listed as questionable, Danilo Gallinari did not play in the win. He experienced left ankle soreness during pregame and was a last-minute scratch from the starting lineup.

Darius Bazley made his second career start in his place.

Kawhi Leonard did not play for the Clippers due to injury management for left knee soreness. Patrick Beverly was also out on Sunday thanks to a sore groin.

Patrick Patterson, who spent last season in Oklahoma City as well, also received cheers in his return to OKC.

With the win, the Thunder are over .500 for the first time this season and have won four in a row.

Oklahoma City will have the next three days off over the Christmas holiday and will return to action on Thursday for their final game of a five-game homestand when they host the Memphis Grizzlies.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CT.

Thunder were at private movie screening at Penn Square Mall during shooting

An OKC spokesperson said “security was made aware immediately. The team was never in danger and was safe during the entirety of the event.”

Players from the Oklahoma City Thunder were at a private movie screening at Penn Square Mall when a shooting occurred on Thursday.

Adam Snider of KFOR in Oklahoma City posted a photo of Steven Adams walking out of the mall with R2D2 tucked under his arm.

Per both Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman and Erik Horne of The Athletic, a Thunder spokesperson said that “Thunder security was made aware immediately. The team was never in danger and was safe during the entirety of the event.”

At 4:58 p.m. CT, the Oklahoma City police tweeted an update, saying that the shooting appears to be an isolated incident.

According to The Oklahoman, the situation started as an altercation between two individuals, and one person was shot in the chest.

Police released an update at 5:44 p.m. CT, with a description of the suspect. They are still working to clear the mall and ask that people avoid the area.

Steven Adams: Next time to wear a suit is ‘at my funeral’

Chris Paul gifted his teammates custom-tailored Frere suits that they wore for ‘Suit Night’ ahead of their game Wednesday vs. the Grizzlies.

It takes a lot to get Steven Adams into a suit.

But Chris Paul gifting his Thunder teammates with custom-tailored Frere suits is a special occasion.

As part of a coordinated team plan to wear the new suits ahead of Oklahoma City’s game on Wednesday night, Adams donned the new threads, pairing his navy three-piece suit with a cobalt tie, crisp white button-down, and chestnut-colored loafers. He pulled the look together with a herringbone cap.

While his teammates’ game day fashion choices leave the player’s walk-in looking more like a catwalk, Adams is usually seen in sweats and sandals. His preferred choice of headwear, a fuzzy camo-print hunter’s hat with earflaps.

Adams looked dapper, there’s no doubt about it. But had it not been the entire team donning the new duds, Adams told Royce Young of ESPN he wouldn’t have worn the suit.

“He (Chris Paul) was like, ‘Wear it to the game, it’s a team thing,'” Adams said. “I was like, ‘Ah (expletive), I have to wear it.’ I was just gonna hang it up.”

But when Paul calls and says, “wear the suit”, you wear the suit.

The last time that Adams can remember wearing a suit was to Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma Hall of Fame event… in 2016.

“I didn’t realize how much time it takes to put on all that (expletive),” he said. “It’s a lot longer than I take normally. I didn’t account for it. I was just like, ‘Eh, (expletive) this, mate.'”

“A lot of buttons, a lot of weird little things,” he said. “It’s a three-piece suit, which means more buttons. … But it’s all pre-made Italian stuff.”

In fact, he told Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, that he needed help putting together the finished look.

“I didn’t even know what I looked like, mate,” Adams said. “I didn’t look in the mirror, had to get the valet dudes to kind of clean me up a bit. My collar was off and everything.”

Just because he showed out for “Suit Night”, don’t expect the look to become a staple in Adams’ wardrobe. When asked when the next time he’ll show up in a suit would be, in typical fashion, Adams answered, “my funeral, mate”.

Chris Paul bought custom tailored suits for Thunder teammates

Oklahoma City showed up to Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday in custom-tailored suits bought for them by Chris Paul.

Chris Paul is no stranger to style.

He’s got his own flair both on and off the court, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed this season. Earlier this year, Paul topped The Athletic’s NBA Style Power Rankings.

But Paul wanted to make sure that his teammates got in on the game day drip, gifting them all custom suits that they wore to Oklahoma City’s game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

According to The Oklahoman, Paul came up with the idea over the summer. He had a tailors come to take the initial measurements, then final adjustments and the suits arrived on Wednesday morning.

Paul said the idea came from him remembering what it was like to be young and not having much.

“I remember as a young guy, you don’t necessarily have different things or whatnot,” Paul said. “And it was just a gift. A gift to guys. Baze (rookie Darius Bazley) said this is the first suit he ever had, so to see him, it’s cool. And the cool part about it is not even what it is. It’s that we did it together.”

An incredibly generous gesture by Paul made even more special by the fact that the players got to do this together.

“I thought it was a cool team bonding experience,” Muscala told The Oklahoman. “… The best part was seeing everybody walk in because you’re not used to seeing a lot of guys wear suits.”

There’s no doubt that everyone looked fresh in their suits.

Hamidou Diallo, in a light gray windowpane plaid Frere suit he paired with a charcoal gray turtleneck and Alexander McQueen white sneakers said he “felt like a million dollars”.

 

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Look this good? Your team could never.

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But maybe no one stood out as much as Steven Adams, who is known for his eccentric taste in pre-game fashion.

In a video posted to the Thunder’s Instagram, Dennis Schroder is heard yelling, “oh that’s clean boy” as Adams enters the locker room.

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Oh that’s clean boy.

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Everyone needs a hype man like Schroder and a friend like Chris Paul.

Steven Adams had the best, NSFW reaction to Chris Paul’s custom suits for Thunder

Too good.

Chris Paul did a really cool thing for his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates: he bought them all custom-made suits, a veteran move from the future Hall of Famer.

But that was significant for another reason: all the Thunder players wore those suits before their game against the Memphis Grizzlies. And that meant center Steven Adams — known more for his casual sartorial choices — had to dress up.

The thing is, Adams looked FANTASTIC in the suit (we’ll get to that in a moment). But getting him into the look was apparently quite an ordeal for the Aussie, who delivered this incredible quotes (via ESPN):

“He was like, ‘Wear it to the game, it’s a team thing,'” Adams said. “I was like, ‘Ah s—, I have to wear it.’ I was just gonna hang it up.” …

“I didn’t realize how much time it takes to put on all that s—,” he said. “It’s a lot longer than I take normally. I didn’t account for it. I was just like, ‘Eh, f— this, mate.'”

“A lot of buttons, a lot of weird little things,” he said. “It’s a three-piece suit, which means more buttons. … But it’s all pre-made Italian stuff.”

He also wore an awesome newsboy cap inspired by Peaky Blinders:

He has been watching “Peaky Blinders” on Netflix and went to get his beard trimmed, and the barber was selling hats similar to those worn on the show. So he bought one, not knowing if or when he’d actually ever wear it.

Check out the look and some reaction (including a Peaky Blinders nod):

[jwplayer FSUJXoNr-q2aasYxh]

OKC overcomes 24-point deficit behind Schroder’s 31, defeat Grizzlies 126-122

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the Thunder are the first team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 24-point deficit in back-to-back games.

For a three-minute stretch at the beginning of the third quarter, it looked like Oklahoma City’s fate against the Grizzlies was already decided.

Down 89-65 with 7:10 left in the frame, the Thunder caught fire, closing out the quarter by outscoring Memphis 28-11 to cut the deficit to 100-93 heading into the fourth.

Like they did Monday against the Bulls, the Thunder took back the lead in the final frame, a Dennis Schroder jumper with just over eight minutes to play.

Chris Paul put OKC out in front 122-120 with a minute left to play and it was Schroder on Wednesday night that iced the win, making all four of his free-throw attempts down the stretch.

Per Elias Sports Bureau, the Thunder are the first team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 24-point deficit in back-to-back games. They are the second team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 20-point deficit in back-to-back games, joining the Pacers on Jan. 11 and Jan. 13, 2010.

After the game, Billy Donovan gave his team credit for grinding it out despite a tough first half.

“We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys. Certainly, the bench was a major factor in us being able to put ourselves in a position to get back in the game. I thought we closed the game well. I thought we got good shots and did some good things down the stretch.”

Oklahoma City’s bench outscored the Grizzlies’ 52-49, with 31 of those bench points for OKC coming from Schroder.

Five other players for the Thunder were in double-digits, Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both had 20, Chris Paul scored 18, and Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel added 13 and 10 respectively.

With the win, Oklahoma City improves to 13-14 on the year and 9-5 at home.

The Thunder are back in action on Friday when they host the Phoenix Suns.

Steven Adams on game-winning free-throw: ‘I absolutely (expletive) my pants’

Steven Adams banked in a free-throw with 4.3 seconds left to give the Thunder the lead in their 109-106 win over Chicago on Monday night.

If there’s one thing that Oklahoma City fans can count on, it’s Steven Adams being his most authentic self.

And once again, that was on display during his post-game interview with reporter Nick Gallo following the Thunder’s 109-106 come from behind win over Chicago.

With 4.3 seconds left on the clock and the game tied at 106, Adams banked in the first of two free-throws. Although he missed the second, he grabbed the offensive rebound, ensuring that Oklahoma City would escape with a victory.

Adams has struggled over the course of his career from the charity stripe but has hit several big free throws down the stretch for Thunder this year.

Gallo asked Adams what he was feeling in the moment making the free throw and then making the big play. And Adams, as is typical of his interviews, did not disappoint.

“I absolutely (expletive) my pants. It’s pretty tough. I didn’t realize how much pressure it is. But I made it mate, can be happy with it.”

The interview definitely made better by Dennis Schroder making fun of Adams for needing to use the backboard.

Regardless of how it happened, Adams’ shot went in and Oklahoma City capped up their largest comeback win at home, overcoming a 26-point deficit to beat the Bulls.

Oklahoma City ties team record for biggest comeback in win over Bulls

Down 26 in the second quarter, the Thunder came back to beat Chicago 109-106, tying the team record for the biggest come-from-behind win.

Buoyed by Chris Paul’s huge fourth quarter, Oklahoma City capped off a historic comeback with a 109-106 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.

Down by 26 in the second quarter, the win is the largest come-from-behind victory at home in franchise history. It ties Oklahoma City’s largest comeback overall, matching when the Thunder came from 26 down to beat the Rockets in Houston last February.

Paul hit on all five of his three-point attempts in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 of his team-high 30 points in the final frame.

With the game tied at 106 and 4.3 seconds left on the clock, Steven Adams hit the go-ahead free throw. He missed the second but was able to get the offensive rebound that allowed OKC to keep possession. Paul sank two more free throws to seal the victory.

When asked about what he was feeling in those final moments at the line, Adams was his usual unrestricted self, saying he “absolutely (expletive) his pants” before adding it was “pretty tough”.

Trailing by 26 in the second quarter, the Thunder cut the deficit to 19 at the break, thanks in part to Danilo Gallinari’s 17 first-half points. Oklahoma City outscored the Bulls 33-22 in the third quarter to draw within eight, finishing the quarter on an 8-0 run.

But it was Paul’s fourth three of the quarter that gave OKC a 101-100 lead with 4:10 to play. The Thunder would not trail the rest of the way.

Paul led Oklahoma City with 30 points, while also grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out eight assists.

Three other players were in double digits for the Thunder, Gallinari with 22, Dennis Schroder had 18, and Terrance Ferguson, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time after missing five games with right hip soreness, scored 12.

Zach LaVine led all scorers with 39.