Today, (Sunday) July 2 is the 9th anniversary of the settlement that allowed the owners of the Seattle SuperSonics to move the NBA franchise to Oklahoma City. The franchise has been among the most successful NBA franchises since 2008-09; that year was the inaugural season for the renamed Oklahoma City Thunder.



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Happy Anniversary and many more . . .

Oklahoma City appears to be a very solid NBA market. 2017-18, we will begin our 12th year as an NBA city (2-Hornets/9-Thunder). Attendance figures are strong & consistent:

2005-06 Hornets - 18,168
2006-07 Hornets - 17,833

2007-08 No NBA franchise


2008-09 Thunder - 18,693
2009-10 Thunder - 17,813
2010-11 Thunder - 18,003
2011-17 Thunder - 18,203 (297 consecutive sellouts)


OKC metro area population:


2005 - 1.01 million
2010 - 1.25 million
2016 - 1.38 million

Our city's growth looks encouraging; very similar to Portland & Charlotte when they entered the NBA.

Oklahoma City Thunder Roster: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunderhttp://

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Terrance Ferguson requested jersey #23; tentative roster spot--hasn't signed his 2017 contract.

Thunder: FIBA clearance keeping Terrance Ferguson from summer league.


Terrance Ferguson, the Thunder’s first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, missed his second consecutive game of the summer league Monday. There’s more to Ferguson’s absence than an unsigned contract.

Unlike other prospects typically entering the NBA, Ferguson, 19, is coming off a season as a professional for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia. Players coming from overseas are required to get a letter of clearance from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in order to play, and Ferguson hasn't received his yet, a Thunder spokesperson told The Oklahoman on Monday.

. . . The 6-foot-7, 184-pound Ferguson is currently not with the team in Orlando.

http://newsok.com/thunder-fiba-clearance-keeping-terrance-ferguson-from-summer-league/article/5555145

Thunder signed Patrick Patterson to 3/16 deal (third year player option). Great signing. Definitely prefer Patterson to Gay. Presti is on fire!

This also marks the biggest free agency signing in Thunder history.

Very, very solid player. Exactly what the Thunder need.

Not nearly the offensive player that Gay is but Patterson is a decent backup/role player that will prob start for the Thunder. Now Presti needs to ship Roberson off and get some more offense. The NBA today is about offense. Hopefully some team signs Roberson to a huge offer sheet that the Thunder can't match.

Gay is coming off a serious achilles injury. I straight up prefer Patterson over Gay for that reason alone. I obviously disagree on Roberson. Roberson will make this Thunder defense versatile and one of the top in the league. Resigning Robes and finding a backup PG and this team is ready to go.

Thunder defense should easily be top 10, maybe top 5 this year.

Thunder defense should easily be top 10, maybe top 5 this year.

It was top 10 last season. Top 5 is definitely attainable.

Gay is coming off a serious achilles injury. I straight up prefer Patterson over Gay for that reason alone. I obviously disagree on Roberson. Roberson will make this Thunder defense versatile and one of the top in the league. Resigning Robes and finding a backup PG and this team is ready to go.

This is all that's needed. We will be a tough out come playoff time.

Celtics will need to get of Smart and/or Rozier, which both would be an interesting backup choice for us. The Hayward decision was the last major domino this offseason, the rest should fall in place soon.

Presti realizes he has to have the Thunder ready for the 2017-18 season where he only has to tweak a player or two come All Star break. 3 year 16.4 million = $5.47 million MLE.

Patrick Patterson 2016-17 stats: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4264

Strengths: 6.8 PPG, .717 FT%, FG% .401

CBS Sports:
Patterson is defensive minded stretch four that doesn't need the ball in his hands. This is perfect next to two ball-dominant players like George and Westbrook, and he's not too bad at setting screens either. The real win here, however, is on defense. Oklahoma City has long athletic defenders that can do a lot of switching, which will make it tough for opponents get baskets.

Oklahoma City Thunder roster update: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

Paperwork & actual contract signing & filing still needs to be done to make these players official. FIBA clearance needed on Terrance Ferguson.

Roberson back on 3 year deal for $10 million a year. Good deal for OKC.

He turned down a 4 year - $48 million dollar offer last year. A lot of people misjudged the market this year combined with the atrocious contracts given out last year that ate up teams' cap space.

Good value for the Thunder.

Oh Joy the hackarob going to be fun to watch for the next 3 years! Listening to ESPN radio today and they brought Roberson up and they said there was only one team interested in his services. Yes,you guessed it,the Thunder.

Sources: Forward Andre Roberson agrees to 3-year, $30M deal with Thunder: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19846123/restricted-free-agent-forward-andre-roberson-reaches-agreement-three-year-30-million-deal-stay-oklahoma-city



Restricted free agent forward Andre Roberson has agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources told ESPN.

One down & two to go: Back-up point guard & Westbrook's contract.

Oh Joy the hackarob going to be fun to watch for the next 3 years! Listening to ESPN radio today and they brought Roberson up and they said there was only one team interested in his services. Yes,you guessed it,the Thunder.

Within the NBA world, Roberson's signing was almost universally praised. The Thunder just got the best wing defender in the NBA (save maybe Kawhi) for $10 million a year. Great value for the Thunder. And he's a better fit for a team with Paul George. Advanced stats show what most common fans don't see... that defense matters. Most of us like to see players who can score like Kanter, but don't notice guys who keep others from scoring. There's a reason almost all advance stats show that Roberson is a far more valuable player than Kanter. What an offseason for Presti!

Good reading on Roberson's signing:

https://sports.yahoo.com/thunder-keep-andre-roberson-30m-deal-continues-strong-summer-043715666.html

Within the NBA world, Roberson's signing was almost universally praised. The Thunder just got the best wing defender in the NBA (save maybe Kawhi) for $10 million a year. Great value for the Thunder. And he's a better fit for a team with Paul George. Advanced stats show what most common fans don't see... that defense matters. Most of us like to see players who can score like Kanter, but don't notice guys who keep others from scoring. There's a reason almost all advance stats show that Roberson is a far more valuable player than Kanter. What an offseason for Presti!

Good reading on Roberson's signing:

https://sports.yahoo.com/thunder-keep-andre-roberson-30m-deal-continues-strong-summer-043715666.html

+100 Great deal for the Thunder - Robes can defend 4 positions better than anyone in the league.

Posting advanced stats for anybody interested.

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There's gotta be a way to make that bigger/readable.

Presti is shaping this team to be majorly anti-wing. Plus you still have Adams inside. Basically OKC is being built into the anti-Warriors/Rockets.

^^^^^^^
Seems like the best strategy, unless you just intend to wait out a Warriors implosion, which could take years at this point. And if you're going to do that, might as well pack it in and start a tear-down and total rebuild sans Russ. I like this option way better.

Also, gotta give it up to the West; looks like few teams are willing to give up on competitiveness in favor of a scratch rebuild timed to rise as GSW falls. Should be a murderers' row this year, and really fun to watch.

Oh Joy the hackarob going to be fun to watch for the next 3 years! Listening to ESPN radio today and they brought Roberson up and they said there was only one team interested in his services. Yes,you guessed it,the Thunder.
Get to watch him go 3-22 from the free-throw line the next 3 years. And he is paid $10million a year to go 3-22 from the line. Wow!

Get to watch him go 3-22 from the free-throw line the next 3 years. And he is paid $10million a year to go 3-22 from the line. Wow!

What do you think about the rest of his game?

Really good write up on Dakari Johnson for anyone interested.

"If Dakari Johnson had been drafted in 2005 instead of 2015, his value would be through the roof as a backup 5. However, in today’s we-only-love-extremely-versatile-bigs mantra he might find himself on the outside looking in for a 15-man roster spot."

https://2ways10days.com/despite-major-improvements-dakari-johnson-still-on-the-outside-looking-in-6fcd4a1e755f

The rest of his game is good. But when it's a close game and they start hacking and exposing him to force Donovan's hand to take him out, that's what is going to get annoying. If i were him i would be in the gym practicing only free throws this off season.

The rest of his game is good. But when it's a close game and they start hacking and exposing him to force Donovan's hand to take him out, that's what is going to get annoying. If i were him i would be in the gym practicing only free throws this off season.

I agree it's annoying, but it's the only thing some people can talk about when discussing him (not you, obviously), which suggests they're not recognizing that he's the hardest working defensive player on our team who covered Russ' defensive laziness all season. He takes so much pressure off other players and was the primary reason OKC was a top 10 defensive team and had success. Also, I guarantee you Roberson is, and has been, working on his free throws every day. Everyone seems to think free throws + hard work = improvement, but that's not the case for a lot of players who fail to substantially improve their free throw percentages over their careers. Some guys dedicate the attention on free throws and even get worse. I hope Andre improves, but I wouldn't count on his shot (free throws or threes) ever improving. However, with the Thunder's acquisitions like a stretch 4 in Patterson, Donovan might be able to play Robes as a "big" on offense who cuts around the basket instead of sitting on the three point line. This could help Roberson be more appropriately used as he was against Golden State in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. But, more than anything, OKC is paying for an elite defensive talent. I'm glad OKC has him back in the fold on such a reasonable deal.

Agree, Roberson did minimized the pressure off the Thunder offensive game. I'm confident he will improve his free throws; as long as he doesn't allow it to affect his mentality.

You have a number of Thunder players who will receive compensation for steps (experience) associated with the players' CBA. Many of them have game deficiencies in need of improvement.

Happy for Roberson's achievement.

Hopefully Roberson won't have to shoot many 3s next season. His game is within 2 feet of the basket anything outside that perimeter could end up as an air ball.

Raymond Felton signing a 1 year deal with OKC for the veteran minimum. A huge (literally and figuratively) upgrade over Semaj Christon at backup point guard. Again, Presti is really having an amazing offseason.

OKC is way over the luxury tax line and still have to sign Tarrance Ferguson. While OKC might be willing to pay the tax I suspect they'll either (a) try to lessen their bill by stretching Kyle Singler's contract (or trading him with an asset attached) or (b) trade Kanter before the trade deadline in February (which might require an asset attached also). Either way, the Thunder are going all in this season.

Raymond Felton signing a 1 year deal with OKC for the veteran minimum. A huge (literally and figuratively) upgrade over Semaj Christon at backup point guard. Again, Presti is really having an amazing offseason.

OKC is way over the luxury tax line and still have to sign Tarrance Ferguson. While OKC might be willing to pay the tax I suspect they'll either (a) try to lessen their bill by stretching Kyle Singler's contract (or trading him with an asset attached) or (b) trade Kanter before the trade deadline in February (which might require an asset attached also). Either way, the Thunder are going all in this season.
I believe you can only stretch a contract once and I highly doubt they'll use it to stretch Singler. Now they might stretch Kanter or trade him. That contract is just terrible.

Does Collison retire? Doesn't seem like there is much room for him on this roster, would hate to see Mr Thunder go elsewhere.

I believe you can only stretch a contract once and I highly doubt they'll use it to stretch Singler. Now they might stretch Kanter or trade him. That contract is just terrible.

Never heard you can only stretch one contract. Maybe you're thinking of the old amnesty provision? Kanter, while overpaid, is an NBA player who is useful in some situations; Singler is not. Stretching Kanter's contract would also include like $34 million. That would still mean paying something like $7 million per season fof 5 years. That would be quite a salary hit for a guy not playing. Singler's would be a lot less.

Does Collison retire? Doesn't seem like there is much room for him on this roster, would hate to see Mr Thunder go elsewhere.

I've been wondering this too. Love to see him back for another season.

Why not add Nick Collison to the coaching staff?

Raymond Felton addition: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

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#2 PG6' 1", 205 lb., Age: 33

15 musical chairs left with 16 tentative roster players.

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Welcome to Thunderdome; 'two men enter, one man leaves...'

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Just wanted to extend the invite to OKCTalk! Let's make a lasting impression on PG13 and his family!

http://www.flyokc.com/cms/GetImage.aspx?ID=80fee361-7a2e-47ab-8e88-a73e01c89fbf

Tracking Paul George's arrival to OKC (Will Rogers World Airport): http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SJE5/history/20170711/1630Z/KVNY/KOKC

.

Thunderous welcome for Paul George.

OKC - PG 1 3

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https://www.facebook.com/OKCThunder/videos/10154891394083995/

Nick Collison signs one-year deal and will retire after season: https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/14/15972184/nick-collison-thunder-retire-season-cement-lifer-status

Nick Collison signs one-year deal and will retire after season: https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/14/15972184/nick-collison-thunder-retire-season-cement-lifer-status

Good news. Great player over the years and glad to see him retire in the Thunder blue.

You now have player combinations (Westbrook, George, McDermott, Roberson, Abrines, Grant) who can spread the floor. Last season was full of frustration where RW couldn't rest or catch his breath with a 10 point lead that would evaporate in a few minutes.

Defensive fouls on 3 point shooters; this will be a major concern that needs to be addressed.

Hope things get better. Those of you who have been advocates of trading RW, you just have no idea as to how he impacts the Thunder. Once you blow up this team it may take 10-15 years before we have a competitor. Take the Lakers with all their tradition, they would love to get back into playoff competition.

New uniforms are out:

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Not very innovative. They don't look any different from the uniforms Adidas did. Where's the creativity?

the swoosh was innovative before it was cool, i guess

There's tremendous irony in the fact that the team with one of the most fashionable stars in the sports world is perhaps the least innovative with its branding.

Love the Thunder but have always thought their branding was embarrassing and easily the worst in the league, maybe all of big-league sports.

There was not expected to be much change on these jerseys, but the next two uniforms will be new. And, yes, OKC has the worst bearing in the NBA across the board.

There was not expected to be much change on these jerseys, but the next two uniforms will be new. And, yes, OKC has the worst bearing in the NBA across the board.

When do those next two uniforms make their appearances?

Love the Thunder but have always thought their branding was embarrassing and easily the worst in the league, maybe all of big-league sports.

I always thought the Barons proposal with black and gold and the obvious ties to oil would have been the most perfect match in all of sports. But alas, we get the Thunder.

We will also be one of 8 teams with a throwback jersey. Interesting to hear that with the hostility in Seattle.

We will also be one of 8 teams with a throwback jersey. Interesting to hear that with the hostility in Seattle.

I don't think this is correct. People misread a headline. It wouldn't make sense for OKC to have a throwback.

When do those next two uniforms make their appearances?

I think they could even be released/debuted during the season, but there's no confirmation yet.

I don't think this is correct. People misread a headline. It wouldn't make sense for OKC to have a throwback.

Yep after I sent that they confirmed they would not be wearing a Sonics throwback.

I think the Thunder have done a good job basically acting like a new expansion team rather than a relocated team.

We don't have any of "our" old championship banners hanging up in the rafters, so I wouldn't expect them to wear "our" old uniforms.

Sonics are dead long live the Thunder!

Isn't there a clause somewhere that if Seattle ever gets another team, that team wil have the rights to all old Sonic records and such, at which point we would lose them anyway? So it makes sense to not even bother with them.

I think the Thunder have done a good job basically acting like a new expansion team rather than a relocated team.

Agreed but I'd still love to see Sonic buy the naming rights to the arena and name it the Super Sonic Center..... The heat from angry Supersonic fans might melt the North Pole though! ;)

Isn't there a clause somewhere that if Seattle ever gets another team, that team wil have the rights to all old Sonic records and such, at which point we would lose them anyway? So it makes sense to not even bother with them.

Yep. If they get a new team, they retain their franchise history.

Just refreshed myself:

Looks like Seattle kept the rights to anything with the name SuperSonics, including the jerseys, banners, colors, etc. But the franchise record of the Sonics went to the Thunder.

So I guess "we", aka "the Thunder", won the Championship a long time ago? Which could mean that we could hang a "Thunder NBA Champions 19whatever" banner up, since it's still "our" championship? And if Seattle gets a team they get the old branding, but not the old records?

I can see that being a confusing mess, and I like the "we are basically a new franchise with no record" approach a lot better.