Oklahoma City Thunder 20118-19 roster: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

Anticipate adjustments to this initial roster down to 14-15 players.

Oklahoma City Thunder Team Roster

NO. NAME POS AGE HT WT COLLEGE 2018-2019 SALARY
8 Alex Abrines SG 24 6-6 190 $5,455,236
12 Steven Adams C 24 7-0 255 Pittsburgh $24,157,303
7 Carmelo Anthony PF 34 6-8 240 Syracuse $27,928,140
3 Corey Brewer SG 32 6-9 186 Florida
30 Deonte Burton SG 24 6-5 250 Iowa State
-- Hamidou Diallo SG 19 6-5 198 Kentucky
35 PJ Dozier PG 21 6-6 205 South Carolina
2 Raymond Felton PG 34 6-1 205 North Carolina $1,512,601
23 Terrance Ferguson SG 20 6-7 184 $2,118,840
13 Paul George SF 28 6-9 220 Fresno State $30,560,700
9 Jerami Grant SF 24 6-9 220 Syracuse $8,653,847
-- Devon Hall SG 23 6-6 206 Virginia
25 Daniel Hamilton SG 22 6-7 195 Connecticut
-- Kevin Hervey PF 22 6-8 211 Texas-Arlington
34 Josh Huestis SG 26 6-7 230 Stanford
44 Dakari Johnson C 22 7-0 255 Kentucky $1,378,242
3 Nerlens Noel C 24 6-11 220 Kentucky $1,757,429
54 Patrick Patterson PF 29 6-9 230 Kentucky $5,451,600
21 Andre Roberson SG 26 6-7 210 Colorado $10,000,000
15 Kyle Singler SF 30 6-8 228 Duke $4,996,000
0 Russell Westbrook PG 29 6-3 200 UCLA $35,654,150

Coach: Billy Donovan

Exclude X. Anthony, Burton will probably get that 13th spot:

These guys are under contract:


1. Alex Abrines SG 24 6-6 190 $5,455,236
2. Steven Adams C 24 7-0 255 Pittsburgh $24,157,303
X. Carmelo Anthony PF 34 6-8 240 Syracuse $27,928,140
3. Raymond Felton PG 34 6-1 205 North Carolina $1,512,601
4. Terrance Ferguson SG 20 6-7 184 $2,118,840
5. Paul George SF 28 6-9 220 Fresno State $30,560,700
6. Jerami Grant SF 24 6-9 220 Syracuse $8,653,847
7. Dakari Johnson C 22 7-0 255 Kentucky $1,378,242
8. Nerlens Noel C 24 6-11 220 Kentucky $1,757,429
9. Patrick Patterson PF 29 6-9 230 Kentucky $5,451,600
10. Andre Roberson SG 26 6-7 210 Colorado $10,000,000
11. Kyle Singler SF 30 6-8 228 Duke $4,996,000
12. Russell Westbrook PG 29 6-3 200 UCLA $35,654,150

Should leave the Thunder with one or two spots to work with up to the ASG...

I think Singler will be stretched in the least.

I can see them going after Diallo also.

Burton signed a two way contract last week.

Is it possible to stretch only a portion of Anthony's contract?

The problem with stretching Melo is that all of the sudden you have $9.3M on the books you have no recourse to remove. If you can stretch just the $7.9M over $20M, I'm pretty sure that alone would save something like $50M - stretch a bit more depending on whatever else you're planning on bringing in.

No a team cannot stretch only part of a contract. It has to be the whole remainder of the contract.

The problem with stretching Melo is you have $9 million on the books for the next 3 years. It’s not good, but it may be the only option...

Rumors have a deal between the Hawks and Thunder, involving Melo, Schroeder and Muscala.

And i'm sure more to come.

Rumors have a deal between the Hawks and Thunder, involving Melo, Schroeder and Miscalla.

It would be nice to see this happen so OKC can get something for Melo, but the rumor is coming from only one guy and he has already been wrong about a Melo trade in the last week and has no track record of breaking trade news. We'll see though.

It really says a lot about Melo that the Thunder will still simply waive him if they can't find a trade partner. How can this dude still have such a stubborn ego? A team is literally willing to say "go away" while still paying $27 million.

The would keep Melo if it were JUST the $27 million. The problem is the tax. NOBODY is worth $27 million PLUS nearly $100 million in tax for one year of play. That said, I don't blame him for signing the deal one bit. Straight business move.

It really says a lot about Melo that the Thunder will still simply waive him if they can't find a trade partner. How can this dude still have such a stubborn ego? A team is literally willing to say "go away" while still paying $27 million.

I mean, Melo was signed to that contract and the Thunder traded for him AND his contract. What do you want Melo to do?

^^^^^^^^^
Exactly.

I think I wasn't very clear in my post.

The Thunder have stated they are waiving Melo no matter what (trade partner or not). The Thunder could eat the $27 million this season and keep Melo on the roster. But they straight up want him off the team. So much so, that they aren't even willing to keep him, even after paying him.

I think I wasn't very clear in my post.

The Thunder have stated they are waiving Melo no matter what (trade partner or not). The Thunder could eat the $27 million this season and keep Melo on the roster. But they straight up want him off the team. So much so, that they aren't even willing to keep him, even after paying him.

but they wouldn't be eating the $27 million... they would be eating more than $100 million to keep him on the team... unless they stretched his contract over a couple of years

I think I wasn't very clear in my post.

The Thunder have stated they are waiving Melo no matter what (trade partner or not). The Thunder could eat the $27 million this season and keep Melo on the roster. But they straight up want him off the team. So much so, that they aren't even willing to keep him, even after paying him.


but they wouldn't be eating the $27 million... they would be eating more than $100 million to keep him on the team... unless they stretched his contract over a couple of years
this is correct ..

if if was just 27 mil they would keep him stretching his contract saves them 104 million dollars in cash this season

I know this... My post was not about saving the Thunder money. It is about the fact the Thunder would rather have an empty roster spot than keep Melo. The dude is a negative on team impact, and this proves it.

I don't think the Thunder would want to stretch him, those next 2 years will be painful. Thunder ownership is collectively one of the wealthiest in the league, eating the tax this season is the smarter move.

I know this... My post was not about saving the Thunder money. It is about the fact the Thunder would rather have an empty roster spot than keep Melo. The dude is a negative on team impact, and this proves it.

I don't think the Thunder would want to stretch him, those next 2 years will be painful. Thunder ownership is collectively one of the wealthiest in the league, eating the tax this season is the smarter move.

You're making a big assumption that the Thunder can just eat a $100+ million in tax on the largest team tax in NBA history. I'm not sure where you're getting your information, but I am sure the owners are unwilling to pay $100+ million in tax. The plan has likely always been to reduce it. This is why Melo will be off the team regardless. If Melo and the tax weren't such massive factors then Thunder might have worked towards an on-the-court solution, but it's a moot point. The Thunder clearly are making a financial decision.

I guess I don't get the "stubborn ego" comment and the Melo hate. Is Melo struggling adjusting his expectations as his skills diminish? Absolutely. Was he a good teammate pretty much all season? By all accounts, yes. Did he accept the role the team asked of him? Yes, he dramatically changed his game to fit on the Thunder (his percentage of threes doubled last season). I think it's in the best interest of both parties to move in different directions, but I have no interest in trashing Melo on his way out the door.

^^^^^^^^
This x1000. The Thunder swung for the fences in trading for Melo, but in hindsight it was not a good fit. Melo by all accounts brought more humility and candor to his approach than probably he ever has, anywhere, anytime. By all accounts he was a great locker room guy, good with the media, respectful and appreciative of everyone. I admire the shot he and the team gave the move; it was simply a bad fit. His game is a tough fit in today's league, period, though I think some team is going to figure out how to use him and you are likely to see a respectable act II out of him before he bows out of the league.

About the worst thing he did while he was here was that he was 100% honest in his exit interview when he said he still felt he had something to give a team as a starter, and heck, I think he is PROBABLY right. It's just not THIS team. But they took on his contract eyes wide open - knowing he had a player option that was much higher than his market rate - and they did the deal. He had no obligation to anyone to not take that option. It was negotiated fair and square, and taken on by the Thunder without hesitation or complaint. He ESPECIALLY had no option to sacrifice millions to sign with a team that - while he may have liked them as individuals and as an organization - he knew would not be making him a key part of their game plan from there on out, possibly causing him to play out one of his few remaining seasons on the bench.

Honestly, I probably would have handled it exactly the way he did, and if I was his agent would have advised him to play it that way. And the impression I get is that the Thunder doesn't hold it against him in the least. I think there is plenty of respect left between all parties.

Carmelo Anthony in my estimation is probably the most "professional" professional basketball player we have ever seen wearing an OKC jersey.

It wasn't so much about what the Thunder paid to obtain Melo; just think about what we gave up...

Melo's traded to the Hawks for Schroder and Muscala going to Philly. They'll pay Melo the full amount and waive him with Rockets the leader to sign them.

So now we hope Shroder gets thrown in jail and it voids the contract? All hail Presti.

Breaking news, Thunder trades Carmelo Anthony to Atlanta...


Breaking: The Thunder have agreed to trade Carmelo Anthony and a protected 2022 first-round pick to the Hawks for Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala. (via @wojespn)

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eser p%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Dennis_Schroder_2015_cropped.jpg/330px-Dennis_Schroder_2015_cropped.jpg
17 Dennis Schroder PG 24 6-1 172 $15,500,000

http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Anthony+Johnson+Mike+Muscala+pXidRZStlRSm.jpg
31 Mike Muscala PF 27 6-11 240 Bucknell $5,000,000

https://cdn.herosports.com/upload/player_image/timothe-luwawu-cabarrot-292.png
There has been reports of Muscula being moved to Philly and mention of Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot coming to OKC (who I like) and Justin Anderson going to Atlanta.
http://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3893019/timothe-luwawu-cabarrot

Well, the rumors were mostly true. Good trade for OKC. Team is very athletic, but short on shooting. Gonna need a lot of 3s from PG, Abrines, and Patterson.

Getting anything of value at all for Melo is a good get. Like Dan says, there isn't much shooting at all, but they are fast, athletic, and can play defense.

Twammel said he thinks that the Thunder will look to trade Schroder.

Twammel said he thinks that the Thunder will look to trade Schroder.

Probably not right away. He’s basically another Westbrook coming off the bench. That speed and pace could wear teams down.

Another nice move by Presti... Everyone was sure he was gonna use the stretch provision and instead he comes up with a sixth man with 2 years of experience as starting point guard for Atlanta....Sure Schroder has had some issues but this was really a solid move...

Oklahoma City Thunder 2018-19 roster updates via ESPN NBA: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

17 . . . . . Dennis Schroder . . . . . G . . . . . 24 . . . . . 6-1 1 . . . . .172lbs., $15,500,000
07 . . . . . Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot . . . . . G . . . . .23 . . . . . 6-6 . . . . .200 lbs., $1,544,951

Probably not right away. He’s basically another Westbrook coming off the bench. That speed and pace could wear teams down.

That was Trammels opinion and I hope he's wrong. The Thunder could use a 1st rate player like Schroder. I just heard on the News9 that Westbrook is Schroders favorite player so maybe there's hope for him staying.

The Thunder did two things with this trade. First, they found a potentially productive 6th man and backup point guard. Second, they got rid of the possibility of having Melo's dead salary on the books for three years. The only way this goes bad is if Schroder really fails and the Thunder get stuck with him.

One other thing about Dennis Schroder is that he has a pending felony aggravated battery charge against him currently. If he lost the case, he could actually be deported and the Thunder would be off the hook for his salary... which is far better than waiving Melo and having his dead salary on the books for three years. I can't speak to the case against Schroder since I haven't researched it much, but it actually sounds pretty messed up.

The basic allegation is Shroder and his friends (business partners?) beat a guy up for leaving bad reviews about his hookah bar. They beat him so bad that they tore ligaments in the guy's legs.

Honestly the chances of him going to jail is actually pretty decent. Unless of course money reasons keep him out.

Presti could be out here playing 12-D chess if he made this trade to void the contract due to prison time. That would be hilarious and next level GM material.

The basic allegation is Shroder and his friends (business partners?) beat a guy up for leaving bad reviews about his hookah bar. They beat him so bad that they tore ligaments in the guy's legs.

Honestly the chances of him going to jail is actually pretty decent. Unless of course money reasons keep him out.

Presti could be out here playing 12-D chess if he made this trade to void the contract due to prison time. That would be hilarious and next level GM material.

really? cause last I saw he was still just a misdemeanor offense... there was an article I remember back in march that someone somewhere wanted it to be a upgraded to a felony, but haven't seen anything else on it since then. If you saw something I missed, please post reference to it, because I would like to see it

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http://www.badideatshirts.com/Assets/ProductImages/PS_1312_NOTHING_HERE.jpg

No blackeyed peas, chitterlings or collard greens...

https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/dennis-schroder1.jpg?quality=95
Getty Image

Atlanta Hawks point guard Dennis Schröder was arrested early Friday morning on a single charge of misdemeanor battery, according to Dekalb County court records.

Nothing was upgraded to a felony. Change of scenery, a town like OKC may give him the energy necessary to take advantage of a second chance to redeem himself.

This is the story: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/dennis-schroder-atlanta-hawks-battery-arrest-charges-update/

This is the article discussing the possible upgrade to a felony. There hasn't been any ruling on the charge.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766903-dennis-schroder-may-face-felony-battery-charge-after-fight-that-led-to-arrest

To cheer for somebody to get arrested, I'll never understand fandom.

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http://www.thesportsanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/1026/2015/05/pintobroadcast110322.jpg
Matt Pinto’s Thunder Full Court Press

My nomination for the FoxOklahoma Thunder play-by-play voice to replace Brian Davis.

To cheer for somebody to get arrested, I'll never understand fandom.

It's the Oklahoma way that's been bred into peoples. "Oklahoma" the State with the highest incarceration rate in the WORLD! Take dem apples!

Hey call the law that guy has a joint, Put him in the slammer for about 10 years so he can learn his lesson. Or maybe just give the guy life without parole. Don't think it can't happen? Think again

It's the Oklahoma way that's been bred into peoples. "Oklahoma" the State with the highest incarceration rate in the WORLD! Take dem apples!

Hey call the law that guy has a joint, Put him in the slammer for about 10 years so he can learn his lesson. Or maybe just give the guy life without parole. Don't think it can't happen? Think again

Did you read the article in the DOK this week about the drug court? if missed it you should give it a read. Very insightful

Dakari Johnson out -

TFerg could be next -

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

Are we (OKC) the smallest market in the NBA?

Take a closer look at those small market cities (Memphis, NOLA, OKC & SLC); OKC appears to be demographically stable; yet we were the last small market NBA city to join the Association:

NBA attendance: http://www.espn.com/nba/attendance


13 Thunder 41 746,323 18,203 100.0
15 Jazz 41 734,806 17,922 90.0
25 Pelicans 41 673,920 16,437 95.6
28 Grizzlies 41 653,863 15,947 88.0

Urban population: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population


25 Memphis Tennessee 652,236 646,889 +0.83%
27 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 643,648 579,999 +10.97%
49 New Orleans[17] Louisiana 393,292 343,829 +14.39%
116 Salt Lake City Utah 200,544 186,440 +7.56%

Metropolitan population: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistical_areas


41 Oklahoma City, OK MSA 1,383,737 1,252,987 +10.44%
42 Memphis, TN-MS-AR MSA 1,348,260 1,324,829 +1.77%
46 New Orleans-Metairie, LA MSA 1,275,762 1,189,866 +7.22%
48 Salt Lake City, UT MSA 1,203,105 1,087,873 +10.59%

TV households: https://www.lyonspr.com/latest-nielsen-dma-rankings/


34 Salt Lake City 916,960 0.799
41 Oklahoma City 722,140 0.63
50 New Orleans 641,620 0.559
51 Memphis 633,930 0.553

Salt Lake City (Jazz) relocated from New Orleans in 1979
Memphis (Grizzlies) relocated from Vancouver 2001
New Orleans (Hornets-Pelicans) relocated from Charlotte 2002
Oklahoma City (Supersonic-Thunder) relocated from Seattle 2008

Presti still not through. Picked up Nadar from Boston for Rodney Purvis. Nadar was rookie of the year in the d league a couple years ago. Wing man. Effective post Melo departure

Nice move for Presti,

Did we get Abdel Nader ($1,378,242) off the clearance rack? http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

PG giving us 3 years is allowing Presti to think further than 1 step ahead. He can mold the team for the next few years, having that security is huge.

PG giving us 3 years is allowing Presti to think further than 1 step ahead. He can mold the team for the next few years, having that security is huge.

Adding in Adams and Grant for three seasons and Roberson for two seasons, that is a pretty good timeline to get stuff figured out by him.

2018-19 Thunder Roster update: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

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Three-team deal sending Melo to Atlanta official

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2018%2F0423%2Fr360771_1296x518_5% 2D2.jpg&w=1296&h=518&scale=crop&cquality=40&location=origin

Royce YoungESPN Staff Writer
It's official: Carmelo Anthony is now a member of the Atlanta Hawks: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24191365/three-team-trade-sending-carmelo-anthony-atlanta-hawks-now-official


The Hawks will waive Anthony and after he clears waivers after 48 hours to become an unrestricted free agent. The expectation is that he will sign with the Houston Rockets.

Adrian Griffin leaves OKC for Toronto.

Diallo signs 3 year rookie deal. One athletic dude.

Could be a steal. Thunder did as well as any other team roster wise since the end of last season.

Could be a steal. Thunder did as well as any other team roster wise since the end of last season.

The Raptors, Lakers, (ugh) Warriors might be in this convo... even if the Lakers did terrible aside from LeBron.

Dakari Johnson out -

TFerg could be next -

Why do you say that? I would love to see him in the rotation off the bench. Think of the athleticism of our second team:

PG - Schroder
SG - TFerg
SF - Huestis
PF - Grant
C - Noel

They are all still young, but those guys would run and if they could trust each other, could really wear people down.

Why do you say that? I would love to see him in the rotation off the bench. Think of the athleticism of our second team:

PG - Schroder
SG - TFerg
SF - Huestis
PF - Grant
C - Noel

They are all still young, but those guys would run and if they could trust each other, could really wear people down.

Nice starter second team reserves.

Huestis, not so sure he'll return, any news on his contract? ESPN NBA Oklahoma City Thunder roster: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

I would maybe insert Diallo in there somewhere because this dude has some juice. Also can't forget about our Vet backup PG. Good to have some veteran leadership out there with a bunch of young guys.

I tend to think the entertainment factor on this team is going to be very high. Some serious athletes all over the roster. That can be said for many NBA teams, but when you start with the super-freak of all super-freaks in Russ, and move on from there, it should be fun to watch.

Huestis almost for sure gone... and likely out of the league for G League or Europe.

The Thunder’s one weakness right now is clear: lack of shooting. If there are more changes, I’d hope they address that.

LOL Melo already got Rocket fans groaning. He is once again refusing to come off the bench. Dude is delusional.



"I know how to play this game of basketball. I've been playing it for a long time. When I feel like I'm ready to take that role, then I'll take that role. Only I know when it's best for me to take that role. I'm not going to do that in a situation where I still know my capabilities and what I can do. And at the end of the day, the people who really matter know my capabilities and what I can still do. You start getting to the media and debates, it's going to always be kind of back-and-forth."
Presti deserves a statue just for ridding us of Anthony and his lame attitude.

His mind does not realize his body can't do what it did 7 years ago. Delusional is correct.

All I know is he better not somehow light it up in Houston doing the exact same garbage he did here, but just hitting shots.

This team is okay but definitely some shooting needs. Not sure we have really lost any shooting from last year with Anthony being spectacularly unspectacular.

Abrines is now a huge piece to this team. He needs to be a 40% 3 point shooter who can play adequate defense. If he can improve on his playoff performance against Utah, I think we'll be pleasantly surprised by how solid the bench can be and how much more we can do with closing lineups.

Also, I know a lot of people have talked about Felton losing tons of minutes to Schröder...Thing is: Felton was our 3rd best Catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter last year at an incredibly solid 39.1% (Abrines was at 40.4% and George at 40.8%)

If Westbrook could tick up from 36% to 38% on catch and shoot going from 1.1 to 2 attempts per game, I think would go a long way toward opening combinations of all 3 point guards.

This year definitely needs to be about finding a way to integrate Schröder with Westbrook or realizing we need to abandon the practice going forward.

All I know is he better not somehow light it up in Houston doing the exact same garbage he did here, but just hitting shots.

This team is okay but definitely some shooting needs. Not sure we have really lost any shooting from last year with Anthony being spectacularly unspectacular.

Abrines is now a huge piece to this team. He needs to be a 40% 3 point shooter who can play adequate defense. If he can improve on his playoff performance against Utah, I think we'll be pleasantly surprised by how solid the bench can be and how much more we can do with closing lineups.

Also, I know a lot of people have talked about Felton losing tons of minutes to Schröder...Thing is: Felton was our 3rd best Catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter last year at an incredibly solid 39.1% (Abrines was at 40.4% and George at 40.8%)

If Westbrook could tick up from 36% to 38% on catch and shoot going from 1.1 to 2 attempts per game, I think would go a long way toward opening combinations of all 3 point guards.

For Melo's shortcomings in the playoffs, people are completely exaggerating the negative effect he has on the team offensively. First, the starting lineup numbers with him were elite, which suggests he was not at all the disaster he's being painted as. Second, he was the second most valuable shooter behind PG on a team without much shooting. Yes, Melo shot worse than expected at just above the league average at his 35.7%... but his shooting still helped the team a lot. Defenders respected Melo's shot and he thus pulled defenders towards him, which opened up the paint for others. It's not just about making threes, but about taking them a high volume and the defense respecting it. Only Paul George gets the respect as a shooter that Melo gets. Here's the number and percentage of threes for 2018-2019 players:

PG: 244 on 40.1%
Melo: 169 on 35.7%
Russ: 97 on 29.8%
Abrines: 84 on 38%
Felton: 81 on 35.2%
Schroder: 76 on 29%
Patterson: 67 on 38.6%
TLC: 53 on 33.5%
Ferguson: 40 on 33.3%
Grant: 32 on 29.1%

One of fan bases favorite things to do during the offseason is project better shooting from players without evidence. There's not much evidence to suggest that Russ is going to improve as a three point shooter. Could he take more spot up threes, which he shoots at a higher percentage? Yeah, but there's no reason to think Russ will actually become a valuable off ball player. We say that every offseason and it never happens. Abrines has never got consistent minutes and Ferguson did not shoot well or garner any respect from defenses. Also, any of these guys could also have worse shooting seasons. Only Patterson has a history that suggests that he could handle more shots.

Anyway, guys could show improvement, but Melo made a lot of threes and demanded defensive attention that opened the lane up for Russ, Adams, PG, and others. I think OKC made the right move to move on from Melo, but this suggestion that he only hurt the team is untrue and is probably overly influenced by his abysmal performance in the playoffs. Let's hope OKC can find some shooting on the roster or add someone because that's the hole on this team right now.