Oklahoma City Thunder 2017-18

[Laramie]

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.

Happy Anniversary and many more . . .

[Laramie]

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.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City Thunder Roster: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/...thunderhttp://

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

[Laramie]

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-clear...rticle/5555145

[dankrutka]

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.

[Jake]

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

[OKCRT]

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.

[dankrutka]

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.

[Bellaboo]

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.

[Jake]

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

[dankrutka]

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

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

[sooner88]

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.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City Thunder roster update: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/...a-city-thunder

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

[Laramie]

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.

[dankrutka]

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

[Jake]

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.

[OKCRT]

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.

[dankrutka]

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-kee...043715666.html

[Bellaboo]

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-kee...043715666.html

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

[SOONER8693]

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!

[dankrutka]

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?

[Sirsteve]

This has got to be one of the most frustrating seasons ever if only because of the potential and all the supposed firepower we have. Heres my take on this team and this season
1. Russell has regressed from last year
2. We have no identity
3. Our defense is sub par
4. Our bench is even worse
5. Our coach while a very smart x's and o's guy cant seem to find the right mix or just maybe there isnt a right mix
6. We are way to inconsistent
7. last years team was better than this years and thats a hard pill to swallow
8. The frustration is starting to show on this "team" and that can spell doom
9. I never realized how important Roberson was to this teams defense and one has to wonder how different our record would be if he was still healthy
10. If this team somehow manages to muck this up and miss the playoffs....i see big changes ahead with the front office or coaching or both not to mention certain players jumping ship.

[king183]

This has got to be one of the most frustrating seasons ever if only because of the potential and all the supposed firepower we have. Heres my take on this team and this season
1. Russell has regressed from last year
2. We have no identity
3. Our defense is sub par
4. Our bench is even worse
5. Our coach while a very smart x's and o's guy cant seem to find the right mix or just maybe there isnt a right mix
6. We are way to inconsistent
7. last years team was better than this years and thats a hard pill to swallow
8. The frustration is starting to show on this "team" and that can spell doom
9. I never realized how important Roberson was to this teams defense and one has to wonder how different our record would be if he was still healthy
10. If this team somehow manages to muck this up and miss the playoffs....i see big changes ahead with the front office or coaching or both not to mention certain players jumping ship.

Agree with most of this. The biggest issue, in my opinion, is that we have no team identity. It seems we have gone out every game and just winged it, hoping talent alone would win it for us. It doesn't seem like they have any interest in playing together as a single unit--and I don't understand it.

Individual players put in inconsistent effort each game. Some nights Carmelo is trying hard, some nights it's like he doesn't care. Same applies to Russ, Adams, and George. The only person who seemed to be excited to play basketball last night was Corey Brewer.

[dankrutka]

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-majo...n-6fcd4a1e755f

[Laramie]

Sources: Forward Andre Roberson agrees to 3-year, $30M deal with Thunder: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...-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.