Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors
Joe Mussatto: The Thunder announces it has waived guard Josh Gray, who was part of the Steven Adams trade with the Pelicans.
A judge has thrown out a restraining order against NBA player Trevor Ariza — after determining he did NOT physically abuse his 12-year-old son, TMZ Sports has learned. As we previously reported, the Oklahoma City Thunder player has been locked in a custody battle with Lana Allen, the mother of his child.
Finally, on Monday the judge issued his opinion on the case saying Ariza has not — and does not — pose a threat to his child. Therefore, the temporary restraining order has been dissolved and the request for a permanent one has been denied. “The court finds that while the relationship between Ariza and [his son] is clearly strained, his son is not in any physical or emotional danger with his father.”
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Why was this the right time to go all-in on the future rather than running things back with virtually the same roster? Presti: At times in any of our lives, we can tend to make decisions based on what we prefer as opposed to what’s best. We couldn’t afford to do that given the system we operate in and our goal for sustainable high performance. When you step back and take a clear-eyed, rational view of the season we had last year, and all of the randomness that occurred in our favor, the loss of future value we would be relinquishing for a small probability of replicating those performances, it was clear that the most objective path was to prioritize the future. That’s without factoring in how a healthy Warriors, Blazers, or Pelicans team affects the competitive landscape around us. It wasn’t an easy decision, but serving the long-term interests of the organization was necessary after what has been a decade plus run of high performance.
After initially planning for a limited number of fans to be in attendance for home games, the Oklahoma City Thunder are reversing course and will open the season with the arena empty, the team announced Monday. “For months, we have worked in close collaboration with Chesapeake Energy Arena, the City of Oklahoma City, local health officials, and the NBA to put into place thorough health and safety measures to allow for reduced seating capacity,” the team said in a statement. “However, as we review ongoing and concerning trends in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Oklahoma, we want to exercise an abundance of caution to help control the spread of the virus in our community. Therefore, the Thunder has made the decision to begin the season without fans in the arena.”
Joe Mussatto: The OKC-County Health Department issues a statement supporting the Thunder’s decision to not allow fans at home games. pic.twitter.com/rIHlpAkliL
