It was Weaver who helped Paul’s transition from Houston to Oklahoma City. “Personally, I had a tricky summer being traded when I didn’t know I was going to be traded, and Troy made my transition so smooth,” Paul said last week. “I can’t imagine going through last summer without someone like Troy.” Many former players can’t imagine their Thunder experience without Weaver.
Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors
Erik Horne: Danilo Gallinari on if he considered not playing in Orlando w/ his free agency looming: “Never, not in my mind or my agent’s. The main reason is we’re fighting for something. To do it with my teammates, all the work we put in, I don’t want to see it go to waste.”
Erik Horne: Danilo Gallinari on if he considered not playing in Orlando w/ his free agency looming: “Never, not in my mind or my agent’s. The main reason is we’re fighting for something. To do it with my teammates, all the work we put in, I don’t want to see it go to waste.”
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Steven Adams pointed the webcam to his left arm. He wanted to show off the farmer’s tan he’d been working on in New Zealand. “Just from here down,” Adams said, lifting his T-shirt sleeve. “It was bloody brilliant. The cows are doing good though, mate.”
Brandon Rahbar: Steven Adams on if he ever questioned not coming back to play in Orlando: “It didn’t cross my mind. I just didn’t think about it. Every player wants to play.”
Brandon Rahbar: Steven Adams is impressed by the work being done to pull off bringing the NBA back to Disney: “It’s insane the amount of moving parts. Bloody well played, mate.”
Brandon Rahbar: Steven Adams has been in New Zealand during the coronavirus shutdown. “Been spending time on the farm with some mates. All in all, we (New Zealand) did a really good job handling COVID.”
Brandon Rahbar: Steven Adams on what he’s missed most during quarantine: “I didn’t miss much cause I was around my family and friends. That was the best part of it. It’s not like ‘I missed ice cream during quarantine.’”
Joe Mussatto: No Thunder player has tested positive for COVID-19 during the NBA’s testing period, per a team spokesman.
Tim Bontemps: Ben Simmons says he trusts the NBA and trusts older veterans like Chris Paul and LeBron James for putting the players in the best possible position to be healthy in Orlando. Says he feels he has a responsibility to play, though has no issue with anyone who decides not to play.
Paul shared details on that night in what was the catalyst for the domino effect that before the night ended would lead to the NBA season suspension. Like many of the fan base, Richardson and Miles were watching and noted seeing Paul approach Joe Ingles at center court to ask where Rudy (Gobert) was. Even after nearly four months, the events of March 11th remain confounding for Paul who explained his feelings at the moment. It was crazy, and I tell you a little bit about it, but to tell you the truth it’s crazy man I’m doing a documentary about it, like a movie, like a movie about a sports stop with Antoine Fuqua and Brian Grazer. We doing a whole thing about that like getting perspectives from athletes of what happened.Man, listen, I ain’t never seen nothing like it. Never seen nothing like it.
Brandon Rahbar: Shai on names on the back of jerseys: “I haven’t put much thought into it yet. I don’t think the other guys on the team have either. We’ll tackle that when we get to Orlando.” Says he likes the idea because it gives players the chance to use their platform.
Brandon Rahbar: Shai is excited about Lu Dort signing a contract. “Lu is the kind of guy who does all the things other players don’t wanna do. Lu’s offensive game is getting better and he’s heading in the right direction.”
Brandon Rahbar: Shai: “With the guys on this team, I don’t think chemistry will be an issue coming back.”
Chesapeake Energy Corporation, which holds the naming rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s arena, announced Sunday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, pointing at a steep drop in oil prices and gas demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chesapeake Energy holds the naming rights to the downtown arena the Thunder play in, signing a 12-year deal with the franchise in 2011, set to expire after the 2022-23 season. The agreement cost Chesapeake $3 million the first season and was set to increase by 3 percent each year following. It’s currently unknown how Chesapeake’s bankruptcy will impact the arena’s naming rights agreement. A Thunder team spokesperson declined to comment.
The personalized statements on jerseys are part of a long list of social justice messages the players plan to make through the remainder of the season, which restarts July 30 in Orlando, Florida. The NBA and the NBPA announced an agreement on Wednesday to continue to discuss fighting systemic racism and to make it one of the main focuses of the restart. Personalized jerseys could say such things as “Black Lives Matter” or “I Can’t Breathe,” bring light to a social or charitable cause or even display the names of George Floyd or Breonna Taylor, who were killed by police in recent months. “We’re just trying to continue to shed light on the different social justice issues that guys around our league continue to talk about day in and day out,” Paul told The Undefeated. “People are saying that social justice will be off of everybody’s mind in Orlando. With these jerseys, it doesn’t go away.”
Paul said he has talked to numerous players, including some who are not Black, who support the jersey idea. He said players will not be forced and pressured to wear jerseys with social justice messages. There will also be suggestions offered to players looking for a cause to support. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Friday in a media conference call that the league “has work to do” to make progress in hiring African Americans in notable roles, and the need for diversity was discussed at a recent board of governors meeting. The NBA was made up of 74.9% Black players during the 2018-19 season, according to the 2019 NBA Complete Racial and Gender Report Card released last week by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed guard Devon Hall as a Substitute Player for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
With the NBA resuming the season in the middle of a novel coronavirus pandemic and protests on racial inequality, the league plans to do much more than determine its champion. “It’s never a shut up and dribble situation,” Chris Paul, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard and NBA players union president, said Friday in a conference call. “You’re going to continue to hear us.”
“You show me a league where everybody has the same views,” Paul said. “We have 450 players. It’s always hard to be on the same page. But one thing about it is we learned to communicate better. None of us are perfect. But what we’re learning is when we communicate with each other. The guys that choose to go play, we support those. And we support those that don’t go play.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed guard Devon Hall as a Substitute Player for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
With the NBA resuming the season in the middle of a novel coronavirus pandemic and protests on racial inequality, the league plans to do much more than determine its champion. “It’s never a shut up and dribble situation,” Chris Paul, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard and NBA players union president, said Friday in a conference call. “You’re going to continue to hear us.”
“You show me a league where everybody has the same views,” Paul said. “We have 450 players. It’s always hard to be on the same page. But one thing about it is we learned to communicate better. None of us are perfect. But what we’re learning is when we communicate with each other. The guys that choose to go play, we support those. And we support those that don’t go play.”
Dwyane Wade: Give credit to @Michele Roberts @Chris Paul & Adam Silver. There’s been a lot of long late hours on the phone about getting this season back on & getting it right. Everyone won’t agree but there’s no bigger platform than the @nba to shine light on the individuals that are doing the work.
Kyle Goon: Chris Paul on the NBPA’s and players’ continuing commitment to voice opinions and stump for social change: “It’s never a shut up and dribble situation. You’re gonna continue to hear us.”
Jared Weiss: Chris Paul says that while the health conversation has been on COVID and injuries, “mental health is the thing a lot of players think of first.” Goes on to praise Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan for breaking the ice on enabling players to speak on this.
Jared Weiss: Chris Paul says the NBPA has agreed on a number of initiatives on social justice issues when asked if he expects any further division on the matter within the players group.
Kyle Goon: Chris Paul said the events of recent weeks have led to a lot of hard conversations between players and team governors about social and political issues: “(Players) want to know how someone feels, especially if we’re putting their jersey on.”
Erik Horne: The Thunder are planning to sign Devon Hall to a two-way contract, league sources tell @TheAthletic . With Luguentz Dort signed to a multi-year contract this week, Hall fills the Thunder’s second two-way slot.
Shams Charania: Sources: Travel dates for 22 NBA teams to Orlando: – July 7: Nets, Nuggets, Magic, Suns, Jazz, Wizards – July 8: Celtics, Mavericks, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Pelicans, Thunder, Kings – July 9: Rockets, Pacers, Lakers, Bucks, 76ers, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Raptors
