<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-spurs-thunder-named-dark-horse-jimmy-butler-trade-suitors');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Spurs, Thunder named dark horse Jimmy Butler trade suitors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NBA-rumors-Spurs-Thunder-named-dark-horse-Jimmy-Butler-trade-suitors.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Spurs, Thunder named dark horse Jimmy Butler trade suitors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T14:03:50-08:00">December 20th, 2:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T14:58:10-08:00">December 20th, 2:58pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/latest-jimmy-butler-zach-lavine-nba-trade-rumors-siegels-scoop">trade market for Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler continues to generate speculation</a> as the February 6 deadline approaches. NBA Insider Brett Siegel recently reported that the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Lakers have been “quietly mentioned” in league circles as potential suitors for Butler, adding to the growing list of teams linked to the six-time All-Star.</p><h2><b>Jimmy Butler’s name gains traction despite agent’s denial</b></h2><p>Over a week ago, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-shams-charania-doubles-down-jimmy-butler-reporting-despite-agents-backlash">Butler’s name appeared in a report by ESPN’s Shams Charania</a>, which suggested the Heat might explore trade options for the 35-year-old forward. However, Butler’s agent quickly dismissed these claims. Despite the rebuttal, the rumors persist, with more teams reportedly joining the mix.</p><p>ESPN recently named the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-espn-names-nuggets-spurs-wild-cards-path-jimmy-butler-trade">Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs as potential destinations</a>, while Siegel’s latest report adds the Oklahoma City Thunder to the conversation. Initially, the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and Phoenix Suns were the primary teams mentioned in connection to Butler.</p><h2><b>Thunder present intriguing case in potential trade with the Heat</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-2-passes-the-ball-against-the-Orlando-Magic.jpg"><figcaption>© Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The inclusion of the Thunder in trade rumors creates an intriguing possibility for both Oklahoma City and Miami. Oklahoma City, currently atop the Western Conference standings at 21-5, boasts a strong core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. Adding Butler to this mix would elevate the Thunder into serious title contention, providing the playoff experience and leadership they lacked during last season’s second-round exit to the Dallas Mavericks.</p><p>The Thunder have a wealth of assets to offer, with 33 draft picks over the next seven years, including multiple first-round selections. To acquire Jimmy Butler, Oklahoma City would need to package players such as Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isiah Joe to match Butler’s $48.7 million salary, along with multiple draft picks. Miami could also inquire about Jalen Williams’ availability, though his inclusion in any deal remains uncertain.</p><h2><b>Spurs remain a wild card</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Victor-Wembanyama-1-celebrates-in-the-second-half-against-the-Atlanta-Hawks.jpg"><figcaption>© Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Spurs, also <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/43041391/how-jimmy-butler-preferred-trade-destinations-land-him" rel="noopener">named</a> in ESPN’s report, could structure a trade around Keldon Johnson, Malaki Branham, Harrison Barnes, and a 2025 first-round pick. San Antonio, currently sitting at 14-13 and 11th in the Western Conference, is unlikely to contend for a title this season but may view Butler as a veteran presence to pair with rising star Victor Wembanyama.</p><p>Butler’s playoff pedigree, combined with Wembanyama’s development, could position the Spurs for sustained success in the coming years. However, San Antonio’s willingness to part with key assets to acquire Butler remains uncertain.</p><h2><b>Lakers prioritize other targets over Butler</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Lakers-forward-LeBron-James-23-walks-towards-the-team-bench.jpg"><figcaption>© Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While Siegel included the Lakers in the list of potential suitors, he characterized the possibility as “nothing more than fan fiction.” Los Angeles, currently focused on bolstering its frontcourt and adding two-way wings alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, is unlikely to take on Butler’s hefty contract at this time.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-3-clear-needs-ahead-of-trade-deadline">Lakers are reportedly targeting other trade options</a>, including Jonas Valanciunas of the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets forwards Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith. Johnson and Finney-Smith bring versatility as defenders and floor spacers, while Valančiūnas offers the interior presence Los Angeles needs to complement its star duo. This focused strategy reduces the likelihood of pursuing Butler, given his significant salary and the team’s priorities.</p><p>As trade rumors swirl, the Thunder and Spurs emerge as intriguing dark horse candidates for Jimmy Butler. Oklahoma City’s draft capital and San Antonio’s young assets provide unique opportunities for the Heat, should they decide to move their veteran star. Meanwhile, the Lakers appear to be steering their attention toward other trade options as the February 6 deadline approaches. Butler’s future remains a focal point in ongoing league discussions.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Spurs, Thunder named dark horse Jimmy Butler trade suitors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-linked-to-cam-johnson-trade-with-nets');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder linked to Cam Johnson trade with Nets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NBA-rumors-Thunder-linked-to-Cam-Johnson-trade-with-Nets.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder linked to Cam Johnson trade with Nets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T08:55:08-08:00">December 20th, 8:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T08:55:08-08:00">December 20th, 8:55am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Brooklyn Nets have already kicked off trade season by sending Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors last week. Considering that they’re in a rebuild, it is likely for a full-on fire sale to commence in Brooklyn, with veteran pieces such as Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, among others, expected to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-news-cam-johnson-keeps-it-real-playing-through-trade-rumors-rebuild">garner plenty of interest on the trade market</a>. Johnson, in particular, has been one of the most sought-after talents via trade thanks to the excellent season he’s been having thus far.</p><p>While every team can use a player of Johnson’s caliber and skillset, not too many teams can trade for the 28-year-old, especially when he’s built up his trade value quite well throughout the course of the season. But one team that could <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFocus/status/1869948589822357984" rel="noopener">potentially look</a> at a trade for the Nets forward is the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>“I have heard Cam Johnson potentially having interest from OKC,” NBA insider Jake Fischer said, via @ThunderFocus on X (formerly known as Twitter).</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">NBA Insider Jake Fischer – </p><p>“I have heard Cam Johnson potentially having interest from OKC” <a href="https://t.co/nlml5ltUY0">pic.twitter.com/nlml5ltUY0</a></p><p>— TF (@ThunderFocus) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFocus/status/1869948589822357984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Thunder may be interested in Cam Johnson, but finding a trade will be difficult</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nets-forward-Cameron-Johnson.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Thunder will have no urgency to make any trades, as at present, they already have all the tools to be a championship-winning team. OKC also values its depth, and it’s not like they have any expendable pieces that they would want to part ways with in a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/1-trade-thunder-must-make-fix-biggest-flaw-seen-nba-cup-loss-bucks">potential trade for Cam Johnson</a>.</p><p>Johnson would be an incredible fit on the Thunder as someone who could space the floor and play either forward spot. At present, the Nets forward is averaging a career-best 19.2 points per game on a career-high 66.3 percent true shooting. Isaiah Joe may be the Thunder’s designated marksman, but he doesn’t have the defensive versatility that Johnson has.</p><p>Nevertheless, it will be impossible for the Thunder to acquire Johnson without giving up someone valuable. For instance, OKC can package Aaron Wiggins, Kenrich Williams, and Ousmane Dieng to match salaries with the Nets in a potential trade for the sweet-shooting forward out of North Carolina. But the Thunder love Wiggins and Williams, with both being reliable on-court contributors, so even though Dieng might be tradeable, OKC won’t be able to get Johnson without parting ways with a beloved rotation piece.</p><p>Sam Presti also isn’t known for being aggressive when it comes to adding pieces midseason to a contending team, so don’t expect the Thunder to be one of the foremost suitors for the Nets forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder linked to Cam Johnson trade with Nets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-prioritize-alex-caruso-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder prioritizing Alex Caruso extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NBA-rumors-Thunder-prioritizing-Alex-Caruso-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder prioritizing Alex Caruso extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T14:55:05-08:00">December 2nd, 2:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-03T12:39:21-08:00">December 3rd, 12:39pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-alex-caruso-okc-coach-message-bulls-trade">Mark Daigneault smiled when the front office acquired Alex Caruso</a>. The All-Defensive Second Team guard was dealt to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh Giddey. In the final year of his four-year, $36.9 million contract, Thunder’s Caruso is in line for a contract extension.</p><p>With two All-Defensive Team selections under his belt, including Second (2023-24) and First Team (2022-23) nods, Caruso <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/top-nba-trade-candidates-for-the-2024-25-season/" rel="noopener">should receive</a> a sizable pay increase, per HoopsHype’s Michael Sotto.</p><p>“The next item on Presti’s agenda is expected to be contract extension discussions in December with guard Alex Caruso, who was acquired from the Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey this offseason,” Sotto says. “Caruso is expected to receive a sizable pay raise from his current $9.89 million salary.”</p><p>Caruso is averaging 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game for the Thunder this season. The numbers don’t always justify Alex’s value to Oklahoma City. However, a nagging hip injury that sidelined Caruso for seven of the Thunder’s first 20 games of the regular season hasn’t helped him adapt to the offense.</p><p>However, in a deep Thunder backcourt led by All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and rookie Ajay Mitchell, there’s rarely a shortage of offense amid the Thunder’s unpreceded start to 2024-25. Still, Caruso’s championship pedigree (2019-20 Lakers), coupled with his veteran leadership, gives the Thunder’s backcourt a defensive anchor. They’ve strengthened their identity on that end of the floor, where Caruso should remain for the foreseeable future.</p><h2><b>Mark Daigneault’s ‘mental toughness’ take on Thunder guards</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-guard-Ajay-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder have plenty of options in the backcourt outside Alex Caruso. The Thunder’s depth of guards thickened with the emergence of second-round draft pick Ajay Mitchell and the development of second-year guards Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-mental-toughness-take-guards">Daigneault talked about his guards’ mental toughness</a> after Oklahoma City’s 119-116 loss to the Houston Rockets Sunday night.</p><p>Daigneault <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_kjrpnfxMY&amp;t=311s" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> veteran Lu Dort, Wallace, and Joe as examples of his guards demonstrating their mental toughness in their ability to make big shots amid mid-game shooting slumps.</p><p>“Mitchell, the other night, was 1-for-8 against Golden State. He hit that one in the corner,” Daigneault said. “Isaiah Joe was 0-for-6; he hit the one late in the game. Dort has been in a little bit of a slump, dealing with his finger. Then, he hit four of them the other night. I think the mental toughness of the team was on display. Cason is in that category.”</p><p>The Thunder will look to advance to the elimination round of the NBA Cup with a win against the Jazz on Tuesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder prioritizing Alex Caruso extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-potential-seattle-nba-expansion-team-history-back-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Potential Seattle NBA expansion team would get history back from Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-rumors-Potential-Seattle-expansion-team-would-get-history-back-from-Thunder.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Potential Seattle NBA expansion team would get history back from Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-17T09:08:16-07:00">September 17th, 9:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-17T12:26:15-07:00">September 17th, 12:26pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA has seen a lot of changes through the years. Between various rule changes and implementations during games, the biggest elephant in the room continues to be the idea of NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league office <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-adam-silver-admission-expansion-board-meeting">seriously discussing the idea of expansion</a>. More and more talent continues to enter the league, and it is clear that expansion teams will be added at some point. As a result, the idea of the Seattle SuperSonics once again becoming a team in the NBA has gained significant traction.</p><p>Seattle has long been asking to bring back a team in the NBA, and the city has gone as far as to make sure they have a venue ready to go. Aside from renovations made to Climate Pledge Arena, both the NHL and WNBA have added expansion teams in Seattle recently. It seems inevitable that the NBA will expand, making the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-predicts-seattle-supersonics-return">SuperSonics’ return predictable</a>.</p><p>Whether or not this historic franchise would renew their history is a key topic of discussion. From 1967-2008, the SuperSonics were a franchise in the NBA. Then, after some rifts that formed between new ownership and arena problems in Seattle, the team relocated to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. To this day, the SuperSonics’ history is intertwined with that of the Thunder’s.</p><p>Should Seattle receive an expansion team from the NBA and once again house the SuperSonics, then this history from the Thunder will be <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41286389/nba-expansion-cities-draft-teams-leagues-line" rel="noopener">relinquished</a>, according to ESPN. When the Thunder relocated and rebranded, there was a deal in place that made it clear the SuperSonics would retain all associated logos, colors, and trademarks if a new team was to take over in Seattle’s KeyArena. Interestingly enough, the Thunder don’t even really intertwine their history with that of the SuperSonics, as none of Seattle’s banners hang in the rafters in Oklahoma City.</p><p>Much like how the Charlotte Hornets claimed the history from the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, who originally left Charlotte, the NBA returning to Seattle would be a similar scenario regarding the SuperSonics’ history reverting back to the franchise.</p><p>If the NBA does expand in the coming years and Seattle opens its doors for the return of the SuperSonics, they would also retain all of the history that comes with the franchise, including their 1979 championship and all-time records.</p><h2><b>Other cities in consideration for NBA expansion</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-commissioner-Adam-Silver.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite Seattle being at the forefront of NBA expansion conversations, several other cities have been rumored through the years.</p><p>Las Vegas has long been a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-league-using-in-season-tournament-as-preview-for-las-vegas-expansion">destined home for the NBA</a> due to the league’s ties to the city, as well as the sports expansion that has taken place in Paradise, Nevada. Along with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, and the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL, the MLB has a deal in place to have the Oakland Athletics relocated to Sin City. All that would be missing then is a team in the NBA, a league that has housed Summer League in this city for the last two decades, as well as the Emirates NBA Cup.</p><p>If the NBA decides to expand in the coming years, it would be shocking if Las Vegas wasn’t given a team, especially since this move has LeBron James’ endorsement. The league’s all-time leading scorer has made it clear that he wants to be apart of an ownership group that brings an expansion team to Vegas, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lebron-james-involvement-in-7-billion-las-vegas-expansion-team-bid">LeBron could help make a bid upwards of $7 billion</a>.</p><p>Mexico City has long been another possible expansion site for the NBA due to the league’s ties to the city through its G League’s Capitanes. The NBA will also have the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards play one another <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/mexico-city-games-2024" rel="noopener">in Mexico City</a> in November as a regular-season game for the 2024-25 season.</p><p>As ESPN states, Vancouver, Montreal, Kansas City, and Louisville are four other cities that have been brought up previously as possible NBA expansion sites. Of course, Vancouver housed the Grizzlies for their first six seasons in operation from 1995-2001 before relocating to Memphis.</p><p>As of right now, there are a total of 30 NBA franchises. With the new media deal creating an influx of money to owners and the league as a whole, expansion will be the next order of business for the NBA to sort through. Over the course of the next two years, it wouldn’t come as a surprise for Silver to announce at least two new franchises.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Potential Seattle NBA expansion team would get history back from Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-could-thunder-become-a-player-in-lauri-markkanen-trade-sweepstakes');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Could Thunder become a player in Lauri Markkanen trade sweepstakes?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Could-Thunder-become-a-player-in-Lauri-Markkanen-trade-sweepstakes.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Could Thunder become a player in Lauri Markkanen trade sweepstakes?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-22T22:29:52-07:00">July 22nd, 10:29pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-22T22:29:52-07:00">July 22nd, 10:29pm</time><address><a href="https://nextmanupblog.medium.com/">Jay Postrado</a>Jay Postrado is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, and Formula 1. He is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. Jay's need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lauri-markkanen-trade-talks-reed-sheppard-dominance-nba-summer-league"> Oklahoma City Thunder could just be one move</a> away from finally reaching championship contender status. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a lot of talent around him with the likes of Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. However, he also needs an experienced partner. One who has been able to give a team huge outputs when it comes to the stat sheet. This is where Lauri Markkanen enters out of the Utah Jazz system. He could be the final missing piece that could propel this young squad into an NBA Finals appearance.</p><p>There is growing belief that the Thunder could be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-warriors-trade-jonathan-kuminga-brandin-podziemski-lauri-markkanen">entering the Lauri Markkanen sweepstakes</a>, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. It is said that the Jazz are willing to trade everyone in their roster except for young guys like Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks. This is why, in the past few months, Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, and Collin Sexton have seen some teams knocking in the Jazz front office.</p><p>These two franchises seem like a match made in heaven with their demands. For the Thunder, they want a solid player who can help them in their win-now situation. Preferably, they want someone who can work alongside Chet Holmgren in the frontcourt. This is such that they have increased depth and options come the postseason. Fatigue and injury management of their big men is also important which makes the Jazz star a perfect candidate for the trade.</p><p>The Jazz, on the other hand, want to focus on building up players for their future. A big reason why they don’t want to let go of Hendricks and George is because they want to have these two as a part of their core. The Thunder could then give them what they need the most to start over, draft picks. Sam Presti has been great in collecting these over the past few years. He can surely sprinkle some of them to the delight of the Jazz front office.</p><h2><b>Big caveats regarding this Thunder-Jazz Lauri Markkannen trade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Utah-Jazz-forward-Lauri-Markkanen-23-goes-to-the-basket.jpg"><figcaption>© Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting another star is a fun idea to ponder, the Jazz have not formally shown interest in moving forward with a deal like this. A lot of signs still point toward Markkanen signing a new extension with his former team and sticking around with them for the foreseeable future. This is because the Jazz believe that Markkanen still has all the skill sets to lead them into deep postseason runs. A belief that he can still pull it off alongside Clarkson, George, Hendricks, and Sexton.</p><p>The Thunder need to be the first movers when it comes to this deal. There is no certainty that they will do so. However, there is a benchmark that most fans of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s squad can look out for. If some chatter coming from personnel indicates that Markkanen could be pursued by the Thunder before he becomes extension-eligible, a deal could likely be done before the start of the season.</p><p>Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are great supporting members of this Thunder squad. However, Markkanen being added to the roster would expand their championship chances by a lot.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Could Thunder become a player in Lauri Markkanen trade sweepstakes?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-prioritizing-isaiah-hartenstein-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder prioritizing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Thunder-prioritizing-Isaiah-Hartenstein-in-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder prioritizing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T16:18:23-07:00">June 30th, 4:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T16:18:23-07:00">June 30th, 4:18pm</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1807541887219212563" rel="noopener">are meeting with</a> free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.</p><p>“With cap space teams Orlando focused on wing free agents and Utah focused on current roster decisions, and Knicks working to un-hardcap — sources say the OKC Thunder are in Eugene, Oregon, set to meet with Isaiah Hartenstein,” Charania reports.</p><p>Charania’s reporting indicates that the other teams with cap space, like the Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz, are not heavily involved in Isaiah Hartenstein’s free agency. That bodes well <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-simple-take-on-jamal-murray-duo-with-canada">for the Thunder</a>, if they want to land Hartenstein and have him join a frontcourt that includes Chet Holmgren.</p><p>As far as the incumbent Knicks go, they undoubtedly would like to keep Hartenstein. However, with the Mikal Bridges trade that currently has them hard-capped at the first apron, and the max offer they can give Hartenstein being four years for $72.5 million with Early Bird Rights, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-last-minute-2024-nba-free-agency-predictions">the Thunder have</a> the upper hand financially.</p><p>The Knicks have time before the trade for Mikal Bridges gets finalized, and they could include another player to un-hardcap themselves, as Charania reported. But that will be a process.</p><h2><b>What are Isaiah Hartenstein’s choices?</b></h2><p>It seems like Hartenstein will have to decide between taking more money with the Thunder, or taking the discount to stay with the Knicks.</p><p>With the Knicks, Hartenstein has a defined role on a team he is comfortable with. He would be starting over center Mitchell Robinson, who has been floated in trade rumors as well. It would just require Hartenstein leaving money on the table. Given that the Knicks are trying to make sure that they are not hard-capped at the first apron with the trade for Bridges, that might take time. If Hartenstein wants to come back to the Knicks, he might take his time with his decision.</p><p>When it comes to the Thunder, Hartenstein likely could take an offer as soon as it is on the table. He would bring a lot of what the Thunder did not have. He is brings size, rebounding and passing. Though, he could be seen as a backup to Holmgren, although the two in theory could play at the same time, with Holmgren sliding to the four spot.</p><p>Interestingly, Hartenstein has said in the past that he would have taken a discount to return to the Los Angeles Clippers before he signed with the Knicks. However, this is likely going to be his biggest payday in the NBA, so he might not want to leave money on the table this time around, and the Thunder have a good team for him to join.</p><p>It will be interesting to see how Hartenstein’s decision develops, given the factors at play with the Thunder and Knicks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder prioritizing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-biggest-threats-steal-isaiah-hartenstein-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks’ biggest threats to steal Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Knicks-biggest-threats-to-steal-Isaiah-Hartenstein-in-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks’ biggest threats to steal Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-26T15:48:49-07:00">June 26th, 3:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-26T15:49:58-07:00">June 26th, 3:49pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After the Mikal Bridges trade Tuesday night, the New York Knicks showed they’re prioritizing the wing in an effort to dethrone the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, it may not be possible for them to do that while <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/best-isaiah-hartenstein-free-agency-destinations-after-knicks-land-mikal-bridges">retaining center Isaiah Hartenstein</a>, who’s coming off a career year and is looking for a hefty raise.</p><p>New York may not be able to afford the seven-footer, and many other teams are gearing up to offer him a large bag of cash, via SNY’s John Flanigan.</p><p>“Knicks unrestricted free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein is expected to be a top target of numerous teams when he officially hits the open market in the coming days,” Flanigan said. “With the size of the offers the big man is expected to receive this offseason, sources have told SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley that it has become increasingly unlikely that New York will be able to retain him.”</p><p>With the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-og-anunoby-212-million-contract-free-agency">Knicks also re-signing</a> OG Anunoby on a five-year, $212.5 million deal, Hartenstein may be a necessary sacrifice in their quest to dethrone the Boston Celtics. Teams can only fit in so much veteran talent while staying under the salary cap.</p><p>Where could the 26-year-old go this summer?</p><h2><b>The Knicks may get out-bid by the Magic or Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Knicks-Isaiah-Hartenstein-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>New York <a href="https://sny.tv/articles/knicks-notes-center-on-the-radar-mitchell-robinson-isaiah-hartenstein" rel="noopener">still has a chance</a> in the Hartenstein sweepstakes, as the club has his Early Bird Rights, via Begley.</p><p>“One note on Hartenstein: I would still guess that Hartenstein returns to New York if he’s deciding between a Knicks offer and an offer that’s a bit higher,” Begley predicted. “The Knicks have Hartenstein’s Early Bird Rights, so they can only offer him roughly $16 million in the first year of his new contract. It can be as long as four years and for as much as $72 million.”</p><p>However, teams with more cap room and cheaper state income taxes could give the German-American an offer he can’t refuse.</p><p>“Teams with cap space – such as Orlando and Oklahoma City – can offer Hartenstein significantly more than New York,” Begley continued. “In theory, those teams can offer Hartenstein a number that would be difficult to say no to. Another factor to consider if Hartenstein gets a ‘Godfather’ offer? State income tax. The state income tax in Oklahoma is lower than in New York. Florida has no state income tax.”</p><p>Furthermore, both the Magic and Thunder are contending teams that could use another solid paint presence. Hartenstein would be particularly lethal in Orlando, as he could start next to 2024 All-Star Paolo Banchero and fellow rising star Franz Wagner. However, backing up Chet Holmgren in Oklahoma City could get Hartenstein his first NBA championship as soon as next season.</p><p>All in all, it may take a minor miracle for the former G-League champion to stay with the Knicks. However, both parties benefited greatly from each other, and sometimes it’s not possible to retain every good player on the team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks’ biggest threats to steal Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-a-team-to-watch-draft-trade-up-after-alex-caruso-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder a team to watch for draft trade up after Alex Caruso deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Thunder-a-team-to-watch-for-draft-trade-up-after-Alex-Caruso-deal.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder a team to watch for draft trade up after Alex Caruso deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-24T16:38:46-07:00">June 24th, 4:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-24T16:38:46-07:00">June 24th, 4:38pm</time><address><a href="https://nextmanupblog.medium.com/">Jay Postrado</a>Jay Postrado is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, and Formula 1. He is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. Jay's need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Sam Presti knows that he has a championship-caliber core in the Oklahoma City Thunder already. They have a fairly complete starting five with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge. However, some pieces within the roster need to be changed such that they notch the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy. This is why there may be big moves coming up for the front office in the NBA Draft. It all started<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-bulls-thunder-alex-caruso-josh-giddey-trade"> with their trade for Alex Caruso</a> and a supposed attempt to acquire Patrick Williams.</p><p>The Thunder are l<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/40403204/2024-nba-mock-draft-latest-first-second-round-predictions-all-58-picks" rel="noopener">ooking to trade up</a> in the NBA Draft, per ESPN. Their trade to let go of Josh Giddey in favor of adding Alex Caruso apparently signaled that they are now looking to add more veteran talent to the roster. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great leader, someone who has been close to the mountaintop while also having a significant age gap from the rest of the squad will do them some good. The average age of their squad is 25 years old with Gordon Hayward as their prime veteran at 34 years old.</p><p>With the recent acquisition from the Charlotte Hornets not being too happy with his reduced role, the Thunder can look to add older guys to the roster. This is to teach the rest of the squad what it’s like to handle the postseason after their early exit. But, this still means that Sam Presti is willing to use their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-2024-nba-draft-targets-in-no-12-lottery-slot">boatload of capital in the NBA Draft.</a> After all, they have a lot of firepower to do so and a lot of teams want what they have.</p><h2><b>Who are the Thunder trading up for in the NBA Draft?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Sam-Presti-speaks-to-the-press-in-Oklahoma-City.jpg"><figcaption>© NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><p>Donovan Clingan is slowly rising up mock drafts as of late and is definitely a good addition to the Thunder. But, the problem is that Presti and the SGA-led squad will only get to acquire someone, so far, with the 12th pick which they got from the Houston Rockets. They can likely move up to third or fourth to get the UConn Huskies’ star big man if they want to.</p><p>Moreover, Tidjane Salaun has been a big name out of France who could very well be wearing blue and orange in the coming season and in the Summer League. A lot of front offices have been impressed with the 18-year-old and his draft stock is also on a continuous ascent. If this happens, a trade to pick early could also be in motion.</p><p>But, they are not the only options for the Thunder. If they stick with the 12th overall pick, other guys are in play to get drafted into their squad. TBub Carrington and Johnny Furphy are also names to look out for in the Thunder system. These prospects out of Kansas and Pittsburgh are both very young. They will be considered long-term projects that will need to duke it out for roster spots if ever. Their contracts are likely smaller, giving the front office some leeway to acquire more pieces after the NBA Draft. A second pursuit of Patrick Williams could be in place after their sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls fell through.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder a team to watch for draft trade up after Alex Caruso deal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-isaiah-hartenstein-interest-gets-real-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein interest gets ‘real’ update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Thunders-Isaiah-Hartenstein-interest-gets-real-update.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein interest gets ‘real’ update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-11T10:02:49-07:00">June 11th, 10:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-11T10:04:49-07:00">June 11th, 10:04am</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Quinn Allen is a Senior Associate Editor with ClutchPoints. He specializes mainly in soccer, basketball, and baseball. When Quinn isn't producing content for CP,  he's writing sports betting predictions for numerous sites across North America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder finished atop the Western Conference in 2023-24 before disappointingly bowing out in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Regardless, there’s a bright future for this young, exciting squad.</p><p>And knowing Sam Presti, they could very well make some moves this offseason to strengthen the roster. New York Knicks big man Isaiah Hartenstein happens to be a free agent and given the Thunder’s cap space, they’re <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/06/10/sports/thunder-could-seriously-complicate-knicks-isaiah-hartenstein-plans/" rel="noopener">a “real” threat</a> to steal him from NY.</p><p>Via Stefan Bondy:</p><p>“It’s real,” an NBA source said of OKC’s interest in Hartenstein.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2-major-offseason-fixes-thunder-must-make-to-win-2025-nba-finals">The Thunder</a> have more cap space than the Knicks, making them a potential landing spot for Hartenstein. Also, Chet Holmgren isn’t a natural center, which means he could shift back to power forward if Hartenstein were to sign with OKC.</p><h2><b>Would Hartenstein be good fit for Thunder?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/In-line-image-of-Isaiah-Hartenstein.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>As Bondy pointed out, Hartenstein was a starter for the first time last season. He put up impressive numbers though, posting averages of 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest.</p><p>He proved to be an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/isaiah-hartenstein-knicks-dont-need-upgrade-center-replace-mitchell-robinson">important piece for the Knicks</a> after Mitchell Robinson went down with a season-ending injury. ESPN’s Bobby Marks projected Hartenstein will fetch in the ballpark of $13-14 million per season, which fits for the Knicks. However, loads of teams, including the Thunder, have money to spend and could pry him away.</p><p>While he may not be a huge scoring threat, Hartenstein is big, strong, and can bang with the best of them down low. That’s something that the Thunder have lacked at the five. Yes, Holmgren has done a nice job at the position but again, it’s not a natural spot for him and his playstyle is different.</p><p>NBA insider Kurt Helin reported that the “bidding war” for Hartenstein <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/rumor-thunder-most-likely-to-poach-isaiah-hartenstein-from-knicks?utm_content=buffer6e7d3&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" rel="noopener">could start</a> at $20 million per season:</p><p>“The expectation around the league is that some team with cap space and in need of a more traditional center will come in over the top and offer more — north of $80 million and closer to $90 million for four years — and Hartenstein will take it…That leaves a lot of teams with cap space eyeing Hartenstein and an expectation in league circles that the bidding will start at $20 million a season, or four years, $80 million, which is more than the Knicks can offer.”</p><p>Hartenstein definitely increased his value this past season. He’s a traditional center, which could be a nice fit for a lot of teams. The Thunder could also keep Holmgren at the five and have Hartenstein back him up, but that wouldn’t make a lot of sense if they’re going to pay him in the ballpark of $20 million per year.</p><p>While there’s been buzz that Oklahoma City could trade up for UConn big man Donovan Clingan, who is 7 foot 2, Hartenstein probably makes more sense because of his experience and versatility at the five.</p><p>The Thunder have a wonderful core who are ready to contend for many years to come. Adding Hartenstein to the fold could be a great move. Whether he ends up with Oklahoma City or not, the former second-round pick is set for his first big payday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein interest gets ‘real’ update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-linked-potential-draft-promise-with-no-12-pick');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder linked to potential draft promise with No. 12 pick');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Thunder-linked-to-potential-draft-promise-with-No.-12-pick.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder linked to potential draft promise with No. 12 pick</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-10T15:09:04-07:00">June 10th, 3:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-10T15:09:04-07:00">June 10th, 3:09pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former Dayton Flyers center DaRon Holmes II is expected to go in the top half of the upcoming NBA Draft. As one of the top big men in his class, the 21-year-old has reportedly been the apple of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-mock-draft-3-0-donovan-clingan-to-rockets-amid-trade-rumors">Oklahoma City Thunder’s eye</a>.</p><p>The club <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-mock-draft-3-0-donovan-clingan-to-rockets-amid-trade-rumors">feels so strongly about Holmes</a> that they might have privately promised to take him, via ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel.</p><p>“Many around the league are wondering if Sam Presti and the Thunder have their eyes on a big man with this 12th overall pick,” Siegel wrote. “DaRon Holmes II isn’t viewed by many as a lottery talent in this draft, but he has been extremely impressive in his workouts. Some are wondering if the Thunder have given a promise to Holmes, especially after he canceled workouts with [other] teams.”</p><p>Siegel had Oklahoma City selecting the 6-foot-10, 235-pounder 12th overall in his latest mock draft. This would pair him with All-Rookie Chet Holmgren in the front court, creating a potential Twin Towers duo.</p><p>Is this supposed “promise” a smokescreen, or is Holmes going to the Thunder a foregone conclusion?</p><h2><b>The Thunder are known for giving draft promises</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Daytons-DaRon-Holmes.jpg"><figcaption>© Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>This isn’t the first time that Oklahoma City has <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/draft-coverage/report-okc-thunder-nba-draft-promise-dayton-daron-holmes" rel="noopener">supposedly told a player</a> they’d pick him before the draft, via Sports Illustrated’s Rylan Stiles.</p><p>“A recent example of this is Caleb Houstan out of the University of Michigan in the 2022 NBA Draft,” Stiles said. “Former league executive and respected NBA insider John Hollinger reported that the Thunder’s promise had caused Houstan to back out of the NBA Draft Combine that year.”</p><p>However, the Thunder didn’t keep their word. Presti and company selected Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Peyton Watson in the first round, clearing the way for the Orlando Magic to take Houstan 32nd overall. This shows that even if the “promise” rumors are legitimate, it doesn’t guarantee what will happen.</p><p>With that being said, Oklahoma City <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3328595/2022/05/23/nba-draft-combine-analysis/?source=user_shared_article&amp;redirected=1" rel="noopener">did keep its promise</a> with Michigan forward Mitch McGary in 2014, via Hollinger.</p><p>“Michigan forward Caleb Houstan was notably absent from the week’s proceedings [2022 NBA Draft Combine], with many league insiders suspecting he had a promise from a team in return for shutting down his draft process,” Hollinger said. “Suspicion immediately went to the Thunder, given their surplus of picks and long history of making their draft pick in April. Houstan wouldn’t even be the first Michigan guy they did this with. (Hello, Mitch McGary!)”</p><p>Holmes would immediately fit in as a backup to Holmgren, with the potential to develop into an All-Star big in his own right. Whether or not the rumors are true, it’s easy to see why the Thunder would be interested.</p><p>“Oklahoma City’s reputation around the league is one that gives out draft promises, which makes for easy speculation and fodder,” Stiles continued. “To this point, that is all this report is about Holmes II and the Thunder. However, the pairing would make sense despite the lofty range.”</p><p>Will Presti and company follow through on their promise this time, or will they leave Holmes in the dust?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder linked to potential draft promise with No. 12 pick

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-hold-great-interest-bulls-patrick-williams');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder hold ‘great interest’ in Bulls’ Patrick Williams');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Thunder-hold-great-interest-in-Bulls-Patrick-Williams.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder hold ‘great interest’ in Bulls’ Patrick Williams</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-04T17:16:33-07:00">June 4th, 5:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-05T06:57:53-07:00">June 5th, 6:57am</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams was the franchise’s prized possession not too long ago, but it now looks like he might be on the outs. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-patrick-williams-dishes-on-upcoming-free-agency-after-season-ending-injury">Bulls’ fourth overall pick</a> in the 2020 NBA Draft is rumored to be the apple of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s eye.</p><p>The Thunder reportedly love the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5539973/2024/06/04/bulls-offseason-10-questions/?source=emp_shared_article" rel="noopener">6-foot-7, 215-pounder’s</a> size, via <i>The Athletic’s </i>Darnell Mayberry.</p><p>“Soon comes the moment of truth,” Mayberry said. “If the Bulls have seen enough of the Williams experiment, one team that has great interest, a league source said, is Oklahoma City. The Thunder need more size, and they have an army of draft picks that can sweeten the pot for the Bulls if a sign-and-trade emerges in July.”</p><p>Williams was a decent rotational piece for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-patrick-williams-to-undergo-season-ending-foot-surgery">Chicago before going down</a> with a season-ending foot injury. The 22-year-old registered 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game with a 44.3% shooting clip across 43 games.</p><p>However, that’s not quite enough production for a top-five pick. That’s why the Bulls are willing to bring him back, but only up to a certain price.</p><p>“A league source said the Bulls offered Williams a contract north of $16 million annually when the two sides were negotiating last fall,” Mayberry continued. “That will now be the number to beat for Williams, who is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. But because a season-ending foot injury in January limited Williams to 43 games, he didn’t get the chance to prove his value to be higher.”</p><p>Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet with any team, but their original squad can retain them by matching that offer.</p><p>Will Williams stick it out in the Windy City, or will he head for greener pastures?</p><h2><b>Don’t be surprised if the Thunder miss out on Williams…for now</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Bulls-Patrick-Williams.jpg"><figcaption>© Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Typically, general managers are more attached to the players they draft. That’s why Artūras Karnišovas, Chicago’s front office leader, may be inclined to run it back with Williams for at least one more year.</p><p>“How much the Bulls value Williams will now be fascinating to watch play out,” Mayberry said. “He was Karnišovas’ first draft selection, picking him fourth in 2020. The front office and coaching staff have supported, and at times defended, Williams through everything from ineffective play to injuries.”</p><p>This sometimes can be detrimental, as team executives can be in denial about their draft failures. However, Williams is still young, so he still has time to ascend.</p><p>The Florida State alum<a href="https://twitter.com/KCJHoop/status/1761451670431469858" rel="noopener"> also expressed interest</a> after his injury, via NBC Sports’ K.J. Johnson.</p><p>“Williams said he doesn’t know how his restricted free agency will play out but he’d welcome a return to the Bulls,” Johnson tweeted on February 24th.</p><p>However, if the Thunder offer $20 million or more per year, that could be too rich for the Bulls’ blood. Chicago will keep their price limit close to the vest, so Oklahoma City may have to take its best guess on what will be a high enough number to lure him away.</p><p>If Williams does join the Thunder, though, he could create a tantalizing tandem with fellow big man Chet Holmgren.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder hold ‘great interest’ in Bulls’ Patrick Williams

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-linked-knicks-isaiah-hartenstein-ahead-100-million-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder linked to Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein ahead of $100 million free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Thunder-linked-to-Knicks-Isaiah-Hartenstein-ahead-of-100-million-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder linked to Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein ahead of $100 million free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-31T11:33:10-07:00">May 31st, 11:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-31T11:33:10-07:00">May 31st, 11:33am</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein was a revelation for the injury-riddled squad this past season. With starting big man Mitchell Robinson out for a large chunk of the campaign, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-need-isaiah-hartenstein-become-nba-title-contenders">Hartenstein filled in admirably</a>, skyrocketing his stock as he approached unrestricted free agency.</p><p>As a result, the Oklahoma City Thunder are <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/why-isaiah-hartenstein-could-be-the-best-big-man-available-on-the-market-134657059.html" rel="noopener">rumored to be taking</a> a long look at the 2017 second-round pick, via Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.</p><p>“Oklahoma City has been the potential destination (for Hartenstein) most mentioned by team executives after rebounding woes plagued the Thunder during their second-round defeat to the Mavericks,” Fischer said. “Dallas bested OKC 287-241 on the glass over those six games.”</p><p>Hartenstein may be just what the doctor ordered for the Thunder, as he ranked 20th in the league with 8.3 rebounds per game this past year. This <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-nba-playoffs">bested Oklahoma City big man</a> Chet Holmgren, who averaged 7.9 boards.</p><p>Fischer pointed out that Hartenstein could initially be an awkward fit in the Thunder’s offense, but he’s too talented not to contribute.</p><p>“In one respect, Hartenstein would seem incongruent with the rest of the Thunder’s roster and playing style, as Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault oversaw a drive-and-kick offense with Chet Holmgren at center and all five OKC players boasting the ability to create off the dribble,” Fischer said. “Hartenstein is not that, but his prowess as a dribble-handoff screener and passer — constantly slinging back-door bounces to Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo — could introduce an added dimension to what already exists with the Thunder. Hartenstein has also shown an ability to coexist with another big man amid various lineup structures with New York.”</p><p>Hartenstein proved that he’s more than competent offensively, scoring 7.8 points per game at a lights-out 64.4% clip, with 2.5 assists. That along with his prowess on the glass is why he may be the best center available on the open market this summer.</p><p>Will the 26-year-old stay with the Blue and Orange, or will he seek greener pastures?</p><h2><b>The Thunder may be in luck due to Hartenstein’s early Bird rights</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Knicks-Isaiah-Hartenstein.jpg"><figcaption>© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>If Hartenstein is simply looking for the biggest payday, New York will be at a disadvantage. Due to his early Bird rights, the Knicks can only offer him $72.5 million over four years, while any other organization could double that. This is one of several <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/free-agency-explained" rel="noopener">exceptions that the NBA</a> allows towards the salary cap, via the league’s website.</p><p>“A team may re-sign its own free agent to a contract with a first-year salary of up to the greater of (a) 175% of the player’s salary in the last season of his prior contract, or (b) 105% of the average player salary for the prior season, if he played for the team for some or all of each of the prior two consecutive seasons (or, if he changed teams, he did so by trade or by assignment via the NBA’s waiver procedures),” the site says. “A contract signed using the Early Bird Exception must be for at least two seasons (not including any option year).”</p><p>However, Hartenstein hasn’t given any indication that he’s worried about the specific dollar amount, saying that he’s “getting paid regardless,” via Fischer. The only guarantee so far in this situation is that the 7-foot, 250-pound big man will be a crucial piece to whatever team he’s on next year.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder linked to Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein ahead of $100 million free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-josh-giddey-trade-buzz-picks-up-disappointing-season-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Josh Giddey trade buzz picks up after disappointing season with Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Josh-Giddey-trade-buzz-picks-up-after-disappointing-season-with-Thunder1.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Josh Giddey trade buzz picks up after disappointing season with Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-19T08:14:02-07:00">May 19th, 8:14am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-19T08:14:02-07:00">May 19th, 8:14am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2023-24 campaign came to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-official-explains-controversial-shai-gilgeous-alexander-foul-call-that-doomed-thunder">screeching halt</a> on Saturday night when they lost a thrilling Game 6 contest by a score of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-most-to-blame-for-season-ending-game-6-loss-to-mavericks">117-116</a>. While guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren all showed up in this one, it was another quiet night for Josh Giddey in a season that has been full of them.</p><p>With the emergence of all the young talent on the Thunder’s roster, Giddey took a bit of a smaller role this season, and ended up seeing his numbers fall across the board (12.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.8 APG, 47.5 FG%). Giddey was nearly unplayable against the Mavs in this series, and as a result, trade rumors quickly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5503636/2024/05/19/okc-thunder-whats-next/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nbatw&amp;source=nbatw" rel="noopener">began to swirl</a> around him as soon as the final buzzer sounded in Game 6.</p><p>“The Thunder don’t necessarily have to decide on Giddey’s future this summer, but the urgency is rising. Next season, he will make a reasonable $8.3 million in the final year of his rookie deal, but he’s extension eligible this summer, which is typically long-term decision time on players…If they go searching for a veteran upgrade, Giddey profiles as a trade candidate if the Thunder compiled a package built around a chunk of their valuable first-rounders. That includes the 12th overall pick in June’s draft, obtained from the Rockets.” – Anthony Slater, The Athletic</p><h2><b>Should the Thunder move on from Josh Giddey this offseason?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Josh-Giddey-trade-buzz-picks-up-after-disappointing-season-with-Thunder.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>After a strong 2022-23 campaign (16.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 6.2 APG, 48.2 FG%), Giddey seemed set to be a key piece of the Thunder’s future. But with Gilgeous-Alexander emerging into a superstar and Williams and Holmgren both blossoming as the year went on, Giddey found himself boxed out of the lineup. And when he was on the floor, opposing teams often found ways to target him and expose his weaknesses.</p><p>Combine that with accusations suggesting that Giddey was having a relationship with an underage girl, and it was a pretty rough campaign for the young Thunder wing. Giddey won’t be facing charges for those accusations, though, and he clearly has skills that teams across the NBA are looking for, so he would have a decent trade market if the Thunder decided to move on from him this offseason.</p><p>As noted above, this may be the perfect time for OKC to move on from Giddey, because if they don’t they are either going to have to hand him a new deal, or risk losing him in free agency for nothing. Chances are the trio of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren are only going to continue improving, which means it will become even more difficult for Giddey to crack the lineup.</p><p>The Thunder are loaded with assets to pull off a trade centered around Giddey and some draft capital, and given how they came up short in this series against the Mavs, the front office will have an incentive to improve this team over the offseason. As a result, Giddey’s time with the team could be coming to an end, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him involved in a trade over the coming weeks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Josh Giddey trade buzz picks up after disappointing season with Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-expected-hold-trade-deadline');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA Rumors: Thunder expected to ‘hold off’ at trade deadline');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/nba-rumors-thunder-expected-to-hold-off-at-trade-deadline.webp"></figure><h1>NBA Rumors: Thunder expected to ‘hold off’ at trade deadline</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-06T12:00:09-08:00">February 6th, 12:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-06T12:00:09-08:00">February 6th, 12:00pm</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a>Matthew Wadleigh was born and raised in Oceanside and resides in Fresno. He lives with his wife and two dogs. He is a huge Southern California sports fan and a retired member of the Fresno State drumline.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder have been arguably the biggest surprise of the 2023-2024 NBA season. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-shares-eye-opening-okc-claim-after-taming-nuggets" rel="noopener">young Thunder team</a> is tied for the top spot in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves, both with identical 35-15 records entering <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-vs-jazz-prediction-odds-pick-how-to-watch-2-6-2024" rel="noopener">Tuesday night’s action</a> against the Utah Jazz. Ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, all signs point to the Thunder staying pat and <a href="https://twitter.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1754939124430024918" rel="noopener">not making any</a> drastic moves, as ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-bulls-demar-derozan-warriors-plans-nba-trade-deadline-rumors" rel="noopener">his latest intel.</a></p><p>‘The Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to hold off on making any major roster additions at this time, sources said. Sam Presti and Co. will evaluate their options pertaining to Davis Bertans’ contract and Josh Giddey’s future based on how this year’s team finishes the season.’</p><p>So far, the Thunder have done exceptionally well with the group they have. Questions do surround the future of Josh Giddey, who was involved in some allegations but had the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-newport-beach-police-release-official-statement-on-josh-giddey-investigation" rel="noopener">investigation come to a close</a>. Other questions include the status of Davis Bertans’ bad contract, but the Thunder look like they will ride out the rest of the season with the roster they have.</p><p>The Thunder might be better off doing that despite having a ton of draft capital to work with Nonetheless, they have the second-best record in the NBA behind only the Boston Celtics, and adding some pieces that could potentially mess with the team chemistry at this point is a risky move for a young team.</p><p>The deadline is Thursday afternoon, so it will be worth watching to see if the Thunder make any deals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA Rumors: Thunder expected to ‘hold off’ at trade deadline

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/heat-news-jaime-jaquez-jr-gives-cryptic-response-to-slam-dunk-contest-rumor');   ga('set', 'title', 'Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. gives cryptic response to Slam Dunk Contest rumor');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Heat_news_Jaime_Jaquez_Jr._gives_cryptic_response_to_Slam_Dunk_Contest_rumor.webp"></figure><h1>Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. gives cryptic response to Slam Dunk Contest rumor</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-09T12:05:14-08:00">January 9th, 12:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-09T12:05:14-08:00">January 9th, 12:05pm</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heats-news-jaime-jaquez-jr-builds-on-strong-debut-season-with-second-straight-rookie-of-the-month-honor" rel="noopener">Miami Heat rookie Jame Jaquez Jr. quickly</a> talks about <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1744747722404483481" rel="noopener">if he will be</a> in next month’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest. There was a report by Greg Sylvander that Jaquez would be in it, but Jaquez wouldn’t give a straight answer to ClutchPoints <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1744785956853403735" rel="noopener">after practice Tuesday</a> as they prepare for the Oklahoma City Thunder the following day.</p><p>“That’s something I can neither confirm or deny,” Jaquez said. “So I’ll leave it at that.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Jaime Jaquez Jr. about the reports of him entering the NBA Dunk Contest. He said he can’t confirm nor deny… <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HEATCulture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HEATCulture</a> <a href="https://t.co/I8sIkguVBT">pic.twitter.com/I8sIkguVBT</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1744785956853403735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Jaquez talking about the win over Houston Monday night</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Heat_news_Jaime_Jaquez_Jr._builds_on_strong_debut_season_with_second_straight_Rookie_of_the_Month_honor.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-heat-takeaways-in-the-win-vs-rockets" rel="noopener">Jaquez would make</a> for an exciting presence at the dunk contest as he has shown in games that he can elevate and dunk the ball in an outlandish fashion. However, his play on the court goes beyond him dunking the ball as Jaquez has had an impressive first-year winning back-to-back Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-is-jimmy-butler-returning-vs-thunder-star-breaks-silence-on-injury" rel="noopener">The Heat played well</a> to start their four-game home stand Monday when they beat the Houston Rockets and Jaquez made an impact with 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists. He told ClutchPoints at practice that they execute the game plan “very well.”</p><p>“I think I was just able to get to some of my spots. There was a couple of bunnies I could have made, but no matter,” Jaquez said. “We got a lot of great looks on offense, we shade shared the ball really well. I think over 30 assists was a number. We locked up on defense and that was the game plan. So I thought we executed very well.”</p><p>After playing the first 35 games of the season primarily on the road, the start of 2024 will be different as their next 12 of 17 games will be at the Kaseya Center. Jaquez said that “it’s going to be nice to be at home for a while” and that it is “time to protect home court” which is something they haven’t excelled at.</p><p>Miami is one of the handful of teams in the NBA to have more wins on the road (11-9) than at home (10-6). However, that could be because of the road-heavy start to the season as said before, but this week’s home stand will be a prime opportunity to break some ground.</p><h2><b>Jaquez talks about facing fellow rookie in Thunder star Chet Holmgren</b></h2><p>The matchup against the Thunder Wednesday will be a juicy one as it will feature arguably two of the three best rookies in the NBA (besides San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama) in Jaquez and Chet Holmgren. However, Jaquez is not “taking it personal” to prove who the better player is as his sole focus is to win the game.</p><p>“I don’t think I’m taking it personal, it’s gonna be a great battle. I think we’re both just trying to win a ballgame,” Jaquez said. “I know there’s going to be a narrative, we’re both the top rookies in our class. We’re just going to try to win a game.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-jaime-jaquez-jr-s-epic-jumper-over-lebron-james-will-make-great-memory-for-future-kids" rel="noopener">Jaquez does admire</a> the game of Holmgren, who has been averaging 17.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. The UCLA product <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1744793587697451220" rel="noopener">compliments the multitude of ways</a> Holmgren can impact the game as the Heat will have to work around him.</p><p>“I mean, he’s got great size, he can space the floor, he can pass on defense,” Jaquez said to ClutchPoints. He’s a great presence so we’re gonna have to try to work around that and game plan.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. talks about the narratives of the rookie of the year contest between him and Wednesday’s opponent in Thunder star Chet Holmgren.</p><p>Asked him after what he likes about his game: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeatCulture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HeatCulture</a> <a href="https://t.co/rM31mEvJTv">pic.twitter.com/rM31mEvJTv</a></p><p>— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1744793587697451220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-tyler-herro-bam-adebayo-highlight-secret-weapon-in-win-over-rockets" rel="noopener">The Heat are 21-15</a> on the season which puts them fifth in the Eastern Conference. They will have three more games in the home stand, but their next 12 of 17 will also be inside the Kaseya Center starting Wednesday against Oklahoma City.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. gives cryptic response to Slam Dunk Contest rumor

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-among-top-potential-lauri-markkanen-trade-suitors');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Thunder among top potential Lauri Markkanen trade suitors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NBA-rumors-Thunder-among-top-potential-Lauri-Markkanen-trade-suitors.webp"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Thunder among top potential Lauri Markkanen trade suitors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-12-15T08:27:28-08:00">December 15th, 8:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-12-15T10:32:27-08:00">December 15th, 10:32am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Lauri Markkanen was the league’s pre-eminent breakout star during the 2022-23 season, earning Most Improved Player honors in his first season as the number one option for the Utah Jazz. As a result, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jazz-news-lauri-markkanen-gets-huge-sign-about-future" rel="noopener">Markkanen became the pillar of the Jazz’s rebuilding efforts</a> given how versatile the 26-year old forward is on the offensive end. However, the Jazz have struggled to begin the 2023-24 season, which could mean that everyone on the roster, including Markkanen, could become available for trade.</p><p>And if Markkanen, indeed, becomes available for trade, league personnel, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, are expecting the nascent Oklahoma City Thunder to <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/how-the-trade-market-is-shaping-up-for-zach-lavine-lauri-markkanen-145142833.html" rel="noopener">inquire about the price</a> it would take for the Jazz to relinquish the 2023 All-Star. The Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings are also listed as potential Markkanen trade suitors.</p><p>Fischer pointed out that the Thunder, in addition to all the draft capital they can dangle in front of the Jazz, can use the hefty contract of Davis Bertans as salary filler and Tre Mann as, perhaps, a sweetener in any prospective deal. If push comes to shove, the Thunder could end up shopping Josh Giddey as well, depending, of course, on how the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/adam-silver-provides-update-on-thunders-josh-giddey-situation" rel="noopener">league investigation on his alleged inappropriate relations</a> off the court turn out.</p><p>Giddey has been long thought of as a long-term keeper for the Thunder, but during the 2023-24 season, his involvement in the OKC squad has declined, and his numbers, as a result, have suffered as well. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren taking up the majority of usage, Giddey could end up being the odd man out en route to being one of the centerpieces in a potential Lauri Markkanen trade with the Jazz.</p><p>Markkanen’s size alone would help the Thunder with their rebounding woes, and his ability to thrive with and without the basketball makes him quite an ideal fit alongside OKC’s current cast of stars. Alas, as Jake Fischer noted as well, OKC has been “resistant” to pulling off any blockbuster trades, but Markkanen does fit the Thunder squad to a T.</p><p>Given the Thunder’s impending need to consolidate talent, it wouldn’t come as a surprise at all if The Finnisher ends up playing alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander soon enough. However, if Markkanen actually does become available, there would be competition for his services, with the Hawks and Kings, among other teams likely to get in the bidding.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Thunder among top potential Lauri Markkanen trade suitors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-rudy-gay-free-agency-lakers-warriors-mavs-pelicans-bulls');   ga('set', 'title', 'RUMOR: Lakers, Warriors among potential Rudy Gay suitors in free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/nba-rumors-lakers-warriors-among-potential-rudy-gay-suitors-in-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>RUMOR: Lakers, Warriors among potential Rudy Gay suitors in free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-21T08:08:07-07:00">July 21st, 8:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-21T08:08:38-07:00">July 21st, 8:08am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Recently finishing up his 17th NBA season, Rudy Gay is nearing the end of the line on what has been a remarkable career. He may not have a championship ring, nor any All-Star appearances, but Gay has always been a well-respected player across this league and he’s been one of the most underappreciated forwards since being drafted eighth overall in 2006.</p><p>A member of the Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors earlier in his career, Gay most recently spent the last two seasons with the Utah Jazz. This offseason, he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-atlanta-trades-3-players-rudy-gay-thunder-patty-mills" rel="noopener">traded to the Atlanta Hawks</a> and then dealt again to the Oklahoma City Thunder before he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-oklahoma-city-makes-final-rudy-gay-decision-after-hawks-trade" rel="noopener">released earlier this week</a>. Now, the 36-year-old is a key free agent available late in the offseason that numerous playoff contending teams may look to sign to a minimum contract.</p><p>According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and New Orleans Pelicans are all teams Gay is expected to <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-james-harden-trade-talks-joel-embiid-pj-tucker-rudy-gay-lakers-warriors-bucks/" rel="noopener">draw interest</a> from now that he is a free agent.</p><p>While his overall production and minutes declined the last two seasons in Utah, Gay still managed to average 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in about 16.7 minutes per game off the bench. In a total of 111 games with the Jazz, he shot 39.9 percent from the floor and just over 30 percent from long-range.</p><p>Earlier in his career, Gay was a player who was known for scoring at least 20 points per game and he’s always been a dangerous mid-range shooter. Any team needing depth at either forward position would be smart to consider signing the veteran, especially teams like the Lakers and Warriors who will be contending for a title this upcoming year.</p><p>He’s not only someone who will be ready to come off the bench when his number is called, but Gay can also be a great mentor for young players any team has at the small forward or power forward positions. Very few teams in the league are able to have guys with 17-plus years of NBA experience and this is what Gay brings to the table at this point in his career.</p><p>The lessons he’s learned and experiences he has are invaluable and could prove to be very important to any of the teams mentioned above. Time will tell what organization Rudy Gay will continue his NBA career with, as he is not ready to end his basketball journey just yet.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

RUMOR: Lakers, Warriors among potential Rudy Gay suitors in free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-sixers-thunder-also-linked-to-pascal-siakam-trade-with-raptors');   ga('set', 'title', 'RUMOR: Sixers, Thunder also linked to Pascal Siakam trade with Raptors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Pascal-Siakam-trade-Thunder-Sixers-Raptors-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Joel-Embiid.jpg"></figure><h1>RUMOR: Sixers, Thunder also linked to Pascal Siakam trade with Raptors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-14T06:49:23-07:00">July 14th, 6:49am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-14T06:49:23-07:00">July 14th, 6:49am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime -- so he writes about it instead as a form of therapy. (It hasn't worked though. Someday maybe it will -- especially when he's been working for ClutchPoints since August 2022.)</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One team that should play a huge role in how the 2023-24 season shakes up is the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors, at the moment, are caught in between two minds. They are trying to remain competitive next season, all the while developing some of their prized youngsters, such as Scottie Barnes. Nevertheless, there <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-raptors-true-feelings-potential-pascal-siakam-trade" rel="noopener">remains a possibility</a> that the Raptors finally bite the bullet and trade away some of their best players, including Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, for a huge return.</p><p>This offseason, reports have come out that teams such as the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-hawks-pascal-siakam-trade-efforts-with-raptors-hit-with-harsh-reality" rel="noopener">have engaged</a> the Raptors on trade talks for Siakam. But according to the rumor mill, those are not the only teams that could plausibly trade for the All-Star forward.</p><p>According to Matt Moore of Action Network, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers have <a href="https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/nba-summer-league-intel-report-damian-lillard-summer-league-standouts" rel="noopener">emerged as potential landing spots</a> for Pascal Siakam in case the Raptors decide to trade the 29-year old power forward away.</p><p>“There was a lot of chuckling when I brought up reporting out of Toronto that the Raptors were exploring deals for Pascal Siakam. […] Nevertheless, the Hawks, Thunder, and Sixers (in a multi-team trade) were among those mentioned as possible landing spots if Toronto does actually move the All-NBA forward,” Moore wrote.</p><p>Those teams are certainly interesting plausible destinations for Pascal Siakam. But will the Thunder or Sixers have the pieces the Raptors are looking for in such a deal?</p><p>In terms of draft assets, barely any other team in the NBA can beat out the Thunder. But it’s fair to wonder just how much OKC would be willing to give up given how much belief they have in their young core. One would think that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren will be untouchable in all trade talks with the Raptors.</p><p>On the contrary, the Sixers do not have too many assets that’ll be of interest to the Raptors. The Sixers have held Tyrese Maxey out of Damian Lillard talks, so one would think he won’t be available for Pascal Siakam. They also don’t have the deepest collection of first-round selections.</p><p>Still, it’ll be interesting to see if any team manages to match the Raptors’ hefty asking price.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

RUMOR: Sixers, Thunder also linked to Pascal Siakam trade with Raptors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-thunder-exploring-trade-for-european-star-vasilije-micic-ahead-of-nba-debut');   ga('set', 'title', 'RUMOR: Thunder exploring trade for European star Vasilije Micic ahead of NBA debut?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NBA-rumors-Thunder-exploring-trade-for-European-star-Vasilije-Micic-ahead-of-NBA-debut.jpg"></figure><h1>RUMOR: Thunder exploring trade for European star Vasilije Micic ahead of NBA debut?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-06-25T11:29:09-07:00">June 25th, 11:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-06-25T11:29:09-07:00">June 25th, 11:29am</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>European star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-okc-prospect-lighting-up-europe-will-have-fans-dreaming-of-sga-team-up" rel="noopener">Vasilije Micic</a> is poised to make his long-awaited NBA debut. Even though his rights are owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder, exactly where Micic will be playing in the league come 2023-24 still remains to be seen.</p><p>Micic has decided to <a href="https://www.sportal.gr/basket/nba/2023062506513743090/basilie-mitsits-thelei-na-agonistei-sto-nba-orato-endexomeno-antallaghs-apo-toys-thanter" rel="noopener">take his talents to the NBA</a> next season, according to Christos Tsaltas of Sportal. However, there remains a possibility he won’t play for the Thunder due to the 29-year-old’s looming desire to earn immediate playing time while competing for a championship.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Vasilije Micic has decided to play in the NBA next season. He's in talks with the OKC Thunder and a potential trade is on the table for him. He's more than ready for his next step in the biggest stage.</p><p>Story on <a href="https://twitter.com/SportalgrG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportalgrG</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThunderUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThunderUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/toqbYGtQz2">https://t.co/toqbYGtQz2</a></p><p>— Christos Tsaltas (@Tsaltas46) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tsaltas46/status/1672865573494210563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Two days after leading Anadolu Efes to the Turkish League title while taking home Finals MVP honors, Micic travelled to Oklahoma City to discuss his future with Thunder officials. It was the first time he’d met with general manager Sam Presti and company in person since the team acquired his NBA rights in the December 2020 trade that sent Danny Green to the Philadelphia 76ers, who initially selected Micic with the No. 52 overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft.</p><p>Presti was non-committal about potential plans for Micic following a Saturday press conference introducing the Thunder’s draft picks, Cason Wallace and Keyontae Johnson.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="und">Sam Presti on Vasilije Micic: <a href="https://t.co/sJ3KSKkNYY">pic.twitter.com/sJ3KSKkNYY</a></p><p>— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) <a href="https://twitter.com/CAlmanza1007/status/1672693928594735107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Micic has softened his previous stance on a $10 million NBA salary, according to Tsaltas, and even backed away from prior demands of making his league debut while playing a significant role on a contender. Given the Thunder’s glut of talent in the backcourt after trading up to take Wallace, though, it’s likely in the interest of both parties for Micic to begin his NBA career elsewhere.</p><p>Keep an eye on Micic as free agency tips off the evening of June 30th. While he probably won’t star in the league like he did in Europe, Micic possesses the blend of size, shooting prowess and playmaking ability—not to mention high-level experience—every title-contending team could use off the bench in the backcourt.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

RUMOR: Thunder exploring trade for European star Vasilije Micic ahead of NBA debut?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-rumors-lebron-james-la-dream-of-potential-shai-gilgeous-alexander-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'RUMOR: LeBron James, Lakers ‘dream’ of potential Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Lakers-rumors-LeBron-James-LA-_dream_-of-potential-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>RUMOR: LeBron James, Lakers ‘dream’ of potential Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-12-05T19:01:25-08:00">December 5th, 7:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-12-05T19:01:25-08:00">December 5th, 7:01pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a>A father of two over-energetic boys, Pao has been a writer for ClutchPoints for many years. His passion lies in all things NBA and he has a knack for speaking his mind in his articles -- even when at times it gets him into trouble with the fans. Controversial? Maybe. Excellent writer? Definitely.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Right now, the Los Angeles Lakers are relevant again. Their recent run has LeBron James and Co. looking like a potential threat in the conference. It’s still way too early to say, but after seeing this team’s drastic improvement from their disastrous start to the campaign, you can’t blame Lakers fans for being a bit excited of late.</p><p>The Lakers have been very patient with their current roster. Despite calls from both the fans and pundits alike for them to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-douses-cold-water-on-loud-lakers-trade-rumors">pull the trigger on a trade</a> (or trades), the front office has stood pat. They’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, which in hindsight, now appears to be the right move.</p><p>One player that the Lakers reportedly have on their radar is Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. LA’s objective is to wait it out and see who becomes available as the season progresses, and it seems that they have banked their hopes on the possibility of OKC potentially making <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2022/12/5/23495464/lakers-trade-rumors-shai-gilgeous-alexander-thunder-sam-amick-report-athletic">SGA available in trade talks</a>. This report comes via Sam Amick of <i>The Athletic</i>.</p><p>“My mind goes to, even if it’s unlikely at this point, the star player trade,” Amick said on a recent podcast (h/t SB Nation). “… Months ago there was this kind of ‘pie in the sky’ sense from the Lakers of ‘Well, if Oklahoma City completely tanks, let’s go get Shai.’ Like, I heard Shai’s name coming out of that Lakers camp. But it’s just a dream.”</p><p>Amick made it abundantly clear, however, that he doesn’t think that this trade is going to happen — especially after Gilgeous-Alexander’s emergence as a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-charles-barkley-puts-nba-on-notice-with-bold-shai-gilgeous-alexander-demand" rel="noopener">potential All-Star starter</a> this season. SGA has been so good that the Thunder have likely slapped him with an untouchable status from here on out.</p><p>Be that as it may, this speaks volumes of the Lakers’ current mindset. They have been patient for a reason, and it seems like they’re going to be swinging for the fences if and when the opportunity becomes available.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Oklahoma City
Thunder RUMORS

OKLAHOMA CITY

THUNDER

Oklahoma CityThunder RUMORS

OKLAHOMA CITY

THUNDER

Oklahoma City
Thunder RUMORS