Who wants it?
What will the Thunder do with its 15th roster spot? Rookie wings Terrance Ferguson and Daniel Hamilton could be battling each other for a steady spot on team’s main roster.
TULSA — Steven Adams insisted he was expecting the pass from Terrance Ferguson, but the play proved otherwise.
“Yeah, definitely, I caught it with my face,” Adams joked. “Right at my nose, bro. Oh my goodness.
“But it was good that we got a shot out of it, so it wasn’t a complete mess up of a play.”
When Ferguson drove baseline and whipped the pass to Adams in the third quarter against the Rockets, it showed just a little of what the 19-year-old could do in his NBA debut.
Ferguson finished with eight points on 2-of-4 shooting in 19 minutes. The wiry, 6-foot-7 Ferguson was playing in front of friends and family at Tulsa’s BOK Center, but didn’t show any nerves.
“I thought Terrance did a really nice job,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Tuesday night. “Coming back home where he’s from, getting in the game early, being a rookie, getting on the floor with Chris Paul, Carmelo (Anthony), Paul George, I’m sure was overwhelming for him, but I thought he did a nice job. I was happy we could get him out there.”
In a scrimmage and preseason setting, there have been flashes of why the Thunder selected Ferguson No. 21 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. It doesn’t mean he, or Daniel Hamilton, will be regular rotation players for the Thunder this season.
Three surefire rotation players (Russell Westbrook, Alex Abrines, Patrick Patterson) didn’t play due to injury Tuesday night against the Rockets. The additions of Anthony and George were win-now moves, and Ferguson should be able to get more playing time with the G-League Oklahoma City Blue.
But Donovan’s use of the two rookie wing players against Houston is, if anything, worth a follow. Hamilton, who had 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes Tuesday, is particularly intriguing because of his two-way contract, the Thunder’s roster situation, and the dwindling need for a third point guard.
Semaj Christon’s 2017 salary is non-guaranteed if he’s waived before Oct. 15. If he’s waived and Isaiah Canaan doesn’t make the roster, the team could enter the season with 14 of its available 15 guaranteed contract slots filled. The Thunder has ballhandlers to choose from with Westbrook as the starter at point guard, Raymond Felton as the backup, and George and Anthony capable of initiating the offense, as well, so the third point guard spot isn’t as much of a question as last season.
Ferguson’s contract/ roster spot is guaranteed as a first-round pick, but the 6-7 Hamilton is signed to a two-way contract which allows him to spend 45 days with the Thunder while not counting against the team’s salary cap or guaranteed roster spots. Thus, the Thunder could leave the 15th spot open as a gateway to take on an additional player via a two-for-one trade or a buyout candidate during the season.
Hamilton and Ferguson both will likely play a majority of their minutes with the Blue. Thunder rookie Dakari Johnson spent two seasons with the Blue and was a first-team All-D-League selection last season before being rewarded with a Thunder roster spot.
Regardless of what happens once the season starts Oct. 19, the Thunder will take a good look at Hamilton and Ferguson over the next three games.
“The one thing that was a positive was we had a chance to get Daniel out there, we got a chance to get Josh Huestis out there, we got Terrance out there, Dakari,” Donovan said. “The rest of those young guys got a great experience and a great opportunity that we can hopefully build on.”
GM survey: Thunder tops in 4 categories
Nobody had a better offseason than the Thunder, but it’s not enough to propel Oklahoma City to a topthree finish in the Western Conference.
That’s the take from NBA general managers in their annual survey at NBA.com.
Forty three percent of the league’s GMs named Oklahoma City as the team that made the “best overall moves” in the offseason. That was well ahead of second-place Boston at 25 percent.
And 59 percent of general managers named George as the new acquisition who will have the biggest impact on his team. Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler was a distant second at 17 percent.
But GMs picked the Thunder to finish fourth in the West, behind Golden State, Houston and San Antonio. The Warriors got 97 percent of the first-place votes in that ballot, and the Spurs got the other 3 percent. The Thunder was picked fourth on 44 percent of ballots and third on 34 percent.
Westbrook didn’t finish among GMs’ top five in answer to the question “Who will win the 2017-18 MVP?” Cleveland’s LeBron James was a runaway winner with 50 percent of the vote. The rest of the top five: Golden State’s Kevin Durant (29 percent), San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard (11 percent), Houston’s James Harden (7 percent) and Golden State’s Stephen Curry (4 percent).
General managers voted Westbrook the most athletic player in the league. He got 62 percent of votes. James got 14 percent and Chicago’s Zach LaVine 10 percent.
Sixty two percent of GMs voted for Curry as the league’s best point guard. Westbrook finished second with 28 percent of the votes.
Westbrook finished fourth in voting for “Which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments?” He got 7 percent of the vote, less than James (48 percent), Curry (21 percent) and Harden (14 percent).
In a close race, Westbrook finished second to John Wall when asked “Which player is the fastest with the ball?” Wall got 48 percent of votes, Westbrook 45.
Adams tied for first with 14 percent of votes in answer to the question “Who is the toughest player in the NBA?” Leonard and Golden State’s Draymond Green also got 14 percent of the vote. Westbrook tied for fifth at 7 percent.
Despite a strong clutch season last year, Westbrook didn’t place in answer to “Which player would you want taking a shot with the game on the line?” Curry, Durant, Boston’s Kyrie Irving and James were the top four.
GMs picked the Warriors as the overwhelming NBA title favorites at 93 percent of votes. Cleveland got the other 7 percent.
Stat of the day 343,000: Average NBA TV viewers for Tuesday’s Thunder-Rockets game, the network’s most-viewed preseason telecast since 2011 (Cavaliers-Mavericks).