Thunder takes short-handed roster into preseason finale
Maybe Alex Abrines will play.
The Thunder will close out its preseason on Tuesday in Denver, and the second-year shooting guard is the only one of its bangedup players with a chance to see the court. Forward Patrick Patterson, still recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in August, is out against the Nuggets. So is
Raymond Felton, who sprained his left wrist in an exhibition win against Melbourne United on Sunday.
Oklahoma City will have completed its preseason without playing a game at full strength. Patterson and Abrines — key pieces of the Thunder’s bench — have yet to play. Point guard Russell Westbrook missed the preseason opener after a platelet rich plasma injection in his left knee two weeks prior.
“We’ve had limited amount of practice with Russell,” Thunder coach
Billy Donovan said. “We’ve had no real practice with Alex and Patrick. Raymond’s out now. So we’ve dealt with different things. But you try to go forward with the guys that you have.”
Abrines did more at practice on Monday than he’s been doing, Donovan said, including some contact drills at the end with teammates who played limited minutes in Sunday’s game.
His absence in preseason games — along with Patterson’s — has made it a challenge for the Thunder to nail down rotations or get a real sense of its second unit.
Last week, Patterson was moving well as he did lateral slide drills and defensive closeouts to the perimeter. He also did some postpractice banging in the post with assistant coach Mark Bryant.
“Alex was a huge piece for them last year that we don’t have, and Patrick is a veteran,” forward Paul
George said. “He’s experienced. He’s been in playoff battles. He’s won games for Toronto. So, that’s two weapons and two pieces that we haven’t had yet, so you’ve got to feel great with where we’re at right now and feel even better with where we can get to.”
Roster decisions
As of Monday, Oklahoma City had 14 players on guaranteed contracts. A 15th, Daniel Hamilton , is signed to a two-way deal that allows him to split time between the Thunder and its G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
Hamilton’s deal doesn’t count against the Thunder’s 15-man roster limit, meaning the team has an open spot.
That could go to Semaj Christon, OKC’s secondstring point guard most of last season. His contract becomes guaranteed on Oct. 15, meaning the Thunder could waive him before that at no cost.
Christon has averaged 5.5 points in 14.1 minutes in two preseason games. He’s 3 for 11 from the floor.
If the Thunder wants to keep a third point guard, it could opt instead for Isaiah Canaan, though the camp invitee hasn’t played in the past two preseason games after scoring six points in the opener against the Rockets in Tulsa.
There’s also the option of keeping a roster spot open entering the season. That would allow the Thunder the flexibility to trade one player for two if a move becomes available, or to have a spot to sign a veteran free agent, perhaps one bought out by his current team.
“Sam (Presti) and the front office, they’re always trying to figure out and find ways to help improve our team, and I totally trust that,” Donovan said. “When we get a chance to sit down and talk about that and discuss that, we will. But right now, there hasn’t been time.”