Terrance Ferguson placed into NBA’s concussion protocol

The Thunder is getting thinner on the wing.

The team announced Monday that Terrance Ferguson has been placed into the NBA’s concussion protocol after leaving early in Sunday’s preseason game against Atlanta. Ferguson took an inadvertent elbow to the head from Hawks center Alex Len.

It’s the second concussion for Ferguson since March, when a collision with teammate Steven Adams forced Ferguson to miss one game.

Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Ferguson would not play on Tuesday against Milwaukee, the Thunder’s preseason finale.

Per the NBA’s concussion policy, Ferguson must participate in the league’s mandated Return-to-Participation protocol, which includes a series of steps and requires symptomfree behavior before he can return to basketball activities.

There’s no predetermined timetable for when Ferguson will be back.

Donovan didn’t say who would start in Ferguson’s place. Rookie guard Hamidou Diallo has impressed in preseason, but Donovan has liked Diallo in the rotation he was in the first three preseason game.

“Terrance, being a young guy, I wanted to get his feet under him and give him quite a bit of playing time so he can get comfortable playing with guys,” Donovan said. “But with him out, maybe there’s some different things we can look at lineup-wise we can look at at that two-guard position.”

Ferguson is the latest wing player out due to injury. Abdel Nader has missed all three Thunder preseason games with left knee soreness, and Andre Roberson will be re-evaluated in early December after a setback in his rehab from left patellar tendon surgery.

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