Burton's past three days a whirlwind
SALT LAKE CITY – It all felt like one day to Deonte Burton. From when his agent called him a couple days earlier to tell him talks had picked up, to his first game on a standard NBA contract Monday, a series of career-shifting events all ran together. “It happened so fast, I don't even know exactly how it happened,” Burton told The Oklahoman. Burton's stint as a twoway player ended Sunday, when the Thunder signed him to an NBA contract. It was the last move of a twoyear post-college journey to the NBA that took him from Iowa State to South Korea to Oklahoma City. Ask the OKC Blue and Thunder coaches, Mark Daigneault and Billy Donovan, about Burton's development this season, and they'll bring up everything from his nutrition to his versatility on the court. Ask Burton, and he will immediately bring up overall flexibility. “You never know what's going to happen,” he said, “so it teaches you just always be ready. For anything. For any position, any time, any place. Just be prepared.” Signing a contract and hopping on a plane to Utah wasn't an adjustment. He had been going back and forth between the G League and NBA all season. Burton kept track if his days with the Thunder. Two-way players are allowed 45 days of service. By Burton's count, he was at 41 when he signed his new contract. Before then, the Thunder wasn't under much pressure to sign him to an NBA deal. Burton played in 23 Thunder games on his two-way contract, but he wasn't a regular rotation player. It made better financial sense for OKC to wait to pay him a prorated firstyear minimum salary. How did Burton feel as he neared his 45-day limit? “Honestly?” he said, contemplating his response in front of his locker in Vivint Smart Home Arena Monday. “It was like a sad thing because I know that I'm not going to be with the G League team that much anymore, and I really like being with them. We're really close off the court.” He lived in the same apartment complex as his teammates, and they took advantage of that proximity. Even when they weren't working, they were often together. Burton spent the first hours of his new contract alone. He got on a flight to Utah and arrived before the rest of the team did. But that didn't throw Burton off. He's flexible. He pulled out Call of Duty. “Systematically,” Donovan said “we (the Thunder and Blue) try to stay relatively similar so when guys are going up and down there's not a big learning curve for them. I think Deonte being down there was good for him and being with us has been good for him. Now having him back, he gives us a little more flexibility and versatility on the perimeter.”
Injury update
The Thunder listed Markieff Morris (neck soreness) as questionable for Wednesday's game against the Nets. Due to injury, Morris, who was out for nearly two months with a neck injury earlier this season, played just eight minutes in the Thunder's 98-89 win over the Jazz on Monday.