Report: Westbrook set for Jan. 9 return
Get your popcorn ready for a Thursday night in January. Russell Westbrook is coming to town.
West brook will play in Oklahoma City for the first time as a member of the Houston Rocket son Jan. 9, according to a report from The Athletic's Shams Charania. Bits of the NBA's 2019-20 schedule began leaking out Friday afternoon and Westbrook's OKC return was among the highlights.
Also among the superstar returns to their previous city, as reported by Charania, are Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard to Toronto on Dec. 11, Lakers forward Anthony Davis to New Orleans on Nov. 27 and Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving to Boston on Nov. 27.
Westbrook was traded to the Rockets on July 16 for Chris Paul, two first- round picks and the rights to two firstround pick swaps.
The NBA's full 2019-20 schedule will be released within the next two weeks.
Multiple ESP N reports Friday afternoon about the NBA schedule indicate the Thunder will be left off the league's Christmas Day lineup for the first time since 2009.
With the trades of Paul George to the LA Clippers and Westbrook to Houston, the Thunder has parted with the star power which made the franchise a television draw during its first decade in
the league. Both George and Westbrook will reportedly feature in games on Christmas Day, as the Clippers will play the Laker sin Los Angeles, and the Rockets will play the Warriors in San Francisco.
Other Christmas Day games include Milwaukee at Philadelphia, New Orleans at Denver and Boston at Toronto.
The NBA typically uses Dec. 25 as a showcase for some of its best teams and most compelling matchups.
All of the teams included in this year's slate were either playoff teams from last year or have star power (Ex. The Lakers with Davis and LeBron J a me s , t h e P e l i c a n s wi t h 2019 No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson).
The Thunder played in nine consecutive Christmas Day games f r om 2010 t o 2018, going 6-3.
Thunder tabs Gibbs as Blue coach
The Thunder announced the promotion of Grant Gibbs to head coach of the G League Oklahoma City Blue on Friday.
Gibbs was an assistant coach on the Blue the last two seasons.
He began his coaching career after a three-year international playing career and a collegiate career at Creighton.
“Grant is someone we identified early in his post-playing career as a potential fit within our organization,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said via press release. “He has steadily i mpressed us with his versatility as a coach. We believe he will do an excellent job with the Blue and is ready to continue his growth within the organization.”
Gibbs takes over for Mark Daigneault, who was elevated to a position on the Thunder bench as an assistant coach. Daigneault is the fourth coach togo from the Blue to the Thunder coaching staff.
“I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take on this role with the Blue and continue to be part of the Thunder organization,” said Gibbs via press release .“Getting to work with our players and help them improve on a daily basis is something that I'm very committed to, and I'm looking forward to building on what has been established here.”