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Trail Blazers

When a generational talent like&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wemby-victor-wembanyama-nba-draft-f5be654cce544c675559bad526220a9e">Victor Wembanyama</a>&nbsp;comes along, it&rsquo;s clear that he would make any team that he&rsquo;s with better in a multitude of ways.
And the team that wins Tuesday&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-nba-draft-spurs-ee1a9bd2232173666d3302bb491c7c5c">NBA draft lottery</a>&nbsp;in Chicago &mdash; and the right to draft Wembanyama next month &mdash; will be immediately improved. Here&rsquo;s a look at the 14 hopefuls in the lottery, and their odds of landing the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-las-vegas-6f4ac3d44f624ef36ddb00e314cf0401">7-foot-3 French teen phenom.</a>
DETROIT
Odds: 14%, or about 7-1
Outlook: A new coach is coming, and if Wembanyama goes to the Pistons he&rsquo;d be teaming up with Killian Hayes &mdash; whose mother is French, so there would be some comforts of home at least.
Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey were&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-all-rookie-team-e70909b25b2ae3fabd26d3c380e4f07c">All-Rookie picks</a>&nbsp;this season. Cade Cunningham was one last season, after he was the No. 1 pick in 2021. It&rsquo;s hard to envision how exactly Wembanyama and Cunningham would play together, since there&rsquo;s still so much mystery about Cunningham&rsquo;s game, especially after he missed much of this season. But two great young talents surely would figure it out.
HOUSTON
Odds: 14%, or about 7-1
Outlook:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/rockets-udoka-e24d2a5ccedef68bf86faee4ba2b5917">Ime Udoka is in place as the new coach</a>, there&rsquo;s a belief around the league that the Rockets will change their roster considerably in free agency &mdash; bringing James Harden back, perhaps &mdash; and Wembanyama would energize the fan base in many of the same ways Yao Ming&rsquo;s arrival did.
It would take some shots away from Houston&rsquo;s young players and adjustments would have to be made. And the pairing of Wembanyama with Alperen Sengun would be so interesting on defense.
SAN ANTONIO
Odds: 14%, or about 7-1
Outlook: Gregg Popovich would get another incredibly talented big to build around, just as was the case with David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
The Spurs have flourished with international players, such as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Spurs haven&rsquo;t won a playoff series since 2017 and haven&rsquo;t played in one since 2019. But all the losing, all the drafting, all the player development has built them for this &mdash; and Wembanyama would be the springboard to make San Antonio a playoff town again right away.
CHARLOTTE
Odds: 12.5%, or 8-1
Outlook: Maybe this would convince Michael Jordan to not sell the majority stake of the Hornets after all. (Or maybe it&rsquo;ll just raise his price.) Imagine &mdash; the most recognizable player maybe ever, with an iconic brand, getting to draft a kid who is surely going to be a global marketing dream.
As often is the case with top draft picks, much of the attention goes to Wembanyama&rsquo;s offensive game. But Charlotte is desperately in need of more defense, and Wembanyama will make an immediate impact on that end &mdash; which would only further endear him to Hornets coach Steve Clifford. And Wembanyama and LaMelo Ball together would be instantly something to watch.
PORTLAND
Odds: 10.5%, or about 10-1
Outlook: Damian Lillard is tired of waiting and wants the Trail Blazers to become a contender. This would be a great start to that plan.
There is a ton of talent in Portland, led by the all-world guard, and the Blazers packed it in early this season with an eye on the draft. And the ping-pong balls don&rsquo;t care about fairness, but after Sam Bowie and Greg Oden, it surely could be argued that Portland deserves a draft break.
ORLANDO
Odds: 9%, or about 11-1
Outlook: Now this would be spicy. If the Magic win the lottery again, the pairing of Paolo Banchero with Wembanyama would give Orlando an immediate shot in the arm.
The Magic were 5-20 and refused to tank. They went 29-28 the rest of the way, and the young core &mdash; Banchero, Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz, etc. &mdash; seems like it&rsquo;s poised for bigger things in the Eastern Conference already. Fultz, like Banchero, was a No. 1 pick as well.
INDIANA
Odds: 6.8%, or about 15-1
Outlook: With Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers want to play fast. And he would benefit greatly from an athletic big to play pick-and-roll with (as would plenty of other people in the NBA, of course).
There&rsquo;s a lot to like about Indiana as a landing spot. Championship coach in Rick Carlisle. One of the league&rsquo;s best atmospheres. Basketball is a religion in Indiana. Make no mistake, they&rsquo;d be good right away.
WASHINGTON
Odds: 6.7%, or about 15-1
Outlook: Two things immediately jump off the page with the Wizards. One, Bradley Beal would probably become an even better version with Wembanyama. And two, with Kristaps Porzingis, this might be the rare spot for Wembanyama to not be the tallest player on his own roster.
UTAH
Odds: 4.5%, or about 22-1
Outlook: Wembanyama is obviously familiar with the Jazz, given his relationship with former Utah center Rudy Gobert. It would be a unique parallel; the Jazz trade Gobert in 2022, fall into the lottery a year later, get Wembanyama to add to a good young cast led by Lauri Markkanen.
DALLAS
Odds: 3%, or about 33-1
Outlook: Dallas raised the NBA&rsquo;s ire by tanking at the end to protect its lottery odds. If the Mavericks win the lottery and can pair Wembanyama with Luka Doncic &mdash; and perhaps Kyrie Irving &mdash; the $750,000 tanking fine might end up as the best money Mark Cuban ever spent.
CHICAGO
Odds: 1.8%, or about 55-1
Outlook: DeMar DeRozan would be a great first vet for Wembanyama to open his NBA career with and learn from.
OKLAHOMA CITY
Odds: 1.7%, or about 60-1
Outlook: The Thunder were one of the best stories in the league this season with a budding star like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and last year&rsquo;s No. 2 pick &mdash; Chet Holmgren &mdash; set to make his NBA debut this fall. Put Wembanyama on the Thunder, and it&rsquo;ll be scary.
TORONTO
Odds: 1%, or 100-1
Outlook: The Raptors will have a new coach and nobody knows what direction they&rsquo;re going yet this summer. Wembanyama would surely change some of their plans.
NEW ORLEANS
Odds: 0.5%, or 200-1
Outlook: Everyone can see the Pelicans&rsquo; potential, even with the annual mystery of how durable Zion Williamson will (or won&rsquo;t) be. To overcome 200-1 odds would be just amazing luck, and as the city&rsquo;s motto goes, it would truly mean that the good times will roll in New Orleans.

Victor Wembanyama is one of the most hyped-up prospects in years. Tim Reynolds examines how he would impact each lottery team.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-113 on Thursday night for just their third victory in the last 14 games.
P.J. Washington added 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Charlotte got a promising effort from rookie center Mark Williams with career highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds to go along with two blocks.
Mason Plumlee added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets. They outscored the Thunder 18-10 in the final 4:14 to break open a tie game.
“I'm just taking what the defense gives me,” said Ball, who was 5 of 10 from 3-point range and is shooting 38.5% from the beyond the arc since returning from a sprained ankle.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points for Oklahoma City. Luguentz Dort added 22 and Josh Giddey had 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder had won four of their last five.
The 7-foot Williams gave the Hornets a promising look into their future.
The 15th overall pick in the draft out of Duke has spent the majority of the season in the G League and recovering from an ankle injury. He'd never crested double digits in points or rebounds in his previous five NBA games, but made a big impression in front of Hornets fans in his first home game.
“It felt great,” said Williams, who was 7 of 7 from the floor. “I'm playing to my strengths — running the floor, setting screens and protecting the rim, rebounding. ... just doing all the winning things and trying to provide the team a little boost.”
Hornets coach Steve Clifford chose to use Williams as his backup center over Nick Richards.
“That means a lot and I want to show it was the right decision,” Williams said.
Said Clifford: "He has the basic background to be a very effective NBA player – he protects the rim, he’s smart, he’s good with coverages. He has to work on his screening and rolling. For somebody like ’Melo, Gordon (Hayward) or Terry (Rozier), if they get a good pick with a solid roll, we’re going to get a good shot. It’s an important part of the NBA game.” 
Clifford said the Williams “showed what he's capable of” but now wants to see if he can do it on a consistent basis.
"What it gets back to in this league is you have to do it three or four times a week and you have to do it against different types of players and different types of coverages,” Clifford said.
The Hornets, who returned home after a six-game trip, shot 72.7% in the first quarter and led the entire first half until Mike Muscala hit down a corner 3 at the buzzer to give the Thunder its first lead of the game at halftime, 60-57.
With the game tied at 103, Ball hit a floater in the lane to put the Hornets up for good and Washington knocked down a 3 off a dish from Rozier. Rozier added two free throws and Plumlee tipped in a rebound to make it 112-103 with 1:35 remaining.
Ball put the game away with a 3-pointer from the wing and a lookahead pass to Rozier.
“They had 66 points in the paint tonight," said Thunder coach Mike Daigneault. "A lot of why we’ve had some success lately, defensively especially, has been because of our ability to protect the paint. And we certainly didn’t do that well enough.”
TIP INS
Thunder: Were outrebounded 52-41. ... Tre Mann had 17 points off the bench.
Hornets: Shot 54.8% from the field. ... Kelly Oubre Jr. returned to action after missing a game with a left hand sprain but left early after getting hit in the hand. He played 14 minutes. 
UP NEXT
Thunder: Host Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Hornets: Host Brooklyn on Saturday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LaMelo Ball had 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-113.

LaMelo Ball has 27 points to help Hornets beat Thunder

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Jevon Carter had career highs of 36 points and 12 assists, and the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 136-132 in two overtimes on Wednesday night.
The Bucks were missing their top two scorers. Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out with a sore left knee and Jrue Holiday was out with a sprained right ankle. Carter filled the scoring void by making 15 of 27 field goals, including 5 of 10 3-pointers.
Brook Lopez added 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks for the Bucks, who were coming off their first loss of the season after winning their first nine games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points, Tre Mann had 21 and Josh Giddey added 18 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Thunder, who lost their fourth straight.
The Thunder led by six late in the third quarter before George Hill hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to trim Oklahoma City's edge to 87-84.
Milwaukee led 112-100 with just under five minutes remaining before the Thunder rallied. Lu Dort made an open layup off an inbounds pass under the hoop to tie the game at 119. Carter missed a fadeaway at the buzzer to force overtime.
Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s step-back 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left in the first overtime gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a 126-125 lead in overtime. Dort fouled Lopez on an inbounds lob with 0.2 seconds remaining. Lopez missed the first free throw and made the second to force a second OT.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Carter entered the game averaging 5.3 points and hadn't scored more than 18 in a game this season. ... Former Thunder player Serge Ibaka scored four points. ... Lopez had four blocks in the first half.
Thunder: Milwaukee's Grayson Allen landed hard on Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s knee in the first quarter, but neither player was hurt. ... F Aleksej Pokusevski had 17 points and nine rebounds.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
Thunder: Host the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>

Jevon Carter had career highs of 36 points and 12 assists, and the short-handed Bucks beat the Thunder in two overtimes.

Carter scores career-high 36, Bucks beat Thunder in 2 OTs

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Thunder have done it again.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Oklahoma City earned its second straight win over the Clippers, beating Los Angeles 118-110 on Thursday night.
Lu Dort scored 21 points and Aleksej Pokusevski added 15 for the Thunder, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-paul-george-610e743d4d1cffb1c4b7d3de66f33e2c">who beat the Clippers 108-94</a> on Tuesday.
It was a breakout game for Dort, who entered shooting 26% from the field for the season. He made 9 of 15 shots, while being the primary defender on Clippers All-Star Paul George.
&ldquo;For him, it&rsquo;s a good confidence blast,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;I knew that would happen eventually. Lu works so hard, and when you work hard and you play as hard as he does, good things happen.&rdquo;
The Thunder shot 49.5% from the field.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just got to be able to guard point of attack,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re just lining us up one-on-one, and guys are able to get whatever they want.&rdquo;
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard missed both games against the Thunder while managing his previously injured right knee. George played on Thursday after sitting out on Tuesday with an illness and finished with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
Norman Powell led the Clippers with 21 points. Reggie Jackson scored 18 and John Wall added 17 for Los Angeles, which lost its third straight.
The Thunder scored 31 points off 20 Clippers turnovers two days after scoring 23 points off 19 Los Angeles giveaways.
&ldquo;The live turnovers are killing us,&rdquo; Lue said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to just clean that up.&rdquo;
The Thunder led 30-12 in the first quarter, but the Clippers rallied and led 60-53 at halftime behind 12 points each from Wall and Jackson.
&ldquo;You know, that&rsquo;s a really good team," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "They&rsquo;re not going to lay down. And I thought we really came out with a sense of purpose and obviously threw the first punch. And it&rsquo;s a good lesson for us that a good team is not just going to accept that.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander committed his fourth foul with 4.6 seconds left in the second quarter, and he started the second half on the bench. The Thunder rallied without him and took a 71-70 lead before he returned midway through the third quarter. The Thunder led 89-87 heading into the fourth.
Wall's driving dunk at the start of the fourth quarter tied the game at 89, but the Thunder pulled away late. Pokusevski hit a 3-pointer, then less than a minute later, Tre Mann walked into a fast break 3-pointer that gave the Thunder a 116-104 with 2:55 remaining.
Oklahoma City did not attempt a free throw until 10:22 remained in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder went 7 for 8 from the line in the final period.
Daigneault didn't like the free throw situation, but he liked the way the game turned out.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t particularly pleased with that, but we weathered it," he said. "And at the end of the day, it&rsquo;s not easy one way or the other. There&rsquo;s going to be things you have to deal with, things you have to overcome. And I just thought we played right through it tonight. It didn&rsquo;t distract us. And we just &mdash; we kept on it and obviously emerged. It was good.&rdquo;
GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER'S FREEBIES
Gilgeous-Alexander made both of his free throws on Thursday, leaving him one short of the Thunder record for consecutive made free throws to start a season.
The record holder? Not Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant. Not even George, a former Thunder star. It&rsquo;s Danilo Gallinari, who opened with 23 straight to start the 2019-20 season.
Gilgeous-Alexander has already passed the likes of Patrick Patterson (17 during the 2017-18 season) and Kevin Martin (16 during the 2012-2013 season). Corey Brewer made his first 17 after being traded to the Thunder in 2018.
TIP-INS
Clippers: F Marcus Morris sat out his second straight game for personal reasons. ... The Clippers shot 53.7%. ... Los Angeles made just 9 of 28 3-pointers.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... Went 6 for 10 from 3-point range in the first quarter to take a 34-24 lead. They finished 17 for 38 on 3-pointers after going 4 for 30 in Tuesday's game.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
Thunder: Visit the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Oklahoma City earned its second straight win over the Clippers.

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 24 as Thunder beat Clippers again

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 108-94 on Tuesday night for their first win of the season.
Gilgeous-Alexander played after sitting out Sunday&rsquo;s game against Minnesota with a bruised left hip. Against the Clippers, he made 11 of 22 field goals and 9 of 9 free throws and had eight assists.
The Clippers were without their two biggest stars. Kawhi Leonard sat out to rest his right knee and Paul George missed the game with an illness. Oklahoma City took advantage by holding the Clippers to 42% shooting.
Luke Kennard scored 15 points and Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers.
Tre Mann scored 16 of his 25 points in the first half and Gilgeous-Alexander added 14 to help Oklahoma City take a 49-43 lead at halftime.
The Thunder pulled away for good with a 21-0 run in the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander had eight points and two assists during the surge.
The Clippers didn't have a player reach double-figure points until Robert Covington made a 3-pointer with 3:20 left in the third quarter to get to 10.
Gilgeous-Alexander attempted 19 shots before taking a 3-pointer. He finally took one, and his bucket from straight away as the third quarter expired gave Oklahoma City an 84-68 lead.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Marcus Morris missed the game for personal reasons. ... Los Angeles shot 37.8% from the field in the first half. ... Former Thunder player Reggie Jackson scored nine points on 4-for-17 shooting. ... Kennard was called for a technical with 3:39 remaining.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... Missed their first 10 3-pointers and made just 4 of 30 overall. ... G Lu Dort scored four points on 1-for-11 shooting. ... Took 110 shots to 83 for Los Angeles and outrebounded the Clippers 60-47.
UP NEXT
The Thunder will host the Clippers again on Thursday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Thunder defeated the short-handed Clippers.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 33 help OKC top short-handed Clippers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Minnesota Timberwolves took a positive step in getting comfortable with new center Rudy Gobert.
Anthony Edwards scored 30 points, and the Timberwolves beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-106 on Sunday night. Gobert had 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Karl-Anthony Towns &mdash; the team's other 7-footer &mdash; added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Minnesota is adjusting to the presence of Gobert, an All-Star center acquired in a trade with Utah this summer.
&ldquo;The first unit, it&rsquo;s still a work in progress, but it&rsquo;s better," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. "I thought it was really good tonight. It&rsquo;s just kind of -- as we go through like, these different units and guys playing with Rudy, it&rsquo;s all a learning curve for us right now.&rdquo;
Gobert and Towns helped Minnesota outrebound Oklahoma City 54-42.
Edwards made 13 of 19 field goals and had 11 rebounds. He also scored 30 points in his previous game on Friday against Utah.
Lu Dort scored 20 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 15 for Oklahoma City, which dropped its home opener and fell to 0-3 for the season. The Thunder made just 9 of 41 3-pointers.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sat out with a left hip contusion. He had averaged 30 points in his first two games. Guard Josh Giddey left the game with a sprained ankle and did not play in the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves beat the Thunder 115-108 on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points that night.
In the quick rematch, Edwards scored 18 points in the first half to help Minnesota lead 53-44 at the break. The Timberwolves outrebounded the Thunder 30-15 in the first half.
Oklahoma City trimmed its deficit to 75-70 in the third quarter when Jaden McDaniels was called for a flagrant foul after a review. Oklahoma City's Mike Muscala made two free throws, then he made a long 2-pointer to cut the Thunder deficit to a point.
&ldquo;Something we preach to each other is, it&rsquo;s a 48-minute game,&rdquo; Robinson-Earl said. &ldquo;Regardless of what&rsquo;s going on, we&rsquo;re still going to play our way and on our terms.&rdquo;
Minnesota closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to take an 82-74 edge into the fourth. The Timberwolves opened the final period on a 24-10 surge to take control for good.
&ldquo;When you smell blood there, you&rsquo;ve got to keep going, and credit them (the Timberwolves), they bounced back and went and got the game," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Naz Reid, a reserve, scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Minnesota pull away.
&ldquo;I was going to try to bring Kat (Towns) and Rudy back at the same time and then try to finish the game there in the middle of the fourth," Finch said. "And Nas was great, so we didn&rsquo;t have to do that.&rdquo;
POINT BLANK
Minnesota made 36 of 54 2-pointers but just 10 of 34 3-pointers. Finch chose to see the positive in the imbalance.
&ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s more 3s to be found in our offense too," he said. "So I&rsquo;m encouraged by the growth that I see that we can make.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: F Kyle Anderson missed the game with back spasms. ... Made their first six shots, all from inside the 3-point line. ... Shot 65.2% in the first quarter to take a 31-18 lead.
Thunder: G Jalen Williams sat out with a right orbital bone fracture. ... Made 5 of 23 3-pointers in the first half. ... Second-year G Tre Mann got the start and scored 10 points on 5-for-12 shooting. ... F Eugene Omoruyi, a two-way player, scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
Thunder: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points, and the Timberwolves beat the Thunder 116-106 on Sunday night.

Edwards scores 30 as Timberwolves roll past Thunder 116-106

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; This could be the year Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reaches All-Star status.
The smooth Oklahoma City Thunder guard averaged more than 30 points per game after the All-Star break last season, then missed the final month of the season with a sore right ankle. He recovered and dominated for Canada's national team this summer.
He had a setback right before training camp &ndash; a left knee sprain that has kept him out of preseason action &mdash; but the Thunder have said they expect it to be minor.
Gilgeous-Alexander has never been an All-Star; Oklahoma City has ranked among the league's worst teams the past two years. He understands that one of the league's youngest rosters will need to come up with more wins to get him there.
&ldquo;I think it should be that way because the point of the game is to win,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It matters most that you win. That&rsquo;s what we all play the game to do, is to win games, win championships. So I think it (winning) means a lot, and I think it should mean a lot.&rdquo;
Injuries are part of the reason Gilgeous-Alexander has been overlooked &mdash; he&rsquo;s only played in 91 of the Thunder&rsquo;s 154 regular-season games the past two seasons.
Two seasons ago, he averaged 23.7 points per game. Last season, he averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists. After the All-Star break, he averaged 30.4 points on 54% shooting in 13 games and scored at least 30 points 10 times.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just going to start scraping the beginning of his prime, which is exciting to think about,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Gilgeous-Alexander's success has sparked rumors that he might eventually want to leave the struggling franchise. But he is focused on the Thunder and wants to make good on his long-term deal.
Oklahoma City has 15 potential first-round picks and 14 potential second-round picks through the 2029 NBA draft, meaning the franchise could add a significant amount of talent soon.
&ldquo;Honestly, I don&rsquo;t pay attention to like the NBA media stuff and what gets tweeted and what circulates around the web,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Try to stay focused with what I&rsquo;ve got going on, me getting better, the guys that are on the team.&rdquo;
NO HOLMGREN
Chet Holmgren &mdash; the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft &mdash; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-draft-8c087d0afbe773f3d61b24753f35b713">is recovering from a season-ending foot injury he suffered in a pro-am game</a> in August.
He doesn&rsquo;t regret participating.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, basketball players are going to play basketball,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just kind of like, you&rsquo;ve got to feed the love for the game. I don&rsquo;t want an injury like this to kind of take away from that.&rdquo;
ROOKIE CLASS
Oklahoma City&rsquo;s rookies still will bear watching.
Ousmane Dieng, a 6-foot-10 forward from France, averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds for the New Zealand Breakers last season. Jalen Williams, a 6-6 guard, averaged 18 points and 4.2 assists last season as a junior at Santa Clara. Jaylin Williams, a 6-10, 240-pound forward, averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for Arkansas last season.
JUST JOSHING
Josh Giddey, like Gilgeous-Alexander, looks poised to be a star.
The Australian guard averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game last season and was named Western Conference rookie of the month four times. He also shot just 26.3% from 3-point range last season.
Daigneault said the 20-year-old should be a better shooter this season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s worked really hard at it, and I think he&rsquo;s better, just watching him from the summer,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gained confidence. He&rsquo;s more consistent.&rdquo;
DORT READY
Guard Lu Dort missed the first three preseason games in concussion protocol, but he had 23 points in 18 minutes against Israeli team Ra&rsquo;Anana Maccabi Ra&rsquo;Anana on Sunday.
Best known as a defensive stopper, the Canadian averaged a career-best 17.2 points per game last season before going down with a shoulder injury.
MANN UP
Tre Mann is on fire this preseason.
The second-year guard has averaged 17 points and made 13 of 22 3-pointers in the three games he's played. He made 8 of 10 3-pointers against the Adelaide (Australia) 36ers last Thursday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>

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In their first game since leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was injured, the Oklahoma City Thunder scrapped their way to a win.
Lu Dort had 18 points and the Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 98-81 on Monday night to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who averages 22.7 points per game, is out until after the All-Star break with a sprained right ankle sustained last Friday against Indiana. Without him, the Thunder trailed Portland by 18 in the second quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander has often been the catalyst when Oklahoma City has launched comebacks from large deficits. But this time, his teammates filled in and stepped up.
&ldquo;I said when he went out that we want to be a team that solves problems with five guys," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s like internal messaging we use with the guys pretty regularly. And not having a player like Shai is a problem. You know, we would love to have Shai. And I thought tonight ... we solved the problem with five guys."
Darius Bazley scored 15 points and Josh Giddey added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder.
CJ McCollum had 21 points and Norman Powell added 18 for Portland, which has lost four of five.
&ldquo;For the most part, this is one of those games where you couldn&rsquo;t make a shot," Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;Eighty-one points &mdash; anybody in the league scores 81 points, there&rsquo;s no way you&rsquo;re going to have a chance to win the game. But I thought we played the right way. Just couldn&rsquo;t make them.&rdquo;
Portland took charge early, leading 31-19 after one quarter and 40-22 early in the second before the Thunder rallied and trailed 47-39 at the break.
&ldquo;I thought early, especially, we were moving it, we were making the right play. But we were just like, not doing it in the rhythm that we&rsquo;re capable of and that we needed to,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And then we, as the game went on, we kind of got our feet wet.&rdquo;
Oklahoma City started strong in the second half, and a 3-pointer by Dort cut Portland's lead to 51-49. A basket by Derrick Favors tied the score at 51, and the Blazers called a timeout. Ty Jerome's 3-pointer late in the quarter put the Thunder ahead 61-59, and a steal and floater in the lane by Dort as time expired in the third gave Oklahoma City a 65-61 lead.
A behind-the-back pass from Jerome to Kenrich Williams led to a dunk that put the Thunder up 73-65. It was part of a 15-0 run that gave the Thunder an 80-65 lead and control for good.
&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t one person carrying a load, it was just a style and team orientation that allowed us to play off advantages," Daigneault said. &ldquo;And I thought the guys did a really good job of that.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: F Trendon Watford twisted his ankle after landing on Thunder forward Mamadi Diakite's foot in the first quarter and left the game. Diakite was called for a Flagrant 1. Watford returned later in the game. ... Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks returned as an assistant with Portland. ... Top scorer Damian Lillard has been out for about a month with an abdominal injury.
Thunder: Outscored the Blazers 20-16 in the second quarter despite shooting just 26% from the field. Portland shot only 30%. ... Made 16 of 17 free throws. ... Held Portland to 7-for-38 shooting from 3-point range.
QUOTABLE
Daigneault, on what Billups said to him after the game: &ldquo;He was just very complimentary and classy. You know, it&rsquo;s one thing when you lose a game like that &mdash; to say something with that level of humility is impressive. I&rsquo;ve never met him before."
STAT LINES
In the second half, the Thunder shot 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 100% from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Thunder: At the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
___
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___
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Lu Dort had 18 points and the Thunder defeated the Trail Blazers 98-81 on Monday night to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Dort helps Thunder top Trail Blazers 98-81, end 7-game skid

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his second career triple-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 108-94 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander had the first triple-double by a Thunder player at home since Russell Westbrook in the 2018-19 season.
Darius Bazley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Lu Dort had 15 points and rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City claimed its largest margin of victory this season and improved to 5-3 since a 73-point loss at Memphis on Dec. 2.
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Nuggets. The reigning league MVP entered the game averaging 26.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists.
Denver had won three of four, but hadn’t played since Dec. 17. The Nuggets' game against the Brooklyn Nets scheduled for Dec. 19 was postponed because the Nets didn’t have enough available players due to health and safety protocols and injuries.
Gilgeous-Alexander had nine points and two assists in the final four minutes of the first half to help the Thunder take a 60-52 lead. He had 19 points at the break. Jokic and Aaron Gordon each scored 10 points for the Nuggets.
The Thunder extended their lead to 16 points on a 3-pointer by Dort with just under five minutes left in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Josh Giddey pushed Oklahoma City's lead to 21. The Thunder led 88-66 at the end of the period.
Denver cut its deficit in the fourth with Jokic, Gordon and the other starters out of the lineup, but never got closer than eight points in the final period.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Rookie guard Bones Hyland limped off the court in the second quarter, and returned in the third. He finished with five points on 2-for-7 shooting. He was coming off a career-high 24 points against Atlanta. ... Forward JaMychal Green played after missing the previous three games with an ankle injury. He had three points and seven rebounds.
Thunder: Mike Muscala, one of Oklahoma City’s most steady players this season, rested. ... Held the Nuggets to 27% shooting in the first quarter to take a 28-18 lead. ... Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 points in the second quarter. 
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.
Thunder: Visit the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
___
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___
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded a triple-double, and the Thunder beat the Nuggets at home on Wednesday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander's triple-double leads Thunder past Denver

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Devonte' Graham's 61-foot heave at the buzzer gave the New Orleans Pelicans a 113-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just hit an off-balance 30-footer to tie the score with 2.3 seconds remaining. The Pelicans inbounded to Graham, who <a href="https://twitter.com/briancmahoney/status/1471327339090960390?s=20">launched the ball</a> from near the 3-point arc on the other end of the floor to win it. 
Brandon Ingram scored 34 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Pelicans. Graham finished with 15 points and eight assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points. Josh Giddey and Kenrich Williams each scored 17 points and Mike Muscala added 16 for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City led 102-100 in the fourth quarter before three straight baskets by Ingram put the Pelicans in front.
Gilgeous-Alexander banked in a 3 with 28 seconds remaining to cut New Orleans' lead to 106-105, but Ingram hit a contested mid-range jumper on the other end with 7.2 seconds left to push the Pelicans' lead back up to three.
The Pelicans fouled Gilgeous-Alexander intentionally to prevent him from shooting a 3. Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 5.6 seconds left to cut New Orleans' lead to 108-107.
Ingram was fouled with 4.5 seconds left, and he made two free throws to make it a three-point game, setting up the final sequence.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Turned the ball over six times in the first quarter. ... Ingram scored 10 points in the second quarter. ... Made just 24 of 36 free throws.
Thunder: Guard Lu Dort sat out with a sprained left ankle. ... Shot just one free throw in the first half. ... Rookie guard Tre Mann fouled out after a Thunder coaches' challenge took a foul away from Gilgeous-Alexander and transferred it to him. Mann scored nine points in 23 minutes.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host Milwaukee on Friday.
Thunder: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
___
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___
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The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on a 61 foot buzzer beater from Devonte' Graham.

Graham's 61-footer at the buzzer leads Pelicans past Thunder

A month is only a fraction of the NBA calendar, but it does set a tone for teams as they find their groove. Some franchises have burst out of the gate, while other have underwhelmed to start.
While it's still a small sample size, we asked our BasketballNews.com writers earlier this week:
<h3>One month into the season, which team are you most concerned about?</h3>
Alex Kennedy: It has to be the New Orleans Pelicans, right? The team is 3-15 and they rank in the bottom-five both offensively (26th) and defensively (29th). Zion Williamson will likely miss a few more weeks as he recovers from a fractured right foot; he&rsquo;ll be re-evaluated on Nov. 24 to determine whether he can start participating in full team workouts. Executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pelicans-exec-david-griffin-on-hot-seat-after-slow-start-altercation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly on the hot seat</a> due to the team&rsquo;s struggles. Things are ugly behind the scenes too, as Griffin and former Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry recently got into an ugly altercation at Smoothie King Center and had to be physically separated. But wait, there&rsquo;s more! There are some big-picture concerns too: Back in June, <a href="https://theathletic.com/2656520/2021/06/17/inside-the-end-of-stan-van-gundy-with-the-pelicans-and-an-ongoing-battle-to-keep-zion-williamson-happy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic reported</a> that some of Zion&rsquo;s family members &ldquo;want Williamson on another team" and have "voiced their displeasure with the organization." Yikes.
Nekias Duncan: It has to be the Atlanta Hawks for me. They've looked disjointed on both sides of the floor, a troubling sign for a team fresh off a Conference Finals berth. The defense has fallen off a cliff; the offense doesn't generate enough paint touches. Lineups have fluctuated, and now De'Andre Hunter is expected to miss time with a wrist injury. Hopefully they'll find some semblance of rhythm soon.
Spencer Davies: Before the season, even before the Zion Williamson injury news, the New Orleans Pelicans were kind of trending downward for me. There just seems to be a disconnect somewhere from the top on down. Add in Brandon Ingram &mdash; who&rsquo;s having a career year, in spite of NOLA&rsquo;s issues &mdash; missing some time in early November, and this team has had to rely on a lot of Jonas Valanciunas and Devonte&rsquo; Graham to push them forward. The former is having a great individual season statistically, but the Pels just can&rsquo;t seem to A) play with leads or B) keep games close. Two wins in 16 games is hardly going to do you any favors in the Western Conference. You have to feel for Willie Green, and it almost is reminiscent of what Stephen Silas went through (and is still going through) in Houston.
Ethan Fuller: The Atlanta Hawks have come out of the starting gate with one of the worst defenses in the NBA. Now they've lost De'Andre Hunter for two months due to a wrist injury. It also concerns me that, per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta ranks 26th in rim frequency and 28th in three-point frequency but 2nd in mid-range frequency. It doesn't seem like the offense is maximizing its talent, and the defense is giving opponents an advantage.
Jannelle Moore: The Los Angeles Lakers, at this point, are the most concerning. Granted, LeBron James was out of the lineup for most of the start. But that doesn't explain their struggles on defense. They have AD and Russ; they shouldn't be struggling to this degree.
Moke Hamilton: Portland, without question. Personally, I feel like it&rsquo;s time for everyone to move on, including Damian Lillard. It looks like, many times, they&rsquo;re just going through the motions and don&rsquo;t really have the look of a team that believes it&rsquo;s actually playing for something. As much as I like Dame and have advocated for everyone to leave him alone, it&rsquo;s time to send him elsewhere, along with CJ McCollum.
Evan Sidery: New Orleans, not only because Zion Williamson&rsquo;s injury issues, but also because of the lack of depth. Brandon Ingram is an All-Star talent. Jonas Valanciunas is a solid starting center. Outside of that, there&rsquo;s not much else to bank on consistently. The Pelicans&rsquo; slow start has put them into a deep hole that Zion likely won&rsquo;t be able to dig them out of. New Orleans is on the fast track to a top draft pick.
Blake Hairston: The Boston Celtics have been the team I've been concerned about for a few years now. Each season they're good but not good enough, and now the teams around them have gotten better. It just feels like each season we question what this team's ceiling is and this year that question got a little murkier.
Alexander Cohen: Despite Ja Morant picking up from where he left off in the playoffs, averaging a career-high 26 points per game, the Grizzlies are in trouble. They own the NBA's worst defensive rating and their offense isn't much better, ranked 20th. While Dillon Brooks returning from injury could help shore up their defense, it wasn't enough to prevent an embarrassing double-digit loss to 1-12 New Orleans Pelicans in his second game back. The Grizzlies are a young team, but they need to exhibit improvement in Ja Morant's third season after a massive Jaren Jackson Jr. extension, not take a step backwards.
Drew Maresca: Selfishly, the New York Knicks. As far as their record is concerned, New York is right where you&rsquo;d expect. But there are a number of problems. Generally, the Knicks have the 18th-best defensive rating, down from third last season. That&rsquo;s worrisome. Even more alarming is their starting unit&rsquo;s defense, which had the worst defensive rating of any five-man rotation ever entering play last Monday night, according to StatMuse. Coach Tom Thibodeau is known for defense, so there is reason to believe this will right itself. But if it doesn&rsquo;t, it&rsquo;s going to get significantly uglier. The Knicks play the fourth-toughest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon.
Jesse Blancarte: The Bucks. Key players have been sidelined, but the reigning champs are struggling more than I would have imagined to start this season. There are several teams missing key players that are managing better than Milwaukee, but it&rsquo;s still only November. There is time for the Bucks to turn things around and climb their way up the Eastern Conference standings.
Check out our other roundtable discussions, where we asked our writers about which <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-roundtable-which-team-is-better-than-its-record-indicates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">teams are better than their record shows</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-roundtable-which-player-has-surprised-you-in-the-first-month" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which player has surprised them the most</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-roundtable-which-player-will-shake-off-a-slow-start" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which star will be able to shake off their slow start</a>.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks are among the most concerning teams to start the season.

NBA Roundtable: Which team are you most concerned about?

There are no expectations for the Oklahoma City Thunder entering the 2021-22 season, and that&rsquo;s just how they like it.
The Thunder are in the midst of one of the most extensive rebuilds in NBA history, possessing multiple future first-round picks each year through 2027. They have one entrenched building block who recently signed a rookie-scale max extension, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but everyone else within their rotation are high-upside swings of the bat courtesy of OKC general manager Sam Presti.
Once Thunder legend Russell Westbrook and his All-NBA sidekick Paul George officially asked out three years ago, it jump-started what&rsquo;s currently taking place within Oklahoma City. It&rsquo;s allowing Presti to build a team in his own image, from literally the ground up. Building each piece of the foundation methodically, the Thunder have now put together such an intriguing collection of talents within their current vision.
Alongside star combo guard Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC has all of the following players under 25 years old within its extensive test trial run of figuring out who fits the long-term puzzle: Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski, Tre Mann, Isaiah Roby, Ty Jerome, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins. Only one of these players was drafted in the lottery &mdash; Giddey, the 2021 No. 6 overall pick who has already flashed some <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/josh-giddey-ascension-to-top-nba-draft-prospect-happened-in-blink-of-an-eye" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exciting potential as a jumbo-sized playmaker</a>, forming a fun backcourt duo with SGA.
The Thunder figure to be once again near the bottom of the barrel in the Western Conference standings this season. However, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s star equity wills this extremely raw core to unexpected heights early on. Last season, the team carried a 15-21 record into the All-Star break thanks in large part to his brilliance, as he averaged 23.2 points, 6.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds on a fantastic 62.7% True Shooting percentage. Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s beautiful brand of basketball vaulted him into an elite category for lead guards who carried a high-usage rate.
SGA joined the following guards during OKC&rsquo;s surprising early run who had both above 62% TS and 27% usage percentage (min. 20 games played pre-ASB): Stephen Curry, James Harden, Zach LaVine. This shows the leap Gilgeous-Alexander showcased as the lone star-in-the-marking for the Thunder&rsquo;s rebuild, doing so even when teams blitzed him every game defensively.
Although the Thunder ranked last in offensive rating over that span, they were No. 10 overall in defensive rating, allowing only 109.8 points per 100 possessions. Once they officially pulled the plug on trying to win games, which included resting Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC fell off a cliff and finished with a 7-29 record post-All-Star break.
If everything clicks with the Thunder&rsquo;s young core, they are going to be a feisty team that competes on most nights. Gilgeous-Alexander is the straw that stirs the drink, but early preseason flashes from Giddey and Bazley could be foreshadowing their own regular-season performances. OKC is nowhere close to being a legitimate competitor, especially within a tough slate in the West, but this group could certainly qualify as an NBA League Pass team.
So much young talent is developing within the Thunder&rsquo;s player-friendly system put into place by head coach Mark Daigneault. Who&rsquo;s to say they won&rsquo;t at least surprise some people early, especially if teams treat OKC on their schedule like a layup win? And if Gilgeous-Alexander continues to blossom into one of the most exciting young prospects in the Association, OKC will compete each night thanks to his ascent to All-Star levels.
How does OKC&rsquo;s projected rotation look heading into the 2021-22 campaign? Let&rsquo;s examine it below.
Starters: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Derrick Favors
Second Unit: Tre Mann, Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Isaiah Roby
As you can see, so much unproven talent is still on tap for the Thunder&rsquo;s lineup combinations. Gilgeous-Alexander is the stalwart for the backcourt, but everyone else alongside or behind him still has much more seasoning ahead in their development curves (Giddey, Mann, Maledon). Dort and Bazley are actually an intriguing wing combination, and Pokusevski is a true wildcard who saw a lot of playing time last season to accentuate his own raw aspects. Favors fills the veteran-big-man void left behind by Al Horford, who was shipped back to the Boston Celtics this offseason in the Kemba Walker trade.
Walker and the Thunder were never going to be a fit, especially with the longtime point guard&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/finally-home-kemba-walker-hopes-to-turn-back-clock-with-knicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">desire to play for his hometown Knicks</a> in Madison Square Garden. Luckily for the Thunder, he now is in New York, so no possessions will be zapped away from Gilgeous-Alexander in OKC.
Back to Favors: How long will he actually be on the roster, let alone within their rotation? It&rsquo;s doubtful Favors finishes the season in Oklahoma City; whether he's dealt at some point or if he enters the buyout market after February&rsquo;s trade deadline, we will see. However, in the short-term, Favors will provide a stable pick-and-roll partner for SGA and Giddey to showcase their talents. And if Favors performs well (he should gobble up nightly double-doubles), Presti could be in line to snatch up another future draft pick for his services.
Oklahoma City is still in the infancy of its historic rebuild attempt, but the flashes shown last season indicate that this can be a scrappy, competitive roster already. Add in another year of development for Gilgeous-Alexander, who seems poised for another leap, and Oklahoma City could soon escape the abyss into respectability ahead of its projected timeline.
The next step for the Thunder is finding their co-star alongside SGA, and that should soon come with Giddey or another top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Don&rsquo;t discount the Thunder in 2021-22, because they actually have the pieces in place to be an entertaining watch.

Although the Thunder are still in the beginning stages of their historic rebuild attempt, there's some exciting potential brewing together.

Thunder far away from competing, but pieces are coming together

Nekias Duncan previews the Northwest Division for the 2021-22 NBA season.

2021-22 NBA Season Preview: Northwest Division

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder finally can move on from the strangest of seasons.
A franchise that had missed the playoffs just once in the previous 11 seasons finds itself in the draft lottery with a 22-50 record. It was the Thunder's worst finish since 2008-09, its first season after the move from Seattle. 
It was a revolving door full of trades, G-League call-ups and late-season additions -- which created quite a set of challenges for first-year coach Mark Daigneault. Chesapeake Energy Arena, known as one of the loudest venues in the league, did not allow fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daigneault said he didn’t have set expectations going into the season -- just an idea of what general manager Sam Presti wanted. 
“You’ve got to be where your feet are, and you’ve got to be fully in the moment that you’re in,” he said. “That’s the only way that you’re going to maximize that moment, and ultimately it’s the only way you’re going to put yourself in position to accomplish longer-term goals, whether you’re a player or an organization, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Oklahoma City should get a high pick in this year's draft. And through a dizzying series of moves in recent years, the Thunder have stockpiled 18 first-round draft picks and 16 second-round picks over the next seven years.
In the meantime, Oklahoma City saw significant improvements from two of its young cornerstones, third-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and second-year guard Lu Dort.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 23.7 points and 5.9 assists per game. He shot 51% from the field and 42% on threes. He missed the last two months of the season with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He said he feels better than he did a month ago, but he’s not sure if he will help Canada qualify for the Olympics.
“If I’m a hundred percent healthy, yes, I do (plan to play for Canada),” he said. 
Dort shed the label of being just a defensive stopper. In April, he averaged 24.4 points and 5.3 rebounds on 46% shooting from the field.
Gilgeous-Alexander said he loved watching Dort take advantage of being a primary scoring option.
“Me being out and not being able to be on the floor with him for that period of time, I just tried to help him in any way I could,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You guys saw what he did with it.”
ROOKIES EMERGE
Oklahoma City played rookies Theo Maledon and Aleksej Pokusevski extensively. Maledon started 49 games at point guard and averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 assists. Pokusevski averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds. Pokusevski, a 7-foot wing player from Serbia, closed the season by scoring a season-high 29 points in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
HORFORD’S FUTURE
Al Horford’s outlook is unclear. The 34-year-old center has two years left on his deal. Oklahoma City sat him at midseason so other players could develop. The Thunder went 19-25 before sitting Horford and 3-25 afterward. He averaged 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds on 45% shooting in 28 games and showed that he still can help a team win. 
He's not sure if a trade is in his future.
“I’m sure after all this -- usually I get away for a few weeks and things like that -- I’m sure that I’ll be talking with the team and we’ll figure out what’s best,” Horford said.
MO BOARDS
The Thunder saw enough potential in Moses Brown to award the former G-League player a multi-year deal. The 7-foot center averaged 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds and tied a team record with 23 rebounds against the Boston Celtics earlier this season.
DAIGNEAULT’S DEBUT
The Thunder struggled in Daigneault’s his first year, but the 35-year-old coach left an impression on Horford.
“I was very impressed with Mark right from the beginning -- his poise as a person, as a coach, commanding the locker room, that respect right away, and just leading our group, keeping us on edge, pushing us the right way,” Horford said. 
BAZLEY CLIMBS
Second-year forward Darius Bazley averaged 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds and the 20-year-old said he’s starting to find his way. He started all 55 games he played this season after mostly being a reserve last season.
“I feel like I’ve really grown a lot as a player and a person,” he said. 
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">https://twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>.
___
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The Thunder missed the playoffs just once in the previous 11 seasons, but at 22-50, they just had their worst finish since 2008-09.

Strange losing season finally over for Oklahoma City Thunder

Before we look ahead to Lakers-Warriors (the most epic game of the week, one would think), the play-in tournament and all of the first-round playoff series that will begin next weekend, we need to take a closer look at the 10 teams that failed to make the expanded postseason and what to expect from them this offseason.
This will be play-in week for the eight NBA teams that qualified for the expanded postseason but did not finish top-six in their respective conferences. Two of them (the losers of the 9/10 games) will be finished with their seasons by Wednesday night, and two more by Friday, moving them into exit interviews and draft-prep mode.
But let&rsquo;s start with a bottom-up look at the teams conducting exit interviews with their players today.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
HOUSTON ROCKETS: The Rockets finished with the NBA&rsquo;s worst overall record (17-55) and worst home record (9-27), and lost their season finale to Atlanta by 29. Since March 29, they lost 23 of 27 games. And let&rsquo;s just say it wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be this way when they opened the season with James Harden, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins on their roster and immediately started getting huge production from Christian Wood. Not yielding to Harden&rsquo;s trade demand in the preseason cost them; the deal that brought them Victor Oladipo actually didn&rsquo;t turn out all that bad for them when they flipped Oladipo for a very productive Kelly Olynyk, but now there is talk of a buyout for Wall, who is owed $91.6 million over the next two years if he exercises his player option, as a long rebuild ensues. Olynyk will be an unrestricted free agent and will likely leave, which means the core they are building around includes Wood, Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate, KJ Martin, Kevin Porter Jr. and whatever they can get for Eric Gordon, who injured his groin in early March and did not return. The next big date on their calendar is the June 22 draft lottery, and because they finished with one of the three worst records, they have an equal chance (with Detroit and Orlando) of winning the No. 1 overall pick, which is projected to be Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State.
DETROIT PISTONS: A season that began with Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin on the roster ended with a 13-point loss to a Miami Heat team that rested most of its regulars, and Troy Weaver heads into the offseason with decisions to make on Cory Joseph (non-guaranteed $12.6 million), Rodney McGruder (non-guaranteed $5 million) and Dennis Smith Jr. (eligible for a $7.7 million qualifying offer). Assuming all of those are declined, but Hamidou Diallo&rsquo;s $2.07 million qualifying offer is extended, the Pistons will have somewhere in the area of $20 million in cap room, depending on where the salary cap comes in following a season of vastly reduced revenues. Jerami Grant was a nice signing a year ago, and now the Pistons need to find some offense from the wing positions and hope Killian Hayes can have a full healthy season. Detroit had the league&rsquo;s fourth-worst offense in terms of points per game. With Isaiah Stewart finishing the season so strongly, is there a market for the underrated Mason Plumlee?
ORLANDO MAGIC: A bottom-three finish seemed unlikely after they started 4-0 and had Nikola Vucevic playing at an All-Star level, and it never quite made sense that they offloaded Vucevic at the same time they got rid of Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier. All-Stars do not grow on trees, and Wendell Carter Jr. (acquired from Chicago) was being outplayed by other bigs on the Bulls and now the same thing is happening on the Magic. They will have Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac back next season, Otto Porter and his expiring $28 million contract now comes off their books, and the only contract decision they have to make soon is whether to pick up Dwayne Bacon&rsquo;s $1.8 million non-guarantee. R.J. Hampton <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-orlando-magic-rj-hampton-q-and-a-i-dont-think-you-can-put-a-cap-on-our-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just won Rookie of the Month for May</a> and Cole Anthony has shown plenty of promise as well. John Hammond, Jeff Weltman and Steve Clifford have roughly $28 million of cap space to work with, and the Magic have their own pick along with Chicago&rsquo;s (top-4 protected). Choosing three of the top-33 draft picks will keep the scouting staff busy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
One of the most exciting rookies in the NBA! HBD <a href="https://twitter.com/The_ColeAnthony?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_ColeAnthony</a> <a href="https://t.co/KW0Y04sOUY">pic.twitter.com/KW0Y04sOUY</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1393623077238493184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: The only NBA team that never opened its arena to fans, the Thunder made the questionable decision to shelve Al Horford immediately after the trade deadline, after which they lost 26 of their final 29 games, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's injury was handled with extreme caution. Their victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on the final night of the season actually hurt them because it prevented a tiebreak situation with the Magic, who finished with a 21-51 record to OKC&rsquo;s 22-50 record. Sam Presti is going to do what Sam Presti wants to do, and it will be interesting to see whether NBA commissioner Adam Silver addresses the unprecedented move that was made with Horford &ndash; something his predecessor, David Stern, never would have allowed. If the veteran big man and Gilgeous-Alexander had finished the season, we probably would not have the Spurs in the No. 10 spot. OKC was just five games under .500 in late March.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Cleveland's trophy acquisition is Jarrett Allen, who was a superb pickup by Koby Altman. Still, they were unable to turn Andre Drummond into anything, and the loss of Darius Garland for most of the final three weeks of the season kept him from further developing chemistry with fellow backcourt speedster Collin Sexton. The Cavs still owe Kevin Love $60 million, and they must pay Taurean Prince $13 million next season unless they can find a taker on the trade market. He averaged only 10.1 points and 3.7 rebounds after coming over from Brooklyn, but Altman had to take him for salary-matching purposes. The Anderson Varejao re-signing was pretty cool, so we will give them that. Otherwise, the rebuild figures to be slow unless Love and Prince can be moved, which seems unlikely.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: The A-Rod era will begin next season, and keeping Karl-Anthony Towns happy will be Project A, B and C. One of the league&rsquo;s best people and best players, he has been in the NBA for six years after being the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 draft, and he has a nice running mate now in Anthony Edwards along with his buddy, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell. Ricky Rubio, entering the final season of a contract that will pay him $17.8 million, seems superfluous and could be moved if a pick was coming back in return. The Wolves&rsquo; pick in this year's draft will go to Golden State unless it is top-3, in which case Minnesota's 2022 pick becomes unprotected and will go to the Warriors. Chris Finch will have a training camp for the first time to work with whatever the roster looks like, and help will not come through free agency, as the Wolves are projected to be over the cap.
TORONTO RAPTORS: The future of team president Masai Ujiri seems very much up in the air. He is the director of Basketball Without Borders, and ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski has suggested Ujiri <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CODxcX6haii/?igshid=1nsv2bsewml2h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will look elsewhere for his next job</a> and hand the reins over to general manager Bobby Webster. The Raptors get a pass for their failure of a season because they had to relocate to Tampa, Fla., which meant that they basically played 72 road games when not working on their tans and fighting off mosquitoes and alligators. Webster/Ujiri will likely look at all possible sign-and-trade scenarios for Kyle Lowry, who may feel it is time to move on. Decisions must be made on the non-guaranteed contracts of Rodney Hood, Aron Baynes, Chris Boucher, DeAndre' Bembry, Paul Watson Jr., Yuta Watanabe and Freddie Gillespie. If all are declined, the Raps would have about $30 million in cap space to play with.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
2020-21 Closing thoughts: Coach Nurse <a href="https://t.co/ffAsqLN1zv">pic.twitter.com/ffAsqLN1zv</a>
&mdash; Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1394319579237736449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2021</a></blockquote>

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SACRAMENTO KINGS: It would not be surprising to see the Kings lose Richaun Holmes, who has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-richaun-holmes-qa-interview-free-agency-all-defensive-team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turned into a terrific NBA player</a> and may want to play in a bigger market for a franchise that has not grown as accustomed to bad seasons as the Kings have. They have not won a playoff series since 2003-04 and have not played a playoff game since 2005-06. Does Vivek Ranadive keep head coach Luke Walton around? De'Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield account for more than $70 million of next season&rsquo;s payroll, and Marvin Bagley III adds an additional $11.3 million. General manager Monte McNair came up under Daryl Morey in Houston, so he has seen proactive roster turnovers when the situation called for it. What is in question is whether Bagley or Hield could bring anything of value in return on the trade market because both have not lived up to expectations. They seem likely to appear in a similar column approximately one year from now.
CHICAGO BULLS: The Bulls made so many deals at the deadline and did not have enough acclimation time following March 25. Getting Nikola Vucevic at such a small cost was a coup for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas in his first season. Now he must decide on non-guarantees for Thaddeus Young ($14.1 million) and Tomas Satoransky ($10 million), and the franchise should expect to see Al-Farouq Aminu exercise his player option and thereby remain on the roster with a salary of $10.1 million. Lauri Markkanen should receive his qualifying offer of $9.026 million, and perhaps the biggest question is whether this team will stick with Coby White as the point guard of the future or try to find a way to get a player such as Kyle Lowry to be their primary playmaker.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: All in all, it was not a good season for David Griffin, Stan Van Gundy, Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram after the previous campaign ended with so much promise. The JJ Redick episode did not make anyone happy. The season ended with four-consecutive losses and Ls in six of the final eight games, a $50,000 fine for Griffin for complaining that Williamson&rsquo;s broken finger was the result of rough treatment of the former overall No. 1 pick that was being overlooked by the referees. Not one single player appeared in all 72 games &ndash; although Eric Bledsoe came up closest with 71. James Johnson and Willy Hernangomez are the only unrestricted free agents of note, and Lonzo Ball will be a restricted free agent who could solve some roster problems through a sign-and-trade. Griffin will have three extra second-round picks, and next year he gets the Lakers&rsquo; pick unprotected.

Chris Sheridan checks in with the organizations whose respective seasons ended Sunday and areas they'll need to address.

Closing the door on the NBA's 10 non-playoff teams

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 25 of his 42 points in the third quarter, and the Golden State Warriors ran away from the Oklahoma City Thunder 147-109 on Wednesday night.
Curry went 8 for 8 from the field and made all six of his 3-point attempts in the third quarter to post his high point total for a quarter this season. He was coming off a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-michael-porter-jr-kent-bazemore-denver-nuggets-golden-state-warriors-a233f8f98cccbedc79165efb2b4313d1">53-point game against the Denver Nuggets on Monday</a> that made him the franchise's career scoring leader. He followed it by making 11 of 16 3-pointers and 14 of 20 shots overall.
“I’m still in awe of the shotmaking,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s just incredible. The level of confidence and skill is just stunning. It’s beautiful to watch. It’s a man at the peak of his powers with a lifetime of training and work — not just on his body, but on his mind. 
"This is a guy who, he’s functioning at a level that very few human beings have ever functioned at in their particular field.”
It was Curry's second straight game with at least 10 3-pointers — just the second time he has done that in his career. He posted his eighth consecutive game with at least 30 points despite resting in the fourth quarter.
“I was actually joking with him,” Kerr said. “I told him he was going back in and he didn’t understand the joke. He just wanted to run back onto the floor. I mean, that’s how hot he was.”
Draymond Green had a triple-double with 12 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for the Warriors. It was his fourth triple-double this season and the 28th of his career. He fueled a Golden State offense that matched a franchise record with 24 3-pointers.
Green said he knew right away it would be a big night for Curry.
“I can kind of tell when he comes out," Green said. "Just the look in his eyes, attacking from the beginning, what type of night it’s going to be for him. He’s had that a lot lately. Hopefully, we can continue to help him and turn that into wins.”
Darius Bazley had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Moses Brown added 18 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder have lost eight straight, all by double digits. They continue to play without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been out since late March with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. 
Golden State led 36-32 at the end of the first quarter before taking control. The Warriors led by as many as 27 in the second quarter and took a 75-54 advantage into the break. It was the most points the Warriors have scored in a half this season. Golden State made 13 of 25 3-pointers in the first half and shot 55% overall. 
Andrew Wiggins' two-handed jam in traffic put the Warriors up 96-68 in the third and brought Golden State's bench players out of their seats.
Curry left for good with 32.5 seconds remaining in the third. The Warriors led 125-83 after three quarters. Their 50-point third quarter was the highest by any team in any quarter this season. 
“I felt like we played good defense for like a quarter and a half," Thunder guard Svi Mykhailiuk said. "And then after that, I felt we became real lazy and stopped really communicating. We just started getting lost a little bit, and that was it.”
TAKING ADVANTAGE
Warriors guard Gary Payton II had four steals in the fourth quarter in just over nine minutes of action. Payton, who is on a 10-day contract, was the 2020-21 G League Defensive Player of the Year.
QUOTABLE
Kerr, on the significance of Thursday’s game in Cleveland: “It’s really important. We’re in the midst of a playoff race and we’ve been searching for momentum all season long. I think we can all feel it right now. We feel that something is clicking and things are happening.”
TIP-INS
Warriors: Guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. missed his third straight game with a sprained left wrist. ... Green had six assists in the first quarter. ... Shot 61% from the field in the second quarter while holding Oklahoma City to 32% shooting. ... Curry also had eight assists and six rebounds.
Thunder: Guard Lu Dort sat out with left shoulder soreness the day after he scored a career-high 42 points at Utah. ... Rookie forward Aleksej Pokusevski sat out with right arm soreness. ... Forward Isaiah Roby fouled out. ... Shot just 7 of 27 on 3-pointers and made 14 of 25 free throws.
UP NEXT
Warriors: visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Thunder: visit the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">https://twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>.
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

Stephen Curry scored 25 of his 42 points in the third quarter, and the Warriors ran away from the Thunder 147-109 on Wednesday night.

Curry's 42, Green's triple-double lead Warriors past Thunder

Nekias Duncan dissects every detail of the moves that went down at Thursday's NBA trade deadline and gives them grades.