Kuminga believes Warriors' mood ‘very high' despite Game 4 loss
Western Conference Finals preview: Oklahoma City Thunder or Minnesota Timberwolves? | The Kevin O'Connor Show
Kevin O'Connor is joined by Dane Moore to preview the upcoming Western Conference finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder & Minnesota Timberwolves. After beating the Lakers and the Warriors in previous rounds, have the Timberwolves escaped some of their regular season mistakes that landed them the 6-seed as they advance to face a 68-win Thunder team? Kevin follows up the Western Conference predictions with his rankings of which teams have the best chances to win the 2025 NBA Finals. Hear the full conversation on 'The Kevin O'Connor Show' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA trade grade: Thunder send Dillon Jones to Wizards; open roster spot
Oct 9, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Dillon Jones (3) runs down the court between plays against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Less than a week after they won their first NBA championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder have already shaken up the roster. They sent Dillon Jones and a 2029 second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Colby Jones. The latter was subsequently waived. The Thunder faced a roster crunch after Thomas Sorber's arrival. Jones got the short end of the stick and was shipped out after just one forgettable year. The 23-year-old gets a fresh start after he barely played in his rookie season. Advertisement Let's break down the Thunder-Wizards trade and the meaning for both sides. At the end, Thunder Wire will assign a final grade on the deal: Why the Thunder made the move The Thunder are the rare NBA champions whose entire roster is on the books for next season. That's great news on the surface. Of course, you'd love to run it back with the same group that got you the Larry O'Brien trophy. But some small consequences do exist. If the Thunder added anybody from the draft to their standard roster, that meant somebody needed to get booted. After they drafted Sorber with the No. 15 pick, it was only a matter of time. Most expected either Jones or Ousmane Dieng. It turned out to be the guy most thought the Thunder would keep because of his novelty. Advertisement Dieng survived this roster crunch. Despite only a year left on his contract, the Thunder stayed with the younger player who's shown more flashes on the NBA and G League court. The 22-year-old has had solid stints, but injuries have hampered him from sticking in the rotation. Meanwhile, Jones struggled from the get-go. The 23-year-old couldn't fit an off-ball role. He put up stats in the G League, but wasn't as dominant and seamless as Dieng. He struggled to keep up with NBA-level athletes and made avoidable mistakes. The Thunder also received some financial breathing room. They waived Jones on a contract that's easier to eat. He only had $2.2 million guaranteed next season. Much less than Jones' $2.8 million guaranteed next season. They are now $7 million below the tax. Why the Wizards made the move At this stage of their rebuild, the Wizards are in player development mode. They have several prospects on their roster and added another in Jones. The Rockets' 2029 second-round draft pick isn't half-bad either and could be used as a trade chip down the road. Advertisement Jones' playing time was only going to dwindle. The Thunder are a title contender with several better options ahead of him. They were enamored by his physical and skill traits at Weber State, but the jump to the NBA didn't land as smoothly as they had hoped. Instead, Jones gets a fresh start on the Wizards. Wizards GM Will Dawkins spent 15 years on the Thunder, so it shouldn't be a shocker to see him like some of their prospects. In Washington, perhaps he can get more on-ball reps than he would've in OKC. Either way, this was worth a shot. Jones is only guaranteed one more year in his rookie deal. He has team options of $2.8 million in 2026-27 and $5.2 million in 2027-28. Worst-case scenario, you can move on from him and only have to give up somebody you weren't going to extend. Final thoughts Sam Presti loved Jones. The small-school forward was on his radar for two years. You can kinda see why. A bowling-ball forward who can playmake and run the offense is an intriguing archetype. But physical limitations, nonexistent shooting and age made it difficult to see him break out in the NBA, much less on OKC. Advertisement The five future second-round picks needed to acquire Jones were a pretty penny to spend, yes. But what's a few bucks to a team sitting on a pretty pile of draft picks? Especially second-round picks. The whole point of hoarding draft picks is to be afforded the luxury to overpay and not feel a hole burned in your wallet. The Thunder dealt six future second-round picks in Jones's one season — five when they traded for him and one attached to trade him away — but who cares? It's a bad trade, sure. But it's not worth losing sleep over. It was easy to predict he wouldn't work out in OKC, but you can't stop taking swings when you're afforded to attempt them. Jones had one of the more forgettable Thunder tenures ever. Seldom do you see OKC pull the plug on first-round players after just one season. But you'd rather see them eat the loss than fall for the sunk cost fallacy. Final Grade: C-minus This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: NBA trade grade: Thunder send Dillon Jones to Wizards
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Thunder Make Surprise Trade Just Days After Winning NBA Championship
Thunder Make Surprise Trade Just Days After Winning NBA Championship originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Oklahoma City Thunder are roughly a week removed from capturing their first NBA championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008. Advertisement After finishing the season with a league-best 68–14 record, and led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder capped their historic run with a Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. Despite the celebration, Oklahoma City has quickly shifted into offseason mode. They added two new players through the NBA draft: first-round pick Thomas Sorber and second-round selection Brooks Barnhizer. With their core roster intact, Thunder GM Sam Presti made a somewhat surprising move Saturday evening, agreeing to trade Dillon Jones and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Colby Jones—who the Thunder are reportedly expected to waive in order to free up a roster spot. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise, given that the Thunder selected Dillon Jones with the 26th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft out of Weber State. While Jones struggled to carve out a consistent role in the Thunder's rotation during his rookie year, it's notable that the organization is already moving on from a recent first-round pick after just one season. Advertisement The decision appears to be aimed at clearing roster space—whether for their incoming rookies, a potential undrafted free agent, or an upcoming move in free agency. Jones, 23, spent most of his rookie season with the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League, where he averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. USA: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Dillon Jones (3) runs down the court between plays against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Paycom Center.© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Right now, the Thunder are in as strong a position as any team in the league moving forward. Their core group is under contract, and with extension decisions looming for rising stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, those deals are expected to become top priorities for Sam Presti in the near future. Advertisement Related: SGA Getting Praised For What He Did After Tyrese Haliburton Injury This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ferreira, Musovski score goals to lead Seattle's 2-0 win over Austin; Rusnák reaches MLS milestone
SEATTLE (AP) — Jesús Ferreira and Danny Musovski scored midway through the match and the Seattle Sounders defeated Austin FC 2-0 on Saturday night to move into fifth place in the Western Conference of the MLS. Ferreira scored in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, giving the Sounders a 1-0 halftime lead. He connected with a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the top right corner. He was assisted by Paul Rothrock, with a second assist by Albert Rusnák. The assist made Rusnák the 13th player in MLS history to record 65 career goals and 65 career assists. He leads the Sounders offensively this season, with seven goals and four assists. In the 54th minute, Musovski scored with a right-footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Ferreira had the assist. The Sounders (29 points, 8-6-5) move into fifth place, their three points for the win breaking a tie with Austin which remains at 26 points (7-8-5) and San Jose. San Jose has 27 points after a 1-1 tie with LA Galaxy. Austin's Brad Stuver made four saves. Seattle's Stefan Frei had one save for the clean sheet. It was Seattle's first match of the second half of the MLS season. The Sounders recently played three matches in the FIFA Club World Cup. Austin last played on June 14 in a MLS match. Up next Austin hosts LAFC on Saturday. Seattle hosts Columbus on Sunday. ___
