Oklahoma City Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder has left the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, for the birth of his second child, according to Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. 

"It happened this morning so he's with his family at this point and time," head coach Billy Donovan told reporters Monday. "I'll have a chance to probably talk to him and find out a little bit more, if it's not later today, tomorrow. But right now for at least this game, he'll be out. We'll probably be able to gather some more information once we get a chance to spend a little bit more time with him over the phone."

Schroder had previously indicated that he would leave the team for the birth of his second child. 

"I'm not going to leave my wife by herself while she's having the second baby," he said last month. "I'm for sure going to go there and support her and try as much as I can to be there for my family. I love my teammates. I love basketball. But family comes first all the time."

Schroder, 26, is having an excellent season, averaging 18.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30.8 minutes per game, shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three. He's a legitimate candidate for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award, as he's made just one start on the year and has been excellent coming off the bench. 

The Thunder do have solid depth at guard, however, with Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo and Terrance Ferguson (recovering from a bruised leg) still available. Andre Roberson could also potentially see some minutes while Schroder is away from the team. 

Losing his ability to run the second unit and create offense off the dribble will hurt, however. The Thunder (41-24) are currently the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and battling for playoff positioning in the bubble.

Oklahoma City Thunder swingman Andre Roberson admitted to ESPN's Royce Young he "was ready to give up" while going through a lengthy recovery from a ruptured patella tendon.

Roberson hasn't taken the court since Jan. 27, 2018. His injury knocked him out for the remainder of the 2017-18 season, but the hope was he'd be healthy enough to return early into the 2018-19 campaign.

However, Roberson required a minor procedure in October 2018 to address the suture from the original surgery. That delayed his return for two months, and another setback arose a month later in the form of a small avulsion fracture in his left knee.

"Basically a big roller coaster of emotions," the 28-year-old said to Young of the entire saga. "Just being so close, and then something else would happen. Setback after setback. I don't know man, it was just tough."

Young noted the suspension of the NBA season provided a silver lining for Roberson because he might be able to contribute to the Thunder following the restart when he otherwise would've been absent to finish out the year.

Thunder guard Dennis Schroder doesn't think the long layoff has led Roberson's skills to diminish.

"Dre, he's still got it on the defense end," Schroder said to Young. "We've played pickup a little bit in OKC. He looks pretty good. On the defensive end he's a threat."

Head coach Billy Donovan provided an encouraging update after watching Roberson in practice as well.

"He's doing great. I think he's gaining confidence," he said, per The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson. "I think he's got confidence in where he's at physically. I think he's trying to gain confidence right now in terms of being out from playing competitive basketball for two years."

The Thunder resume the season Aug. 1 against the Utah Jazz.

Assuming Roberson is ready to go, Donovan would probably make sure to limit his workload. His defensive contributions could be invaluable toward Oklahoma City's postseason aspirations, though. 

The Thunder, who sit fifth in the Western Conference, are a long shot to win a title, but they could easily spring an upset or two en route to the conference finals. Contributions from Roberson could go some way toward making that reality.

A day before plunging inside the Orlando bubble for the NBA's restart, Chris Paul was working phones, soliciting information from players on teams already quarantined and sequestered inside ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex.

He messaged Dallas Mavericks big man Dwight Powell to compliment him on the team's socially distanced dance party.

"The more we have those different types of interactions and experiences, I think that the better we'll make this," Paul told reporters via Zoom after the Thunder's first practice at Disney World.

He phoned Orlando Magic forward Gary Clark, seeking his initial impressions on the player accommodations.

"Even though there's a number of us throughout the league that worked on this, we didn't know what to expect either," Paul said. "We keep telling the players, everyone, any questions, anything like that, we don't always have the answers, but everything isn't going to be perfect. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened."

Consider Paul the continual concierge. Plenty of people worked around the clock over the last few months, dissecting the multitude of complexities and layers involved in resuming a season amid a pandemic and the continued urge to shed light and speak out against systemic racism.

Paul, the National Basketball Players Association president and one of the league's marquee names, has been a leading figure in building the bubble and resuming a season that was suspended in mid-March when Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 right before Oklahoma City was set to take on Utah.

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30 teams, 30 days: The biggest story from each NBA team ahead of the league's return.

Atl | Bos | Bkn | Cha | Chi | Cle
Dal | Den | Det | GS | Hou | Ind
LAC | LAL | Mem | Mia | Mil | Min
NO | NY | OKC | Orl | Phi | Pho
Por | Sac | SA | Tor | Uta | Was

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"It was tough, but you got to be built for it," Paul said. "I think that the people during all of this, as far as my family goes, who actually had the hardest time, would have to be my wife and my kids. They really made some sacrifices as far as me and my time. I think that's who I was constantly apologizing to, and it was a huge wake-up call. When the kids are like, 'Is Daddy on another call? Is Daddy doing this?'

"So, it is what it is. I'm no different than any other player in this league. We all made sacrifices. All the employees, everyone here is making this happen. Everybody made sacrifices. But at the end of the day, our family is the most important thing."

He shared plenty of those calls with Michele Roberts, the NBPA executive director. Reached while she recently waited in line for a COVID-19 test during an Orlando afternoon storm, it didn't take Roberts long to recall when she last talked with Paul.

About 10 minutes ago, she said.

"I could not have been luckier to have him be in this position," Roberts said. "Not only because of his status among other players and his relationships with the league, but because he's personally committed to putting in the time and the work, despite the fact that he obviously has a day job and a family. So, I don't want to imagine what I would have had to do if I didn't have Chris and someone like Chris available. He's worked as many, if not more hours than many members of my staff. And that says a lot because everybody's working super hard, but nobody harder than Chris."

That Paul has had to balance the demands of leading a union of 400-plus NBA players while also a group of teammates for a Thunder team better than many expected is no surprise to those who know him.

In many ways, he already has trained for the role.

At West Forsyth High School in North Carolina, Paul served as class president from the 10th grade onward.

Kurt Telford, then the school's principal, recalled the days when Paul would set up for senior prom in the morning, play AAU ball in the afternoon and return at night to make sure everything remained on schedule.

Sometimes, starstruck freshmen nervously asked for Telford's help in meeting Paul when he was a high school senior.

"That was the craziest thing I ever heard," Telford said. "I'm serious. It's the only time of my career when freshmen would come to me and say, 'Hey, will you introduce me to Chris Paul?' I kind of knew his schedule, unfortunately, when he was a senior. I say unfortunately, because I knew when he had his tough classes, and I knew when he had his easier classes. I think his computer class was fairly easy. He probably hated to see me come, because it was either student government stuff ... or 'Can you talk to these kids who want to meet you?' He never flinched when I asked.

"Now, did I think he was going to be an NBA star? No. But he had that leadership. He's able to bring different parties together, because I don't think he's one to put himself on a pedestal or feels that he can't talk to others."

Jeff Battle served on Wake Forest's coaching staff during Paul's time in Winston-Salem. While recruiting him, Battle quickly noticed how Paul's AAU's teammates responded to him.

Paul's team would gather, and when they broke, his four teammates would run to their designated spots on the court.

"Right away, I'm looking at them and thinking, 'Man, that cat's a leader,'" Battle said. "Because most guys wouldn't respond that way. They might say something back to him. They might say, 'Well, I don't want to run that. I don't want to do that.' But all four guys on the floor were listening to what he was saying and how he was saying it to them.

"I saw early on that he had a way of leading guys and getting them to do the right things. I think that translates back to off the floor, knowing the right things to say and also carrying those actions out as well, is the product of the way that he was raised by his family."

Those traits came in handy when he was elected to lead the NBPA in August 2013. Six months prior, the union, then led by Derek Fisher, had created a storm of internal turmoil when it fired longtime executive director Billy Hunter, who countered with a wrongful-termination lawsuit that was eventually dismissed.

The union named Roberts executive director the following year.

Paul quickly established an open-door policy for members—from rookies to veteran superstars—to reach him while also relying on the counsel of NBPA executive members such as Andre Iguodala, Garrett Temple and Jaylen Brown. 

"The biggest thing that we've learned from this situation is communication," Paul said during a conference call last month with reporters. "We have 450 players, and it's always hard to get on the same page. ... None of us are perfect, but what we're learning is that if we communicate with each other, for the guys that choose to go play [in the restart], we'll support those that don't, that choose not to go play, and vice versa. Probably the most eye-opening thing through this entire experience is that everyone doesn't have to agree, but we all are a big family, and the more that we can support each other and listen to each other more than anything, I think the better we are as a community."

Paul's willingness to engage in debate, to confront differences, has helped keep his constituency together, even if those same qualities often grate on opponents on the court.

"He walks the talk," Telford said. "He's one of the shortest guys in the league, but I think he commands that respect. I don't think he commands respect just because now he's a 15-year veteran. I think it's his actions. My guess is he doesn't ask anybody to do what he doesn't do himself."

Paul is a constant. Those in the room recognize his presence. 

"I'm glad that he's our president for the players," Danilo Gallinari said in a Zoom press conference. "He's been so active, and sometimes, it was even tough for me to call him because he was not answering, because he was on a call every time, every day.

"He can talk to you and be a leader," Gallinari added, "not just in basketball, but in many, many things that we approach in life."

With the bubble in place for now, Paul has turned his attention to the other group he leads. The Thunder, only one game back of a top-four seed in the Western Conference, are preparing to see if they can go on a surprise run in the playoffs. Few anticipated Paul would be long for the franchise following the blockbuster trade a year ago that sent him to the Thunder and Russell Westbrook to Houston.

But instead, he flourished in Oklahoma City's backcourt alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder.

As the season resumes, the Thunder appear to be in better shape than many teams. They aren't filling out a roster with cast-offs. Instead, they're welcoming back one of their best defensive presences, Andre Roberson, who has been practicing with the team after a lengthy rehabilitation from a knee injury.

"When the shutdown happened, everybody was obviously nervous, but then most guys got back to their respective families and enjoyed that time," Paul said. "The team group chats are always great. The team Zooms were great, but it's not like seeing each other. I said this and I truly believe it: We got a special team. We got a really special team, and we genuinely love to be around each other."

But the games are just games. Yes, the pandemic has created a mountain of logistics to overcome, but the social justice movement has created a good reason for many to consider the value of playing at all.

Paul listened to players and felt it himself. He saw the need for players to have the outlet to use their platform to continue shining light on the movements for social equality and against police brutality.

"We're aware we're not just basketball players," Paul said. "We are—like me, I'm a Black African American with kids and a wife and a family and stuff like that. So everything that you've seen, from George Floyd to Breonna Taylor to Rayshard Brooks and related to Elijah McClain, you see this stuff. So, we can't act like we don't, because these are our communities. These are the streets that we walk on, that we're raised on, that we grew up on, so we're aware.

"We also understand how powerful our voice is, and so even if we're back to playing, we understand that our voice can still be heard, our message can still be screamed loud and clear on an unbelievable platform. So just know that you're going to continue to hear us. Just know that. It's never a shut-up-and-dribble situation."

       

Jonathan Abrams is a senior writer for B/R Mag. A former staff writer at Grantland and sports reporter at the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Abrams is also the bestselling author of All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire—available right here, right now. Follow him on Twitter, @jpdabrams. 

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Don't count Steven Adams among the NBA players who will be complaining about bubble life.

"Let's be clear: This is not Syria. It's not that hard ... We're living at a bloody resort," Adams told reporters Monday. "Everyone is going to complain, everyone has their own preferences, nothing too serious. Just a bit of dry food here and there."

While NBA players have seemingly acclimated themselves to the bubble in Orlando, the first couple of days were clearly a rocky experience. On social media, players documented what they thought were lackluster meals and accommodations which were not quite up to the standards of their home digs.

    

This article will be updated to provide more information soon.

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder doesn't expect to remain inside the NBA's bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for the duration of the league's restart.   

Schroder and his wife are expecting a baby in "three or four weeks," and once the day comes, he'll be heading home to be with them, per ESPN's Royce Young. The 26-year-old said he is "for sure" leaving the bubble to support his wife and help take care of his other child, who is still just 17 months old. 

Schroder: pic.twitter.com/S3QJbnJzlC

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) July 15, 2020

Through 63 games this season, Schroder is averaging 19.0 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds for the Thunder. 

Oklahoma City (40-24) has already clinched a playoff position in the Western Conference. The only thing the club has to play for during the restart is seeding.

Currently in fifth place, OKC trails the second-place Los Angeles Clippers by just four games and the fourth-place Utah Jazz by one game, leaving plenty of room to move into a position that would normally secure home-court advantage. 

Since all teams are playing in the same location in Orlando, Florida, to complete the season, that distinction doesn't carry as much weight as it otherwise would. 

The playoffs are expected to begin Aug. 18, making it more likely than not Schroder won't be available for the start of the postseason. Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward and Jazz guard Mike Conley are in similar situations, both planning to leave the bubble for the birth of their children, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

Players who wish to return to campus following time away are subject to a minimum of 10 days in quarantine before they can resume team activities.

OKC will miss Schroder's presence but should have the depth to make up for his absence with guards Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Deonte Burton capable of stepping in. 

 

Steven Adams is a funny dude.

The Oklahoma City Thunder center joked that he stayed in basketball shape during the NBA hiatus by "boxing out cows" while he was in his native New Zealand, according to Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. 

Jokes aside, the experience Adams had in New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic was far different than what he would have experienced had he remained in the United States. New Zealand, a country with 4.9 million people, has had just 1,530 reported coronavirus cases resulting in 22 deaths. 

The United States, on the other hand, has had 2,732,639 reported cases resulting in 128,651 deaths, per CNN.com. Adams talked about New Zealand's response to the pandemic:

"There was a few hiccups here and there, but for the most part, New Zealanders generally are quite compliant with rules, you know what I mean? Everyone was kind of making sure that we follow the rules properly, maintain distance and whatnot. Collectively, all the Kiwis did a really, really good job with that, and that's what kind of shut it down. But then again, it is a bit different. We're just a smaller country and our borders are easily managed."

Adams traveled back to Oklahoma City in preparation for the NBA restart at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. He didn't mention whether he would miss his cows. 

NBA veteran Chris Paul is set to produce a docu-series about historically Black colleges and universities and the recruiting struggles for their basketball programs, according to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. 

According to Dade Hayes of Deadline, the series will follow schools over the course of the 2020-21 season as programs try to compete with bigger schools for top prospects. Paul had a chance to go to Winston-Salem State University, an HBCU, but instead chose to play for Wake Forest. 

"There was an HBCU right in my back yard," Paul told Hayes. "For some reason, I just didn't really think of it. Today, kids' mindsets have changed. We hope that this show will keep that conversation going."

Though Paul didn't attend one himself, he has provided support to various HBCU programs in the past, including a $25,000 donation to Winston-Salem State, per Erik Horne of The Athletic.

"Everybody in my family went to HBCUs except for me," he said at All-Star weekend. "So I understand the importance of them. They don't always get the same funding that a lot of other schools get, so I'm trying to bring a lot of that knowledge to the forefront because it's education."

Paul's father went to WSSU while his brother began his basketball career at Hampton.

Though most top recruits end up choosing big-name schools in the ACC or other major conference like Paul did, 2023 elite prospect Mikey Williams recently indicated he's considering an HBCU.

"If there's anybody that is getting paid from me being at their school I'd want it to be my own people," Williams said, via Alex Seats of 247Sports. "It's all about timing and situation. I support the black community to the fullest and any way possible I can help I'm going to do so no matter what it is."

Paul believes the ongoing protests against racial injustice could help change the fortune for these schools.

"With the current racial awakening in our country prompting young athletes to look at where they play, he said. "It's now more important than ever to shine a light on HBCUs and showcase their value in sports and society."

Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul emphasized Monday what he believes to be the importance of voting to help enact change in the United States.

"I want you guys to understand more than ever that you really have a voice," Paul said in a Zoom call with high school basketball players, per The Undefeated's Martenzie Johnson. "And that it matters. ... The reason why I'm passionate and why I'm involved in a lot of this stuff is because I do want to see different for my kids. I don't want it to be the status quo or the same."

The killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others have led many around the world to demonstrate and protest police brutality, systemic racism and racial inequality.

A number of NBA players have taken part in protests and marches to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

“As we march today,
let us be loud,
let us be heard,
let us be known!!“ pic.twitter.com/hnKkjL2yyQ

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) June 8, 2020

Our point guard 🖤 pic.twitter.com/6r0yxojcoc

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 5, 2020

Players from the ⁦@WashWizards⁩ and ⁦@WashMystics⁩ chant Breonna Taylor’s name during their march to the MLK Memorial. pic.twitter.com/cIMsIN9nHM

— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 19, 2020

On June 10, the New York Times' Jonathan Martin reported Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was partnering with current and former players to form a group called More Than a Vote. The nonprofit "will partly be aimed at inspiring African Americans to register and to cast a ballot in November."

The Atlanta Hawks also announced plans to convert State Farm Arena into a voting center. The venue will be open for early voting starting July 20 in Georgia's primary runoff election.

Starting on July 20, State Farm Arena will become Georgia's largest-ever voting precinct.

We are proud to partner with Fulton County to give all registered Fulton County residents the ability to vote early at our home.

Read more: https://t.co/03QIocUqtf pic.twitter.com/9zApOToQUH

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 29, 2020

The NBA is scheduled to resume its 2019-20 season on July 30 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Lakers guard Avery Bradley told ESPN's Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski that he and a coalition of NBA players were looking for the league and its partners to make commitments toward social justice efforts.

The NBA said in a statement on June 24 it had met with representatives from the National Basketball Players Association. Together, they "agreed in principle that the goal of the season restart in Orlando will be to take collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice."    

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard and NBPA President Chris Paul says people will continue to hear NBA players' voices amid the ongoing social justice movement as the league gears up for its restart July 30.

"You're going to continue to hear us," Paul told reporters Friday. "This isn't a 'shut up and dribble' situation."

Fox News host Laura Ingraham said in 2018 that LeBron James should "shut up and dribble" after he offered his feelings on President Donald Trump in an interview with ESPN's Cari Champion.

NBA players have used their platform to speak on systemic racism, police brutality and social injustice in recent weeks.

Players have been divided on whether the restart, set to take place after a four-month league suspension because of the COVID-19 pandemic, would help or hinder their efforts and momentum toward creating positive change.

Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Lou Williams said he was 50-50 on returning to play, saying games could be a distraction as people fight for social justice. In a virtual video chat hosted by CoStar (h/t Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times), Williams said:

"I think for us, the only benefit of us not playing is to keep the focus on the fight. And with that being said, this is in six weeks, so we don't know what it looks like in six weeks. In six weeks the world may need some healing, they may need us to be on the floor. But if more Black kids or more Black adults or any adults that's dealing with police brutality are getting killed and we're still outraged, I don't know if it's in our best interests to suit up because it looks like we don't care. You know what I mean? It's just a fine balance we're trying to create."

Others have expressed similar sentiments, including ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson and Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard.

However, some players believe finishing the season will be beneficial.

Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers said the money players earn could be donated to social justice causes.

"Us coming back would put money in all of our [NBA players'] pockets," Rivers said on Instagram (h/t ESPN's Tim MacMahon). "With this money, you could help out even more people and continue to give more importantly your time and energy towards the BLM movement. Which I'm 100 percent on board with. Because change needs to happen, and injustice has been going on too long."

Brooklyn Nets guard Garrett Temple provided a similar take to ESPN's Malika Andrews.

"The difference in the economic gap between white America and Black America is astronomical," Temple said. "I can't in good conscience tell my brethren to throw away millions of dollars in order to create change that I don't see the direct impact of—if there was a direct impact of laws changing, that would be a different story."

As of now, 22 of the 30 NBA teams are set to head to Orlando, Florida, in early July for practices and scrimmages ahead of an eight-game schedule to close the regular season. The first game is set to tip off July 30 with Game 7 of the NBA Finals (if necessary) slated for Oct. 13.

Many people were surprised when the Oklahoma City Thunder swung a deal to acquire Paul George in July 2017—none more than the six-time All-Star himself. 

Appearing on Kevin Hart's Cold as Balls: Cold Calls YouTube show, George said the Thunder trade "f--ked me up" because of the low-key nature of Oklahoma City (starts at 4:12 mark):

It was well known at the time that George's relationship with the Indiana Pacers had reached a point where it seemed impossible for him to remain with the organization. 

George's agent, Aaron Mintz, called Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard in June 2017 to inform him of his client's wish to play for a new team.

Earlier this week, George went on the Knuckleheads podcast with Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson (h/t RealGM.com) to say he requested the trade because the Pacers told him they wouldn't acquire an unnamed player whom George said told him he wanted to play in Indiana:

"I had at the time, the best power forward saying he wanted to come to Indy and team up with me. They're like, 'we're a mid-major, we're a small market, like, we can't do it, we're a small market, we can't afford that.' I'm like the best power forward wants to come play here, like, y'all can't make that work? They didn't want to do it."

The Thunder stunned everyone by trading Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Pacers for George. They had Russell Westbrook coming off an MVP season but were trying to find a second superstar after losing Kevin Durant one year earlier in free agency. 

George had a successful two-season run in Oklahoma City. He averaged 25.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 156 games and finished third in 2018-19 MVP voting. 

As the Thunder looked toward building for the future last offseason, George was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers to team up with Kawhi Leonard. 

Oklahoma City has come out of the deal looking strong. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari are the team's top two scorers this season. The Thunder also have five future first-round draft picks and two pick swaps thanks to the deal.