Getting Inside

Here one day, gone the next. That’s how Thunder fans must have felt after hearing news that a “local” favorite, Tyson Chandler, was coming back to Oklahoma City—only to leave again after he failed his physical.

Dealt from New Orleans in exchange for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to DeVon Hardin, Chandler was expected to be the Thunder’s center of the future. Instead, a severe case of turf toe scuttled the deal.

“We were pleased to add Tyson to the Thunder roster,” OKC general manager Sam Presti said. “During the course of the physical examination and outside consultations some questions arose that gave us cause for concern. We felt that this course of action was the best for our organization.”

Chandler was part of the Hornets team that spent two years in OKC after relocating because of Hurricane Katrina. Presti said that losing what seemed to be such a perfect fit won’t force OKC to shortcut the building process.

“We’re always open-minded,” he said. “At the same time we’re not going to allow this situation to affect future decisions. We have to continue to be methodical as we go through the process of growing our team and growing our organization.”

Suns 140, Thunder 118: The Thunder tried to make a game of it in the second half at Phoenix, but the resurgent Suns had too much firepower even without injured All-Star Amare Stoudemire. Leandro Barbosa stepped into the starting lineup and scored a career-high 41 points Friday night, as Phoenix hit 140 for the third consecutive game.

Kevin Durant scored 35 for the Thunder, who have dropped four straight to fall to 13-42. OKC actually had six score in double figures in the run-and-gun affair. Russell Westbrook followed Durant with 19 points. Jeff Green (10 points) had a game-high 14 rebounds.

Jason Richardson added 34 points for the Suns and Shaquille O’Neal had 22. Phoenix is the first team in 18 years to score at least 140 in three consecutive games.

Notes, Quotes

• The Thunder added to their swingman depth with Thursday’s trade for Thabo Sefolosha. Oklahoma City also received cash considerations from Chicago in exchange for a 2009 first round pick.

“We are excited to add Thabo to our team,” GM Sam Presti said. “With this trade we add another defensive-minded perimeter player that we feel has the opportunity to grow with our organization.”

Sefolosha (6-7, 215), currently in his third season, owns career averages of 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 16.6 minutes in 183 NBA games (40 starts). He has appeared in 43 games (14 starts) this season with the Bulls, averaging 4.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 17.1 minutes.

OKC owns three first-round picks in the 2009 draft. The Thunder holds the rights to its own pick, the Denver pick acquired in the Johan Petro trade and the San Antonio pick received in the Kurt Thomas deal. Chicago will get the least favorable of the Denver and San Antonio picks.

• OKC added to the frontcourt stable Thursday by acquiring forward Malik Rose and cash considerations from New York in exchange for forward Chris Wilcox.

“We are pleased to add Malik to our roster,” Sam Presti said. “He brings a wealth of experience and veteran leadership to our team.”

Rose (6-7, 255), a two-time NBA champion currently in his 13th season, owns career averages of 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 16.5 minutes in 793 NBA games. He has appeared in 18 games this season with the Knicks, averaging 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 8.9 minutes.

Quote To Note: “We feel the right decision for us was to move in another direction. We’re disappointed it did not work out.”—Thunder general manager Sam Presti on rescinding the Tyson Chandler trade for medical reasons.

Roster Report

Rotation: Starters—Point guard Russell Westbrook, Shooting guard Kyle Weaver, Small forward Kevin Durant, Power forward Jeff Green, Center Nenad Krstic. Bench—Guard Earl Watson, Guard Chucky Atkins, Center Robert Swift, Center Nick Collison, Guard Damien Wilkins, Forward Joe Smith, Guard Thabo Sefolosha.

Player Notes: —C Nenad Krstic made his second start of the season Friday at Phoenix. He scored 16 and grabbed six rebounds, replacing Nick Collison in a move that was more than just a simple matchup against Shaquille O’Neal.

“We’re just going to change it up and give him an opportunity to start,” coach Scott Brooks said of Krstic. “It’s nothing against Nick. Nick’s been playing very well for us. It just gives us a different look. They both are going to play good minutes. We want them to both play well.”

• F Chris Wilcox was ultimately traded Thursday to New York because he didn’t fit in OKC’s long-range plans. There was speculation that the Thunder had to move Wilcox after he was originally part of the failed Tyson Chandler deal.

“We certainly didn’t make any decisions based on reaction to that situation,” GM Sam Presti said. “That’s something that we’ve tried to be thorough with in our process. We have to make the intelligent decisions for our organization, take the information that we have and do what we think is in the best interest of the team. We did not alter our process.”

• C Mo Sene was waived to make room for G Thabo Sefolosha on the 15-man roster. The 6-11 three-year vet from Senegal played in just five games this season and averaged less than five minutes.

Medical Watch:

• F D.J. White (jaw surgery) had a benign tumor removed Oct. 13. The second phase of the surgery involved mending the jaw with bone graft taken from his hip. He’s begun doing light workouts.

• G Desmond Mason (knee surgery) is missing the rest of the season. He is expected to make a full recovery.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—Undeterred by a trade that was rescinded because of a failed physical, the Oklahoma City Thunder moved ahead Thursday with deals that brought in guard Thabo Sefolosha from Chicago and forward Malik Rose from the New York Knicks.

The Thunder sent a first-round pick in this June’s draft to the Bulls for Sefolosha, who could fill a hole in Oklahoma City’s backcourt. Chris Wilcox, who was supposed to be included in a trade to the New Orleans Hornets for center Tyson Chandler, instead ended up going to New York in the Rose trade.

Oklahoma City also got cash in both swaps completed at the NBA’s trade deadline.

General manager Sam Presti wasn’t gun shy only one day after he had to pull out of a deal that had energized the team’s fan base.

“One thing that I don’t think we let happen was we certainly didn’t make any decisions based on reaction to that situation,” Presti said. “That’s something that we’ve been trying to be thorough with in our process.

“We have to make the intelligent decisions for our organization, take the information that we have and do what we think is in the best interests of the team. We did not alter our process.”

Sefolosha, a third-year player out of Switzerland, could make more of an immediate impact with the Thunder, who expect starting guard Desmond Mason to miss the rest of the season after having knee surgery. Rookie Kyle Weaver has been starting in Mason’s spot since his injury.

“Adding Thabo gives us another defensive-minded perimeter player, someone that can guard multiple positions,” Presti said. “He has excellent athleticism and we feel like he’s another player that we can add to the team that fits well with the group that we have now and we feel like he has a chance to grow as a player.”

Sefolosha has averaged five points and about three rebounds in three NBA seasons since being drafted in the first round in 2006. He lost his starting job in Chicago after a slow start to the season and has been playing mostly as a reserve behind Kirk Hinrich.

The Bulls also had a logjam on the wing after acquiring John Salmons from Sacramento in a six-player trade earlier in the week, even after dealing Larry Hughes to the Knicks in a separate trade Thursday.

To make room for Sefolosha, the Thunder waived center Mouhamed Sene, a former 10th overall pick who hadn’t played since November. The Thunder, then playing in Seattle with Rick Sund as the general manager, drafted him three spots ahead of Sefolosha in 2006.

Oklahoma City was to have three first-round picks in this year’s draft. The Bulls will get either San Antonio’s or Phoenix’s old selection, whichever one comes later.

Rose was a member of San Antonio’s NBA championship teams in 1999, 2003 and 2005 and rejoins Presti, who was part of the Spurs’ front office for the last two of those titles. However, he could face an uphill battle for playing time in Oklahoma City, just as he did in New York. He had played in only three games with the Knicks since late December.

Wilcox himself had been relegated to the bench since the Thunder signed restricted free agent Nenad Krstic in late December, playing in only one of the Thunder’s final five games before the All-Star break.

He then was included with Joe Smith and second-round pick DeVon Hardin in the trade with New Orleans that fell apart on Wednesday.

Kevin Durant, the reigning Rookie of the Year, said “it was kind of a shock” to find out Chandler wasn’t going to join the team after all.

“I’d never seen that before. That was something new to me,” Durant said. “I thought he’d be here today, but he wasn’t. That’s a part of this business. I know our organization made a good move for our team down the line.”

Presti said he didn’t feel any pressure to deal Wilcox despite his inclusion in the Chandler trade. After it was rescinded, it could have made for an awkward return to a situation where he already wasn’t getting his usual playing time.

“Obviously when you’re making deals, you’re looking at several different factors,” Presti said. “His opportunities here from a playing standpoint were limited. This deal surfaced, and obviously having Malik involved in it and the additional compensation, those were things that you weigh when you’re looking to make deals.

“But there wasn’t necessarily an urgency from our standpoint.”

Presti said he also hadn’t heard anything from Smith or his representatives related to a report that the 12-year NBA veteran would ask for a buyout of his contract in hopes of signing with the Boston Celtics for the stretch run.

“I think Joe brings great value to our team and he’s someone that has done a nice job for us this year,” Presti said. “We definitely have interest in him and continue to value him.”

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—The Oklahoma City Thunder have picked up shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha in a trade with the Chicago Bulls, who had a logjam at the position after acquiring John Salmons from Sacramento earlier in the week.

The Thunder sent a first-round pick in this June’s draft to the Bulls for Sefolosha, who could fill a hole in Oklahoma City’s backcourt. The Thunder also get cash in the deal.

Sefolosha has averaged five points and about three rebounds over three NBA seasons since being drafted in the first round out of Switzerland. He lost his starting job in Chicago after a slow start.

To make room for Sefolosha, the Thunder waived center Mouhamed Sene, a former first-round pick who hadn’t played since November.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—All-Star point guard Chris Paul could knife his way into the lane, lob the ball up in the air and, almost without fail, Tyson Chandler would be there to slam it down with two hands.

It was the signature move of New Orleans’ thrilling young inside-outside tandem, with the two teaming up for more than 100 alley-oops last season during the Hornets’ surprising run to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and a spot in the conference semifinals.

Now, the Hornets will have to find a new crowd-pleasing calling card.

Chandler was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday in a trade that brings veterans Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox to the Hornets.

“I’m going to miss him big time. That was my big fella,” Paul said after the Hornets beat Oklahoma City 100-98 Tuesday night. “I feel like everyone always talked about how much better I made him, but he made me a much better player. Without him, I’m probably not the player that I am now. He instilled so much confidence in me.”

The move could give New Orleans some cap room next season heading into the first year of Paul’s new four-year, $68 million contract. Chandler is due to make about $12 million next season.

“I think it frustrates you to a certain extent. As a coach, you want to win no matter what. That’s the bottom line. Your job kind of depends on that obviously,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said.

“Deals that are made that are money-driven are always tough from a coach’s standpoint. I don’t think this was so much money-driven. I think obviously there’s a lot of owners in this league that don’t want to pay luxury tax and things like that. But I do think we got two guys in Chris and Joe that are very, very good quality basketball players.”

New Orleans also got the rights to DeVon Hardin, a second-round pick out of California in last year’s draft who never signed with Oklahoma City.

General manager Jeff Bower said the Hornets’ primary reason for making the trade was that the team wasn’t running the floor enough and needed better defensive rebounding to set up transition baskets. Chandler was New Orleans’ top rebounder and particularly strong on offensive rebounding, easily leading the team with 112 despite missing 18 games.

“There’s no question with this transaction we accomplished some other objectives as well and were able to put ourselves in a position to have greater flexibility down the road and to be in a situation where we have flexibility financially, but it was driven first by the decision that we need to get better, we need to improve. And then it takes you down to, how do you do it and what are your objectives?” Bower said.

Chandler’s numbers had dropped off even before he missed the Hornets’ last 12 games with a sprained left ankle. He’s averaging 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds this season, after going for 11.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game last season.

Still, it could be a tough move for Hornets fans to swallow since Chandler was a true starting center and 2008 Olympic alternate while Wilcox and Smith are more natural power forwards who were struggling to find playing time on a team that’s been searching for a franchise center for years.

Guard Rasual Butler had a hard time fathoming why the Hornets, who came into Tuesday in sixth place in the West, made the deal.

“It’s a little bit of a shock to me. Tyson was a great teammate, a great asset to our team,” Butler said. “This is nothing against Wilcox or Joe Smith, but we’ll definitely miss Tyson.”
This is a Sept. 29, 2008 file photo showing Joe Smith during Thunder NBA basketball media day in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired center Tyson Chandler from New Orleans in a deal that sends veterans Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox to the Hornets.

Wilcox’s averages of 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds fell off, along with his playing time, since the Thunder signed restricted free agent Nenad Krstic on Dec. 30. He had a season-high 23 points on New Year’s Eve, before Krstic got into the rotation, but saw his time on the court fall off to practically nothing within a week. He played in only one of Oklahoma City’s last five games.

Smith, the No. 1 pick in the 1995 draft, has been fighting through injury issues of his own. A balky left knee kept him out of the Thunder’s lineup for nearly a month before he returned to play in four of the last five games before the All-Star break. He has averaged 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 36 games.

None of the players were at the Ford Center on Tuesday night, and neither team provided a timetable for when they might be ready to play with their new teams.

Chandler, who played one season in Oklahoma City during the Hornets’ temporary relocation after Hurricane Katrina, brings the franchise a proven talent inside after it tried for years to draft and develop a front-line center. The former Seattle SuperSonics used first-round picks on Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene and Johan Petro in recent years and have another 7-footer developing overseas in last year’s 20th overall pick, Serge Ibaka.

“It’s never easy to find big guys, for sure,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said.

Oklahoma City has been stockpiling draft picks to supplement a young core that includes Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.

“I think this move is a strong statement from our ownership group as to their commitment to put an elite basketball operation together, and we’re grateful that we have that kind of support from the people that are in charge,” Presti said.

AP Sports Writer Brett Martel contributed from New Orleans.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—Oklahoma City’s first impression of Greg Oden would not be a lasting one.

Portland’s 7-foot center was not a factor last week in the first display of the top two picks in the 2007 NBA draft, No. 1 Oden and No. 2 Kevin Durant.

But Wednesday night in the Trail Blazers’ 106-92 victory over the Thunder, Oden showed his potential with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Afterward, Oden wasn’t going to make anything out of the whole No. 1 against No. 2 thing.

“It’s Oklahoma versus Portland,” he said patly in response to the question.

While Oden’s rookie season was put on hold for a year after he had microfracture surgery on his right knee, Durant would become Rookie of the Year. That left many in Portland wondering whether the Blazers made a mistake.

Oden has had an inconsistent start, which is most apparent in his two meetings with Durant and Oklahoma City.

Last Friday, Oden got into foul trouble early and finished with four points and two rebounds. The Thunder won 102-93, led by Durant with 31 points.

It appeared Oden might be heading in the same direction Wednesday night when he was called for his first foul less than a minute into the game. But Oden adjusted, earning praise from coach Nate McMillan.

“Oden is learning how to play in this league,” McMillan said.

Durant, meanwhile, had 20 points, well off his average of 25.6 going in. He, too, played down any comparison, but did offer a measure of praise.

“Their big guys played very well,” Durant said. “They’ve got a big front line out there, so it’s tough to play against those guys. They played well tonight.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Brandon Roy scored 22 points and Travis Outlaw came off the bench with 21 for Portland, which has won seven of its last nine games.

The Thunder kept it close until the very end of the first half. Durant put Oklahoma City ahead 46-44, but the Blazers closed with a 9-0 run capped by Outlaw’s dunk as time ran out to make it 53-46.

The Thunder was coming off a 105-98 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles the night before, and the fatigue started to show in the second half.

Durant was whistled for his fourth foul. Oden blocked Jeff Green’s shot on one end, and rookie Jerryd Bayless made a fast-break dunk on the other to put Portland up 77-68. The Blazers broke it open from there, and Outlaw hit a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 89-76.

Oden’s reverse layup made it 98-78 midway through the fourth quarter.

“The last game they embarrassed us, we let them run whatever that wanted to,” Oden said. “We wanted to get to them, and not let them this time.”

Wednesday’s game was the Thunder’s first appearance in Portland since the team was moved from Seattle. There was a smattering of SuperSonics jerseys scattered through the crowd. One fan held a sign borrowing on the NBA’s own ad campaign, reading “Where ripping out an entire city’s heart happens.”

The Blazers were coming off a victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday, a game won on Roy’s scooped layup at the buzzer.

The last time the Blazers won in the series, back on Feb. 21 of last year, the Thunder were still the Sonics.

Portland was still without starting point guard Steve Blake, who is recovering from a right shoulder separation. Blake has started practicing with the team but will not return until after the All-Star break.