Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Ripped, as Thunder get Ready to Return
Quarantine is proving to be good for Shai-Gilgeous Alexander. A recent video posted by Slam magazine shows a more tone Gilgous-Alexander playing a pick-up game as he prepares for the Thunder's return to action.
Gilgeous-Alexander sat out Oklahoma City's 105-104 win over the Celtics with a hip contusion. That is the only game he has missed all season, and he was cleared to play the night the Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the Thunder's second-leading scorer with 19 points per game. In his second year in the NBA, he's shooting 47 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three.
Per ESPN training camps will start between July 9th-11th, with games resuming on Thursday, July 30th. Hopefully, the rest of the Thunder took a cue from Gilgous-Alexander's workout regimen.
The NBA and NBAPA are finalizing plans to get back on the court, and in just 63 days from tipoff, only four teams will still be playing. The league is expecting the conference finals to end in a maximum of 82 days.
Lou Dort's Contract
There will be a one week transaction period later this month. At that time, Oklahoma City can sing Lou Dort to a standard NBA contract.
The Thunder would then be allowed to replace him with another two-way player. If someone on the roster test positive for COVID-19 or gets injured, free agents who were on NBA rosters and those who weren't are eligible to be signed as replacements.
However, teams can not sign international players who were not on NBA contracts, which would keep someone like Alex Abrines from being able to participate. Oklahoma City has an open roster spot that can be filled by either an NBA player or a G-Leauge player; Dort would be the most likely candidate to fill that slot.
