The Oklahoma City Thunder are about to get better, and the NBA is about to get even more exciting than it’s already been in this first week of action.

The following statement was issued today by Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti regarding Russell Westbrook’s availability to play in tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns:

“Russell Westbrook has gone through a methodical rehab process jointly created by our medical and performance teams and treating physicians. The process has been instrumental in getting Russell to this point and has included various physical and medical benchmarks. The final benchmark being unrestricted basketball activity. After hitting the necessary marks, all parties, including the team, consulting physicians, Russell’s representatives, and most importantly Russell, jointly determined that returning to play was the correct next step.”

According to the Oklahoman, “Thunder players, coaches and front office executives all said Westbrook looked great in on-court activities in the days leading up to training camp. But the loose stitch in his knee caused swelling that would not subside until Westbrook underwent the second procedure. Thunder general manager Sam Presti, however, said last month that the second surgery, though pushing back Westbrook’s return date, allowed the team an opportunity to see Westbrook’s meniscus and gain confidence that it had properly healed.”

Orlando Magic forward/center Solomon Jones has suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today. Jones will undergo surgery and will be out indefinitely. He suffered the injury during Orlando’s overtime loss on Oct. 30 @ Minnesota.

Jones (6-10, 235, 7/16/84) was signed as a free agent on Sep. 27. He has played in two games this season, averaging 2.0 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. in 13.7 minpg. Jones also appeared in seven preseason outings, averaging 4.6 ppg., 4.3 rpg. and 1.29 stlpg. in 16.0 minpg.

A graduate of nearby Mount Dora High School, Jones was originally selected in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by Atlanta. He has appeared in 272 career NBA games with Atlanta, Indiana, New Orleans, the Los Angeles Clippers, New York and Orlando, averaging 3.1 ppg. and 2.4 rpg. in 11.1 minpg. Collegiately, Jones played two years at Daytona Beach Community College, then two years at the University of South Florida.

The Oklahoma City Thunder exercised its fourth-year option on guard Reggie Jackson and third-year options on guard Jeremy Lamb and forward Perry Jones, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

In two seasons with the Thunder, Jackson has appeared in 115 games and averaged 4.5 points, 1.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game. Most recently, Jackson appeared in 11 games (nine starts) with Oklahoma City during the 2013 playoffs and posted averages of 13.9 points, 3.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per contest.

In one season with the Thunder, Lamb appeared in 23 games while recording averages of 3.1 points in 6.4 minutes per contest.

During his rookie season with Oklahoma City, Jones saw action in 38 games (one start) and averaged 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game.

The Oklahoma City Thunder waived guards Diante Garrett and Rodney McGruder, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Garrett appeared in six preseason contests for the Thunder and recorded averages of 3.2 points and 1.5 assists in 10.2 minutes per game.

McGruder saw action in two exhibition games and averaged 1.0 point and 0.5 assists in 10.2 minutes per contest.

Oklahoma City’s roster now stands at 14.

NBA preseason ends tonight (Friday) with four games. All teams have to trim their rosters to 15 players or less by the start of the regular season, which kicks off Tuesday. Many more players around the league will be let go in the next few days. Most of those players were likely signed to non-guaranteed deals that merely brought them onto training camp/preseason rosters.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Hasheem Thabeet has been suspended one game without pay for head butting New Orleans Pelicans center Greg Stiemsma, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter of Oklahoma City’s 105-102 loss to the Pelicans on Thursday, Oct. 17, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Thabeet will be suspended for the Thunder’s first 2013-14 regular season game in which he is eligible and physically able to play.

To view the play, click on this link.

At 31, Gomes might have thought he was past the point of proving himself. But that’s precisely what he must now do to make the Thunder and cash in on his partially guaranteed contract.

“It’s a challenge that I’ve got to be ready for,” Gomes said. “I know it’s a performance league and you’ve got to go out there and perform and play well.”

Gomes finally got the chance to perform in the Thunder’s fourth preseason game Thursday night against New Orleans. He scored 11 points in 12 minutes, making all three of his 3-point attempts while displaying a good defensive disposition.

“I think I can provide that on a daily basis,” Gomes said.

Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman

The mother of an Oklahoma City NBA star said today’s society is so over-sexualized that very young children are contemplating sexual matters.

“They should be dreaming about being an artist or a dancer. They should be dreaming of being the president or a doctor. Instead they’re thinking of sexual things. It really hurts my heart,” said Wanda Pratt, mother of Oklahoma City Thunder star forward Kevin Durant.

Pratt spoke Tuesday to about 150 people who attended the “Shine the Light” event Tuesday at Wheeler Park, 1120 S Western. The event was part of “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” an anti-pornography campaign launched Oct. 1 in Oklahoma City.

Reported by Carla Hinton of the Oklahoman

[As] Jones prepares to enter Year 2, the buzz around his potential has quieted. And, still stuck behind a frontcourt logjam of Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison, Jones has become somewhat of a forgotten man.

Will he ever crack the rotation? Does the Thunder even expect or need him to?

“Perry is in a tough position,” coach Scott Brooks said. “This is not a league where everybody shares minutes. It’s a league where you have to be patient if you aren’t getting minutes and if you get minutes, you have to continue to earn those minutes. We won a lot of games, and there are a lot of guys ahead of him.”

But regardless of how deep he’s buried on the depth chart, Jones’ rare physical tools will always make him intriguing.

At a legit 6-foot-11, he’s taller than the Thunder’s entire starting lineup and a handful of NBA centers, listed as the tallest small forward in the league, tied with Washington’s Jan Vesely.

Reported by Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman

An attorney for Thunder center Kendrick Perkins has released a statement proclaiming his client’s innocence in an misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a July altercation outside of a nightclub in Houston.

“Kendrick Perkins did nothing wrong, and I am confident that he will be exonerated,” said Matt Hennessy of DeGuerin, Dickson, Hennessy & Ward. “My client takes these charges very seriously. He is a respectful and kind person and is anxious to address these charges for the sake of his family and his team. We will defend these allegations vigorously in court.”

Reported by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman

The Oklahoma City Thunder waived center Daniel Orton, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Orton appeared in 13 games with the Thunder during the 2012-13 season, averaging 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per contest.

The center appeared in one preseason contest for Oklahoma City this year, recording six points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks in 19 minutes.

Oklahoma City’s roster now stands at 16.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier today, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced.

“Russell has been incredible in his work and rehabilitation. He has been pain-free and has performed at a high level during practice, but has experienced recent swelling that had not subsided,” said Presti. “After careful consideration and recommendations from the medical team, we elected to do the procedure today based on our consulting physician’s belief that the swelling would be alleviated, and in turn give Russell the best chance for sustained performance throughout the season and beyond. During the procedure it was determined that the source of swelling was due to a loose stitch, and fortunately we were also able to confirm that the meniscus has healed properly.”

Westbrook is expected to miss the first 4-6 weeks of the 2013-14 regular season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed guards Diante Garrett and Rodney McGruder to contracts, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. We assume these are just non-guaranteed deals that merely bring the players to training camp.

Garrett (6-4, 190 pounds), appeared in 19 games last season as a member of the Phoenix Suns where he averaged 2.1 points and 1.6 assists in 7.9 minutes per game. Additionally, Garrett played eight games last season for the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League where he posted averages of 17.3 points, 7.3 assists and 1.63 steals.

While playing collegiately at Iowa State, Garrett became one of three players in Big 12 history to amass 1,300 points and 600 assists.

McGruder (6-4, 205 pounds), recently concluded his four year college career at Kansas State where he became one of two players in school history to rank among the top 10 in both career scoring and rebounding.

During his senior season, McGruder earned All-Big 12 First Team and Honorable Mention All-America honors after registering averages of 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.26 steals per game.

The Oklahoma City Thunder roster now stands at 17.

Oklahoma City Thunder player DeAndre Liggins was charged with seven counts Friday, including counts of domestic abuse, kidnapping and domestic assault and battery, in connection with an incident at his home last month.

Liggins was also released by the Thunder, general manager Sam Presti announced in a team-released statement.

The charges against the Thunder reserve guard were filed late Friday afternoon in Oklahoma County District Court.

In addition, a second man involved in the domestic incident — who reportedly taunted and made fun of the victim in a partial cellphone recording of the alleged attack — was also charged, court records show.

Reported by Matt Dinger of the Oklahoman

InsideHoops.com was with the Oklahoma City Thunder rookies a few weeks ago, at Rookie Photo Shoot day. Here they are, posing together:

Oklahoma City Thunder guard DeAndre Liggins has been jailed on domestic abuse complaints, according to Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office records.

He was taken to the Oklahoma County jail, where he remains, per a jail official. No bond has been set. He is being held on complaints of domestic assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse in the presence of a minor, a jail official said.

Oklahoma City police were called about 4:40 p.m. to the 2300 block of NW 180th near North Pennsylvania Avenue. An official police incident report is not yet available, Lt. Arthur Gregory said.

Reported by The Oklahoman

Reminder from InsideHoops.com: This is just a complaint. Liggins is innocent until proven otherwise.

Lost in this summer’s extolling of other teams’ activity is this simple but significant truth: most every Western Conference playoff contender that added a major player lost a major player.

Dallas, for instance, added Jose Calderon, Monta Ellis and DeJuan Blair but lost Darren Collison, O.J. Mayo and Elton Brand. Golden State welcomed Andre Iguodala and Jermaine O’Neal but said goodbye to Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry. The Los Angeles Clippers brought in the aforementioned Collison, J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley but watched Eric Bledsoe, Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler take a hike.

Houston, with the addition of Dwight Howard, is the only Western Conference playoff contender that escaped this negligible, at best, net gain.

But because Oklahoma City didn’t reel in Mike Miller or Dorell Wright or whoever else to replace Martin, the Thunder, on paper, appears to be worse. Of course, this logic fails to consider OKC’s in-house replacements, rising star Reggie Jackson and sharpshooter Jeremy Lamb. Both have been recognized as possible Sixth Man Award candidates next season, and, together, the two should be more than capable of supplying what Martin provided last season — if not more.

Reported by Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman

The Oklahoma City Thunder used to be the Seattle SuperSonics. Kevin Durant’s NBA career began in Seattle. And in the Jamal Crawford Pro Am Seattle game, Kevin Durant took a reported 62 shots to finish with 63 points. According to Ball is Life, his team ended up losing 147-141 in OT.

There are also tons of highlights from Jamal Crawford himself, who reportedly scored 46 points.

Here’s the fun video:

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Ryan Gomes, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

An intelligent veteran, Gomes should do nicely providing bench depth at the forward spots.

Gomes (6-7, 245) has appeared in 482 games (371 starts) with Boston, Minnesota and the LA Clippers, owning career averages of 10.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.9 minutes per game. The 50th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft most recently played for the Artland Dragons of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany.

The forward from Providence College, led the Big East in scoring his senior year, averaging 21.6 points per game as he was named Honorable Mention All-American. The two time All-Big East First Team selection finished his career as Providence’s all-time leading scorer with 2,138 points.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has named Robert Pack and Mike Terpstra as assistant coaches, it was announced Wednesday by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. They join Rex Kalamian, Mark Bryant and Brian Keefe on Head Coach Scott Brooks’ bench.

“We’re excited to add Robert and Mike to our coaching staff for the upcoming season,” said Head Coach Scott Brooks. “These additions bring diverse backgrounds to our group that will help the further development of our players.”

Pack joins the Thunder after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers where he served as the head coach for the Clippers’ entry in the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Prior to that, he spent one season on the New Orleans Hornets bench.

A 13-year NBA veteran, Pack owns career averages of 8.9 points, 4.6 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 552 with games with the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards. He also played one season overseas with BC Kauno Zalgiris in Lithuania.

He enjoyed a standout collegiate career at USC, ranking fourth on the Trojans all-time assists list (319) in just two seasons, while becoming just the fourth player in school history to record back-to-back 100 assist seasons. In two seasons, he averaged 13.4 points and 5.6 assists per game.

Terpstra brings over 20 years of experience to Oklahoma City after working in various capacities at the college, junior college and high school levels, with additional experience in the NBA Development League and the CBA. After spending the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach/director of player development with the Idaho Stampede of the CBA, he spent one season working with the coaching staff of the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League.

Prior to his time with the Stampede and 14ers, Terpstra served as head coach at his alma mater, Northwest Nazarene University, in Nampa, Idaho during the 2004-05 season. He also served as the head coach of California State Stanislaus from 2000-03. During a three-year stint as the head coach of Modesto Junior College from 1997-00, Terpstra compiled a 60-36 record.

Following his college playing career at Northwest Nazarene where he was named team MVP in his junior and senior seasons, Terpstra played professionally in Turkey, England and Australia.

The Knicks and Nets willl both play on Christmas, but Santa Claus isn’t gifting New York an inter-city match up.

A league source told the Daily News that the Knicks are tentatively scheduled to host Kevin Durant and the Thunder on X-Mas, the same day Brooklyn plays the Bulls at the Barclays Center.

The official NBA schedule won’t be released until next week.

The Knicks and Nets, according to a source, are slated to face off on Martin Luther King Day - one of four match ups between the division foes next season.

Reported by Frank Isola and Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News