OKC Thunder Notebook: Training camp nears, key dates, and double draft

The NBA season is almost here! No, Seriously, the coffee tastes sweeter this morning as we sit exactly a week away from NBA Media Day with the OKC Thunder roster meeting with those of us in the Media on Monday, September 26th as training camp opens up the following day. The Oklahoma City Thunder will tip-off their preseason slate on October 3rd, with the first NBA preseason game taking place on September 30th.

This week, we will line out some key dates around the NBA, plus the league is leaking some information on the new CBA that could include a play-in tournament, lowering the age requirements to enter the NBA Draft, and steps forward in Mental Health awareness and treatment.

OKC Thunder weekly notebook, the Oklahoma City Thunder season is right around the corner, key dates, CBA updates, and NBA Draft changes

The Oklahoma City Thunder are about to set to return to the hardwood in Bricktown. Here are some key dates to watch for moving forward as we round back into NBA season!

Key Dates on the 2022-23 Oklahoma City Thunder Schedule

• Media Day, September 26th
• Training camp, September 27th
• Preseason opener, October 3rd
• Preseason game at the BOK Center in Tulsa, October 5th
• The preseason game against Josh Giddey’s NBL Team, October 6th
• The roster must be set (OKC must move on from three standard NBA contracts), on October 17th
• The regular season opener, October 19th
• October 22nd NBA G-League Draft
• Regular Season home opener, October 23rd
• NBA G-League begins, on November 4th
• Ten Day Deals are eligible to be signed, on January 5th
• Two-Way deals are guaranteed for the rest of the season, January 20th
• NBA Trade Deadline, February 9th at 3 p.m. Eastern
• NBA All-Star Weekend February 17th-19th
• All-Star Break ends, on February 22nd
• The NBA Regular Season ends, on April 9th
• 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, May 16th
• 2023 NBA Draft, June 22nd

Along with those key dates, the NBA is also in the midst of negotiating a new CBA for the league, with this comes rule and financial changes for the NBA. One of the biggest rule changes would be the possible changes to the 2024 and beyond NBA Draft.

The NBA is currently looking to eliminate the “one-and-done” rule and allow high school players to enter the NBA Draft. This would possibly start in 2024 when the OKC Thunder could end up with as many as four picks via their own and the Clippers, while also owning the Houston Rockets (top four protected) and Utah Jazz (top ten protected) that season.

Odds are the Utah Jazz will be a bottom ten team in 2024, but there is hope the Houston Rockets pick might convey barring some absurd lottery luck. The Rockets by that time should be fighting for a play-in spot, or the back end of the lottery just based on how stacked the Western Conference is.

Other rumored changes include the addition of an in-season tournament and adding the ability to cite Mental Health as a reason a player needs time away from the team or game just as they can for physical injuries.