I know this was briefly mentioned in a Hornets thread on this site but for those who aren't Hornets fans or read that thread, I thought I would post it on here so you can know about another retail store in downtown OKC:
OKC Hornets gear to be more available
Starting Nov. 25, Oklahoma City Hornets T-shirts and other OKC Hornets merchandise will be available at a new retail store at 210 Park Avenue on the ground floor of the Oklahoma Tower.
“We’ll have everything that’s available at the games,” said Jeff Jacobsen, director of corporate merchandise for the Hornets. “I’ve been getting about 20 calls per day from people asking about Oklahoma City Hornets stuff. Now, we’re going to have a store.”
Currently, the only place people can get shirts and other assorted items with Oklahoma City and Hornets on it is at Hornets games at the Ford Center.
Speedy questionable: Guard Speedy Claxton said he rolled his right ankle twice Wednesday during the Hornets’ loss to Denver. Claxton is listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.
“I’ll see how it feels, and hopefully I’ll be able to go,” Claxton said.
Smith ready to return: Injured Hornets guard J.R. Smith said he will play tonight against the Hawks despite missing the team’s past two games with a sprained left ankle. Smith said the ankle is feeling a lot better and he is ready to return.
Smith took part in the team’s pre-game shootaround before the start of Wednesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets and didn’t report any problems. The Hornets had an off day Thursday after back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Butler benched: Hornets forward Rasual Butler was glued to the bench for Wednesday night’s 91-81 loss to the Nuggets as Hornets coach Byron Scott chose not to play him. After the game, Butler said he was not injured and hasn’t done anything off the court to warrant a benching.
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Butler said. “He just didn’t play me.”
Butler had played in all six of the Hornets’ previous six games, averaging 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game. Butler appears to be losing minutes to Desmond Mason, who plays the same small forward position. Mason logged 27 minutes off the bench Wednesday, scoring seven points with two rebounds, two assists and six turnovers. In 21 minutes, starting small forward Bostjan Nachbar also scored seven points.
Scary Hawks: Tonight, the Hornets play host to the Atlanta Hawks, who entered Thursday night as one of only two remaining winless teams. Oddly enough, the Hawks’ last win came against the Hornets, a 104-90 victory in the preseason. The Hawks also beat the Hornets 97-94 in the team’s first preseason meeting.
“That’s scary, too,” Scott said. “They’re going to be desperate, and they’re going to be looking at us thinking, ‘This is one we can get.’”
Road trip: After tonight’s home game against the Hawks, the Hornets will play five of their next six games on the road. The lone home date comes Nov. 23 against Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Hornets play at Orlando on Saturday and at Philadelphia on Monday. After the Minnesota game, the Hornets close out November with their first West Coast trip, against Seattle, Golden State and Denver.
Banks to D-League: The Hornets have assigned rookie forward Sean Banks to the Tulsa 66ers, the team’s affiliate in the NBA’s Developmental League.
Banks, who was signed as an undrafted free agent before the start of training camp, has been on the team’s inactive list in all seven games. Banks is scheduled to play in the 66ers’ season opener tonight against Albuquerque.
By Darnell Mayberry and Andrew Gilman
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