OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Thunder defensive stopper Andre Roberson is inching closer to being able to play.

The Oklahoma City swingman missed the second half of last season with a ruptured left patellar tendon. He expects to be cleared for contact soon and back to full speed "around December."

"There's a return to basketball and there's a return to performance, being back to my elite self on the defensive end and me just being cleared to play basketball is two different things," he said Monday at media day. "And it's going to be a process to kind of get back to where I was, just me being comfortable with my leg again and me getting back into the rhythm of basketball sitting out so long."