Zylan Cheatham, who was acquired in a four-team trade last week, has been waived by the Thunder, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.
Cheatham was among five players Oklahoma City received in the deal that sent Steven Adams to New Orleans. The Bucks and Nuggets were also involved in the trade.
Because Cheatham was a free agent, there had to be a sign-and-trade to include him in the deal. He will receive his $1.4MM salary for this season, but not the non-guaranteed money he had scheduled for 2021/22 and 2022/23.
The 25-year-old forward signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans prior to the NBA’s restart in Orlando. He appeared in three games, averaging 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in about 13 minutes per night.
On Tuesday, OKC waived guard Josh Gray, who was also part of the four-team trade. Mussatto notes that Cheatham and Gray became expendable after the Thunder reached a deal with Frank Jackson and acquired T.J. Leaf.
Dude just came up on a million dollar pay day.