Thunder Sign Melvin Frazier Jr. To Two-Way Deal

The Thunder have signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way deal and waived Olivier Sarr to make room for Frazier, the team announced in a press release.

Frazier, 25, was the 35th overall pick of the 2018 draft after three years at Tulane. He played his first couple seasons with the Magic, appearing in 29 games with a modest average of 5.9 minutes per contest.

He has spent more time in the G League than the NBA over the last four years, appearing in 41 games with the Lakeland Magic from 2018-20, then suiting up for the Oklahoma City Blue in the 2021 NBAGL bubble. This season Frazier split time between the Iowa Wolves and the Blue, appearing in 50 games (30.2 MPG) and averaging 13.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.5 SPG.

Sarr, 23, was signed to a two-way deal back in February after spending the majority of the season with the Blue. Prior to the two-way deal, he’d signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Thunder.

In 22 games (19.1 MPG) with the Thunder this season, Sarr posted solid averages of 7.0 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .574/.448/.828 shooting. The shooting splits are particularly impressive from the 7’0″ big man.

Opting to waive Sarr is pretty surprising, because he’d played the best basketball of his young NBA career over the last five games (30.3 MPG), averaging 14.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 1.4 BPG on .628/.538/.929 shooting. That stretch included a 24-point (on 9-12 shooting), six-rebound, two-block performance in just 22 minutes in the team’s shocking 117-96 win over the Suns on Sunday.

The Thunder are currently carrying 20 players on the roster, including a full 15-man standard rotation, three players on injury-related hardship deals that expire when the season ends, and a pair of two-ways.