Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: THT, K. George, Kings, Booker, Pokusevski

October 27th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After letting several players battle for the role in training camp and preseason, the Jazz made Talen Horton-Tucker their starting point guard on Wednesday. According to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, head coach Will Hardy explained that a domino effect related to two other starters was a major factor in the decision.

“Talen pairs well with Jordan (Clarkson). Jordan is very much a good pairing with Lauri (Markkanen), because he provides a second threat offensively, a second ball-handler, a second play-maker, a second focal point of the offense,” Hardy said. “When we made the determination that Jordan was going to play with Lauri, Talen was the best fit to play with Jordan.”

As Larsen notes, of the players on Utah’s current roster, No. 16 overall pick Keyonte George is the best bet to be the point guard of the future. George had a solid debut, scoring eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in 19 minutes (Horton-Tucker had eight points on 3-of-9 shooting in 22 minutes), but Hardy isn’t ready to throw the rookie in the deep end by starting him and playing him heavy minutes.

“I think that Keyonte is a good player. I think we have high expectations for Keyonte and his future,” the Jazz coach said. “But in no way are we going into these games just saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to play Keyonte to play Keyonte.’ I thought he was reading the game well, he made some really good decisions. He made some great passes to shots that didn’t go in. But, I thought that in the flow of the game, he had a good thing going.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Kings were the feel-good story of 2022/23, winning 48 games and snapping a 16-season playoff drought, but head coach Mike Brown isn’t satisfied with their achievements, telling the team entering this season that “good is the enemy of great,” as Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic detail in an in-depth piece on the team’s desire to reach the next level. “I feel like he’s erased everything we did last year from his memory, from our memory,” Domantas Sabonis said of Brown. “He only brings up that we lost against the Warriors (in the first round of the playoffs). He’s definitely pushing us harder, and I love it. It’s fair. That happens usually (where) guys get complacent or think, ‘Oh, whatever we did last year.’ But if we don’t do all the little details, nothing’s going to change, you know?”
Suns guard Devin Booker missed Thursday’s game due to what has been diagnosed as a left mid-foot sprain, according to TNT’s Jared Greenberg (Twitter link), who says the injury occurred during Tuesday’s win over Golden State. Booker will undergo an MRI upon returning to Phoenix and is aiming to return to the court on Tuesday vs. San Antonio, a team source tells Greenberg.
When the Thunder announced on September 20 that Aleksej Pokusevski had sprained his right ankle in a workout, they said he would be reevaluated in six weeks. However, Pokusevski was active for the team’s regular season opener on Wednesday, beating a recovery timeline that would’ve sidelined him until November, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The fourth-year forward may not be part of Oklahoma City’s regular rotation at this point though — he only played two minutes of garbage time in Wednesday’s victory over Chicago.

Maxey, Quickley, Williams Among Players Who Didn’t Sign Extensions

October 23rd, 2023 at 7:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

An unusual number of players who were eligible to sign rookie scale extensions prior to Monday’s deadline inked new deals. A total of 14 players received rookie scale extensions in 2023, blowing away the previous single-year record of 11.

However, nearly half of the 27 eligible players didn’t sign a contract and thus will head to restricted free agency, if they are extended qualifying offers by their respective teams after the season. Otherwise, they’ll be unrestricted free agents next summer.

Perhaps the biggest name on the list is Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey, though that comes with an asterisk. The Sixers front office and Maxey mutually agreed to put off an extension so that Philadelphia could maximize its cap room next summer.

Immanuel Quickley and Patrick Williams are two of the other big-time names on the list who didn’t reach agreements with their teams. While the Knicks and Quickley’s reps — as well as the Bulls and Williams’ reps — held extension talks as the deadline neared, they couldn’t come to terms on the numbers.

Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn (Raptors), Saddiq Bey (Hawks), James Wiseman and Killian Hayes (Pistons), Kira Lewis (Pelicans), Chuma Okeke (Magic), Isaac Okoro (Cavaliers), Aleksej Pokusevski (Thunder) and Obi Toppin (Pacers) are the other eligible players who didn’t sign extensions.

A full list of the players who did, or did not, sign rookie scale extensions this offseason can be found here.

Thunder Waive Jack White

October 22nd, 2023 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have waived forward Jack White in order to get their roster to the regular season limit, the team announced today. Oklahoma City now has 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]

White, 26, went undrafted out of Duke in 2020 and spent the next two years playing in his home country of Australia before coming stateside for the 2022/23 season. He was on a two-way contract with the champion Nuggets for all of last season, though he logged just 66 minutes across 17 regular season games at the NBA level.

White had a far greater role for the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate, averaging 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 33.2 minutes per game (26 contests), with a shooting line of .563/.438/.767.

The Nuggets issued White a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, but withdrew it early in free agency, allowing him to sign a two-year, minimum-salary contract with Oklahoma City. Only $600K of that deal was guaranteed, however, making White a logical odd man out when the Thunder faced a roster crunch this month. OKC will remain on the hook for that $600K unless another team claims White off waivers.

Assuming he passes through waivers, White will likely receive interest from teams looking to fill out their two-way contract slots. He won’t be eligible to re-sign on a two-way deal with the Thunder, since his partial guarantee exceeded $75K.

Checking In On Roster Situations Around The NBA

October 22nd, 2023 at 5:30am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the majority of the NBA teams made their roster cuts on Saturday and didn’t wait until Monday’s deadline to set their regular season rosters.

Making those moves on Saturday will ensure the players on non-guaranteed contracts clear waivers on Monday, before the regular season begins. If a team had waited until Monday to waive a player on a non-guaranteed deal, he wouldn’t clear waivers until Wednesday, and the team would be on the hook for two days’ worth of his salary.

After Saturday’s flurry of roster moves, here’s where things stand around the NBA…

Teams whose rosters are within the regular season limits

Of the NBA’s 30 teams, 24 have rosters that comply with the league’s regular season roster limits, which state that clubs can’t carry more than 15 players on standard contracts or three on two-way contracts.

The following 11 teams are right at the limit, carrying 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-ways:

Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Orlando Magic
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz

Just because these rosters look ready for the regular season doesn’t mean they’re fully locked in. In fact, it would be a surprise if at least one of these teams doesn’t make a minor tweak before Monday’s regular season roster deadline. That could be as simple as swapping out one two-way player for another.

The following eight teams are carrying 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-ways:

Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings

Several of these teams have luxury tax concerns and will open the season with an open roster spot to keep their projected tax bill in check, though that’s not the case for all of them. The Kings are well clear of the tax, for instance, and could comfortably make a roster addition if they want to.

We’ve covered 19 teams so far. That leaves five more who are within the regular season limits. Those teams are as follows:

Brooklyn Nets: 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
Detroit Pistons: 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
Golden State Warriors: 13 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
New Orleans Pelicans: 14 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
New York Knicks: 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

The Nets have two players on non-guaranteed contracts, but neither one (Trendon Watford or Harry Giles) has an Exhibit 10 contract, so they can’t be converted to a two-way contract. Brooklyn could hang onto one or both of Watford and Giles and fill its two-way opening with another player, if it so chooses.

The Pistons have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with Stanley Umude on an Exhibit 10 contract. He appears likely to make the team, but it’s unclear if he’ll remain on the 15-man roster or be converted to a two-way deal. Either way, Detroit would remain one player away from the 18-man limit and could make one more addition before the season begins.

The Warriors reportedly intend to open the regular season with just 13 players on standard contracts, but they’ll only be able to avoid carrying a 14th man for a brief period. League rules require them to get up to 14 players within two weeks.

The Pelicans, who are at risk of being taxpayers for the first time in franchise history, almost certainly won’t add a 15th standard contract, but two-way players don’t count against the salary cap, so I’d expect the team to keep an eye out for someone to fill that spot. New Orleans had five players in camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, but opted to waive all of them on Saturday rather than converting one to a two-way deal.

The Knicks shuffled a handful of players back and forth between the 15-man roster and their two-way slots on Saturday, but they may not be done yet. A two-way contract slot remains open, and they don’t necessarily have to carry all three of their non-guaranteed players (Dylan Windler, Ryan Arcidiacono, and DaQuan Jeffries) on standard contracts into the regular season, though Arcidiacono and Jeffries aren’t eligible to be converted to two-way deals and Windler was just promoted from one.

Teams that still have moves to make before Monday’s deadline

The following teams haven’t yet made their necessary cuts to get within the regular season roster limits:

Houston Rockets: 17 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

Houston has 16 players with full or partial guarantees and will have to trade or waive one of them by Monday’s deadline. Boban Marjanovic, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Victor Oladipo are among the potential odd men out.

The Rockets’ 17th player on a standard contract is Jeenathan Williams, whose deal includes Exhibit 10 language. It would be unusual for the team to keep Williams through Saturday’s waiver deadline if the plan wasn’t for him to be converted to a two-way contract. For that to happen, Houston would have to waive one of its current two-way players (Trevor Hudgins, Darius Days, or Jermaine Samuels) to open up a spot.

Oklahoma City Thunder: 16 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

The Thunder won’t be waiving Aaron Wiggins or Isaiah Joe, who have non-guaranteed contracts, so they can afford to take their roster decision to Sunday or Monday without it costing them any additional money.

Jack White, whose minimum-salary contract features a $600K partial guarantee, looks like the player most at risk of being cut. Davis Bertans and Aleksej Pokusevski are potential dark-horse release candidates, while a trade remains possible too.

Philadelphia 76ers: 16 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

Filip Petrusev only has a partial guarantee and Danny Green is on a non-guaranteed deal, but I suspect the Sixers may end up setting their regular season roster by trading or releasing a player whose salary is fully guaranteed.

Montrezl Harrell, who is expected to miss the season due to a torn ACL, is one player who could be cut. Furkan Korkmaz may be another, after he fell out of the rotation and requested a trade last season. Of course, a James Harden trade could shake up the roster more significantly, but that seems unlikely to happen in the next two days after not materializing for nearly four months.

Phoenix Suns: 16 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

The Suns have 15 players on guaranteed salaries, with Jordan Goodwin‘s deal partially guaranteed. While Phoenix may have a different move in mind, Keon Johnson looks to me like the obvious candidate to be waived. When the Suns acquired Johnson along with Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and Grayson Allen in its three-way deal with Portland and Milwaukee, the former Tennessee standout was viewed as the least likely of the four to actually play a role for the team.

San Antonio Spurs: 16 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

With 15 players on guaranteed contracts and Charles Bediako on an Exhibit 10 contract, San Antonio’s final preseason move looks pretty clear, barring a last-minute surprise. If they convert Bediako to a two-way deal, the Spurs will be ready for the regular season.

Washington Wizards: 17 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

All 17 Wizards on standard contracts have fully guaranteed salaries and can’t be converted to a two-way deal, so two of them will have to be traded or released.

Veterans on expiring contracts like Delon Wright, Mike Muscala, and Danilo Gallinari are trade candidates, but if the Wizards are forced to make cuts, I expect Xavier Cooks to be in more danger. He didn’t play much in the preseason and wasn’t especially impactful when he did see the floor — he’s also not owed guaranteed money beyond 2023/24.

Two vets on minimum-salary contracts, Anthony Gill and Taj Gibson, dealt with injuries in the preseason and don’t project to have substantial roles on this Wizards team. While the organization seems to value their presence in the locker room, we’ll see if the roster crunch forces one of them out in favor of a younger player with more upside, like Patrick Baldwin.

Hoops Rumors’ roster resources

We consistently maintain and update a number of lists and trackers that are designed to help you keep tabs on NBA rosters. They’re all up to date following Saturday’s cuts.

Those resources, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site or on the “Features” page within our mobile menu, include the following:

2023/24 NBA Roster Counts
2023/24 Non-Guaranteed Contracts By Team
2023/24 Two-Way Contract Tracker
2023 NBA Free Agent Tracker: This tracker will no longer be updated once the regular season begins, but includes every offseason free agent signing, including all the players who were signed-and-waived in recent days.
2024 NBA Free Agents By Position/Type
2024 NBA Free Agents By Team

Thunder Exercise 2024/25 Team Options On Five Players

October 21st, 2023 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have exercised their rookie scale team options for the 2024/25 season on five players, the team announced today in a press release. Those options are as follows:

Chet Holmgren (third year, $10,880,640)
Josh Giddey (fourth year, $8,352,367)
Ousmane Dieng (third year, $5,027,040)
Tre Mann (fourth year, $4,908,373)
Jalen Williams (third year, $4,775,760)

Most of these decisions were no-brainers. Holmgren, Giddey, and Williams project as long-term building blocks for the franchise. Dieng didn’t have a major role as a rookie but is only a year removed from being selected 11th overall in the 2022 draft.

The most noteworthy option pick-up of the bunch is Mann’s. The 22-year-old guard had a promising rookie season in 2021/22, averaging 10.4 points per game with a .360 3PT%, but saw his scoring average (7.7 PPG) and 3PT% (.315) dip last season as his playing time was cut back, from 22.8 minutes per game to 17.7 MPG.

Given the Thunder’s roster crunch this offseason, Mann looked like a candidate to be one of the odd men out, but today’s decision signals that the club has no plans to waive him. That leaves Jack White, whose 2023/24 salary is only partially guaranteed for $600K, as perhaps the most likely release candidate on the roster, though the club could go in another direction. Oklahoma City previously traded Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to get down from 18 players on standard contracts to 16.

Giddey and Mann will now become eligible for rookie scale extensions next July, while the Thunder will have to decide by next October 31 whether to exercise their fourth-year options on Holmgren, Dieng, and Williams.

Thunder Sign, Waive Jahmi’us Ramsey, Jaden Shackelford

October 20th, 2023 at 5:43pm CST by Luke Adams

5:43pm: Both Ramsey and Shackelford have been waived, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

11:57am: The Thunder continue to use the spots at the back end of their preseason roster to move players in and out in advance of the G League season. Having waived Caleb McConnell and Adam Flagler, Oklahoma City signed guards Jahmi’us Ramsey and Jaden Shackelford, the team announced today.

Both Ramsey and Shackelford played for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate last season, and I expect the plan is for them to return to the Blue this fall. Assuming they signed Exhibit 10 contracts, which is extremely likely, they’ll be eligible to receive bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with OKC’s G League club.

The 43rd overall pick in the 2020 draft, Ramsey appeared in 32 games for Sacramento in his first season-and-a-half in the NBA before being waived. Last season, he averaged 21.3 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game across 34 appearances for the Blue, posting a shooting line of .511/.327/.793.

Shackelford joined the Blue after going undrafted out of Alabama in 2022. In his first G League season, he appeared in 44 games, putting up 13.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 1.3 APG on .409/.390/.742 shooting in 27.5 MPG.

The Thunder still have a full 21-man preseason roster and will have to trade or waive one more player even after they cut Ramsey and Shackelford.

Thunder Sign, Waive Caleb McConnell, Adam Flagler

October 20th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

OCTOBER 20: According to the Thunder, both McConnell and Flagler have been waived, which puts them on track to join the OKC Blue.

OCTOBER 19: The Thunder have signed Caleb McConnell and Adam Flagler, the team announced (Twitter links). Both players were reported to be inking deals with OKC shortly after going undrafted in June.

Hunter Maldonado and K.J. Williams, who signed with Oklahoma City on Wednesday, were waived to make room on the roster (Twitter link).

All four players are likely to wind up with OKC’s G League affiliate, Oklahoma City Blue, and if they all have Exhibit 10 contracts, they’ll be eligible to earn bonuses of at least $75K if they spend 60 days with the team.

McConnell, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten, averaged 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals last season at Rutgers. Flagler was an AP All-American honorable mention last season at Baylor, averaging 15.6 points, 4.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals. McConnell and Flagler both played for the Thunder during Summer League.

The moves leave Oklahoma City with a full offseason roster of 21 players.

Thunder Sign Hunter Maldonado, K.J. Williams

October 18th, 2023 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have added a pair of undrafted rookies to their preseason roster, announcing today that they’ve signed guard Hunter Maldonado and forward K.J. Williams.

Maldonado spent six years at Wyoming, including a redshirt season in 2018/19 and a “super-senior” year in 2022/23. He earned three All-Mountain West nods during that time, claiming a spot on the All-MWC first team in 2021/22 when he averaged a career-best 18.5 points and 6.3 assists per night in 33 games (37.3 MPG).

Like Maldonado, Williams went undrafted earlier this year following his super-senior college season. The 6’10” forward played four years at Murray State before transferring to LSU in 2022. He averaged 17.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG in 33 games (32.8 MPG) last season, posting an impressive shooting line of .490/.411/.785.

In all likelihood, both Maldonado and Williams signed Exhibit 10 contracts that will make them eligible to earn bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, after being waived by the NBA club. Even after Tuesday’s trade with Houston, the Thunder have a roster crunch, so there’s no clear path for Maldonado or Williams to make the regular season roster.

Oklahoma City now has a full 21-man preseason roster.

Thunder Notes: Williams, Micic, Dort

October 17th, 2023 at 9:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thunder reserve big man Jaylin Williams will miss some early regular season games due a hamstring strain suffered in practice, Brett Dawson tweets. Williams will be reevaluated in a couple of weeks.

Williams projects as Chet Holmgren‘s backup this season after starting 36 of 49 games last season during his rookie campaign. A second-round pick in 2022, Williams averaged 5.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.7 minutes.

Olivier Sarr and Ousmane Dieng could see more action until Williams returns.

We have more on the Thunder:

Vasilije Micic has noticed some major differences between the EuroLeague and NBA, as Eurohoops.net relays. “It’s open space, with a much higher pace of play compared to the EuroLeague,” he said. “The paint is more open, providing a lot of opportunities for creative players to penetrate and gain an advantage, especially for skilled ball handlers. It’s also a bit easier to create from that spacing. I’m still trying to adjust. Everything is still new for me, but my teammates are helping me learn as quickly as possible. I believe that, together, we will get there eventually.” The former EuroLeague MVP signed a three-year, $23.5MM contract with Oklahoma City in July.
Luguentz Dort scored a team-high 24 points during the team’s exhibition game Thursday in Montreal. It was an emotional homecoming for the Montreal native, he told Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. He spoke in French to the crowd prior to the contest. “I just told them that we were honored to be here,” Dort said, “As a Montreal guy, it was an honor for me to bring my team here and play in front of them.”
Get all the details on the big Thunder-Rockets trade here.

Thunder Trade Oladipo, Robinson-Earl To Rockets For Porter, Second-Round Picks

October 17th, 2023 at 7:28pm CST by Luke Adams

7:28pm: Both teams have officially announced the trade, the Rockets via a press release and Thunder with a separate news release. The Thunder also announced they have waived Porter.

Houston made a related move, waiving Matthew Mayer in order to open a roster spot to complete the two-for-one deal. Mayer, who signed a camp deal in early August, went undrafted in June out of Illinois and caught on with the Rockets’ Summer League team. He’ll likely wind up with their G League squad, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

11:42am: The Thunder and Rockets have agreed to a trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Oklahoma City will receive guard Kevin Porter Jr. and a pair of future second-round picks in the deal, while Houston will get guard Victor Oladipo and forward/center Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

The Thunder, who will immediately waive Porter, are acquiring the Timberwolves’ 2027 second-round pick and the Bucks’ 2028 second-rounder from Houston, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

Porter was arrested in September on charges of assault and strangulation after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick. The Rockets began trying to trade the 23-year-old shortly after his arrest and confirmed on media day that he wouldn’t be rejoining the team.

According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), prosecutors dropped a second-degree assault charge against Porter this week due to “insufficient evidence.”

However, Porter still faces charges of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault, so the dropped charge doesn’t materially affect his NBA outlook. No team is likely to consider picking him up at least until the legal process has played out and the league has completed its own investigation and potentially handed out a suspension.

The Rockets’ goal in shopping Porter was to replace him with a player who could actually contribute on the court this season. It’s unclear what the team’s plans are for Oladipo, who is still recovering from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, but Robinson-Earl should provide some depth in Houston’s frontcourt.

Once the deal is complete, the Rockets will have 16 players on standard contracts — 14 with fully guaranteed salaries, plus Aaron Holiday and Boban Marjanovic on partially guaranteed deals. The team will have to waive or trade one of those 16 players by Monday to get down to the regular season roster limit.

It’s possible Oladipo will be the odd man out, especially if his injury recovery is expected to extend well into the season. His expiring $9.5MM salary could be useful for salary-matching purposes in a subsequent deal, so the Rockets may try to find a way to hang onto him, but most of their roster consists of promising young players or recent additions, so there aren’t any other obvious candidates to be let go.

The Thunder were facing a roster crunch of their own this fall, with 18 players on standard contracts for 15 regular season roster spots. In trading Oladipo and Robinson-Earl for a player whom they’ll waive immediately, they’ll reduce their roster count to 16 players, meaning only one more cut (or trade) will be necessary before opening night.

Acquiring Porter doesn’t look great from a PR perspective for Oklahoma City, given what he has been accused of, but the team will drop him right away and acquires two more future draft picks in the deal. The Thunder also received two future second-round selections when they took on Oladipo in a salary-dump deal with the Heat earlier this offseason, so they’ve essentially added four second-rounders by taking him on from Miami and then flipping him to Houston.

In waiving Porter, the Thunder will eat $15.86MM in dead money this season, plus a $1MM partial guarantee for 2024/25. The rest of Porter’s four-year, $63MM+ contract was non-guaranteed, so Oklahoma City won’t be on the hook for additional money beyond that $16.86MM. OKC also generates a $1.9MM trade exception in the move, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

As for the Rockets, they’ll save a little money in the deal and create a new $4.5MM trade exception of their own. It’s also worth noting that Robinson-Earl, who is owed $1.9MM this season, has a $1.99MM team option for 2024/25, so Houston could hang onto him at a near-minimum cost for two seasons.

Robinson-Earl, who will turn 23 next month, appeared in 43 games for the Thunder last season, starting 20. He posted respectable averages of 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in a part-time role (18.9 MPG) and has shown an ability to make an outside shot (.344 career 3PT%), but was buried on OKC’s frontcourt depth chart with Chet Holmgren returning to action.

The Thunder and Rockets have been frequent trade partners in recent years, dating back to their Chris Paul/Russell Westbrook swap in July 2019. They also came together for trades during the 2021 and 2022 offseasons, and they were both involved in the five-team deal sending Dillon Brooks to Houston earlier this year.