- The stash of draft picks Thunder GM Sam Presti has accumulated is more quantity than quality, according to Keith Smith in a Spotrac story. Packaging those picks in trades won’t be as easy as it sounds, unless Presti is willing to move some of the young players they’ve already drafted and developed, says Smith.
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.
In addition to signing Georgios Kalaitzakis to a 10-day hardship contract, the Thunder have also added guard Zavier Simpson to their roster using a hardship exception, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.
As we noted when we discussed Kalaitzakis’ signing earlier today, Oklahoma City has a full 15-man roster, but is eligible to sign additional players to short-term contracts because the team qualifies for multiple hardship exceptions due to all its injured players. The Thunder now have 20 players under contract, including two-ways.
Simpson, who went undrafted out of Michigan in 2020, has spent his first two professional seasons playing for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. In 35 regular season NBAGL games in 2022, he has averaged 14.5 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.5 SPG with a .487/.353/.686 shooting line in 32.3 MPG.
It looked earlier this season like Simpson would get a call-up on a COVID-related 10-day hardship contract, but he entered the health and safety protocols himself before the deal was officially finalized. Three months later, he’ll get a chance to play in the Thunder’s final four games of the season.
With just six days left in the 2021/22 season, no more standard 10-day contracts will be signed this spring.
Teams looking to fill open 15-man roster spots will do what the Pistons did with Carsen Edwards or what the Bucks are doing with Luca Vildoza, signing players to rest-of-season contracts, ideally with at least one extra non-guaranteed year tacked onto those deals.
It is possible that one or two more “10-day” contracts will be signed by teams eligible for hardship exceptions. Those clubs have full 15-man rosters but are hardship-eligible either because a player tested positive for COVID-19 or because several of their players are injured.
Those hardship 10-days, like the one the Thunder completed with Georgios Kalaitzakis on Monday, are technically just rest-of-season contracts that don’t give the team any form of Bird rights this offseason. Kalaitzakis will become a free agent immediately after the season ends, and Oklahoma City won’t be able to use the Non-Bird exception to re-sign him in the summer.
Here are the remaining active 10-day contracts, which will expire in the coming days:
- Utah Jazz: Greg Monroe (standard — runs through 4/6)
- Boston Celtics: Juwan Morgan (standard — 4/6)
- Indiana Pacers: Justin Anderson (standard — 4/6)
- Dallas Mavericks: Brandon Knight (COVID hardship — 4/7)
- Portland Trail Blazers: Reggie Perry (injury hardship — 4/8)
- Orlando Magic: Devin Cannady (standard — 4/9)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Jaylen Hoard (injury hardship — 4/10)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Georgios Kalaitzakis (injury hardship — 4/10)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Zavier Simpson (injury hardship — 4/10)
- Portland Trail Blazers: Kris Dunn (injury hardship — 4/10)
- Portland Trail Blazers: Drew Eubanks (injury hardship — 4/10)
The Mavericks, Thunder, and Trail Blazers have full 15-man rosters, so they won’t create any openings on their respective rosters when their current 10-day agreements expire.
However, the Jazz, Celtics, Pacers, and Magic are each using a roster spot on a 10-day player. When those contracts expire, those clubs could either bring back the same player on a rest-of-season contract or use that 15th slot on someone else. For instance, Utah might want to promote two-way player Trent Forrest to its standard roster to ensure that he’s playoff-eligible.
Nearly any free agent signed to a rest-of-season deal using a 15-man roster spot will be playoff-eligible, so the Jazz and Celtics will have plenty of options. Semi Ojeleye, Kyle Guy, Joel Ayayi, Luka Samanic, and Chris Smith are the only players who have been placed on waivers since March 1, making them ineligible for the postseason.
The Thunder have signed Greek forward Georgios Kalaitzakis to a 10-day contract using the hardship exception, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. The deal was completed on Monday.
There are only six days left in the regular season, so referring to Kalaitzakis’ agreement as a “10-day” is a bit of a misnomer — it’s essentially a rest-of-season hardship deal that won’t give Oklahoma City any form of Bird rights on the rookie this offseason.
Kalaitzakis, 23, was the 60th overall pick in the 2021 draft and joined the Bucks to begin his NBA career. However, his initial contract with Milwaukee was only partially guaranteed and he didn’t see much action with the team, logging just 48 total minutes across nine games. He was waived in December when the club signed Wesley Matthews.
Kalaitzakis subsequently joined the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, and appeared in 31 regular season games for the team, averaging 10.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.1 APG on .422/.241/.750 shooting in 19.7 minutes per contest.
The Thunder are missing about half their roster due to injuries — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Derrick Favors, Ty Jerome, and Mike Muscala have all been ruled out for the season, and it’s possible Kenrich Williams and Tre Mann will join them. As such, Kalaitzakis will likely just be a depth piece to help the team finish out its regular season schedule.
Jaylen Hoard is also on a 10-day hardship deal with the Thunder, who now have 19 players under contract (including two-ways).
Nuggets guard Davon Reed earned praise from star center Nikola Jokic and head coach Michael Malone after he scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the team’s win over the Lakers on Sunday. As Mike Singer of The Denver Post writes, Jokic lauded Reed’s defense, while Malone said the 26-year-old had an “unsung hero type-of-a-game.”
However, as Singer observes, because Reed is still on a two-way contract, he remains ineligible to participate in the playoffs for the Nuggets. The team would have to waive someone from its 15-man roster and promote Reed to a standard contract to make him available for the postseason. Asked about that possibility, Malone raved more about Reed and said it’s an issue the team will discuss.
“Every time Davon Reed has gotten a chance to play this year, he’s found a way to help this team,” Malone said, per Singer. “I mean look at his line tonight — here’s a guy that’s a two-way player, 23 minutes, 10 points, couple of assists, rebounds, steals and he had an impact on the game. He’s in the game in the fourth quarter in a must-win game. I think that, in and of itself, speaks to my level of confidence with him. … That’s something that (head of basketball operations) Tim (Connelly) and I can talk about as we move forward.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Following up on reports from February that stated the Trail Blazers attempted to acquire Jerami Grant from the Pistons at the trade deadline, Marc Stein says in his latest Substack article that Portland’s offer was believed to include Josh Hart and draft compensation. Stein confirms the Blazers are expected to revisit the possibility of acquiring Grant in the offseason, as has been previously reported.
- Tre Mann could be next to join the Thunder‘s growing list of players who have been ruled out for the season. Mann has been sidelined for the last four games due to a right hamstring strain and head coach Mark Daigneault doesn’t sound confident that the rookie guard will return this week, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “We’re working through it,” Daigneault said before Sunday’s game.
- The reeling Jazz can’t be saved by anyone but their players at this point, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who says the front office and head coach Quin Snyder have done all they can with the current group. Utah has dropped six of its last seven games and has blown double-digit fourth quarter leads in its last two losses.
The Thunder have signed forward Jaylen Hoard to a 10-day contract via a hardship exception, the team announced. Hoard previously signed a 10-day contract with Oklahoma City back in December using a hardship exception.
Most of this year’s 10-day hardship contracts, including Hoard’s in December, have been completed using the COVID-related hardship exception, but his current 10-day deal is using an injury-related hardship exception. A team qualifies for an injury-related hardship exception if it has at least four players who have missed three or more consecutive games, as long as those players project to remain sidelined for at least the next couple weeks — or in this case, the season’s remaining 10 days.
Oklahoma City has at least seven such players — Luguentz Dort, Ty Jerome, Mike Muscala, Josh Giddey, Darius Bazley, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Derrick Favors are all out for the season — and an eighth, Kenrich Williams, is doubtful to play again over the final 10 days. That’s why the club is eligible for the hardship exception.
Hoard, who just turned 23 on March 30, is a native of Le Havre, France. He went undrafted in 2019 after a single season with Wake Forest, and spent his rookie season with Portland on a two-way contract.
In his second year as a pro in 2020/21, he played for the Thunder’s G League affiliate, then signed a two-way deal with the NBA club last April. He rejoined the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBAGL team, this season. In 39 games (25 starts) with the Blue in ’21/22, Hoard holds averages of 10.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 2.2 APG in 23.9 MPG.
In 33 NBA games over the past three seasons, including one brief appearance in December, Hoard has averaged 4.7 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 12.9 MPG.
Speaking on Thursday to reporters, including Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link), Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said that veteran center Derrick Favors will miss the remainder of the season with lower back soreness. Favors hasn’t played since February 24.
Favors, 30, holds a player option for 2022/23 worth $10,183,800, which he’s almost certain to pick up after having the worst season of his 12-year career. Favors averaged career-lows of 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds this season in 39 games with the Thunder (16.7 minutes per night).
While Favors’ per-minute averages are still decent, he’s been trending downward the past few seasons.
Daigneault also said that Kenrich Williams is doubtful to return to action this year as he continues to deal with a sprained knee. He has been sidelined even longer than Favors, since February 14.
Williams, 27, has emerged as a valuable three-and-D role player over the past couple seasons with OKC, averaging a combined 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists on .501/.391/.559 shooting in 115 games (21.7 minutes). His $2MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed.
The tanking Thunder currently hold a 22-54 record, which is the fourth-worst mark in the league according to our reverse standings.
- Thunder fans may not have wanted to win Monday’s game at Portland, but Isaiah Roby did, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. With Oklahoma City locked in a tight lottery race and having only had eight available players, all of whom started in the G League this season, Roby delivered a career-high 30 points, including a clutch shot that sent the game into overtime. “With the amount of talent that we have out, nobody’s counting on us to win any games,” Roby said. “The fact that we’re going out competing against playoff teams (Denver on Sunday) and we’re winning games like tonight, that’s very encouraging. I’m just proud of the guys. Proud of the eight guys we had out there tonight.”
- Vasilije Micić, whose rights are owned by the Thunder, is only interested in coming to the NBA if he believes he’ll get regular playing time, according to Eurohoops. The 28-year-old signed a three-year extension with Anadolu Efes last summer that contains an escape clause after each season. “Honestly, I have a desire to go to the NBA,” he said. “But in a way, and I told that to the people from Oklahoma, to actually play there. I don’t see myself going there to tell my neighborhood friends that I was in the NBA and bring them back an OKC jersey. That doesn’t inspire me. I also came to Efes when they were at the bottom, and I had offers of some, perhaps, better-standing names.”
The Thunder have shut down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the remainder of the season, head coach Mark Daigneault told The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto (Twitter link) and other media members on Monday.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been bothered by right ankle soreness during portions of the season and hasn’t played since last Monday. The team’s star guard signed off on the decision to let the ankle heal.
He had another strong season statistically, though his 3-point shooting dropped dramatically (down from 41.8% last season to 30% this year). He averaged 24.5 PPG, 5.9 APG, 5.0 RPG and 1.3 SPG in 34.7 MPG while appearing in 56 games.
Forward Darius Bazley was also ruled out for the remainder of the season on Monday due to a knee injury.
Gilgeous-Alexander remains a major piece in Oklahoma City’s rebuild. His five-year, maximum-salary extension that he signed last summer will kick in next season.