The Thunder have waived forward/center Malevy Leons, the team announced.
Leons, who went undrafted in June out of Bradley, initially signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City in September. He was waived on Oct. 19, but was re-signed on Oct. 31, when the Thunder cut Alex Reese.
Leons’ contract was a non-guaranteed one-year deal worth the prorated rookie minimum. OKC will carry a relatively small dead-money cap hit for waiving the 25-year-old, who was born in the Netherlands.
Leons appeared in five games for the Thunder, playing a total of 17 garbage-time minutes. He recorded two points, two rebounds and one assist in those contests.
It’s unclear why exactly the Thunder decided to sign and waive both Reese and Leons so early in the season, but from a big-picture perspective, it doesn’t change much about their cap outlook. They’re still $10MM+ below this season’s luxury tax line, which is set at $170,814,000.
The Thunder now have 14 players on standard contracts, with all three two-way spots filled.
Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley spoke in more detail this week about the left wrist injury he has dealt with for the last few years, admitting that it prevented him from golfing over the summer after he fell on the wrist last season and aggravated an old ligament issue, per Jerry Zgoda of The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Still, Conley has gotten used to playing through the injury and plans to continue doing so.
“When I’m 50, I’ll get surgery, not right now,” he said. “The surgery is a little bit complex and I’ve been playing with it for years, so I feel like I’ll just finish it.”
Entering Friday’s bout with Denver, Conley was shooting just 22.6% from the field through Minnesota’s first four games this season, including 27.3% on three-pointers. While the wrist issue may be a factor in the veteran’s shooting struggles, the sample size is small and he’s confident those numbers will improve once he gets through an early-season adjustment period.
“I’m just trying to work back the strength of it,” Conley said. “That’s the biggest thing. The pain and stuff is gone. But there are some times when I’ll shoot it and think, ‘Ah, that’s good,’ and it’ll be like two feet short. So you’re just trying to gauge the differences and work through that as the season goes forward.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
The Thunder have signed big man Malevy Leons to a standard contract and waived Alex Reese, according to a team press release.
Leons went undrafted in June out of Bradley and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City in September. He was waived on Oct. 19.
Leons appeared in four preseason games and averaged 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.50 steals in 13.5 minutes per game. In his last college season, he appeared in 35 games (all starts) with the Braves and averaged 13.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.3 assists while shooting 49% from the floor.
Reese was signed to a non-guaranteed contract less than two weeks ago. He made a two-minute cameo in one game.
The Thunder are dealing with frontcourt injuries. Isaiah Hartenstein is recovering from a hand fracture, while Jaylin Williams is out at least a month with a strained hamstring. That could open up the door for some playing time for Leons.
Considering Reese’s short stint, it’s uncertain how long Leons will remain on the roster. He’ll fill the 15th spot for the time being, but his contract will likely be non-guaranteed, so the Thunder could continue to look at other options in the coming weeks.
The Thunder have waived forward Malevy Leons, the team announced today. Leons went undrafted in June out of Bradley and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City in September. His next stop will likely be with the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. If he spends at least 60 days with the Blue, Leons will earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth $77.5K.
Meanwhile, the Thunder’s roster is now regular season compliant. They’re carrying 13 players on standard guaranteed salaries, a pair on non-guaranteed deals, and three on two-way pacts.
Here are a few more minor transactions completed on Saturday around the NBA:
The Thunder have signed rookie free agent shooting guard Cormac Ryan, the team announced today. While the terms of the contract weren’t revealed, it’s almost certainly an Exhibit 10 deal.
Ryan played college basketball for Stanford, Notre Dame, and North Carolina from 2018-24, appearing in a total of 152 games at the NCAA level, including 36 in 2023/24 for the Tar Heels. As a “super-senior” last season, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 30.3 minutes per game with a shooting line of .382/.354/.874.
The Thunder added Ryan to their Summer League roster in July and he suited up in a total of seven games in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG on 19.4% shooting in 12.7 MPG. Despite his underwhelming Summer League performance, it seems the 6’5″ guard is in Oklahoma City’s plans for the coming season.
In all likelihood, Ryan will be waived at some point before the regular season begins and will report to the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the OKC Blue. If he spends at least 60 days with the Blue, he’ll be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary.
In addition to announcing Ryan’s deal, the Thunder also confirmed today that they’ve signed forwards Malevy Leons and Alex Reese, whose Exhibit 10 agreements with the club were previously reported — one in June and one earlier in the day on Friday.
The Thunder now have 20 players on their preseason roster. More moves are likely coming sooner or later, as they’ve yet to finalize reported Exhibit 10 deals with Buddy Boeheim and Javonte Cooke.
The Thunder plan to sign free agent guard Alex Ducas, who went undrafted out of Saint Mary’s, to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Oklahoma City will also ink free agent forward Malevy Leons to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link).
Ranked No. 32 on ESPN’s best undrafted players list, Ducas spent all five of his college seasons with the Gaels. In 2023/24, the 6’6″ Australian sharpshooter averaged 9.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 1.9 APG while knocking down 43.8% of his three-point attempts in 34 games (28.1 MPG).
A 6’9″ forward who hails from the Netherlands, Leons spent his final three collegiate seasons with Bradley after attending a junior college in Missouri. He averaged 13.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.5 SPG and 1.5 BPG on .488/.341/.783 shooting in 35 games (34.4 MPG) last season for the Braves.
If Leons is waived by the Thunder before the ’24/25 season begins and spends at least 60 days with their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, he could earn a bonus worth up to nearly $78K.