It’s the calm earlier than the storm. One would possibly say you may hear thunder. Okay, that one is on me. But it’s one in every of the slowest components of the 12 months when it comes to reporting massive happenings inside the Thunder group. Sure, you’ll hear about how the group is serving communities round the Tulsa space, however there haven’t been any main developments when it comes to the roster since the fanbase discovered about Chet Holmgren’s disappointing Lisfranc harm.
But amidst the calm is the looming and inevitable incontrovertible fact that the Thunder are already experiencing a roster crunch heading into 12 months three – or 4 relying on the way you take a look at it – of their rebuild.
Oklahoma City should make some robust choices quickly with regard to the lively roster. Teams are allowed to hold as much as 20 gamers, two-way contracts included, in the offseason however should whittle that quantity down to fifteen previous to the begin of the 2022-23 common season. This presents an issue for the Thunder who presently have 18 gamers signed to the lively roster. The entrance workplace should resolve how you can subtract three gamers – candidates for the crunch – to both waive or commerce.
Looking at the present group and their respective contracts, it’s fairly apparent that a number of gamers gained’t even come into consideration when it comes to who to maintain. And as you scratch off a few of the extra apparent locks to make the roster reminiscent of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and the just lately drafted, just a few names begin to come into query. These are the true candidates and the gamers which are liable to both being waived or traded away.
Alonzo Adams / USA Today
Perhaps the most evident member of this group is Derrick Favors, who was acquired from the Utah Jazz resulted in the Thunder turning a second-round choose and money right into a future first-rounder. The veteran massive man simply turned 31 in July and doubtless doesn’t match the Thunder’s timeline although one may argue there’s a small likelihood that he’s stored resulting from the worth his expiring $10.8M contract may present in potential commerce talks. General Manager Sam Presti would possibly simply resolve that he may use such an asset to additional bolster the group’s draft capital.
Next up, you could have level guards Theo Maledon and Ty Jerome. Maledon, the former second-round choose from France, completed final season averaging 7.1 factors and a couple of.2 assists in simply 17.8 minutes per sport over the course of 51 video games and actually struggled to shoot the rock. Jerome, who was acquired in the Paul-to-Phoenix deal, turned 25 in July and offered some wonderful taking pictures in stretches for the Thunder final 12 months however is on an expiring $4.22M deal. Both guards are underneath a variety of strain with Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having a digital lock on the place going ahead.
Scroll to Continue
Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY Sports
After taking part in in simply their first 12 months with the Thunder, Vit Krejci and Aaron Wiggins’ futures appear unclear at this time limit. Both gamers labored the wing place for the majority of the time they have been on the courtroom final season however didn’t actually go away their stamp on a sport, so to talk.
Wiggins began with the group on a two-way contract after being chosen with the fifty fifth choose in the 2021 NBA Draft however was just lately signed to a four-year, $6.4M deal again in February with the first three years non-guaranteed. The former Maryland Terrapin began off with a bang in Summer League, drawing pleasure from the fanbase, and rounded out the 2021-22 season taking pictures 40.9% from past the arc and exhibiting talent in different areas as effectively.
As for Krejci, he’s extra of a thriller. After being picked up with the thirty seventh choose in the 2020 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-8 wing was sidelined whereas rehabbing an current ACL tear for all of 2020-21 and performed for the Oklahoma City Blue upon his return in 2021-22 earlier than suiting up for simply 30 video games with the Thunder the place he confirmed promise as a ground spacer and playmaker. The Czech expertise’s potential mixture of measurement, talent, and flexibility might be sufficient to maintain him in a Thunder jersey subsequent season.
And final, however definitely not least, former New Balance intern Darius Bazley makes the record resulting from his taking pictures struggles and total inconsistent play. The cell 6-foot-9 ahead stays intriguing resulting from his distinctive instruments and total defensive upside however completed final season recording a disappointing true taking pictures share of 51.5 as he struggled to place the ball in the basket from past the arc and at the charity stripe. Given that he’s heading into what will probably be the last 12 months of his rookie contract and the incontrovertible fact that the group simply drafted Ousmane Dieng this 12 months and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl the 12 months earlier than, Bazley is likely to be in line to be waived or traded previous to the begin of the season.
Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY Sports
Want to affix the dialogue? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to remain updated on all the newest Thunder news. You also can meet the group behind the protection.
story by The Texas Tribune Source link