Players who the OKC Thunder could move on from
The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently experiencing a roster crunch.
The team currently has 22 players under contract — 20 on full-time NBA contracts and two two-way players.
Even though the Thunder are five players over the allowed amount on an NBA roster, general manager Sam Presti said the team is in no rush to start trimming that down and will likely wait until the start of the regular season to get that number down to 17.
The Thunder will use Summer League and training camp to let roster spot battles play out to see who makes the opening night roster.
With that said, let’s take a look at some of the players who are on the bubble of the roster and are prime candidates of being let go.
Melvin Fraizer Jr.
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This is the easiest one as Melvin Frazier Jr. will not occupy the two-way spot he’s currently on at the start of the season. The second two-way spot was passed around a bit during the final weeks of last season as the team wanted to give multiple guys a look.
Frazier Jr. is an NBA and G League journeymen at this point of his career and the Thunder have plenty of players now who could benefit from getting the second two-way spot on the roster.
Derrick Favors
The Derrick Favors situation is an interesting one. Favors is set to make $10.2 million next season, but considering the Thunder added three forwards in the draft, his playing time will dwindle to nothing from whatever amount he had left to begin with.
At 30 years old, Favors might be willing to give some of his money back in order to gain his freedom of signing with contenders during the twilight of his career. A trade market is not there for Favors at his current salary, so the Thunder will likely need to attach some draft picks to get rid of him in a trade.
But there is no urgency to get rid of Favors for the Thunder and carrying his salary to next season will not hurt the team’s payroll with a roster full of players on rookie contracts.
The most likely detachment is a buyout where Favors gives some of his salary back in order to enter free agency. While Favors did not look great last season with the Thunder, he will certainly have some interest as a veteran big.
JaMychal Green
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JaMychal Green’s stay in Oklahoma City might be a short one as Presti said during the rookie press conference that he will look to move Green to another team before the season begins.
Green was acquired in a trade with the Denver Nuggets in early June and opted into his $8.2 million player option for next season. Green is still a solid role player and his salary — while a tad overpaid — is not gross enough to scare off potential interested teams who are looking to add a solid wing that can start and come off the bench for teams.
It might take a while to develop, but there should be a market for Green’s service.
Theo Maledon
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Theo Maledon could be one of the young players the Thunder collected over the last few drafts that could see his time end with the team. While cutting Maledon might be viewed as premature, the Thunder have a logjam of young guards that are simply more promising and talented than Maledon.
After leading the team in total minutes his rookie season, Maledon’s role with the team has slowly decreased and it now looks like he won’t have a chance with the Thunder to get a serious role with the team.
While Maledon is owed $3.8 million over the next two seasons, he has no guaranteed money for the rest of his rookie contract, so moving on should be an easy pill to swallow for the Thunder.
In terms of a trade, Maledon’s trade value is closer to negative than zero. Perhaps he’s involved in a bigger trade in order to make the money work, but that’s about it when it comes to potentially trading the 21-year-old.
Isaiah Roby
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Isaiah Roby is one of the easier players to move on from as the team simply needs to just needs to release him before July 4 to avoid his $1.9 million salary for next season.
While Roby is a fine player, he might be on the bubble for the roster due to the amount of young frontcourt players the team currently has that need playing time to develop.
Roby should be able to sign with another team as he’s shown enough the last two seasons to be a quality NBA players.
Vit Krejci
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Vit Krejci might also be another casualty in the totem pole for the Thunder as it is suddenly difficult to see him get consistent playing time with the team.
Krejci is likely looking to spend another season with the G League Oklahoma City Blue, but with just $782K guaranteed next season, he’s one of the easier players to move on from.
Krejci’s knee concerns might also convince the Thunder to cut bait as he has had multiple surgeries on his knee. Krejci’s entire potential came off of his athleticism and if he continues to experience knee problems at such a young age, then his chances of becoming an NBA player drastically decrease.
A combination of opportunity, health and finances could lead to Krejci being released from the Thunder after just one healthy season with the team.
Ty Jerome
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Ty Jerome’s salary outweighs his importance to the team as he is set to make $4.2 million next season. Jerome had a bad shooting season last year and will receive fewer minutes as the team prioritizes other younger guards on the roster.
Jerome is just too old and his low ceiling of a backup guard is not enough to incentivize the team to keep him on the roster. Perhaps the team could trade Jerome, but his trade value is probably zero and any potential move that involve him will likely be part of a bigger trade.
Jerome is a nice player but considering he is due for an extension soon, he doesn’t fit the team’s long-term plans, and if that’s the case, then there’s no point of dragging this inevitable divorce out.
Mike Muscala
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While he’s been a valued voice in the locker room, Mike Muscala is one of the easier players to move on from with his $3.5 million team option for next season.
Muscala has been a good soldier for the Thunder during his tenure with the team, but with the additions of three rookie forwards, the sparing playing time is not there for him.
The 30-year-old is also too old to fit the team’s timeline. But with that said, Muscala is the first name mentioned that actually has positive trade value as he has had arguably his best two shooting seasons of his career with the Thunder the last two years.
Muscala should garner some trade interest if the team picks up his team option. But at that point, the team might be making a simple solution difficult as simply declining his option would free up a roster spot and minutes.
