Thunder in the news: Ronnie Price conundrum, Yannis Morin signing

Thunder in the news is the one-stop shop for OKC Thunder fans looking to get a quick fix on their favorite team.

We are less than three months away from watching Paul George make his Oklahoma City Thunder debut. With that being said there are still roster moves being made..and roster moves from last season that are still affecting the salary cap. Today we’re looking at a couple moves that will have little affect on the season outcome but will decide what role players Sam Presti can bring in.

Ronnie Price is still on the cap

This is a weird one. Last offseason Oklahoma City signed Ronnie Price to a guaranteed deal paying him over $2 million a year. Then they cut the veteran in order to keep Semaj Christon. After watching Christon play a full season with the Thunder the move made little sense. Read Fred Katz from the Norman Transcript and his insight into the organization’s thinking, however, and the move makes slightly more sense.

"In many ways, Price is the exact type of player Presti tries to keep around in Oklahoma City. He defends hard. He knows the league and the game. He’s extraordinarily bright. Just about anyone who’s played with him describes him as a tier-one teammate. He could probably lock down a coaching job tomorrow if he wanted to stop playing."

Oklahoma City made a signing

It took a couple days to find this one – Yannis Morin isn’t the biggest name in the international basketball market. But the Frenchman is an interesting prospect to keep around the organization. At 6’11 he’s built like fellow countrymen Rudy Gobert without the raw talent. Morin joins the Thunder on a non-guaranteed camp invite so it’s highly likely he’s there for training camp then joins the Blue in the G-League. Shoutout Thunder Digest for waking me up to this news.

"Morin, 23, played in the French Pro B last season for Le Havre. He averaged 6.8 points per game on 40.6 percent shooting. He also pulled down 7.4 rebounds in 24 minutes per game. During summer league for the Thunder, Morin averaged only 2.2 points in 13.5 minutes per game backing up Dakari Johnson."

Russell Westbrook’s legacy is undetermined

Sorry not sorry, I’m plugging my feature from yesterday. Russell Westbrook is hands-down the biggest enigma in the NBA. Either basketball fans love him for his constant attacking or they despise him for his proneness to stopping the ball. This season is his chance to change that narrative – all he’s got to do is win.

"Oklahoma City isn’t a title contender yet. They are still one All Star away from competing with the Warriors, and even then they’ll likely be underdogs. What’s important is that there’s a concrete vision to contending unlike last year."

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