Top 10 buyout candidates for OKC Thunder to consider
By Alex Mcewen
Shabazz Muhammad
Premise:
Muhammad was drafted by and spent his entire career with the Timberwolves. Muhammad is a bit of an interesting case in terms of how he relates to the OKC Thunder. Shabazz was taken two picks after Steven Adams in the 2013 NBA draft.
He just signed a new deal with the Timberwolves this past September. But, with former Thunder player Taj Gibson joining with the T-Wolves via free agency this past summer saw a major dip in his playing time.
Currently, Muhammad’s minutes have dipped even further leading to career lows, or near career lows across the board. This resulted in a trade request although it was obviously not met.
Bottom line:
Until this year Muhammad has been a fine NBA player. Declined minutes appear to be the reason for his regression. That said, Muhammad is not considered a top tier defender which subsequently led to riding Thibs’s pine.
OKC does not have a lot of minutes to offer at this point, but maybe Muhammad would benefit from a change of scenery. He might play his way into minutes. I would like the pick up.