OKC Thunder trade Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash to Bulls for second round pick

As the trade deadline nears the OKC Thunder made an initial small move sending Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to the Bulls.

With the trade deadline of February 7 now just six days away the OKC Thunder made what was an initial small move sending  Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot plus cash considerations to the Chicago Bulls. In return, the Thunder receive a 2020 protected second round draft pick.

Shams Charania broke the news of the trade:

Although this might seem like a bit of a throwaway trade the key here is it removes much more than TLC’s $1,544,951 million from the bottom line. With OKC well into the luxury tax, every dollar cut equates to more substantial savings. Cabarrot’s salary, for example, will shave another $7.3 million dollars off the team’s total salary commitment. Bobby Marks of ESPN posted a series of tweets highlighting how this move affects the team’s tax bill.

Obviously, the main slash to the luxury tax came via the trade of Carmelo Anthony which also netted the team a Tax Exception Exemption of $10,883,189 million and must be used by July 25, 2019. That TE can only be used on a player who falls within the same price range and not in conjunction with more than a single player. Ironically, Anthony is the man who the Bulls will waive to make room for Luwawu-Cabarrot on their roster which currently sits at 16 with his addition.

This deal, however, may not be just tied to cost cutting for the Thunder. For one thing, each franchise has to have 14 players on their active roster and with this move, OKC now only have 13 players dedicated on the roster. Therefore the thinking is OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti is clearing a spot to add another player. Until such a move happens the Thunder could potentially sign a player to a 10-day contract to fulfill those obligations.

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As for the longer term outlook, the Thunder have been linked as being interested in several different trade assets especially wings or shooters with perimeter efficiency. With the second round pick and exemptions the team has accumulated, it affords Presti more flexibility to make another deal and fulfill specific depth needs on the club.

Cabarrot never got much run under Billy Donovan spending most of his time as a cheerleader on the bench or playing in garbage time. On the season he averaged a meager 5.9 minutes in 21 appearances and produced per game averages of 1.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.2 assists, and 0.2 steals. His shooting efficiency lacked something to be desired as he shot 30.2 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from the perimeter. The 6’6″ wing man will turn 24 in May and is already a bit of a journeyman moving to his third team in just his third season in the league.

Luwawu-Cabarrot was the 24th pick in the 2016 draft after playing in Europe in the LNB French program with the Olympique Antibes team.

Here’s hoping TLC garners more playing time in Chicago and gets a chance to develop his game. TI wishes Tim (as Russell Westbrook called him) all the best with his new club.