Grading and examining every OKC Thunder player contract
By Aidan E
Mike Muscala:
One year, $2 million dollars (Player option on the second year)
Like I’ve said before, it’s pretty much impossible to have a bad minimum contract player on your roster. Would I have preferred the OKC Thunder to go after a guy like Luke Kornet for the same price? Yes, but that doesn’t mean that Muscala is a negative value.
Muscala is a big man who can spread the floor and is on a minimum deal, nothing more.
Grade: B
Nerlens Noel:
One year, $1.6 million dollars
I for one was surprised that the OKC Thunder were able to sign Nerlens Noel for the veteran minimum this offseason.
The Thunder have desperately needed a solid backup center for quite some time now (even though they aren’t very important) and were finally able to fill the void last season with Noel.
Even though Noel is very much a work in progress on offense and needs to improve on his defensive instincts, he showed starting center caliber flashes last season with the OKC Thunder. People who cover OKC thought Noel would sign for a bigger deal on the open market but he returned to the Thunder on a one-year deal that makes him the 61st ranked center in the league in terms of next season’s cap hit.
Noel is behind players like Mfiondu Kabengele, Robert Williams, and Tony Bradley, all players that were taken in the back of the 1st round in the past three seasons.
Essentially, the Thunder are paying Noel as if he was drafted 25th overall in the draft this past June.