Why the OKC Thunder signed Antonius Cleveland

The OKC Thunder signed free agent Antonius Cleveland after waving two players.

The OKC Thunder have signed free agent shooting guard Antonius Cleveland to a contract with details to follow per Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. Cleveland’s last deal was a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks this past season.

Cleveland has struggled to make an impression in the NBA since coming into the league in 2017. He signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors in August of 2017 before being waived prior to the season start.

He signed a two-way deal with the Mavericks in November 2017 and was waived a month later. Then in February 2018, he signed two 10-day contracts with the Atlanta Hawks before signing a minimum two-year deal.

He was then waived before the next season started. Cleveland was eventually claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bulls before being waived again prior to the 2018 season. Cleveland missed the 2018-19 season and as noted signed a two-way deal with the Mavericks in 2019-20.

Why the OKC Thunder waived two players and signed Antonius Cleveland.

The OKC Thunder opened up roster spots by waiving both Zylan Cheatham and Josh Gray. While they were not waived specifically for the signing of the shooting guard, the Cleveland move shows that the Thunder are looking to shape their roster after the incredible offseason.

Cheatham is a 6’5″ power forward who played four games last season. He is a little one-dimensional as he cannot space the floor. This means that he would have to do his work inside and is undersized for the position.

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The Thunder already have Admiral Schofield who is a similar build. He has shown a great deal more promise throughout his college and professional career as a floor spacer and is a better chance at making the roster.

Gray was a rookie point guard who was not going to see much court time behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and George Hill. The Thunder have a number of other players who would be more likely to make the roster as the third-string point guard.

Cleveland has been solid in his last two seasons in the G-League. He averaged 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the 2018-19 season.

Last season, when not in the Mavericks uniform Cleveland averaged 14.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.9 blocks for the Texas Legends. He has shown a good development in his all-around game. This is what the Thunder will be looking to assess in training camp.