OKC Thunder: Grading Mike Muscala’s injury-shortened season

OKC Thunder contract and season grades for Mike Muscala.

Contract grade: A-

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As mentioned earlier, Muscala took up his player option prior to the 2020-21 season. This was only worth $2.2 million which is really good value for the team that was looking to move massive contracts around to get the best draft picks possible.

His production more than justified his salary but that was not the biggest reason for Muscala staying on the team this year. He was a mentor for the very young Aleksej Pokusevski who is a higher ceiling version of Muscala.

Season grade: C+

It is always tricky to grade a player’s season when he is only able to take the floor for half of it. What Muscala did in those 35 games was really solid stuff. He spaced the floor for the Thunder and this made life a lot easier for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Theo Maledon, and Luguentz Dort to create.

He had a career year with scoring, which is going to serve him well when it comes to re-negotiating a contract, be it with the Thunder or another team. He became a mentor for the younger players, giving them faith in themselves which is going to benefit the Thunder in years to come.