OKC Thunder: Evaluating Isaiah Roby’s future with the Thunder

The OKC Thunder entered the offseason with a few partially guaranteed contracts, meaning if the team elected to waive one of those players  (Charlie Brown Jr, Gabriel Deck, Isaiah Roby, Kenrich Williams) they would not be on the hook for the full amount.

While the dates for Charlie Brown Jr and Gabriel Deck are unknown, we do know Isaiah Roby’s (August 4th) and Kenrich Williams’ (December 15th).

The OKC Thunder guarantee Isaiah Roby’s contract for the 2021-22 NBA season

As Isaiah Roby is still on the OKC Thunder roster past the August 4th trigger date, it means his salary is now fully guaranteed. Roby is owed 1.7-million dollars this year, with a club option for 1.9-million dollars next offseason.

When the Nebraska product was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, the Mavs inked him to the largest contract in second round history at the time.

His rookie campaign was derailed by injuries, seeing Donnie Nelson dump him off to the Thunder to clear enough cap space to sign Willie Cauley-Stein during the second half of the season.

Roby saw action in just three NBA games in his rookie campaign and did not make the trip to the Disney World Bubble due to his lower leg injury.

The Thunder let the 23-year-old stay back and rehab, clearly investing in the tweener forward. After a shortened offseason and training camp, Roby had three preseason games to try to prove himself. Well, let’s just say those preseason games were not kind to the Dixon, Illinois native.

Fans were ready for the Thunder to cut bait with the 6’8 forward, while others bought beachfront property on Roby Island.

Luckily, level heads prevailed with the Thunder decision-makers, and they made the tough cut of Frank Jackson instead.

Isaiah Roby went on to play in 61 games this past season, starting 34 of them. He put up 8.7-points per game, 5.6-rebounds a contest, and shot 48-percent from the floor.

While having a smooth three-point stroke for his size, Roby only knocked down 30-percent of his triples, attempting nearly two per tilt.

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Mark Daigneault even got wacky with the 6’8 230 pounder and tried to use him at the center spot on the defensive end.

After struggling with fouls and the frustrations of making the correct play defensive and still seeing a guy score over him, Roby eventually found more success defending power forwards.

When on big men, he eventually made the adjustment to attempt to deny the ball instead of playing the post player straight up.

What is his long-term fit with the Thunder? At 23-years-old he fits right in with the youngsters on the team.

You will struggle to find a better value than his two years of club control for roughly 3.6-million dollars total.

Defending on how he progresses as a playmaker and ball handler along with his rebounding and defensive ability this offseason, will go a long way in solidifying his future with the team.

An area that I expect to take a jump and put Roby in a new tier of player this year is his three-point shot.

In wins last season, Roby stroked the trey ball at a 44-percent clip. Off the bench, a role he will primarily fill this year, he shot 38-percent from distance.

His shooting really caught on during the month of April, an 11-game stretch in which he shot 39-percent from downtown.

Ultimately, I would expect Roby to be in Oklahoma City for a while as a swiss-army knife of sorts. It certainly seemed like Mark Daigneault trusted the Nebraska product toward the end of the season.