Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

OKC Thunder: Roster battles to watch this preseason

By Rylan Stiles

Onyeka Okongwu #17 of the Atlanta Hawks is defended by Mamadi Diakite #25 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals at Fiserv Forum on June 25, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Onyeka Okongwu #17 of the Atlanta Hawks is defended by Mamadi Diakite #25 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals at Fiserv Forum on June 25, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

The OKC Thunder are in the midst of training camp, I have you covered with training camp notebooks every day after practice, that will continue, we are just getting started with camp. However, preseason is right around the corner, games that fans get to see the team for the first time and evaluate the roster for themselves.

The NBA preseason tips off on Sunday when the L.A. Lakers welcome the Brooklyn Nets to the city of Angels for what will be one of the highest-rated preseason games of all time as long as the new Lakers are big three is on the court.

The Oklahoma City Thunder starts their exhibition slate on Monday, October 4th as the Charolette Hornets enter the Paycom Center. This will be the first time fans have been welcomed back to the arena since March 2020.

With the preseason, the scoreboard doesn’t matter, the rotations will be different than what Mark Daigneault will role out opening night against Utah, and the intensity may be lacking. However, there is still a lot to gain from these tabbed “meaningless” games.

OKC Thunder roster battles to watch in the preseason

The Bricktown boys currently have 18 NBA contracts and two camp invites on the roster bringing their total to 20 players. That is the maximum number of players allowed by the NBA during this time of the season. The Oklahoma City Thunder, and the rest of the NBA, will have to trim their roster to 17 players (including two-way players) by October 18th.

To get the roster cut down, the Thunder have to waive a player that currently has an NBA pact. There used to be an obvious answer, Charlie Brown Jr. He clearly is not an NBA-caliber player, and more importantly, was on a fully non-guaranteed deal costing Oklahoma City nothing to part with him.

However, the team already made that move, last Sunday waiving Brown to pick up Mamadi Diakite off waivers from the Milwaukee Bucks. Unlike Charlie Brown Jr, Diakite is an interesting young player. Now, the Oklahoma City Thunder has a slightly tougher decision to make on cut-down day.

Home/Thunder News