Why did the OKC Thunder waive KZ Okpala?

The OKC Thunder had one of the least exciting NBA Trade Deadlines since they moved to Bricktown in 2008, which is to be expected as most of those seasons they were in search of players to get them over the hump in a chase for an NBA Championship, this year? Not so much. The biggest drama would be if Sam Presti would flip Kenrich Williams or Mike Muscala to a contender, which did not happen.

The Oklahoma City Thunder only made one trade this week, but that did not stop Presti from shaking up his roster. The Thunder shipped a second-round pick and amended protections on a first-round pick the Heat owes OKC to make it more favorable in exchange for KZ Okpala.

The Stanford product who has been in the NBA for three seasons has still not compiled as many minutes as some rookies have so far in their careers. An interesting power forward that provides defense and shoots 40-percent from the corners on a small sample size. This move filled the open roster spot left behind by the team first waiving Gabriel Deck, then seeing Mamadi Diakite waived a day early from his third and final ten-day deal.

Why did the OKC Thunder waive KZ Okpala, and what comes next for Sam Presti and Oklahoma City?

Despite trading for an interesting young project who was on an expiring deal and only owed 1.7-million dollars, Sam Presti elected to waive Okpala on Friday afternoon ahead of their contest with the 76ers. This is on the heels of the OKC Thunder waiving two-way forward Paul Watson Jr, to open up that two-way contract for Oklahoma native Lindy Waters III.

The Oklahoma City Thunder now have an open NBA roster spot, while filling both two-way pacts for now with rookies Lindy Waters III and 55th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft Aaron Wiggins. Why waive Okpala and open up a roster spot again? What comes next for the OKC Thunder?

This trade itself was made for the sake of the Stepien Rule, moving the protections from the future pick owed to OKC via Miami gives the Heat some asset flexibility but also allows the Thunder to receive a more valuable first-round pick.

However, something or someone has to come over from the Heat’s side, and thus, Okpala, who has been sidelined since December 28th with a wrist injury. The Oklahoma City Thunder waived him on Friday, not even seeing Okpala up close and personal, or even assigning him a jersey number according to the Thunder game notes.

This leaves an open spot to fill, with the team 23-million dollars under the salary floor. While there will not be some massive contract signed, the team will likely finish the season under the salary floor, Sam Presti still has options to utilize that spot.

It is an easy choice to convert the Maryland rookie Aaron Wiggins to a full-time NBA deal, before his ankle injury Wiggins was having a fantastic rookie campaign while playing eye-popping defense for a rookie wing.

It would be a stunner for Presti, who has a long history of converting two-way deals and seems to have found a diamond in the rough at pick 55, to not convert Aaron Wiggins to a standard NBA pact.

This would leave the Thunder with an open two-way spot, and do not be surprised if Oklahoma City signed Mamadi Diakite to a two-way deal. Diakite has made a great impression on the organization, praising him publically and privately. Without his preseason hip fracture, there is a chance he breaks training camp with the varsity squad. During his three ten-day deals, Diakite performed well, even being in the starting lineup at times due to injuries.

Time will tell on how the team will use their open roster spot, but it is clear this trade with the Heat was only to increase the value of the team’s future first-round pick.