2022 Oklahoma City Thunder roster projection 1.0
By Rylan Stiles
Which Oklahoma City Thunder players are on the chopping block heading into training camp, and how creative can Sam Presti get?
The chopping block is a scary place to be, no one wants to enter into a position battle or have their job on the line, but that is the nature of this business. So who finds themselves in limbo as training camp arrives?
Theo Maledon, 1.9-million dollars to waive
Maledon was selected with the 34th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder invested a high second-round pick on him via Philadelphia in the Al Horford trade. Theo Maledon led the team in minutes his rookie year, averaging 27-minutes per game in 65 games played (out of 72 that season), 49 starts while scoring ten points, hauling in three rebounds, and dishing out three assists per game while swiping a steal per contest on the defensive end.
The former second-round pick regressed in his second season, seeing his minutes dip by ten minutes per game and still struggling to shoot the basketball. Maledon dropped four percent from beyond the arc, down to 39 percent from distant.
Maledon does not three anywhere on the floor offensively as a scorer. He is poor at the rim (53 percent), in the mid-range (39 percent), and three-point land (even shooting just 22 percent in the corner), and the combinations of guards on this roster who have seemingly taken even more of his minutes, makes it hard to find a spot for Maledon on this roster. A theme you will see in this article is Chip Engelland.
What if Chip Engelland comes into camp working with Maledon and makes him a respected shooter in a small preseason sample size? The decision to waive the recent second-rounder becomes a lot harder.
Ty Jerome, 4.2-million dollars to waive
The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Ty Jerome from the Suns in the Chris Paul trade and is the only player from the move that is still on the team’s roster.
In his first season with the OKC Thunder, Ty Jerome played in 33 games while shooting a career-high 42 percent from three-point land on five attempts per game. That figure came crashing back down to reality last season, shooting 29 percent from distance, just one percent better than his rookie year in Phoenix.
Ty Jerome has shown off some playmaking chops, and has shot well from the corner both seasons in OKC (46 percent and 44 percent), could Chip Engelland unlock Jerome into a consistent sharpshooter that he has been hyped up to be? Maybe. But right now, Jerome finds himself on the hot season.
Vit Krejci, 1.5-million dollars to waive
The Oklahoma City Thunder really like Vit Krejci, who was a shocking pick with the 37th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Not only was he coming off an ACL tear two months prior, but most draft experts also did not have him in their top 100!
After a year of rehab in Oklahoma City, Krejci finally made his OKC debut to the tune of six points, three rebounds, and two assists per game with 30 NBA games under his belt. He entered his first healthy offseason in the league and showed up to Summer League looking much improved.
The Thunder not only invested a top-ten second-round pick in Krejci but in the trade with Washington to acquire his rights took on Admiral Schofield to waive the Tennessee product and create dead money so the Wizards did not have to.
The only true reason Vit Krejci finds himself on the block is just the nature of his contract. When you have to eat three standard NBA deals, you will not find a more palatable waive than 1.5-million.
Note: The Thunder can not get creative and waive and stash him on a two-way deal, he has been guaranteed too much money in his NBA career for that to work within the construct of the CBA.
Derrick Favors, 10.1-million dollars to waive
Favors is 12 year NBA veteran that started 18 games for the OKC Thunder, playing in just 39 of the 82 contests during the 2021-22 season. The Georgia Tech product loves being on this rebuilding squad and taking the youngsters under his wing as a mentor on life in the NBA. Though, for ten million, who wouldn’t?
Would the Thunder be comfortable paying Favors ten million dollars to sit at home? I think so, given the fact that it is basically what they did last year. With a more crowded roster than Favors’ first round in Bricktown, even if he stays on the roster all year will he appear in more than 39 games?
Derrick Favors provides a lot for the young players and the decision Presti has to ponder comes down to whether you get enough veteran leadership from Mike Muscala and Kenrich Williams. Or is it best to have another “adult in the room?”
Favors provides value you can not see on the floor, but from his own words and his teammate’s praise, it might be worth keeping him around vs an additional G-League quality player. While he does not have the same tenure in OKC, think of the Udonis Haslem role. His leadership helps the Heat stay the course through the 82-game marathon, and no one questions the Heat’s ability to find minutes for young players. They turn undrafted guys into gold more than any other organization.
Aaron Wiggins, 1.5-million dollars to waive
The Oklahoma City Thunder should not even think about waiving Aaron Wiggins, especially after the addition of Chip Engelland to the coaching staff. Though, while I am admittedly against moving on from last year’s 55th overall pick, I am trying to list all of the realistic scenarios here.
While for me, Wiggins would be a roster lock, I would not just be blown away if Presti pulls the rug out from under the Maryland product. That move would only be due to his cheap deal to get out from under, but a move they instantly regret. A lot of teams would gladly throw a waiver claim at Wiggins. This would be ten times more egregious than waiving Roby, and we all saw the outrage from that.
Trading Darius Bazley?
Again, a move that I would not predict, but technically could happen so I will include it in this section of possible moves. Sam Presti typically trades restricted free agents before they hit the open market or decide to extend them a year before, with few exceptions. No decision has been made on Bazley to this point, and he still has a lot to prove heading into a contract year.
The issue with a Bazley trade is, that you can not afford to take back players or that does not solve your roster crunch (there are not many players making less than the 4.2-million dollars owed to Bazley so taking on players easier to waive money-wise will even be a hard combination).
Plus, the net gain of this move would not be great and only get OKC a freed-up roster spot. After Bazley displayed elite defense and switching potential last year, I would project OKC to bet on Chip Engelland’s impact and the motivation on a contract year, for their 2019 First-Round pick to regain value.