Usman Garuba sends a message to the OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have waived Houston Rockets’ 2021 first-round pick Usman Garuba. This brings the OKC Thunder roster crunch some form of clarity. The Thunder still need to waive three standard contracts to be in total roster compliance and have all training camp to figure it out.

While many expected Usman Garuba to be waived the day of the initial trade to Bricktown, fans at least expected Garuba to compete for a spot in training camp. The Oklahoma City Thunder elected to stop delaying the inevitable and waive the former Rockets prospects who will enter their fourth team this summer at their next stop.

With the cuts of Usman Garuba and TyTy Washington, the Thunder have brought back a pair of familiar faces to fill their two-way spots. Now, the OKC Thunder still have 21 players on their roster (the maximum number you can carry in the offseason), all three two-way spots claimed, and down to just three standard roster cuts to make down from the daunting five number they faced entering the weekend.

Usman Garuba sends a message to the OKC Thunder after the organization waived him.

During a local media interview, Usman Garuba mentioned that he initially wanted to be drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder; he revealed that Mark Daigneault and Sam Presti discussed a potential role with him and how training camp would go.

That led many fans to assume that Garuba had found himself a home in Oklahoma City, and you know what Sam Presti thinks of assumptions. With this roster transaction, Usman Garuba tweeted out a message to the NBA world.

So far, the project big man has not been able to latch on to consistent NBA minutes. In his relatively small sample size, the big man has produced on both ends of the floor. His switch ability on defense and play-fishing on offense makes him an appealing option for other NBA teams to take a chance on.