The OKC Thunder have seen a ton of roster turnover throughout the last few summers. It has led the franchise on a quick two-year rebuild, which cumulated in a surprising 40-win season a year ago, including a play-in tournament bid.
In all of the turnover to overhaul this Thunder roster, Oklahoma City has debuted its fair share of “Welcome in the latest addition of the OKC Thunder!” graphics for players who never stepped foot on NBA hardwood in a Thunder jersey.
The OKC Thunder have seen a complete roster overhaul over the past few seasons; here are ten players who never played a minute for the Thunder.
Despite the press releases, the social media posts, and, at times, the buzz around the fanbase, the following ten players never logged a minute for the OKC Thunder franchise despite being acquired by the team.
Let’s tip things off with number 10: Ronnie Price. He draws parallels to the current day Thunder. Sam Presti had long coveted Price and eventually inked him as a Free Agent during the Summer of 2016.
After being signed in August, Price was waived on October 24th ahead of the 2016 regular season, as then-head coach Billy Donovan preferred to keep rookie guard Semaj Christon over Price in a perceived crowded point guard room.
So, despite handing Ronnie Price a standard NBA pact months earlier, he has yet to play a minute for the OKC Thunder. That is a similar situation Jack White finds himself in on the current Thunder roster. While he hopes to avoid going the way of Price, a standard contract in the Summer months does not always punch your ticket to a standard roster spot in October.
The OKC Thunder almost had the most fashionable duo in NBA history.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a surprise run at the NBA playoffs during the 2019-20 season. Led by Chris Paul, the Thunder ended up in a seven-game battle in the first round with the Houston Rockets during the Disney World Bubble. Despite losing in seven games, the OKC Thunder had an unquestioned successful season.
Still, it was time for the OKC Thunder to ship off Chris Paul and begin their rebuild. They proved the Hall of Fame point guard was not the worst contract in the NBA as he was once thought to be, and sent him to the Suns.
While Paul led the Suns to the NBA Finals the following season, the OKC Thunder received a package of Kelly Oubre, Ricky Rubio, Jalen Lecque, Ty Jerome, and a first-round pick.
Oubre, Rubio, and Lecque ended up not playing a single minute for the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Ty Jerome had a mini-run in Bricktown. That first-round pick was later shipped to the Denver Nuggets, who used it to select Peyton Watson.
Kelly Oubre is one of the most fashionable players in the entire NBA; pairing him with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be league-altering off the court. We never got to see even one duo tunnel fit.
Jalen Lecque grew up an OKC Thunder fan, modeling his game after all-time great Russell Westbrook. After being dealt to the Thunder, his social media posts had to warm the hearts of OKC fans, but he never got to dawn Thunder Blue.
So there you have it, #9 Kelly Oubre, #8 Ricky Rubio, and #7 Jalen Lecque of players to never log a minute for the OKC Thunder during their entire tenure with the franchise.
Number 6: Kemba Walker never logged a minute for the OKC Thunder
Kemba Walker was past his prime and on an awful contract when the OKC Thunder were paid to take on his deal from the Boston Celtics. This was part of a more significant deal with the Celtics re-acquiring Al Horford to allow them to go on a title run that saw them finishing runner-up to the Golden State Warriors.
The OKC Thunder shipped out Moses Brown, Al Horford, and a second-round pick (Amari Bailey in this year’s draft) to receive Kemba Walker, a first-round selection (Alprene Sengun, who OKC sent to Houston), and a 2025 second-round pick.
That trade went through on June 18, 2021. Kemba Walker hung around Oklahoma City until he was finally waived on August 6, 2021. During that time, there was plenty of speculation about what the Thunder would do with Walker.
Would they make him their next project to overhaul his NBA perception and flip him for assets later? Would they tell him not to report? Or would they waive him?
Ultimately, the OKC Thunder elected to waive Walker, prompting him to sign with the New York Knicks.
Kemba Walker played in 37 games for the Knicks, averaging 11 points, hauling in a trio of rebounds, and dishing out nearly five assists per game.
Walker is a four-time All-Star, including an All-NBA nod in the 2018-19 season. At one time, his thrilling buzzer beaters, step-back jumpers, and overall style of play made him one of the most fun players to watch in the entire NBA.
The UCONN product played for four franchises in his NBA career but never logged a minute during his short OKC Thunder stint.
Players at numbers 6, 5, 4, and 3 share many similarities to the current-day OKC Thunder squad.
The OKC Thunder were in this exact spot a season ago. OKC featured an overflowing roster that left Thunder fans scratching their heads, stressing over which players would be cut from the roster.
As we sit here just weeks away from training camp, the Oklahoma City Thunder again have 21 players on their roster and have to cut three standard NBA pacts before the start of the NBA regular season. Could the path to cleaning up the roster requirements follow last season’s model?
Last season, Media Day lasted approximately 22 hours as all the players shuffled in and out of the media room. Everyone was left scrambling to give their pre-training camp roster prediction, which was soon null and void.
Sam Presti pulled the trigger on a trade with the Houston Rockets that sent Theo Maledon, Ty Jerome, Derrick Favors, and Mo Harkless to the Rockets while bringing back Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, and David Nwaba.
This paperwork move made the decision on who to cut and the financial impact easier for the OKC Thunder leading up to the season open. While there was a pocket of fans excited about Chriss’ potential as a more traditional big man or Nwaba’s defensive versatility, ultimately, no one suited up for the Bricktown boys in a regular season game.
It is hard to believe that the swap was nearly a year ago; it feels like a distant memory.
#2 Danny Green was swapped twice by the OKC Thunder in one offseason before finally finding a home in Philadelphia with the 76ers.
For as long as the OKC Thunder have been around, the team has needed a jolt from beyond the arc. One of the biggest reasons the Thunder never got over the hump during their first window of contention was a lack of role-playing three-point shooters.
Danny Green presented just that, but it was a classic case of right place, wrong time. The OKC Thunder were focused on a youth-driven rebuild, and after acquiring Green in a trade with the Lakers that sent Dennis Schroder to LaLa land, the OKC Thunder quickly sent Green to the city of brotherly love.
The role-playing wing is a three-time NBA champion who earned All-defensive honors in the 2016-17 season. Green is a 40 percent three-point shooter for his career, including a career-high 45 percent mark on the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors.
Secondarily, a massive shoutout to Vincent Poirier, who was shipped with Green to the 76ers from Oklahoma City and never played a minute for the Thunder.
When the OKC Thunder acquired Vincent Poirier, despite his age, many fans were excited about the seven-footer from France. However, with that roster construction, there were pockets of fans that would do backflips over any player that had a traditional center build.
Poirier eventually appeared in 32 NBA games split between the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
#1: KZ Okpala was briefly on the OKC Thunder
KZ Okpala hive stand up! The OKC Thunder had an interesting 2022 NBA Trade Deadline where they grabbed KZ Okpala from the Miami Heat as sort of a move to make a secondary part of the trade legal, allowing the Heat to amend the protections on a future pick owed to the Thunder.
The Stanford product was still an interesting piece for a team that was just looking for warm bodies for the down stretch of the 2022 season, which prompted four days of OKC Thunder fans wondering if Okpala would be a member of the team to see if he could be a diamond in the rough for Presti.
Ultimately, the Oklahoma City Thunder elected to waive KZ Okpala, which set up the ability to ink then-rookie wing Aaron Wiggins to a multi-year deal, converting him from his two-way status.
KZ Okpala has played in 98 NBA games to the tune of two points, almost two rebounds, and half an assist per game, most recently for the Sacramento Kings during the 2022-23 NBA season. Okpala played well in the NBA G-League to earn some NBA chances a year ago.
Thunder legend pic.twitter.com/KqWYkFtzfq
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) February 4, 2023
The Roster turnover from the autumn of 2020 until now. This led the OKC Thunder to the point where they are now with one of the best young cores in the entire NBA. Here is one for the road: Austin Rivers.
Rivers was part of a three-team trade on March 25th, 2021, where the Thunder waived him just three days later, allowing him to ink a ten-day deal with the Denver Nuggets in late April.