What does Tre Mann’s option being picked up mean for OKC Thunder?

The OKC Thunder have picked up a slew of contract options for their young players ahead of the 2023-24 NBA seasons. This includes Tre Mann, who many projects to be on the roster bubble as we await for the official word on the final Thunder roster.

That has led fans to speculate that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sam Presti have already tipped their hand on their final roster move. After an offseason spent nearly entirely at the maximum of 21 players, the Thunder have narrowed that decision down to just one needs to be made.

OKC Thunder picks up the contract option on Tre Mann. Does this tip their hand for future roster moves?

The Thunder have moved on from Rudy Gay, Usman Garuba, TyTy Washington, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Victor Oladipo this offseason. Now, they have just one roster move left that will likely come down between 2021 first-round pick Tre Mann and free agent signing Jack White.

Given Saturday’s news that the Oklahoma City Thunder have picked up the contract option for Tre Mann, many believe that lands the Florida product on the opening night roster.

Picking up Tre Mann’s rookie scale first-round option triggers a guaranteed 4.9 million dollars next season. This does remove him from the chopping block in terms of getting waived. Before making this decision, Mann could have been waived for only 1.9 million dollars; now, that 4.9 million next year would factor into him being waived.

However, this does not take a trade-off the table for Mann. Though it indicates that Mann will survive the roster crunch, you always have to expect the unexpected in the NBA.

The OKC Thunder have also picked up the first-round options on Josh Giddey (8.3 million), Ousmane Dieng (5 million), Jalen Williams (4.7 million), and Chet Holmgren (10.2 million) for next season.