The OKC Thunder are finding out firsthand here in 2026-27 that desperate times do, in fact, call for desperate measures.
In less than a month, Oklahoma City has arguably been the busiest team in the NBA, dealing with several pushes for Disabled Player Exceptions, snatching up a number of free agent talents, and, most recently, striking a trade for a former first-round pick, all sparked by the devastating injuries to guys like Jalen Williams (ankle), Cason Wallace (shoulder), and Chet Holmgren (knee).
Now, while these efforts have been exciting from a fan and media pundit standpoint, from a humane perspective, the ball club's approach to their injury-ravaged start to the season can only be described as incredibly cutthroat.
Thunder starying away from general rule of roster construction
For a team that has long prided itself on prioritizing people and player development, the Thunder have seemingly shown little patience for these values lately.
To kick off the year, the Thunder opted to waive second-round pick Otega Oweh rather than aid in his Achilles tear rehab.
Soon after, they shelled out a standard contract to former first-round pick Ochai Agbaji to fill their 15 and final roster spot, only to rescind their offer just 24 hours later following the Holmgren injury recovery update.
From there, they would sign 24-year-old wing Dalen Terry to a two-year standard deal instead, who would then play two games with the Thunder before being waived this past Sunday to make room for the incoming Nique Clifford, who was acquired via a trade with the Sacramento Kings.
All of these moves have been made within a month of one another, and, in many ways, were chronologically more ruthless.
How things have been going as of late, this approach to roster construction is far from the traditional Thunder way.
Thunder couldn't have parted ways with two-way players in Clifford deal
The decision to waive Dalen Terry to make room for Nique Clifford just days after his arrival has certainly rubbed people the wrong way.
Terry himself has even headed to social media to express his personal feelings on the matter.
Fans have wondered why the 2022 first-round pick ended up being the one to get the boot rather than two-way players like Brooks Barnhizer, Josh Dix, or Micah Peavy.
For those wondering, teams are unable to rid themselves of players on such deals and seamlessly use their spots as a vacancy to then bring on a standard contract player.
Perhaps the decision to offload Nikola Topic or Thomas Sorber, for example, could have been an alternate course of action Sam Presti and company could have taken to make room for Clifford, but simply moving on from a two-way player wouldn't have worked.
As a result, the newly signed Terry was the one who was let go. Though certainly unfortunate, from a business standpoint, waiving him made the most sense for the Thunder.
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