The Oklahoma City Thunder are well-acquainted with what it means to cycle out depth pieces.
The sheer depth of their roster, and the accompanying financial pressures, resulted in the trades of Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. It also resulted in the trade of Ousmane Dieng, who signed a three-year, $17.5 million extension today with the Milwaukee Bucks. Joe and Wiggins will get their shots to contribute heavily for playoff contenders. Dieng will get the chance, on a relatively wide-open Milwaukee roster, to carve out a real rotational role for the first time in his career.
There's always the risk that these players 'burn' the Thunder by becoming higher-utilized pieces wherever they go. It's the nature of drafting and developing well, and it's the reality an organization like Oklahoma City must face.
Branden Carlson, who spent the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Thunder, has a real chance to be the next example of this phenomenon, at least compared to the production we saw from him when he was in Oklahoma City.
Branden Carlson still has some upside as an NBA-caliber big man
Carlson signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers at the outset of free agency, as initially reported by Shams Charania at ESPN.
Free agent 7-footer Branden Carlson has agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal to sign with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Portland picks up a big man who has developed in the OKC Thunder system over the last two seasons, finalizing a deal with @PrioritySports'… pic.twitter.com/N1XunKYLW3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2026
Across two seasons with the Thunder, the 7-footer never advanced past the status of fringe rotation player, averaging just 7.7 minutes across 32 games in his first season and 11.6 minutes across 42 games in his second. While Carlson entered the league with an extensive college résumé, having spent five seasons at the University of Utah and improved both his shooting and his overall offensive game with each successive campaign, his upside was admittedly limited. Carlson came into the league at the age of 25, and he's already 27 years old at the time of signing this contract.
But that doesn't mean Carlson doesn't have a chance to eventually carve out a role in an NBA rotation.
Sure, opportunities won't be much more plentiful in Portland, at least if everyone's healthy. The Trail Blazers re-signed Robert Williams III today, while they also have Donovan Clingan cemented as their starter and Yang Hansen on the roster. But realistically, Williams will miss time. Hansen, for his part, showed very little NBA-caliber play as a rookie.
Carlson, meanwhile, has spent two seasons developing in Oklahoma City's system, watching and learning behind Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams. At the very least, he's prepared to make the most of this opportunity. If we take on an optimistic point of view, maybe the floor-spacing abilities he flashed in college, combined with his height and physicality, allow him to carve out a real role in Portland.
Perhaps he'll be the next to show just how deep the Thunder's coffers are, and there's a chance the Trail Blazers have gotten an NBA-caliber big for a very cheap price.
Add us as a preferred source on Google