Tuesday morning, the OKC Thunder made a roster-shedding decision as they announced that they've officially placed center Branden Carlson on waivers.
Signed back on November 16 to a one-year, $990,895 deal with the club after a brief stint with their G League affiliate, the OKC Blue, the rookie saw seven games of action with the varsity team and finished out his tenure with mere averages of .6 points and 1.3 rebounds in a total of 25 minutes.
To many, this decision to part ways with Carlson was due to Oklahoma City avoiding having to pay him his full salary on the year, as January 7 serves as the deadline for when non-guaranteed players lock in their full-scale paydays.
While this almost certainly played a major role in their thought process, another factor to consider is that the center's departure now creates an opportunity for Sam Presti and company to lock down one of the team's most promising youngsters for the long haul.
Thunder moving on from Branden Carlson could impact Ajay Mitchell
With Carlson now heading to waivers, the Thunder have subsequently opened up a roster spot that could be utilized in many different ways. To some, it should be used for future 10-day signings. For others, it should simply go untouched.
However, there's a strong case to be made that it should be used to lock down rookie sensation Ajay Mitchell on a standard deal.
Currently, the 22-year-old is playing on a two-way contract and is already 16 games away from reaching the deal's allotted max number of 50.
Considering just how impressive he's been within and integral to OKC's rotation throughout this title-hungry campaign, using this newly established roster spot to secure his future with the organization may be the most logical move.
Through 34 games played the guard has established himself as one of this season's best rookie talents, as he ranks first among his classmates in long-range shooting percentage (43.1), third in plus-minus rating (+3.4), first in defensive rating (100.0), and second in net rating (9.1) out of those who have seen 20 or more games played.
On top of this, he's also sporting tremendous averages of 18.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.1 steals on 50.6 percent shooting per 100 possessions and has frequently received praise from his teammates and coaches for his on-court contributions, with superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander going as far as to label him as truly "special."
Over the years, the Thunder have established a track record of finding diamond in the rough-type talents late in the draft and rewarding them to mid-season standard contract conversions.
With the departure of Branden Carlson, they could once again take part in such a practice with the likes of Ajay Mitchell.