Thunder News: Roster outlook after Alex Reese signing, Giannis buzz, and more

With less than a week to go before opening night's tip-off, the OKC Thunder received some unfortunate news regarding one of their primary contributors heading into the 2024-25 season.

Thursday, it was announced that free agency pick-up Isaiah Hartenstein has sustained a "small, non-displaced" fracture in his left hand and will be sidelined for the next five to six weeks.

With this, coupled with the fact that Oklahoma City had one open roster spot, many suspected GM Sam Presti would go out and scour the free agency market to bring on a talent who, in theory, could fill in for the hobbled big man while he rehabs from his injury.

Saturday morning, ESPN's Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that the franchise did just that, as they agreed to terms on a non-guaranteed standard deal with combo big, Alex Reese, giving the team their 15 and final full-time financial pact ahead of the October 21 roster stetting deadline.

While the details of the contract are not yet fully public, some such as Spotrac's Keith Smith believe it could likely be in the ballpark of two years, for anything beyond that would have the Thunder unnecessarily inch closer to the Room Exception.

To Smith, such a move "would be similar to how they've handled Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Jaylin Williams" over the years, as it allows the organization to "develop him over multiple years" if his "pops" and "move on with minimal dead money on the books" if he flops.

The former Alabama product spent the 2023-24 season with the Rip City Remix of the NBA G League, where he averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 17.2 minutes per game.

To the antithesis of Reese's addition, the Thunder have officially waived Buddy Boeheim and Cormac Ryan.

In other news, an interview between The Athletic's Sam Amick and Bucks all-world cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo has recently caught the internet by storm as the two-time MVP notably suggested that Milwaukee could, in theory, be open to the idea of moving on from him should they fail to claim their second championship banner in five years, saying: "Yea, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded."

Such is the case with any team in an all-out, win-now state, pressures are through the roof for the Bucks heading into year two with their highly-paid superstar tandem of him and Damian Lillard in tow.

The ball club finished the 2023-24 season with 49 wins and claimed the third seed in the Eastern Conference standings, though were knocked out of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers in just round one.

Though the odds-makers may see them as having a legitimate chance of vying for ultimate supremacy this coming year, as they currently have the eighth-best chance of winning it all, if Milwaukee were to once again fall short of this lofty goal, even Giannis is of the belief that his time out in Wisconson could come to an end and, should he ever be placed on the block, the Thunder should be very interested in entering into the sweepstakes.

Yes, Oklahoma City may already have one of the deepest and most well-rounded rosters the league has to offer and is heading into 2024-25 with the second-best odds of taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy, but if they ever were able to add a player like the Greek Freak to a core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, they'd be foolish not to at the very least inquire.

Fortunately for them, along with their enviable collection of recent lottery and first-round selected talents in tow, they have a treasure chest of future draft assets at their disposal that could entice virtually any team to make any kind of trade that they could possibly ever covet.

Yes, this includes a hypothetical blockbuster for Giannis Antetokounmpo so the Thunder should have their eyes monitoring the situation with him and Milwaukee moving forward.

More OKC Thunder news

- After sustaining a left ankle sprain during Oklahoma City's preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks earlier this week, it appears budding star Jalen Williams seems to have staved off any serious damage. As reported by Thunder beat reporter Clemente Almanza, coach Mark Daigneault says the forward is considered just "day to day" with the ailment, though his status for Thursday's opener against the Denver Nuggets is still up in the air.

- Based on recent rumblings, it appears the Thunder may have dodged a lofty long-term financial bullet via the trade that sent Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls this past June. Per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, the former lottery pick is "said to be seeking at least $30 million in AAV in his next deal."

NBA News

- Reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama seems to be heading into his sophomore campaign with a goal to "pass another step," as he put it, as he recently went on record stating that he put in "two months of hard work" following the Olympics to better his game as a whole.

Already, the big is fresh off a tremendous debut season in the NBA where he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks while finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year race but, according to Spurs teammate Devin Vassell, the improvements he's made are truly "scary."

- Per Shams Charania, Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns will not be coming to an agreement on a contract extension before the league's October 21 deadline. The superstar still has two years left on his current deal with the organization and will be eligible to sign a two-year extension next summer.

- Kawhi Leonard will be out indefinitely heading into the 2024-25 season as he nurses a nagging knee injury, leaving the already complex LA Clippers in an even more uncomfortable position as they enter their debut campaign playing in the Intuit Dome.