Amidst their injury issues, the Oklahoma City Thunder have inked Dalen Terry to a two-year contract. But the deal isn’t guaranteed. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, not only is the deal non-guaranteed for this season, but it also includes a team option for the 2027-28 campaign. It’s a completely team-favored contract, which is exactly what the Thunder need.
Jalen Williams is out for the season. Cason Wallace probably will be, too. And the Thunder have a couple of months before they get Chet Holmgren back. They need to be very particular about who they sign to help them, because they definitely need some additional depth right about now. Terry’s contract is virtually a tryout, because the Thunder can cut ties at any time.
Since the deal is non-guaranteed, OKC can let Terry go whenever. So, if he doesn’t work as a fit with the Thunder, they can waive him and sign a different player to that type of deal.
Terry is still just 24 years old. He’s a 6-foot-7 guard/foward who began his career with the Chicago Bulls after they selected him with the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
However, he’s been bouncing around the league for the last few months. Chicago traded him to the New York Knicks at the deadline this past year, and the Knicks subsequently moved him to the New Orleans Pelicans.
New Orleans waived him, and he then signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. But after that didn’t work out, the Golden State Warriors signed him to a training-camp deal this summer, but that didn’t work out either.
Now, Terry is going to resume his career in OKC. And while he’s never really panned out at the NBA level, he’s shown flashes of potential in limited G League time.
Signing Terry is inherently an unkonwn. Anyone the Thunder could have signed at this point in the season would be. That’s why they’re free agencts. But that’s also why OKC inked him to the terms it did.
Terry’s play may be an unknown, meaning he may not pan out. But the contract has no risk. If Terry doesn’t meet OKC’s standards, or even if it feels like it could do better on the open market, the Thunder can just let Terry walk.
There is no way this could backfire on the Thunder, because they gave themselves an escape clause. And if Terry plays great, then OKC could even decide to pick up his team option for next year.
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