Category: OKC Thunder Blog

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Thunder add Rob Edwards and DJ Wilson to training camp

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Rob Edwards and forward DJ Wilson.

The deals are for training camp purposes.

Edwards (6-5, 205) spent last season with the Oklahoma City Blue and in 15 games (3 starts), averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21.3 minutes per game on 44.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Wilson (6-10, 231) split the 2020-21 season between the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets and appeared in 35 games (one start) and averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game. In 142 career NBA games (five starts), he has averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.

Thunder add Mamadi Diakite, waive Charlie Brown Jr.

The Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday claimed forward Mamadi Diakite off waivers from the Milwaukee Bucks.

And in a separate transaction, the Thunder waived guard Charlie Brown Jr.

Diakite (6-9, 218) appeared in 14 games (one start) last season with the Bucks and averaged 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.1 minutes. Additionally, Diakite saw action in 12 G League games (three starts) during the 2020-21 season as a member of the Lakeland Magic where he registered averages of 18.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.08 blocks in 27.7 minutes.

A native of Guinea, Diakite played alongside Thunder guard Ty Jerome on the 2019 Virginia Cavaliers’ NCAA National Championship team.

OKC Thunder sign Paul Watson Jr. to a two-way contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Paul Watson Jr. to a Two-Way Contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Watson Jr. (6-6, 210) has appeared in 37 games (two starts) and averaged 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 10.4 minutes as a member of the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors.

During the 2019-20 season, Watson Jr. appeared in 30 G League games (all starts) for the Raptors 905 and averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 35.3 minutes per game.

OKC Thunder re-sign Mike Muscala

The Oklahoma City Thunder have re-signed forward/center Mike Muscala to a multi-year contract.

Muscala’s new contract with the Thunder is reportedly a two-year, $7 million deal.

Muscala has appeared in 389 career games (30 starts) and posted averages of 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 15.7 minutes per game. Last season, Muscala averaged a career-high 9.7 points per game to go along with 3.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes. During the past two seasons with the Thunder, Muscala shot 37.3 percent from behind the 3-point line (122-327 3FGs).

Oklahoma City originally signed Muscala on July 10, 2019.

Thunder sign rookie forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

The Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday signed rookie forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Robinson-Earl (6-9, 230) spent two seasons at Villanova and during his sophomore season he posted averages of 15.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 34.4 minutes per game. As a sophomore, he led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding.

The Thunder acquired the rights to Robinson-Earl (No. 32 overall pick), from the New York Knicks on July 30, 2021 in exchange for the rights to the No. 34 and No 36 picks.

Thunder naming Nick Collison as Special Assistant to Sam Presti

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that Nick Collison will be named Special Assistant to Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

In his new role, Collison will continue to enhance his front office acumen while working closely with Presti and other key front office personnel on short-term and long-range initiatives and projects for the Thunder across many facets of basketball operations.

Prior to taking on his current position, Collison served the past two seasons as Basketball Operations Representative for the Thunder. In his previous role, Collison had touchpoints throughout the organization and the opportunity to develop his basketball operations skillset following his 14-season playing career with the Thunder franchise.

Collison is part of a group of other former Thunder players who are currently contributing to the organization as staff members, including Eric Maynor (Thunder Player Development Coach), Nazr Mohammed (Oklahoma City Blue General Manager/ Thunder Pro Personnel Evaluator), Mike Wilks (Thunder Assistant Coach) and Anthony Morrow, who will serve in the role of Lifestyle Services and Engagement Associate for the 2021-22 season.

OKC Thunder sign Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to contract extension

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a multi-year contract extension.

“We are excited to have Shai representing our organization for many years to come and couldn’t be happier for him and his family,” said Presti. “He is a tremendous basketball player, but is also a leader that infuses optimism, confidence and collaboration into all of his interactions professionally and personally. We are looking forward to watching his individual growth and the collective development of our team as we continue on our path toward sustainable success in Oklahoma City.”

According to the Oklahoman, it’s a “five-year deal worth $172 million in base salary — an average of $34.4 million per season.”

In three NBA seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has appeared in 187 games (178 starts) and registered averages of 16.3 points 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.9 minutes.

During the 2020-21 season, Gilgeous-Alexander became the second player in NBA history (Larry Bird) to average at least 23.7 points and 5.9 assists on 50.8 percent shooting and 41.8 percent 3-point shooting. He is one of four third-year players in the last 20 years to average 22+ points on 50+ percent shooting (A. Stoudemire, C. Bosh and A. Davis). He finished the 2020-21 season with 25 20-point performances and 10 30-point efforts during his 35 appearances.

Dating back to 2019, Gilgeous-Alexander increased his scoring averages from 10.8 ppg as a rookie to 19.0 ppg during his sophomore season before leading the Thunder in scoring with 23.7 ppg this past year. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 12.9 point per game scoring increase during the first three years of his career is the second largest in the NBA (CJ McCollum) during the past decade.

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Gilgeous-Alexander was selected No. 11 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft after one season at the University of Kentucky. He was later named to the NBA’s Rising Stars teams in both 2019 and 2020.

Oklahoma City originally acquired Gilgeous-Alexander from the Los Angeles Clippers on July 10, 2019.

Jazz trade Derrick Favors to Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder has acquired forward/center Derrick Favors and a future first-round draft pick from the Utah Jazz in exchange for a 2027 second-round draft pick and cash considerations, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Favors (6-10, 265) has appeared in 751 games (68 starts) with the Jazz, Nets and Pelicans and holds career averages of 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.23 blocks in 24.7 minutes per game.

The 2027 second-round pick the Thunder is trading to Utah is the least favorable of Oklahoma City’s four second-round picks.