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Five free agents OKC Thunder could target for final roster spot for 2024-25 season
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- Five free agents OKC Thunder could target for final roster spot for 2024-25 season
The OKC Thunder has been busy this offseason.
After trading Josh Giddey to Chicago in exchange for Alex Caruso on June 21, OKC selected three players in the 2024 NBA Draft . It added Serbia's Nikola Topic (No. 12 pick), Weber State's Dillon Jones (No. 26) and UC Santa Barbara's Ajay Mitchell (No. 38).
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OKC then signed New York's Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year, $87 million contract on July 1. It now has one remaining open spot on its 15-player roster and about $8 million left in cap space.
OKC could leave that final roster spot open entering the season. It could also give it to a returner such as Keyontae Johnson , who spent last season with the team on a two-way contract.
But OKC could fill the spot with another free agent. And despite being on a budget, there are still plenty of role players the Thunder could sign.
Here are five free agents OKC could sign if it chooses to fill its final roster spot:
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OKC Thunder free agent targets
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Tyus Jones
As good as players such as Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe are, OKC still lacks a traditional point guard who can run the second unit.
Look no further than Jones, a 28-year-old guard who averaged 12 points, 7.3 assists and only one turnover last season. Jones' assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.35 is the highest by any player in a season since individual turnovers were tracked in 1977-78, and he's the first player to ever lead the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio for five straight seasons.
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Then there's the shooting. Jones shot 41.4% from deep last season on 3.9 attempts per game, and he shot 42.2% on catch-and-shoot attempts.
There's a lot to like about Jones, who made $14 million as a starter for Washington this past season. If he's willing to take a pay cut to return to a bench role, which he held for the first eight years of his career, he could be a great addition for OKC.
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) gathers the ball beside Washington Wizards guard Tyus Jones (5) during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024.
Gary Trent Jr.
OKC retained some key players this offseason by signing Joe and Aaron Wiggins to long-term deals. Still, it ranked 13th in the NBA in bench points per game last season (34.6) and lacked a go-to scorer on the second unit.
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Trent is the best player in that mold who's still on the market. The 25-year-old guard averaged 13.7 points with Toronto last season, and he shot 39.3% from deep on 6.4 attempts per game.
Trent even shot 51.3% on wide-open 3-point attempts, which is defined by NBA.com as not having a defender within six feet of the shooter. He'd be a perfect fit for OKC, which ranked second in the league in wide-open 3-point attempts per game (22.5).
Trent made $18.6 million last season, although it's unlikely he'll get that type of money considering Utah and Detroit are the only two remaining teams with cap space. He might have to sign a short-term, budget deal with hopes of boosting his value, and OKC would be a great landing spot.
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Luke Kennard
Another shooter OKC could pursue is Kennard, who saw Memphis decline his $14.8 million team option for next season on June 29.
Kennard is a 28-year-old guard who averaged 11 points and 3.5 assists last season. He also shot 45% from deep on 6.1 attempts per game.
Kennard is as reliable as they come for sharpshooters. He boasts a career 3-point percentage of 43.9%, which places him third in NBA history behind Steve Kerr (45.4%) and Hubert Davis (44.1%).
Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine Memphis not re-signing Kennard after it ranked 29th in the league in team 3-point percentage (34.6%) last season. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on June 29 that the two sides are "eager to pursue a restructured deal."
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Precious Achiuwa
OKC now has good size in the frontcourt with Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein , but it could use some insurance for its pair of 7-footers.
The best remaining big man in free agency is arguably Achiuwa, who became an unrestricted free agent on June 29 when New York didn't extend him a qualifying offer. He averaged 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds last season.
Achiuwa is an undersized center at 6-9, but he saw time at power forward last season and looked more effective. New York was a plus-1.6 points per 100 possessions with Achiuwa at the four and a negative-3.2 per 100 possessions with him at the five, marking a 4.8-point difference.
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The Athletic's Fred Katz reported on June 29 that New York has not ruled out binging Achiuwa back, and that's a likely outcome following Hartenstein's departure to OKC. But if the Thunder can also steal Achiuwa from the Knicks , it'll have a versatile big man at the end of its bench.
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May 19, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Precious Achiuwa (5) warms up before game seven of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jae Crowder
One need OKC didn't address this offseason was a good-sized wing player. And while the list of free agents who fit that criteria isn't long at this point, Crowder is a player who's flying under the radar.
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The 6-6, 34-year-old forward averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 50 games for Milwaukee this past season. He's a veteran player who provides a defensive presence and has a respectable career 3-point percentage of 34.8%.
Availability is a concern for Crowder, who has only played in more 60 games in a season once since the 2018-19 campaign. But he has 115 playoff appearances under his belt, which is just six games shy of tying OKC's entire returning roster (121).
Crowder might not move the needle a ton for the Thunder. But it wouldn't hurt to have that kind of experience at the end of its bench.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Five free agents OKC Thunder could target for final roster spot
