At the time of the trade deadline, the Oklahoma City Thunder inevitably opened up a roster spot. It was quickly consumed by Eugene Omoruyi, who was on a two-way contract at the time. However, he was converted to a standard contract. Olivier Sarr took over the second two-way contract the Thunder had to offer.
Then, the Thunder opted to retain Dario Saric, who they acquired via trade with the Phoenix Suns, which saw the departure of Darius Bazley. So, the roster spots were then all consumed.
The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto reported that the Thunder wanted more fluidity at the back end of their roster. This led to Omoruyi being waived, which was announced after last night’s loss against the Sacramento Kings.
Being converted to a standard contract allowed Omoruyi to get a solid pay raise before being waived, too, further proving that OKC is the ultimate player’s franchise.
That being said, Mussatto, in the same report, mentioned that they opted to keep Saric in deciding between him in Omoruyi.
Saric is currently the Thunder’s oldest guy on the team at 28-years-old. Being in OKC allows Saric to build his reputation as a veteran player while also giving him the tools to show he’s got plenty in the tank following his ACL tear last season with the Suns. He complements Shai Gilgeous-Alexander well, and vice versa. It will be intriguing to see how many minutes he gets to play as the season winds down.
In what Saric can offer, he brings a solid screen setter and pick-and-pop style player which opens up plenty for the guards, and, as mentioned, his veteran presence.
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