One of the best sports stories to come out of the state of Oklahoma in recent years has been the ascension of Lindy Waters III. After growing up and playing high school basketball in Norman, he kept talents less than two hours from home at the college level at Oklahoma State. From there, he played semi-pro ball in Enid before making the local G League team, the OKC Blue. He continued his rise as a two-way player splitting time with the Blue and Thunder, then eventually earned a full-time contract at the NBA level.
Last season, Waters averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 boards in 12.9 minutes per game while shooting 35.8% from beyond the arc. While he wasn't a key piece of the rotation, there were several times throughout the 2022-23 campaign in which he absolutely did make an impact.
With that in mind, entering this offseason his contract was in jeopardy. The final year of his deal was a team option worth roughly $1.9 million. Thursday was the deadline for the Thunder to make a decision, and according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, that final year was not picked up.
As such, Waters will enter unrestricted free agency on Friday evening. It's unclear whether the will make it onto a new NBA team, or have to sign a two-way or G League deal. Regardless, his time in Oklahoma City made him a fan favorite as the hometown kid lived out his dream.
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