OKC Thunder Grading Branden Carlson Two-Way Pact

It has been a summer of extensions for the Oklahoma City Thunder following their first NBA Championship in club history, ousting the Indiana Pacers in seven games of the 2025 NBA Finals. The Thunder have re-signed its star trio of superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren whiel doing the same for standout bench pieces Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell.

Another roster move that Oklahoma City made saw the Thunder re-sign seven footer Branden Carlson to a two-way pact after he served last season in the same role for the Bricktown Ballers.

Carlson comes to terms of his second two-way deal with the Thunder after making his NBA debut a year ago and takes up one of the three slots.

Oklahoma City still has a two-way deal open after inking Carlson and Brooks Barnhizer in this role.

Grading the Branden Carlson Two-Way Deal

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a loaded roster. Mark Daigneault will have plenty of options at his disposal. This rotation will be tough to crack for standard contracted players much less two-way deals sans blowouts.

This move has hardly anything to do with the varsity club. Though, Carlson has proven to be a valuable understudy for if the injury bug bites the Thunder's front court rotation as it did a year ago.

The true value in Carlson's signing comes with the OKC Blue. Not only was the Utah product one of the Thunder's best players with the G League but his positional functionality makes developing assignees possible for Oklahoma City.

Carlson can stroke the trey ball at a high clip, spacing the floor for wings and guards Oklahoma City hopes to develop while being a rim-rolling threat with his ability to catch lobs and spring to the cup for a slam after a dump off pass.

Defensively, his ability to protect the rim as a shot blocker helps the likes of Brooks Barnhizer play aggressive on the outsid with Carlson serving as a safety net on the back line.

Getting a high-level developmental player who can eat innings for the big league club in a pinch is the perfect two-way player for a contending squad.

Grade: A+