The Oklahoma City Thunder’s roster has been a whirlwind of change over the last month, and inside that storm is one rather strange anomaly.
This offseason, the Thunder have added three different players who have either transferred or decommitted from North Carolina State. Two of them remain on the team while one was quickly traded away after being acquired.
Omer Yurtseven, signed as an undrafted free agent, played at NC State from 2016-18 before transferring to Georgetown. While with the Wolfpack, Yurtseven averaged about 10 points and six rebounds per game and shot 54.2% from the field, with his numbers dramatically improving as a sophomore.
Josh Hall, also added to the Thunder as an undrafted free agent, was committed to NC State but entered the draft out of high school instead. As a 19-year-old and fifth-yer prep player, he was eligible for the NBA draft coming out of Moravian Prep.
This was the second year in a row the Wolfpack lost the commitment of a star high school prospect.
In 2019, Jalen Lecque entered the draft out of Brewster Academy instead of going through with his NC State commitment. Lecque was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Phoenix Suns and played for the organization last season before being traded to the Thunder as part of the Chris Paul trade.
Lecque is no longer with the Thunder, as he was traded to the Indiana Pacers for T.J. Leaf and a second-round draft pick, but the coincidental nature of Oklahoma City adding three players who left NC State hanging remains strange.
Last season, there were four former NC State players in the NBA according to Basketball RealGM, not including G League players. Lecque is actually now in the same organization as one of them, T.J. Warren.
