Unless Oklahoma City is able to move Stevens Adams, Andre Roberson and Dennis Schroder, who are all rumored to have been made available, there are only two ways the Thunder can acquire free agents once things kick off on Sunday night: using their $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception or signing players at the veteran minimum.
Just before free agency gets started, Thunder Wire is examining candidates Oklahoma City could acquire in free agency via the two options currently at the team’s disposal:
Isaiah Thomas
Thomas is another candidate to be signed on the veteran minimum. Before his hip injury, which was later resulted in surgery and cost him the better part of two seasons, Thomas was a two-time All-Star for the Boston Celtics and made the 2017 All-NBA Second Team.
Now, the 5-foot-9 guard is ready to prove himself, again, telling ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski he’s “going to get back to a level that I was playing at.”
Now I can go back to being a gym rat this summer, work on my game again and build my body back up — my muscle mass, my leg strength — all like I had going into the 2017 season.
When he was the top dog in Boston, Thomas was the one taking big shots at the end of the game. The problem for him was, of course, his size. It limited him immensely on defense. More importantly, his lack of height made Thomas easier to guard in the late, high-leverage situations.
But if Thomas signs with Oklahoma City, he won’t be the Thunder’s primary option at the end of the game. He can be, but he won’t need to be like he was in Boston. With defenders focused on Paul George around the perimeter or Russell Westbrook driving to the rack, Thomas could be an easy option that goes undetected by the opposition.
And because there are still questions about the career 36 percent three-point shooter, only having played 44 games over the last two seasons, he shouldn’t see anything besides a veteran’s minimum offer.
A little risk with the potential for a significant payoff. Seems like an idea worth the Thunder’s time.
